Symptom
Reversing camera not displaying
The rear view does not appear when reverse is selected. Frequently not a camera fault at all: the camera is woken by the same signal that lights the reversing lamps, so if the vehicle no longer knows reverse is engaged, a perfectly good camera is never asked to switch on. Check whether the reversing lights still work — if they do not, the two are one fault, and the transmission's range switch is the place to look rather than the screen.
Also described as: reverse camera not working, backup camera not working, no camera image, rear camera blank, camera doesn't come on, parking camera not showing, دوربین دنده عقب کار نمیکند, دوربین عقب تصویر ندارد, camara marcha atras no funciona, camara trasera no se ve, no se ve camara reversa, كاميرا الخلفية لا تعمل, كاميرا الرجوع ما تظهر, شاشة الكاميرا سوداء
What this usually means
Frequently not a camera fault at all: the camera is woken by the same signal that lights the reversing lamps, so if the vehicle no longer knows reverse is engaged, a perfectly good camera is never asked to switch on.
Check whether the reversing lights still work — if they do not, the two are one fault, and the transmission's range switch is the place to look rather than the screen. That check costs nothing and redirects the entire diagnosis.
Where the lights work and the camera does not, the population is the camera, its cable, or the screen. The cable is the commonest of the three on a hatchback or estate, because it passes through the tailgate hinge and flexes every time the boot opens — the same mechanism that breaks door looms.
A picture that is present but poor — misted, blurred, or washed out — is usually the camera's own lens seal having failed, letting moisture in. That is a camera rather than a wiring fault, and a misted image on a cold morning that clears in the sun is the early stage of it.
A screen that shows nothing at all, for the camera and for everything else, is the display unit — and that has its own entry, because it usually takes the climate controls and the parking display with it.
If the camera has gone, use the mirrors and look over your shoulder rather than trusting a frozen image. A frozen last frame is the failure mode that matters, because it looks like a working camera showing an empty space.
Working through it
| What you find | Likely cause | How to confirm it | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reversing lights do not work either | One fault — the transmission range switch, which wakes the camera and lights the lamps | Check the lights first. This free observation redirects the whole diagnosis. | Adjust or renew the range switch. See the gear-selector-display entry. |
| Lights work, no picture at all | The camera, its cable, or the screen | Check whether the screen works for other functions. That splits camera from display. | Repair the cable through the tailgate hinge, or renew the camera. |
| Hatchback or estate, intermittent with tailgate position | The cable in the tailgate hinge — it flexes every time the boot opens | Open and close the tailgate slowly while watching the image. | Repair the loom inside the flexible section with enough slack to bend. |
| Picture misted, blurred or washed out | The camera's lens seal failed, letting moisture in | Note whether it clears in warmth — that is the early stage of a failed seal. | Renew the camera. Sealing it externally does not remove the moisture already inside. |
| Screen blank for everything, not just the camera | The display unit — which usually takes climate and parking displays with it | Try other screen functions. See the infotainment entry. | Repair the head unit; the camera returns with it. |
| Image frozen on a previous frame | The failure that matters — it looks like a working camera showing an empty space | Move an object behind the car and watch. A frozen frame does not update. | Repair urgently and use mirrors meanwhile. A frozen image is worse than no image. |
-
Reversing lights do not work either
- Likely cause
- One fault — the transmission range switch, which wakes the camera and lights the lamps
- How to confirm it
- Check the lights first. This free observation redirects the whole diagnosis.
- What fixes it
- Adjust or renew the range switch. See the gear-selector-display entry.
-
Lights work, no picture at all
- Likely cause
- The camera, its cable, or the screen
- How to confirm it
- Check whether the screen works for other functions. That splits camera from display.
- What fixes it
- Repair the cable through the tailgate hinge, or renew the camera.
-
Hatchback or estate, intermittent with tailgate position
- Likely cause
- The cable in the tailgate hinge — it flexes every time the boot opens
- How to confirm it
- Open and close the tailgate slowly while watching the image.
- What fixes it
- Repair the loom inside the flexible section with enough slack to bend.
-
Picture misted, blurred or washed out
- Likely cause
- The camera's lens seal failed, letting moisture in
- How to confirm it
- Note whether it clears in warmth — that is the early stage of a failed seal.
- What fixes it
- Renew the camera. Sealing it externally does not remove the moisture already inside.
-
Screen blank for everything, not just the camera
- Likely cause
- The display unit — which usually takes climate and parking displays with it
- How to confirm it
- Try other screen functions. See the infotainment entry.
- What fixes it
- Repair the head unit; the camera returns with it.
-
Image frozen on a previous frame
- Likely cause
- The failure that matters — it looks like a working camera showing an empty space
- How to confirm it
- Move an object behind the car and watch. A frozen frame does not update.
- What fixes it
- Repair urgently and use mirrors meanwhile. A frozen image is worse than no image.
Codes that produce this symptom (23)
Listed with the codes that most typically present this way first — the likeliest place to start.
- P0812 Reverse Input Circuit Typical of this code Moderate
- P0813 Reverse Output Circuit Typical of this code Moderate
- U0245 Lost Communication With Entertainment Control Module — Front Typical of this code Low
- U0255 Lost Communication With Front Display Interface Module Typical of this code Low
- U0257 Lost Communication With Front Controls/Display Interface Module Typical of this code Low
- U0264 Lost Communication With Camera Module — Rear Typical of this code Moderate
- U0266 Lost Communication With Image Processing Sensor B Typical of this code Moderate
- U0267 Lost Communication With Image Processing Sensor C Typical of this code Moderate
- U0268 Lost Communication With Image Processing Sensor D Typical of this code Moderate
- U0565 Invalid Data Received From Camera Module - Rear Typical of this code Moderate
- U0159 Lost Communication With Parking Assist Control Module A Moderate
- U0162 Lost Communication With Navigation Display Module Low
- U0184 Lost Communication With Radio Moderate
- U0243 Lost Communication With Parking Assist Control Module B Moderate
- U0334 Software Incompatibility With Radio Moderate
- U0463 Invalid Data Received From Navigation Display Module Low
- U0485 Invalid Data Received From Radio Moderate
- U053B Invalid Data Received From Image Processing Module A Moderate
- U053C Invalid Data Received From Image Processing Module B Moderate
- U053D Invalid Data Received From Image Processing Module C Moderate
- U0544 Invalid Data Received From Parking Assist Control Module B Moderate
- U0556 Invalid Data Received From Front Display Interface Module Moderate
- U0558 Invalid Data Received From Front Controls/Display Interface Module Moderate
Information, not instruction
CarGeek is a reference, not a service manual. Its pages are written from public sources and from what other people have found, never from a manufacturer's own service information, so they can be wrong or incomplete for your particular vehicle. Some of what they describe carries real risk: high voltage, fuel under pressure, stored energy, hot and moving parts.
Have anything you intend to act on checked by a trained person against the manufacturer's own procedure for your vehicle. Nothing here replaces that procedure.
Others with this symptom
Be the first to write this up
Nothing posted about this yet. Whatever you found is worth writing down — even a dead end saves someone the same afternoon.
What makes one worth reading:
- The car — make, model, year and engine. The same fault behaves differently on each.
- What you measured, not only what you replaced.
- What actually fixed it — or that nothing did, which is worth knowing too.
Sign in or create an account to add what you found about Reversing camera not displaying.