2024-2026 Chevrolet and Buick Recall: Rearview Camera May Display Distorted or Blank Image

General Motors counted 33,365 field complaints about the rearview camera on four of its smallest crossovers before it called a recall. The Chevrolet Trax, Trailblazer, Buick Envista and Encore GX built between April and December 2024 can put a distorted or blank image on the screen when the driver shifts into reverse.

NHTSA campaign 26V539 covers 306,511 vehicles. GM filed it on August 20, 2026, and carries it internally as recall A262554900. The company's own estimate is that 10% of the population, roughly 30,650 vehicles, has the defect.

Parts are short. Most owners will get a letter explaining the problem now and a second one when a replacement camera is available for their vehicle.

The Issue

The rearview camera on these crossovers is a sealed module: a lens, an image sensor and a small circuit board inside a housing held together by adhesive. That bond also seals out water, road salt and grime.

Before that joint is bonded, the supplier runs the housing through a plasma-cleaning treatment. Plasma cleaning is routine surface preparation in electronics assembly, used to strip contamination and help adhesive grip plastic. GM's investigation found that on this line the treatment could instead weaken the adhesive bond on some assemblies.

GM's complaint window opens on July 3, 2024, three months after suspect production began, and runs to May 30, 2026. A bond that weakens with heat cycles, car washes and wet roads would produce that spread. GM's filing describes the result only as a distorted or blank image, which is consistent with contamination reaching the lens or the electronics.

GM buys the camera from Wuxi Sharp Optoelectronic Technology Co. in Wuxi, China, under GM part numbers 86554978 and 86554977. The end of the suspect production window lines up with a change the supplier made to its plasma-cleaning fixture. Vehicles built after December 31, 2024 received cameras made outside that window.

Affected Models

Model	Model year	Production dates	Units
Chevrolet Trax	2025	Apr 1 - Dec 31, 2024	159,821
Chevrolet Trailblazer	2025	Apr 3 - Dec 31, 2024	73,665
Chevrolet Trailblazer	2024	Apr 1 - May 4, 2024	843
Chevrolet Trailblazer	2026	Nov 5 - Dec 18, 2024	7
Buick Envista	2025	May 6 - Dec 31, 2024	35,466
Buick Envista	2024	Apr 1 - May 16, 2024	5,857
Buick Encore GX	2025	Apr 3 - Dec 31, 2024	30,150
Buick Encore GX	2024	Apr 1 - Apr 11, 2024	701
Buick Encore GX	2026	Dec 2, 2024	1
Total			306,511

At 159,821 units, the 2025 Trax makes up more than half the campaign. No 2024 Trax is included, and the 2026 Trax does not appear at all.

The Encore GX carries one exclusion the others do not. Only the standard rearview camera, option code UVB, is covered. An Encore GX ordered with Surround Vision, option code UV2, uses a different camera and is outside the recall. Any vehicle built outside the listed dates is also excluded, which is why the 2024 and 2026 rows are so small.

Chronology and Investigation

GM opened an investigation into inoperative rearview cameras on May 20, 2025, and closed it on September 4, 2025, after finding no defect trend. It kept watching the field data at six-month intervals.

That monitoring caught a rise in claim rates. GM opened a new product investigation on March 25, 2026, traced the failures to the plasma-cleaning step, and found that complaints concentrated in vehicles built between April and December 2024. GM's Safety Field Action Decision Authority approved the recall on August 13, 2026, and the Part 573 report reached NHTSA a week later.

GM amended the filing twice. The August 21 revision corrected the period in which the 33,365 complaints were received: the first version gave it as April 1 to December 31, 2024, the same span as the production window, and the revision changed it to July 3, 2024 through May 30, 2026. The September 10 revision pulled the interim owner letters forward from October 5 to September 17 and added a first phase of remedy letters on September 16.

No NHTSA investigation preceded the recall, and the filing lists no related campaign.

Reported Incidents

GM identified 33,365 field complaints received between July 3, 2024 and May 30, 2026 that it considered potentially related to the condition and tied to the suspect production window. That count is higher than GM's own estimate of defective vehicles, and the filing does not say how many complaints came from the same vehicle.

Few of those owners went to the federal government. A TWD review of NHTSA's public complaint database found 23 complaints describing a rearview camera failure across the recalled model years: eight on the 2025 Trax, six on the 2025 Trailblazer, five on the Envista and four on the Encore GX. None were filed on the 2024 Trailblazer. The count is by model year, so a few of those vehicles may have been built outside the recall window.

One 2025 Trax owner wrote that "while in reverse(R), the rear-view camera displayed a blank image" (ODI 11762081). Another described the backup camera turning into a "fishbowl" (ODI 11660552).

One complaint, on a 2025 Trailblazer (ODI 11766308), is flagged as involving a crash. GM's Part 573 states the company is not aware of any accidents or injuries associated with the condition.

Remedy and Notification

Dealers will inspect the camera and replace it if necessary, free of charge. Replacement cameras come from production outside the supplier's suspect window. GM is offering no reimbursement program, on the grounds that every covered vehicle is still under warranty.

The rollout is phased because parts are limited. GM notified dealers and made VINs searchable on NHTSA.gov on August 20, 2026. A first group of owners, those whose parts are available, received remedy letters starting September 16. All other owners received an interim letter starting September 17 and will get a second letter once parts exist for their vehicle. GM has not given an end date for the final phase.

Owners can check a VIN at GM's recall lookup or on NHTSA.gov. Chevrolet customer service is 1-800-222-1020 and Buick customer service is 1-800-521-7300. GM has issued no do-not-drive or park-outside advisory for this campaign.

Buying a Used One

GM placed affected vehicles on stop-delivery on August 20, and a September 10 dealer bulletin requires any recalled vehicle in new or used inventory that fails the camera inspection to be held until it is repaired. That covers CarBravo used stock, courtesy cars and dealer shuttles. It cannot be sold, dealer-traded, sent to auction or used as a demonstrator.

Private sales carry no such check. A shopper looking at a 2025 Trax, Trailblazer, Envista or Encore GX from a private seller or an independent lot should run the VIN before paying, then shift into reverse during the test drive and watch the screen.

Symptoms to Watch For

A blank screen in reverse. The display switches to the camera view but shows black, a solid color, or nothing at all. This is the failure GM names.

A distorted or smeared image. Warping, streaks, or a picture that looks wet or out of focus even after wiping the lens.

Fog or droplets that appear to be behind the lens. Moisture inside the housing cannot be wiped off from outside, and it tends to come and go with temperature.

An image that fails after rain or a car wash. A camera that works on dry days and misbehaves after water exposure points toward a failed seal.

An intermittent picture. A camera that flickers or drops out and then recovers is worth reporting at the inspection, even if it works when the dealer checks it.

How Long Will the Recall Repair Take?

A technician confirms the VIN is open and checks the image in reverse, a job measured in minutes.

A replacement means removing trim to reach the camera, unplugging the old module and fitting the new one. That is typically well under an hour of shop time, though GM has not published a labor time for recall A262554900. The real delay is parts: owners who received the interim letter cannot book the repair until GM sends the second one.

Backing Up Until the Fix Arrives

These are small crossovers, but the space directly behind a Trax or Envista is still invisible from the driver's seat, and the backup camera exists for exactly that zone. Owners with a failing camera should use the mirrors and a look over the shoulder on every reverse maneuver, and walk behind the vehicle before backing out anywhere children play.

GM estimates that about one in ten of these vehicles has the weak bond, and the failure develops with exposure, so a camera that has been fine for a year can still fail next winter. The inspection at the dealer is the only way to find out which group a vehicle is in.

The 2025 Trax's earlier recalls and complaint history are in TWD's Trax reliability breakdown by model year.

Find your Chevrolet Trax recall information: https://experience.gm.com/ownercenter/recalls