Phantom

Segment
Sedan

Manufacturer recalls are a routine part of the auto industry. If an automaker becomes aware of a safety issue, the company is required by law to alert owners, recall affected models, and arrange for the defect to be fixed by an authorized dealer free of charge. Hyundai, for example, is recalling Elantra, Elantra HEV, Venue, and Genesis vehicles because the seat belt pretensioners could explode in a crash.

But even Rolls-Royce, a luxury carmaker with rigorous quality-control standards, isn't immune to recalls. A problem with the infotainment system in the Rolls-Royce Phantom has been discovered that affects hundreds of models and could cause a potential safety hazard.

According to a report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, when the Phantom is unlocked and/or the driver's door is opened, the Central Information Display (CID) mechanism may not operate correctly. That may sound like a minor incontinence, but this means the rear-view camera image may not be visible when reversing. This is caused by faulty software that prevents the CID from raising into the correct position. More specifically, the report by the NHTSA notes that the current software can overstress the CID mechanism caused by "excessive unnecessary opening requests from the coach door module."

In total, 442 Rolls-Royce Phantoms built between the 2019-2022 are affected by this recall. Rolls-Royce was first alerted to the issue in June 2020 after receiving a complaint from an owner of a US 2020 Rolls-Royce Phantom about the CID mechanism. After carrying out an investigation, Rolls-Royce found that the infotainment software was causing the problem.

Thankfully, Rolls-Royce and NHTSA are not aware of any injuries caused by this issue. To fix the problem, owners of affected models will be notified by Rolls-Royce to arrange an appointment with their local dealer and have the software updated free of charge.