A radio software error in 239,130 Ram 1500 pickups can leave the rearview camera screen blank when the truck is backing up. The recall covers 2025 and 2026 model-year trucks, and the fix is a free software update, delivered over the air or at a dealer.
Chrysler, listed in the federal record as FCA US LLC, filed the defect report with federal safety regulators on Sept. 1, 2026. Because the camera image may not appear, the trucks do not meet the federal rear-visibility standard.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s record for campaign 26V560 states that “a radio software error may cause the rearview camera image not to display,” and that as a result the trucks “fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, ‘Rear Visibility.'” NHTSA lists the component as back-over prevention software and the potential population as 239,130 vehicles across the two model years.
Why a blank screen is a safety defect
NHTSA’s consequence statement is direct: “A rearview image that does not display reduces the driver’s view behind the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.”
The standard itself, FMVSS 111 as published in the Code of Federal Regulations, states its purpose as reducing “the number of deaths and injuries that occur when the driver of a motor vehicle does not have a clear and reasonably unobstructed view to the rear.” It requires the rearview image to appear within 2.0 seconds of the start of a backing event, and the camera requirement has applied to passenger cars of 4,536 kilograms gross vehicle weight rating or less built on or after May 1, 2018, with similar-sized trucks, buses and multipurpose vehicles covered as well.
Because the requirement is written around the image the driver sees, a software fault that keeps the image from appearing is enough to make a truck noncompliant, even with the camera hardware intact.
The remedy and the dates owners need
According to NHTSA’s campaign record, “the radio software will be updated over-the-air (OTA) or by a dealer, free of charge.” The record says owner notification letters were expected to be mailed Sept. 24, 2026, and that affected vehicle identification numbers would be searchable on NHTSA.gov starting Sept. 9, 2026.
Owners can check a specific truck with the 17-character VIN through NHTSA’s recall lookup, which reports whether a vehicle needs a recall repair. NHTSA lists Chrysler’s customer service number as 800-853-1403, and Chrysler’s internal number for this recall is 83D.
A second camera recall from the same automaker
Campaign 26V560 is not the only recent rearview-camera action from Chrysler. A separate campaign, NHTSA recall 26V531, received by the agency on Aug. 13, 2026, covers 844,027 vehicles across Jeep, Ram, Chrysler and Dodge models, including 2026 Ram 1500, 2500 and ProMaster trucks and vans. In that campaign, NHTSA says the rearview camera image “may fail to display when the vehicle is placed in reverse,” and the remedy is again a radio software update by a dealer or over the air, free of charge, with owner letters mailed beginning Sept. 2, 2026.
The two campaigns carry different numbers and different vehicle populations. Owners of a 2026 Ram 1500 should run their VIN through NHTSA’s lookup rather than assume which campaign, if either, applies to their truck.
For the 239,130 trucks in campaign 26V560, the next step on the record is the software update itself, available at no charge once an owner’s notice arrives or a VIN search shows the recall open.
Top image: A 2025 Ram 1500 Laramie crew cab pickup. Image Credit: Deathpallie325 — CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Combat Rated editors prior to publication.