Toyota And Subaru Dragged To Court Because A Simple Component Keeps Failing

Toyota bZ4X And Subaru Solterra Named In Lawsuit

The Toyota bZ4X and Subaru Solterra haven’t been particularly popular EVs, and their popularity may be about to wane a little further, with a new lawsuit concerning faulty batteries being filed in the U.S. Eastern District Court of California. According to a report by Road & Track, the 12-volt battery that runs the accessories (not the drivetrain) of these EVs is claimed to repeatedly fail, with the plaintiff who filed the suit saying that his bZ4X has required numerous battery replacements in just 5,000 miles of driving.

Toyota, Subaru Knowingly Sold Faulty Cars, Lawsuit Claims

Although this is a class-action lawsuit, concerning all bZ4X and Solterra EVs from the 2023-2025 model years, the court documents focus mainly on the plaintiff’s claims, arguing that the Toyota and Subaru were both aware of 12V battery problems before the cars went on sale, and that they failed to warn customers or fix the problem.

“The 12-volt battery in Plaintiff Wade’s vehicle has been replaced twice since March 2023,” reads the filing on CarComplaints.com, with the owner saying that the first failure occurred just weeks into ownership and the second when it had roughly 2,000 miles on the clock. The third reportedly happened around 5,000 miles.

Not The Only Owner On Record With Issues

Another owner (this time with a Solterra) told the NHTSA that they had had the car since December 2024, and that they got the car new on a lease. “I have had the car since December 2024; the car was a new lease,” said the complainant. “The battery has failed twice – once in January, and again last week. When I took it to the dealership, they said they replaced the battery, [but] the new battery is now doing the same thing.” Other accounts have been posted on Reddit since early 2023, but the lawsuit does not claim to know what the core defect is, so determining Toyota and Subaru’s culpability may be difficult. Hopefully, the updated and renamed Toyota bZ and its Solterra twin don’t face the same troubles.