Major US recall for EVs on Toyota’s eTNGA platform

Toyota, Subaru and Lexus must recall 94,320 electric vehicles in the United States – covering the Toyota bZ4X, Subaru Solterra and Lexus RZ – due to an issue with the climate control system. With affected vehicles also reported in Australia, the recall could expand globally.

The problem, unrelated to the cars’ electric drive systems, emerged in the US but is considered potentially safety-critical. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), “during certain HVAC system faults, such as electrical compressor failure, the defroster and defogger system may become inoperative.”

If this occurs in cold weather, the system may fail to remove frost, ice or fog from the windshield, reducing visibility and increasing the risk of accidents. All three models are built on Toyota’s eTNGA platform – the electric version of the Toyota New Global Architecture. The recall covers model years 2023 to 2025, with the Toyota bZ4X accounting for around 41,500 units in the US.

During the service visit, dealers will update the climate control unit’s software and inspect the electric compressor, replacing it if necessary, according to the NHTSA statement. While the NHTSA can only mandate recalls in the US, a similar action is already reported for around 3,000 units of the three models in Australia, suggesting the potential for a global campaign.

No accidents or injuries related to the issue have been reported. Transport Canada first flagged the problem to Toyota. The manufacturer initially believed that a heating system failure would not be safety-critical because the EVs have two heat sources, one of which would remain operational. Subsequent testing in extreme cold revealed unexpectedly poor heating performance, although the windshield did not freeze.

Further investigation found that the faulty programming caused the climate control unit to enter “failsafe mode” when the electric compressor failed, shutting down or severely limiting the second heat source, which had been expected to compensate for the failure.

The affected vehicles were produced up to June 2025. Toyota recently expanded its (now revised) debut bZ4X with a Touring estate version and the SUV coupe C-HR+. Subaru also introduced the e-Outback (marketed in North America as the Trailseeker EV) and the Uncharted, a counterpart to the C-HR+. As the issue is fixed through improved software and the control unit no longer switches directly to “failsafe mode” when the compressor fails, these newer models are not affected.

nhtsa.gov, carscoops.com (USA), drive.com.au (Australia)

This article was first published by Sebastian Schaal for electrive’s German edition.