Toyota bZ4X, Subaru Solterra Production Resumes After 3-Month Pause
Production of the brand new 2023 Toyota bZ4X and Subaru Solterra electric crossovers, which was suspended in June, has now resumed at Toyota’s Motomachi assembly plant in Japan.
It was previously discovered that the wheel hub bolts could loosen under hard braking and steering manoeuvres, potentially causing a wheel to fall off while driving. It appears that engineers did not properly factor in the weight of the high-voltage battery into their initial calculations.
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- Also: 2023 Toyota bZ4X: Moderation in All Things
So, less than two months after going on sale, some 2,700 Toyota bZ4X and 2,600 Subaru Solterra vehicles were recalled globally—including 12 and 258, respectively, in Canada (more specifically B.C. and Quebec). None of them have been delivered to customers yet.
The stop-sale order and production hiatus lasted until the automakers could investigate the issue and find a remedy.
Toyota and Subaru now say that the hub bolts will be replaced and properly tightened. They will also add a washer to the bolts and improve friction on the wheel surface.
Sales in Japan will resume on October 26, but as far as overseas markets go, including Canada and the U.S., Toyota Chief Technology Officer Masahiko Maeda said "we will resume the sale in a sequential manner."
He also talked about the need to “respond firmly to regain trust in the safety of Toyota vehicles.” Similar measures will be applied to other EVs in the future, starting with the Lexus RZ that’s slated to launch here in the first half of 2023.
