2023 Toyota BZ4X problems

STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS:UNDERBODY SHIELDS

While driving on the highway under normal conditions with no road hazards present, the engine under cover (part #51441-42210) detached from my vehicle and the bumper clips broke, causing both the under cover and bumper to become damaged and requiring replacement. There was no collision, no debris, no pothole, or any other road hazard involved. The failure occurred solely under routine highway driving conditions. Upon taking the vehicle to my Toyota dealership, the service team acknowledged this is a known and recurring issue with the bZ4X model. Research and owner forums confirm multiple 2023 bZ4X owners have experienced the identical failure — undercarriage cover and bumper detachment under normal driving and rain conditions. Toyota dealers have repeatedly told affected owners ‘this happens all the time,’ yet Toyota refuses to cover repairs under warranty, claiming it is not a manufacturing defect. I believe this represents a systematic design or manufacturing defect in the 2023 Toyota bZ4X. The undercarriage cover and bumper mounting system fails under normal driving conditions, which poses a safety risk to the driver and other vehicles on the road. I am requesting a formal investigation into this issue and urge NHTSA to consider a recall to protect other bZ4X owners.

NHTSA complaint #11733142 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota BZ4X. The contact stated that the vehicle was awaiting a recall repair. The dealer informed the contact that the electrical HVAC compressor needed to be replaced as part of the recall repair; however, the part was on back order. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the recall repair was not completed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 117,000.

NHTSA complaint #11728838 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota BZ4X. The contact had attempted to use the defroster; however, the blower was not blowing hot air onto the windshield. The contact had received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V577000 (Visibility); however, when the dealer was contacted to schedule a recall repair, the contact was informed that the part to do the recall repair was on national back order. The contact called another dealer and the manufacturer, and was informed by both that the part was on national back order. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000.

NHTSA complaint #11708823 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

TIRES

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota BZ4X equipped with Goodyear Tires, Tire Line: Electric Drive 2, Tire Size: 215/50/R20, DOT Number: (N/A). The contact stated that while driving at various speeds above 50 MPH, the vehicle experienced severe shaking and abnormal vibration. The vehicle was taken to the local service center who determined that the foam pad inside the tire had malfunctioned. The foam was replaced, and the tires were balanced, but later the same failure reoccurred on the rear passenger’s side tire. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer for repair. No further information was available. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was not available.

NHTSA complaint #11708384 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

Premature and abnormal tire wear on my 2023 Toyota bZ4X, confirmed by two independent tire shops, despite consistent Toyota dealer maintenance every 6,000 miles. Beaverton Toyota dealer dismissed the condition as “normal,” but both [XXX] and Discount Tire documented unsafe tire wear caused by alignment. --- Details of Problem: Vehicle serviced exclusively at Toyota dealer (Beaverton Toyota, OR) every 6,000 miles, with multipoint inspections and rotations. On 9/22/25, Toyota dealer inspected the vehicle and reported that alignment and tires were “normal.” On 9/25/25, [XXX] inspected the vehicle and documented severe outside shoulder wear on the right-side tires. They recommended immediate tire replacement for safety. Alignment was also adjusted at that time to bring values into balance (report attached). On 9/27/25, Discount Tire replaced all four tires at 27,562 miles. Their written notes confirm edges were worn on all four tires due to alignment (right side more prominent). They declared the tires unsafe for continued use and recommended full replacement. Safety Concern: This abnormal alignment-related wear created unsafe driving conditions well before the rated tire life (55,000 miles). Uneven edge wear and shoulder failure increase the risk of blowouts, hydroplaning, or sudden loss of control. Attachments available: Toyota dealer report stating “normal” Les Schwab alignment printout and written safety note Discount Tire invoice with technician safety comments Tire photos (all four corners) Full Toyota dealer service history INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint #11690353 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

SUSPENSION

Premature and abnormal tire wear on my 2023 Toyota bZ4X, confirmed by two independent tire shops, despite consistent Toyota dealer maintenance every 6,000 miles. Beaverton Toyota dealer dismissed the condition as “normal,” but both [XXX] and Discount Tire documented unsafe tire wear caused by alignment. --- Details of Problem: Vehicle serviced exclusively at Toyota dealer (Beaverton Toyota, OR) every 6,000 miles, with multipoint inspections and rotations. On 9/22/25, Toyota dealer inspected the vehicle and reported that alignment and tires were “normal.” On 9/25/25, [XXX] inspected the vehicle and documented severe outside shoulder wear on the right-side tires. They recommended immediate tire replacement for safety. Alignment was also adjusted at that time to bring values into balance (report attached). On 9/27/25, Discount Tire replaced all four tires at 27,562 miles. Their written notes confirm edges were worn on all four tires due to alignment (right side more prominent). They declared the tires unsafe for continued use and recommended full replacement. Safety Concern: This abnormal alignment-related wear created unsafe driving conditions well before the rated tire life (55,000 miles). Uneven edge wear and shoulder failure increase the risk of blowouts, hydroplaning, or sudden loss of control. Attachments available: Toyota dealer report stating “normal” Les Schwab alignment printout and written safety note Discount Tire invoice with technician safety comments Tire photos (all four corners) Full Toyota dealer service history INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA complaint #11690353 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

UNKNOWN , 11/26/2024 car in garage would not start, car was tow to Toyota and Toyota replaced the battery. then on 02/06/2025 vehicle was in garage and would not start and vehicle was tow again to Toyota dealer. Where dealer replaced 12 volt battery at 5,283 miles. And told us to put a battery charger on the battery.

NHTSA complaint #11666165 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS:UNDERBODY SHIELDS

I drove the car at 40mph through about 2 inches of standing water. This caused the undercarriage splash plate to become loose. It has not fallen off, but it will need to be repaired. The streets sometimes flood and none of the cars I’ve owned ever had this happen.

NHTSA complaint #11650708 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

AC Compressor. The dealer is saying I need to repair the AC compressor. When this happened my heater and mileage weren't showing and a lot of message errors were showing.

NHTSA complaint #11649065 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

I am writing to register our complaint and urgently request your support in resolving a serious health issue related to what we believe is a factory defect with the Toyota BZ4. Timeline of events: In April 2023, I purchased a brand new BZ4 from the Downtown Oakland Toyota dealership. In July 2024, I noticed a foul smell in the car coming from the air conditioning vents. The car was difficult to drive in due to the severity of the smell. On September 11, 2024, we took the BZ4 to the dealer for maintenance and asked for them to look into the foul smell. The dealer reported they were unable to find the cause of the odor. They offered us a car fragrance. The odor continued to be overwhelming in nature. On [XXX] we inspected the car and removed the floor mats. We discovered the undersides of both left and right front floor mats were covered in mold. The floor carpets were soaking wet with water. Both the mats and carpets smelled very badly. On October 31, 2024, we filed a customer service complaint with Toyota. On November 1, 2024, Daniel at Downtown Oakland Toyota responded that the dealer had found a spider web which had blocked the tube, causing the air conditioning system to be blocked. This caused the blocking of the HVAC tube and the water to pool and mold. I am concerned for several reasons: Toyota sold me a car which, according to them, can have one of its major operating systems (HVAC) taken down by a mere spider web. This is irresponsible and negligent design and the company should be liable for the defect in manufacturing. The car is less than two years old, was purchased new and has been driven for just 11,000 miles and is well within the warranty period. It’s shocking to us that Toyota has refused to repair this defect which we believe to be their responsibility as it falls under a design flaw. A safely designed HVAC system should be able to resist the presence of a tiny spider. The Toyota service staff should be made aware of this defect INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATI

NHTSA complaint #11624570 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

TIRES

235/50/R20. Found driver side rear tire completely flat in personal garage yesterday morning and passenger front tire had low psi warning on as well. Used the fix-a-flat kit that came with my car to fill driver rear and able to get to shop. Car/tires have 5000 miles on them. Tire shop could not find anything wrong with the driver rear tire but stated a puncture was found in passenger front tire well and did patch that. I see this has been reported before on a Toyota Bz4x same year and same tire with mileage the same as well. I am concerned this could be an issue going forward and am scared to drive this car now any distance especially since there is no spare and I have to purchase a replacement cylinder for the fix-flat.

NHTSA complaint #11613973 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL

Twice now on highways in medium rainfall, with lots of water on the road and a lot of spray, the assisted cruise control has failed to identify a vehicle in the lane in front of it, and continued to accelerate towards braking vehicles. One such occasions I was within 3-4 car lengths of the vehicle in front of me.

NHTSA complaint #11605753 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

For the 6th time, the car is without power. It will not start although the starter battery was changed by the dealer on 5/28/24. The EV battery does not show any power. This is the 6th time that car will not start and without power. It was bought brand new on 1/1/2023.

NHTSA complaint #11596203 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

1) On October 11, 2023 at 7:35 am, the 2023 BZ4X all electric car did not start and a message on the dashboard read “parking brake unavailable.”The brakelights were flashing. Car was towed to the dealer, City Toyota.No diagnosis or explanation was offered. 2) On May 6, 2024 @ 7:08 am, the 2023 BZ4X did not start. Car was 80% charged.Headlights flashed for a few seconds, dashboard displayed time (7:08 am)and mileage (17734),and message “parking brake unavailable.” Toyota roadside service was called; the tow truck driver jump-started the car, and stated “ the car battery was at 4%. It should be a minimum-of 12%. It is the battery that starts the car.” BZ4X was dropped off at the dealer, Toyota Vallejo. I asked if the battery can be replaced, service manager(SM) reported only if the diagnostics warrant it. Per SM, starter battery was charged.” Dealer unable to reproduce what was causing the electrical problem and what was “draining the battery.” 3) On May 20, 2024 @ 6:28 am, the car had a total black-out. The car did not start and there was no electrical power. Roadside service was called. Per tow-truck driver, “battery was less than 4%.” The car was towed to the dealer, Toyota Vallejo. Tow truck driver gave warm hand-off to Assistant Service Manager (ASM) that “car was dead and battery was less than 4%. Toyota BZ4X was kept overnight by the dealer service dept.Toyota Vallejo was in possession of car from 5/20/24 to 5/21/24. Per ASM, “we could not find anything wrong.” I asked if the battery that starts the car can be replaced, he denied and stated, “only if it fails the diagnostics.” A copy of the thorough checklist was not provided to client upon pick-up of vehicle.Miles was 18878. 4) On May 26, 2024 a 8:31 am,the car did not start and had a complete black-out. No electricity. The car battery was charged at 80% as is customary and in prior events. It is the Memorial Day weekend and service dept hours are limited. Car always parked in garage.

NHTSA complaint #11590882 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

THE INTERIOR OF CAR HAS A VERY GLOSSY finish on the interior especially by gear shift The sun will hit at certain times and flash very bright rays into your eyes. I complained to dealer and sent video when first got car and said nothing they could do and to call toyota,I called toyota(sent same video) and said nothing they could do but flip the visor down.(I tried flipping visor down and still blinding reflection i called lawyer said nothing they could do .IN OWNERS MANUAL says to contact NHTSA if safety problem and figured give you a try ive read online about other people complaining about same problem but have no idea if sent any complaints to NHTSA not able to download video but had few pictures

NHTSA complaint #11584368 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

TIRES

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota BZ4X equipped with Bridgestone Tires, Tire Line: Turanza EL450, Tire Size: 235/50/R20, DOT Number: EJYB. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, the low tire pressure warning light illuminated on the instrument panel, prompting her to pull to the shoulder of the roadway. After a visual inspection of the exterior of the vehicle, the driver observed that the front passenger side tire was flat. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. After the dealer inflated the tire, the contact observed severe bubbling of the sidewall, requiring the tire to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 5,000.

NHTSA complaint #11576045 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

STRUCTURE:BODY

I drove my 2023 TOYOTA BZ4X home from work after a heavy rainfall in Galveston, Texas in January 2024, had about 2-3 inches of rain on the road, driving about 15-20 miles per hour on my way home. Both front wheel wells/mud guard liners came off. I drove over one of the liner, stopped and picked it up. Also a liner in the back of the car's undercarriage was hanging out. Took the car to the dealership the next morning and was told since it's due to external force/rain. The warranty on a 6 months old car is not covered. Called Toyota cooperate office and was told the same thing. I was quoted $4000 for the repairs. This should not be happening on a new car while driving 15 miles per hour on 2 inches of water on the road. I know it's 2 inches because I stepped out to pick up the fallen piece and checked the depth of water on the road. There should be a recall on this parts. Too many similar complaint on a brand new car/model from Toyota and Subaru owners.

NHTSA complaint #11568473 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS:UNDERBODY SHIELDS

I drove my 2023 TOYOTA BZ4X home from work after a heavy rainfall in Galveston, Texas in January 2024, had about 2-3 inches of rain on the road, driving about 15-20 miles per hour on my way home. Both front wheel wells/mud guard liners came off. I drove over one of the liner, stopped and picked it up. Also a liner in the back of the car's undercarriage was hanging out. Took the car to the dealership the next morning and was told since it's due to external force/rain. The warranty on a 6 months old car is not covered. Called Toyota cooperate office and was told the same thing. I was quoted $4000 for the repairs. This should not be happening on a new car while driving 15 miles per hour on 2 inches of water on the road. I know it's 2 inches because I stepped out to pick up the fallen piece and checked the depth of water on the road. There should be a recall on this parts. Too many similar complaint on a brand new car/model from Toyota and Subaru owners.

NHTSA complaint #11568473 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

I submitted this form earlier, but I’m unsure whether it went through. If this is a duplicate, please disregard. An incident of sudden, unintended acceleration occurred while pulling into a gravel parking area on a hillside at dusk. While turning, the vehicle suddenly lunged forward and struck a tree stump. It would have been avoided without the sudden acceleration. The driver slammed on the brakes, and the vehicle came to rest right at the edge of a downward slope. Five seconds earlier, and a family member, who had come out of the house to show where he wanted the car parked, could have been killed, or seriously injured. The car was towed to Toyota Of Erie, where it was inspected by a corporate inspector. It remains there until a decision is made. The adaptive cruise control, which was used on the trip, had been canceled, and the brakes were used several times after exiting the freeway. There was apparently no warning from the front camera and the collision avoidance system about the tree stump, though the driver had seen it prior to making the turn. The incident happened very quickly, but there was no noticeable red warning flashing on the screen. This time there is only damage to a car fender, and a tree stump. What about next time? Suppose the vehicle is slowing into a parking space, there is a child exiting nearby van and the car suddenly accelerates? No thanks!!! This problem needs to be solved! The floor mats in the BZ 4X are secured to the floor so they are not an issue. The driver of the vehicle can play an instrument with foot pedals and is therefore very aware of foot placement-so operator error is not the problem. Perhaps there is just too much autonomous driving technology and software layered over the basic EV platform. Can’t we just have the choice of a basic EV until these other problems are worked out? I signed up to be a pioneer in the adoption of electric vehicles, but not a guinea pig for autonomous driving.

NHTSA complaint #11560030 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

I submitted this form earlier, but I’m unsure whether it went through. If this is a duplicate, please disregard. An incident of sudden, unintended acceleration occurred while pulling into a gravel parking area on a hillside at dusk. While turning, the vehicle suddenly lunged forward and struck a tree stump. It would have been avoided without the sudden acceleration. The driver slammed on the brakes, and the vehicle came to rest right at the edge of a downward slope. Five seconds earlier, and a family member, who had come out of the house to show where he wanted the car parked, could have been killed, or seriously injured. The car was towed to Toyota Of Erie, where it was inspected by a corporate inspector. It remains there until a decision is made. The adaptive cruise control, which was used on the trip, had been canceled, and the brakes were used several times after exiting the freeway. There was apparently no warning from the front camera and the collision avoidance system about the tree stump, though the driver had seen it prior to making the turn. The incident happened very quickly, but there was no noticeable red warning flashing on the screen. This time there is only damage to a car fender, and a tree stump. What about next time? Suppose the vehicle is slowing into a parking space, there is a child exiting nearby van and the car suddenly accelerates? No thanks!!! This problem needs to be solved! The floor mats in the BZ 4X are secured to the floor so they are not an issue. The driver of the vehicle can play an instrument with foot pedals and is therefore very aware of foot placement-so operator error is not the problem. Perhaps there is just too much autonomous driving technology and software layered over the basic EV platform. Can’t we just have the choice of a basic EV until these other problems are worked out? I signed up to be a pioneer in the adoption of electric vehicles, but not a guinea pig for autonomous driving.

NHTSA complaint #11560030 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

VISIBILITY:REARVIEW MIRRORS/DEVICES:EXTERIOR

The contact owns a 2023 Toyota BZ4X. The contact stated that the driver's side rear-view mirror was shaking violently while driving 55 MPH or higher. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed, and the mirror was replaced. The vehicle had not received additional repairs. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 6,100.

NHTSA complaint #11535564 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

WHEELS

Toyota re-installed the accessory wheel locks that does not meet the design requirements of the new hub bolts per FAQ page 1 of 2; Q2B of this SAFETY RECALL 22TA06 – Remedy Notice. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/2022/RCMN-22V444-6442.pdf and Critical Note at the bottom of page 8 on the attached "BZ4X Fix" document.

NHTSA complaint #11496319 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.