Troubled Door Handle, 12 Thousand Toyota BZ3 Units Withdrawn In China

Toyota bZ3. (Doc. Global Toyota)

JAKARTA - Launched some time ago, Toyota bZ3 managed to steal the attention of the Chinese public. Not only is its appearance good, this car is also powered by electricity that has high efficiency.

Toyota bZ3 is the first collaboration between Toyota and an automotive company from China, BYD Auto, as a battery supplier of the electric sedan. Toyota bZ3 is only available in the Bamboo Curtain country market. This sedan is priced at 189,900 yuan or if converted into around Rp420 million and the highest variant is 219,800 yuan or around Rp486 million.

Toyota offers the option of two electric motors on bZ3, namely 185 dk and 248 dk. It is known that the bZ3 is also implanted with a battery measuring between 49.92 kWh and 65.28 kWh.

With the embedding of the e-TNGA platform in the electric sedan, bZ3 has a CLTC distance (standard distance in China) which is claimed to reach 600 km.

Although this car is quite successful as the best-selling one in the Chinese market, that doesn't mean the vehicle has no problems. Recently, Toyota announced a recall program on this model. Together with the FAW-Toyota joint venture, the number of affected bZ3 totaled more than 12,000 vehicles.

Reported by the InsideEVs page, Monday, July 24, the trigger for the recall was caused by a problem on the back door handle.

It was reported that this problem resulted in the back door being able to open suddenly while the car was driving.

This is due to the design of the wrong door handle. There may be a gap in the door that meets the lock, especially in areas that have a high humidity and a hot temperature.

FAW-Toyota has handled the problem by recalling 12,205 units, which is the production between March 13 and July 5, 2023.

Starting July 27, Toyota will replace the backdoor lock for free. The company asks affected vehicle owners not to drive a bZ3 until repairs are completed.