Toyota has re-started production of its bZ4x electric SUV three months after the factory lines were idled following the discovery of a potentially fatal suspension flaw.
Both Toyota and Subaru, whose Solterra is twinned with the bZ4X and shares its e-TNGA platform and running gear, were forced to halt production in June and recall thousands of cars after reports that the wheels could fall off while the car was in motion.
Toyota filed a recall notice with Japan’s transport ministry in the summer explaining that pronounced maneuvers including sharp turns and sudden braking could result in the loosening of hub bolts holding the wheels in place, and might even cause the wheel to detach. Around 2,700 bZ4X models and 2,600 Solterras were recalled globally to fix the issue, and all new cars built from today incorporate production changes to prevent the problem reoccurring.
Related: Toyota Gives Recalled BZX4 Owners That Can’t Drive Their Cars The Option To Buy Back Their EVs
Unfortunately for the bZ4X that’s not the end of the model’s troubles. According to Automotive News Europe, Toyota has also identified and fixed a potential problem with airbags that were improperly installed at the factory. That discovery will send cold shivers down the backs of some Toyota executives who are still trying to forget that only a handful of years ago the company was forced to recall millions of cars which subsequently had their faulty Takata airbags changed.
The post-recall bZ4X and Solterras arriving in the U.S. in the next few weeks will find the North American EV landscape a very different place to the one the first cars off the boat discovered earlier this year. Changes to the U.S. government’s EV tax credits system means only cars built in North America now qualify for federal aid. The entry-level front-wheel drive bZ4X XLE costs $42,000 and has an EPA-rated electric driving range of 252 miles (406 km).