GAC Toyota Recalls Nearly 40,000 bZ7 EVs Over In-Transit N-Gear Shift and Defrost Failure

GAC Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. has filed two recall campaigns with China's State Administration for Market Regulation, effective August 1, 2026. The first recall involves 15,266 units of the bZ7 all-electric vehicles produced between October 28, 2025, and June 15, 2026. Due to a software defect in the intelligent Bluetooth module, these vehicles may send abnormal commands to the vehicle control module under specific conditions, causing the transmission to unexpectedly shift from Drive (D) to Neutral (N) while driving. This could interrupt power delivery and increase the risk of accidents. In such emergencies, drivers can lightly press the brake pedal to re-engage Drive (D) and restore power, or pull over safely and contact an authorized dealer. GAC Toyota will provide a free over-the-air (OTA) software update for the intelligent Bluetooth module. For vehicles unable to receive the OTA update, dealers will notify owners to visit service centers for the upgrade. The second recall affects 24,286 units of the bZ7 all-electric vehicles manufactured between October 28, 2025, and July 10, 2026. These vehicles have an inadequate software control strategy in the thermal management controller, which may cause the air conditioning compressor and water heater to stop functioning after the vehicle is powered on. In extreme cases, this could impair defrosting and demisting performance, reducing driver visibility. GAC Toyota will also address this issue via a free OTA software update for the thermal management controller. Vehicles unable to complete the OTA update will be serviced at dealerships as arranged by the dealers.