Toyota announces second recall campaign for bZ3 electric vehicles in China. The report notes that more than 25,000 electric sedans manufactured this year are misestimating the remaining battery capacity, and some are even losing charge completely without warning..
The Toyota bZ3 electric car debuted in October 2022, and production in China began in early March 2023. The first sales began in April, but the first recall of electric vehicles took place in July.. More than 12,000 bZ3s had faulty door handles fitted to electric vehicles.
In China, the production of electric vehicles of the “Beyond Zero” (Bz) line is carried out by the FAW-Toyota joint venture. The joint venture is currently assembling two electric vehicles: the bZ4X SUV and the bZ3 sedan.
Interestingly, the bZ4X model was also subject to a recall campaign due to problems with wheel locking.. However, the problems were resolved, and engineers from the Chinese BYD helped develop the suspension settings for the next bZ3 model.
According to an announcement on the website of China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), FAW-Toyota is recalling 25,815 bZ3 electric vehicles with immediate effect.. The recall cites improper programming of the vehicle's battery management controller, which may cause residual power estimates to be excessively off.
As the report notes, the problem especially affects Toyota electric vehicles that have not been fully charged during several sessions in a row and are driven at high speeds.. In addition to inaccurate estimates of battery remaining on vehicle displays, Toyota's statement claims that in some cases the electric vehicle may completely lose charge without any warning.
FAW-Toyota says it plans to update the battery management controller software in every recalled bZ3 EV via an over-the-air (OTA) update.. This update, of course, will be free for car owners.