Toyota Offers To Buy Back Recalled BZ4Xs From Owners
The June recall for wheels falling off still isn’t solved, and Toyota is offering to buy back owners’ parked BZ4Xs.
In June, Toyota told owners of its all-electric BZ4X not to drive the crossover by the company due to the potential for the wheels to fall off. Now, as the recall drags on into August without a solution on the horizon, Toyota is offering owners a buyback of their undrivable EVs.
A Redditor on a BZ4X owner forum posted the initial letter, which offers buyers two solutions: One, a no-cost loaner with gas cost reimbursement, $5,000 in credit toward the remaining payments on the crossover (or a rebate if the vehicle is paid off), and an extension of free-charging benefits and the warranty the car was sold with. The second? An "offer to repurchase their bZ4X."
The Drive confirmed with a Toyota representative that the letter is genuine and that buyers will have the option to sell their cars back to Toyota, although their statement noted that "the terms for the repurchase may vary, depending on their state and particular circumstances." For buyers who paid a markup (which was at least a few of them), the representative said they should "reach out to our customer service team."
The original recall affected 2,700 vehicles globally, of which 260 were destined for the United States market, so the buyback won't affect a massive number of vehicles. Vehicle buybacks are overall rare, and this isn't a mandatory buyback, but it comes at a rough time for Toyota as it attempts to produce an actual mass-market EV while its tax credits simultaneously run out due to high sales of hybrid vehicles. Indeed, in the thread where the letter with the buyback offer came to light, some buyers with pre-ordered BZ4Xs noted that if the fix process is delayed too late into the year, they could potentially miss out on the full tax credit that Toyota was still eligible for when the BZ4X initially hit the market in May.
