r/Toyota_bZ

Love this car overall, and happy with my purchase. But a few drawbacks other first-time EV owners might want to think about.

-Highway speed range is not what I’d hoped for when using 70 to 80 percent of the battery with heat on. If I drive 120/75mph in “fall” temps of -2 to 10c (28 to 50 give or take) I’ll get about 230K/140 miles going from 90 to 20 percent or so. That’s my drive to the airport/work, and I do it regularly. Drive 110 and range jumps about 40K, uses 10 percent less. If I’m driving 90K/55mph in pleasant temps I’ll use way less battery, only about 50 percent instead of 70+. Speed and using heat sucks charge! This not an aerodynamic/small car compared to some other EVs, and so highway speeds seem to really use energy. Obvious to those of you who have an EV, but less so if you’re coming from the ICE world. My work truck does 2x as well at 120k as it does around town for example.

-Range is much better when driving slow (60k/35 or so) and around town,
I’ll get over 350 using 80 percent of the battery in 20c temps. So the range isn’t wrong, just a lot more variable than I expected. Other
First time EV owners may want to consider this more than I did.

For my use I wanted to be able to drive to the airport and back, roughly 235K, in winter at 120k, and figured that with an advertised range of 450K on my XLE awd that would be no problem. But if you’re trying to keep the charge in that 20 to 80 percent range and drive normal highway speeds in winter I’m not so sure… If range drops another 20 percent at -10 to -25C I’m concerned Ill have to routinely charge to 100 percent and may not have a lot left when I get back. I may be able to charge off the block heater outlets at the airport while gone 1 to 15 days, I’ll update after seeing what that does.

In warmer but minimal AC temps driving 90-100 it’s a lot better, drove a 900k loop in one day with two easy charger stops, one about 30 to 80 and one about 30 to 100 by accident (charging was a lot faster than I expected and I’d set it to go to 100 for the charge before the trip). Still had lots when I got home, even figuring out the two different charge apps/stupid systems it was just fine, not worried about road tripping in the future in warm temps.

Something to think about, and hoping i can make it to the airport and back this winter without charging or going 100 to 5 percent, it’s good to have more margin than that in winter where i live in case of storms or road closures. I really don’t want to get off a long flight and charge to get home.

This is my first EV and I truly love it. I also have a work truck but rarely have to drive it, I can fit most everything I need in this car 90+ percent of the time and enjoy driving it way more. It’s also very comfortable for my family/friends, the cabin is very roomy. I can fit my bike in the back without taking a wheel off. Does well on dirt, smooth, seems like the 12v issue is sorted now, good car.

Other gripes: The backup sound is ridiculous , figuring out the climate system (is my AC/heat on or off now to use less juice?) is annoying, the wireless charging pads are junk, and it should have better storage options generally (glovebox, lot of wasted space other vehicles I’ve had used). But I still really love it and the EV experience overall, and I’ll probably buy this car out at lease end if it makes it to the airport and back this winter without charging. Hopefully the drop from 20C to OC is more than the drop from 0C to full winter temps.

Curious what other people have experienced in real winter conditions with their xle awd BZs?

Like really? I've been dealing with this pack of adapters floating around in the cargo area for 6 months when there was a spot RIGHT THERE above the drivers rear wheel well to attach it? I only just noticed the fuzzy patch on the wall. I'm usually more observant than this. Yeesh.

Edit: this spot is above the driver's rear wheel well in the back of the car.

Edit 2: a few posts have shared it doesn't appear if you have the sub woofer.

I think this is pretty good for a car that has an advertised 281 mile range. Anybody else overachieving? 😅

Hey guys

Sorry I took a screenshot of a picture already posted here since I can't take a picture of my car right now.

This morning I found both my square covers played around with. One side was opened and inside it was hollow with what look like an insert for something.

I was wondering if anyone can show me theirs to make sure something wasnt stolen.

And my other question is....what is it for?

Thanks!

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Purely by chance, I ended up testing the car's battery buffer at "zero". To be specific, this was the bZ4X Touring (bZ Woodland) 4WD version with 18" summer tyres, so a 74.7 kWh battery with 71 kWh usable.

The reason was simple: driving out to the countryside, I didn't fully charge the battery beforehand because I planned to try out Ionity fast charger. However, by setting it as the destination in the onboard nav with a relatively empty battery, the car decided to prepare for fast charging, and the +10 kW heating created a situation where, 15 km before Ionity, the car showed 0% and 0 km. Luckily, there was roadworks there, so I drove 70 km/h in a 70 km/h zone without any worries. Carscanner reported that there was actually 5% battery left, and it seemed there shouldn't be a problem. 5 km before the Ionity, there was only 2% left according to the BMS, and I could no longer drive over 65 km/h. Again, fortunately, there was road repair with constant 70-50-70 speed limits. 2 km before charger the maximum speed dropped to 50 km/h, and with that, I managed to roll up to the Ionity charger. When plugging in, the BMS showed 1.176% of juice left in the battery.

Charging was hassle-free: 40.93 kWh was pushed into the battery in 17 minutes.

It was exciting, but I won't do it again.

It’s done. After many reprints, feedback, and testing. This is where I think it is. This is for the 26+ CHR.

Printed in ASA-CF so it won’t melt in the sun.

So I was reading various blogs and articles about ev efficiency a little and got curious. What vehicles were highest ranked for efficiency based on mpge ratings?

A quick little search found that the 2026 Toyota bZ is ranked 7th! It's the odd man out in a crowded space of Teslas and Lucids. I paid a little over 30K OTD for a vehicle with a 314 mile range, with top ten efficiency, that the closest efficient vehicles from this list start at 38K and quickly go up from there. And the closest ones are a small mid-sized sedan without as much utility as the bZ.

If you remove the sedans from the listing the bZ quickly rises to 3rd place in the ECUV/ESUV segment for efficiency

Edit: the 130 mpge bZ is the FWD 75kwh battery 18 inch rims version.

Edit 2: I forgot to add the link to the source https://caroutlay.com/rankings/most-efficient-cars

Sorry about all the edits. I was up late at the emergency vet. I'm trying to stay awake to keep my sleep pattern in check.

Could someone provide the dimensions of the 2 Wireless Charging tray in the Console?

I am looking for silicone mats for that area but I am overseas and do not have access to the car.

Thanks