Toyota Has Fix for bZ4X EV Wheel Problem, Will Replace Wheels and Bolts

• Toyota announced a recall for the bZ4X electric vehicle in June, acknowledging that wheels might detach from the car because of malfunctioning hub bolts and asking customers to stop driving the vehicle.

• The automaker had been offering free loaners to affected bZ4X owners, but the deal has now been increased with more sweeteners as well as a new offer: Toyota will buy back the bZ4X outright.

• Only 258 bZ4X EVs were sold before the recall was announced, but the vehicle has an outsize role to play in Toyota's slow embrace of all-electric vehicles.

UPDATE 10/6/22: Toyota announced that it has found a fix to the problem of wheels that could fall off because of hub bolts that came loose. It will restart production of the bZ4X EV today and reopen sales in the U.S. in the near future, Automotive News reported today. Toyota said dealers will put on newly designed hub bolts with washers and "improved" wheels, with a target of starting the fix by November.

Toyota issued a statement clarifying that, as for the recalled models already in customers' hands, "No one should drive these vehicles until the remedy is performed."

When Toyota first announced a recall for its new, electric bZ4X SUV, it said that the hub bolts used on the wheels might loosen "to the point where the wheel can detach from the vehicle." That was a noticeable black eye for one of the world’s largest automakers launching a crucial new model.

The bZ4X is Toyota’s first all-electric vehicle since the company worked with Tesla on the RAV4 EV around a decade ago. The RAV4 EV was discontinued in 2014, and Toyota has been on the outside looking in when it comes to EV sales ever since. The bZ4X is expected to change things.

The recall was announced after Toyota sold 258 units. Toyota’s first offer for buyers was to have local dealers give them a loaner vehicle free of charge until a remedy could be found for keeping the hub bolts connected. "The cause of the issue and the driving patterns under which this issue could occur are still under investigation," Toyota said in June.