Toyota is recalling 2,700 of its first mass-produced all-electric vehicles due to the possibility that their wheels may fall off.
After “minimal mileage use,” a spokeswoman told that fasteners on the bZ4X’s wheels “may loosen to the point where the wheel can detach from the vehicle.”
The recall comes less than two months after the Japanese debut of the vehicle.
Subaru said it will recall 403 electric vehicles it developed with Toyota for the same reason.
Friday, Toyota issued a safety recall notice for 2,700 bZ4X SUVs in the United States, Europe, Canada, and Japan.
A spokeswoman stated, “If a wheel detaches from the vehicle while driving, it could lead to a loss of vehicle control, increasing the danger of a collision.”
“No one should operate these vehicles until the fix is made,” they continued.
Toyota stated that it had notified Japanese safety inspectors about the malfunction on Thursday and that the root cause of the problem was “still being investigated.”
Subaru, another Japanese automaker, announced that it was recalling 403 Solterras, its first all-electric vehicle co-developed with Toyota, due to loose fasteners.
Toyota is considered a relative latecomer to the electric vehicle market in comparison to competitors such as Tesla, which introduced its first electric vehicle 14 years earlier.
The bZ4X was introduced in Japan last month. Toyota stated earlier this year that the vehicle was exclusively offered for lease “to eliminate customer worries over residual battery performance, maintenance, and residual value.”
Due to a lack of computer chips and supply bottlenecks caused by the epidemic, the business announced this week that it will reduce the number of vehicles it planned to produce by 50,000 to 800,000 next month.
Toyota has signaled that it may be compelled to reduce its existing global production target of 9.7 million vehicles for the current year.
