2024 Toyota BZ4X

I was driving during heavy rain when I heard and felt a big thump. I wasn't sure what happened as I did not hit anything in the road. I was in my neighborhood driving at low speeds (<30mph). When I got home, I realized my fender liners and lower splash guard of my car were missing. I went back out to retrieve these pieces of my car, and it appeared the fender liners and the splash guard got torn off my car without impact with anything, as nothing was in the road near it. I was going to attempt to reconnect them but the plastic clips on the front bumper also ripped off, making this a very expensive repair requiring bumper replacement and sensor recalibration. This obviously could put others at risk of running over a large number of components that were left in the road. I read many other instances of other people with the same vehicle (as well as with the Solterra) having an issue where the felt fender liners can become saturated with water, sag, and get caught in the wheels, ripping them off. I was one of those unlucky people to lose both sides and the splash guard all at the same time. The dealership / body shop inspected the vehicle. No warnings at all - just sudden ingestion of the fender liners into my drivetrain.

LEFT FRONT FENDER AND HOOD CONTACTED UPON GOING INTO A DIP IN THE ROAD DURNING ROAD CONTRUCTION PERFORMED BY BITUMINOUS ROADWAYS, INC. DAMAGE TO FENDER AND HOOD. VEHICLE BODY AND OR FRAME WISTED. BROUGHT THE VEHICLE TO LAMETTRY'S IN BURNSVILLE MINNESOTA. THEY STAED THAT THE DIP IN THE ROAD MAY HAVE CAUSED THIS CONDITION AS SEEN FROM THE SCRAPE MARKS ON LATCH. TOYOTA DEALER INSPRSTION AND CASE OPENED. CRUNCH NOISE HEARD DURING INCIDENT.

On [XXX], while driving through a common roadway puddle at a safe speed, the front bumper on my BZ4X detached from the undercarriage shield and tore away from the clips. This type of damage is clearly disproportionate to the conditions and reflects a deficiency in structural design. After researching this issue, I found that many other BZ4X owners have experienced the same bumper detachment and undercarriage shield failure under minimal driving conditions. These consistent reports indicate a widespread manufacturing defect, not isolated driver error or negligence. For example: On multiple owner forums and complaint sites like NHTSA.gov and Reddit, BZ4X owners have documented similar instances of bumpers tearing off from puddles or light snow. A widely circulated post on Reddit’s r/Toyota described a nearly identical issue, stating that “driving through a shallow puddle at a slow speed caused the bumper to rip off like paper.” The issue has even reached automotive press outlets and consumer advocate blogs, highlighting growing concern over the poor mounting of the bumper and the fragile undercarriage shield. Given the consistency and severity of these reports, this clearly represents a design flaw. The bumper is failing to withstand routine driving conditions, and this undermines not only the durability of the vehicle but also customer confidence and safety. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

I was driving very slowly (5 to 10 MPH) through a rain storm on May 28th. The water rose to about 6 inches (fairly still, not rushing water), and I heard a loud and alarming noise under the car. I drove on for one block on a neighborhood street until I could get to higher ground. I discovered that the force of the water pulled down the fabric and plastic shrouds from the wheel-well into the wheels. The cloth and plastic shrouds were then pulled under the wheels, and the whole connected assembly was ripped off the car. This caused damage to both front fenders, the front bumper, and possibly to the safety sensors behind the bumper. I took it to my local Toyota dealer the next day, and they said this happens all the time, and that it will cost at least $2,000 to repair -- maybe double that if the safety sensors behind the bumper were damaged. I posted to some forums on-line about this problem, and heard from many other owners of the BZ4X and the identical car from Subaru (Soltera) that they had experienced the same thing. The Toyota dealer is correct -- this happens all the time -- it is clearly a serious design flaw, and it is a serious safety concern. The Toyota dealer has said that this is my problem, not theirs. The Toyota USA customer-service said the same thing. They clearly do not want to accept responsibility for a badly designed front-bumper assembly. This car has less than 3,000 miles on it, and despite my extremely cautious driving, it is already falling apart.

Few days ago I was driving in the rain . suddenly i heard a scratching noise > i stopped the vehicle and looked underneath i saw a plastic sheet hanging . this happened while driving on the flash of water and due to impact of water because toyota used a very cheap quality sheet underneath for protection with plastic bolts . i took the vehicle to the dealer ship and they refuse to fix it under warranty stating that it happened due to impact which is not covered. the cost is $550 to fix it. this all happened due to cheap quality plastic sheet and not my fault . toyota should cover it under warranty.