Toyota, Subaru recall EVs over risk wheels could come loose; customers told to stop driving

TOKYO -- Toyota Motor Corp. will recall 2,700 bZ4X crossovers, its first mass-produced electric vehicle, because of a danger that wheels could come loose.

The world's largest automaker by sales submitted the recall of the bZ4X models to Japan's transportation ministry.

Of the 2,700 vehicles, 2,200 were earmarked for Europe, 260 for the United States, 20 for Canada and 110 for Japan, Toyota said.

Toyota is advising the 260 U.S. customers who have already taken delivery to park their vehicle immediately and contact any Toyota dealer to pick up their bZ4X. The dealer will provide a loaner vehicle free of charge until a remedy is available. However, Toyota said no remedy is available at this time.

Subaru Corp. also said Thursday it was globally recalling about 2,600 units of the Solterra, its first all-electric vehicle jointly developed with Toyota, for the same reason.

Japan's safety regulator said sharp turns and sudden braking  in the cars could cause a hub bolt to loosen, raising the risk of a wheel coming off the vehicle. The regulator said it was not aware of any accidents being caused by the defect.

The safety regulator said it was advising drivers to stop using the vehicle until a more "permanent" repair measure was in place.

All of the cars recalled in Japan had not yet been delivered to customers as they were meant for test drives and display, spokespeople of the automakers said.

"We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this causes you," Toyota said on its website. "We would have repaired it as soon as possible, but we are investigating the details."

A Toyota spokesperson said not every model was subjected to the recall but declined to say how many it has built overall.

For Subaru, most of the vehicles were for dealers and none were delivered to customers in the U.S., a Subaru spokesperson said.

The recall comes less than two months after Toyota, a relative latecomer to the EV market, rolled out the electric crossover to the domestic market as a lease-only option.

Toyota has been criticized by some investors and environmental organizations for not acting quickly enough to phase out gasoline-powered cars and embrace EVs instead.

Toyota has repeatedly pushed back against the criticism, arguing the necessity to offer a variety of powertrains to suit different markets and customers.

Hybrid models remain far more popular in Toyota's home market than EVs, which accounted for just 1 percent of the passenger cars sold in Japan last year, based on industry data.

Still, the market is growing fast and foreign automakers including Tesla are making visible inroads on the streets of cities such as Tokyo.

Larry Vellequette contributed to this report.