Some vehicles' dashboards may show a higher remaining battery charge than actual, and in extreme cases, the vehicle can lose power before the charging warning light comes on.
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Toyota is recalling tens of thousands of bZ3 electric vehicles (EVs) in China, the first recall since the model went on sale in April.
FAW Toyota, the Japanese auto giant's joint venture in China, has decided to recall a total of 25,815 bZ3 vehicles produced between March 13 and November 9, effective immediately, according to an announcement on China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) website.
Due to improper program of the power battery management controller, some of the vehicles within the recall have an excessive deviation in the remaining power estimation when they have not been fully charged for multiple consecutive occasions and continue to be driven at high speeds, according to the announcement.
When this occurs, the remaining battery charge shown on the vehicle instrument is higher than the actual remaining charge, and in extreme cases, the vehicle will lose power before the charging warning light comes on, the announcement said.
FAW Toyota will upgrade the control program of the battery management controller for the recalled vehicles through OTA (over the air) technology, free of charge, to eliminate the safety hazard, the announcement said.
Originally unveiled in China on October 25, 2022, the bZ3 is the second model in Toyota's bZ series after the bZ4X SUV.
On March 6, FAW Toyota began pre-sales of the bZ3. The model officially went on sale in China on April 16, with a starting price of RMB 169,800 ($23,760)
The car is a mid-sized electric sedan based on Toyota's e-TNGA architecture. It measures 4,725 mm in length, 1,835 mm in width and 1,475 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 2,880 mm.
The FAW Toyota bZ3 is powered by electric motors and blade batteries supplied by BYD and uses an in-vehicle system developed by BYD Toyota EV Technology, a joint venture between BYD and Toyota.
The bZ3 is equipped with a single rear-mounted motor across the range, available in 135 kW and 180 kW options, both with peak torque of 303 Nm. This configuration allows the sedan to accelerate from 0 to 50 km/h in 3.2 seconds.
bZ3's wholesale sales in China in November were 3,065 units, up 2.17 percent from 3,000 units in October, according to data from China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) shared by local automotive media Yiche.
($1 = RMB 7.1463)
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