- Here’s how much VinFast’s battery-subscription program will cost
- Ford addresses reports of new Bronco engines exploding
- Jeep owner faces death lawsuit after booking oil change at dealership
- Highway 403 closed after truck hits overpass…again!
- Toyota calls out BZ4X’s freezing-temperature-charging limitations
Welcome to our round-up of the biggest breaking stories on Driving.ca from this past week. Get caught up and ready to get on with the weekend, because it’s hard keeping pace in a digital traffic jam.
Here’s what you missed while you were away.
Here’s how much VinFast’s battery-subscription program will cost
VinFast VF9 Photo by VinFast
Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast has revealed how much owners will fork out to ‘rent’ batteries for its new EVs. The monthly subscription model, which includes a lifetime warranty and free replacement when the battery’s charging capacity falls below 70 per cent, will be offered via an unlimited “Fixed” plan or a semi-pay-as-you-go-style “Flexible” plan. For a set cost of $139 per month, drivers of the company’s VF 8 midsize crossover can motor as far as they’d like, while for just $39 per month, they can opt for a 500-km option that charges 9 cents per km for anything over the 500 mark. Those numbers jump to $159 and $59 per month for the three-row VF 9.
Ford addresses reports of new Bronco engines exploding
2021 Ford Bronco Badlands. Photo by Chris Braun
Evidence of a potentially serious issue inside the new Ford Bronco’s 2.7L EcoBoost V6 has been accumulating across owner forums online. The count of new Bronco owners who report their engines going off like grenades has now allegedly reached nearly 50 cases. The issue is an oldie but a goodie — dropped valves leading to a loss of compression, leading to all sorts of potential damage. To Ford’s credit, the brand is seemingly owning up to the problem, telling The Drive, “We are aware of a select number of engines with this concern and we are investigating. If any customers are experiencing issues, they will be covered under the vehicle’s 5 year, 60,000-mile powertrain warranty.”
Jeep owner faces death lawsuit after booking oil change at dealership
2020 Jeep® Wrangler Rubicon Photo by Jeep
A Michigan man took his Jeep into a Rochester Hills dealership and handed the vehicle over to technicians to change the oil. He is now facing a US$15-million lawsuit after a junior employee failed to properly handle the vehicle, which had a manual transmission, and ended up striking and killing another employee with the SUV. It’s a tragic, if incredibly American situation, in which state law implies something called “vicarious liability” that makes it possible for the family of the deceased employee to seek damages from the owner of the Jeep based on the technicality that he gave permission for the youngster to operate it. The Jeep owner, meanwhile, is suing the dealership saying they should have to pay, not him.
Highway 403 closed after truck hits overpass…again!
UPDATE: #Hwy403 eastbound lanes are now open. Westbound lanes will remain closed for an extended period of time. Wayne Gretzky Pkwy southbound lanes are open. Northbound lanes remain closed. @BrantCommunity @CityofBrantford #BrantOPP ^cv https://t.co/tGnltpLl0J
— OPP West Region (@OPP_WR) May 9, 2022
For the second time this year and third time since December 2021, a section of Hwy. 403 near Brantford had to be temporarily closed after a commercial vehicle struck an overpass and caused a large girder that had been protecting the bridge to fall across the lanes. Police temporarily redirected both directions of traffic around the section of highway at Wayne Gretzky Parkway on Monday afternoon, and have confirmed that nobody was injured in the one-vehicle collision. In January, a truck pulling a trailer, that was reportedly carrying an excavator, hit the same overpass, causing a “substantial amount” of concrete to fall onto the 403 and disrupt traffic.
Toyota calls out BZ4X’s freezing-temperature-charging limitations
2023 Toyota BZ4X XLE FWD Photo by Toyota
Toyota chucked an asterisk onto the BZ4X’s stated charging times this week, and then threw another asterisk on that asterisk once people started picking up on it. The initial revelation was that temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius — almost “shorts weather” in Canada — would negatively impact the BZ4X AWD DC fast-charging times. Makes sense, but it’s still news. Once the headlines started coming out, Toyota realized the public “required additional clarification.” The brand has since clarified that “For the BZ4X AWD model, charging may slow down more than other models in weather conditions below zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) and may not be possible when the temperature drops to around -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) and below.” More details here.
Keyword: News Roundup: VinFast’s battery pricing and exploding Ford Broncos