Still Waiting on the Release of the Toyota bZ4X? Recalls Are Stopping Down Production
The saga of the Toyota bZ4X has gone from bad to worse but they might be out of the woods soon.
It’s been so sloppy and slow-moving, it makes one wonder if that’s part of the reason they’ve dug in their heels so firmly
against the general EV movement
every other car brand has committed to this year. To make matters worse, they’ve now discovered an airbag issue just as the initial recall was starting to be dealt with. Back to the lab, I suppose.
What was behind the initial recall of the Toyota bZ4X?
Back in June, Toyota recalled about 2,700 bZ4X units after learning that the vehicle's wheels might fall off while driving.
Yep, like a scheming plan right out of an episode of Wile E. Coyote and The Roadrunner, the wheels ran a risk of literally popping off while cruising down the road.
A recall notice was sent to Japan’s transport ministry detailing that the issue could happen by a hub bolt loosening specifically while making sharp turns or sudden braking. The recall was put forward promptly with a strong note to
quit driving the EV immediately
. Toyota would arrange to get your vehicle from you. The issue was so severe that owners in the US shared info from Toyota indicating that the company was open to the idea of a complete repurchase of the vehicle.
Talk about hemorrhaged money.
Fortunately, kinda, for the bZ4X sister unit, the
Subaru Solterra
, the issue did occur; however, the vehicle hadn’t yet been delivered so Subaru was only dealing with a mild migraine, not a severe one. More fuel to the fire
On top of the initial recall for the bZ4X, there’s now a second issue, this one pertaining to the airbags. Because some of them were improperly installed, they now risk failure. So, yeah, when the wheels come off, you may not have an airbag either. Yikes.
The airbag issue was just brought to the automaker's attention last month and they have gotten to the bottom of it.
“We apologize again for the concern, anxiety, and inconvenience we have caused to our customers, our dealers, and our stakeholders,” said Chief Technology Officer Masahiko Maeda.
Next steps for the Toyota bZ4X
Toyota has been able to resolve both problems and is restarting production of the bZ4X this month, with leases in Japan resuming on October 26th. The bZ4X Model Y is what was sold stateside and the company did not indicate when its sales would continue.
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