Earlier this week, Toyota Motor Company has officially admitted that its new electric sports car, the bZ4X, suffers from an uncorrectable defect potentially causing its wheels to disengage from their mounts. The issue is critical, so owners have a few ways to go about fixing it.
The easiest option the manufacturer offers is to simply let Toyota buy your car back. As appealing as it may sound, however, there are multiple reasons to prefer a different form of settlement. First, the monetary amount reimbursed will depend on the technical condition of the EV and any other agreements and conditions that applied to the original purchase. Second, the company didn’t say anything about covering dealership markups and any extra fees, and we are very skeptical about such a possibility.
The other option is to keep the car and wait until it gets recalled. This should reimburse you for all fuel expenses driving another car while your shiny new EV is sitting flat on its belly in your garage, wheels lying around, and refund up to $5,000 in loan money. Toyota even promises to extend your warranty for the new bZ4X coming as the replacement, and to grant you free charging for the period equal to the idle period of your affected EV.
The recall campaign started a month and a half ago, affecting around 2,700 Toyota bZ4X and 2,600 Subaru Solterra EVs (both share identical drivetrains and tech). The issue was identified as a faulty wheel hub design that, in some cases, could cause the wheel to disengage from the axle during driving, potentially leading to grave consequences. All drivers are urged to cease driving the affected cars and wait for the solution to arrive, which the company hopes to be able to do this autumn.
