Toyota’s first fully electric battery vehicle, the Toyota bZ4X, isn’t off to a great start.
The company is recalling a number of bZ4X vehicles, including some 2023 model year ones, over faulty wheels.
According to Reuters, the total number of vehicles recalled is 2,700, with 2,200 of those earmarked for Europe, 260 for the U.S., 110 for Japan, and 10 for Canada.
Subaru also said last week that it’s recalling about 2,600 of its Solterra cars for the same reason (Solterra, which was jointly developed with Toyota, is basically Subaru’s version of the bZ4X).
Recalls of this size aren’t uncommon, but the reason for this particular recall is a bit worrying. Here’s Toyota’s description of what may happen.
“After low-mileage use, all of the hub bolts on the wheel can loosen to the point where the wheel can detach from the vehicle. If a wheel detaches from the vehicle while driving, it could result in a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.”
Yes, the wheels of the car may literally fall off.
Toyota says it’s still looking into the reasons as to why this happens, and says a fix isn’t available yet. “No one should drive these vehicles until the remedy is performed,” Toyota said.
