Toyota offers buybacks of electric bZ4X vehicles after recall



(August 6, 2022) Toyota has offered a series of make-goods to hundreds of owners of the new 2023 bZ4X — including an offer to buy back the electric compact crossover — as recompense for asking them to stop driving the recalled vehicle because of concerns that the wheels could fall off. An estimated 260 of the vehicles were in the United States, and a remedy has not yet been determined to allow the vehicles to again be safely driven, Toyota said.


Consumers were asked to immediately contact their dealership, which would pick up the vehicle and drop off a loaner at no charge, according to Automotive News

The Japan-built bZ4X went on sale in the U.S. in late spring as Toyota's first EV since the RAV4 EV it built in cooperation with Tesla in 2014. However, just weeks after the launch, Toyota issued a stop-sale and recall notice. Japan's safety regulator said sharp turns and sudden braking could cause a hub bolt to loosen, raising the risk of a wheel coming off the vehicle.

In a letter late last month to affected consumers, first reported by electrek.com, the automaker says it recognizes "the inconvenience presented by this situation."

Toyota will offer to repurchase the vehicle if the consumer desired, but cautioned that "the terms for the repurchase may vary, depending on their state and particular circumstances."

Toyota said it is offering affected customers other alternatives until a fix is available:

• Provide a loaner vehicle and storing the bZ4X at no cost

• Reimburse any fueling costs incurred while operating the loaner vehicle

• Provide a total credit of $5,000 toward payments of their loan/lease or purchase price if the vehicle was paid in full

• Extend the bZ4X's complimentary charging at all public stations owned and operated by EVgo nationwide through the end of 2024

• Extend the bZ4X's warranty to cover the period when it cannot safely be driven due to the recall (from the recall announcement date of June 23, 2022, through the date when the remedy is announced)

Source: Automotive News