Recalls & faults: BYD Dolphin (2023-on)

Recalls: BYD Dolphin

Overview

Manufacturers, or importers, issue recalls for defects or faults which have the potential to cause injury. Generally, manufacturers will inform the original buyers if their vehicle is subject to a recall and of the steps required to remedy the defect or fault. Please note that the recalls below (if any) are for Australian-delivered vehicles only. Furthermore, the number of recalls should not be taken as an indication of a model’s reliability or its safety more generally.

Recalls: BYD Dolphin

No recall information is available for the BYD Dolphin.

Problems and faults: BYD Dolphin

Overview

This section identifies potential problems, causes and fixes based on the experiences of owners and repairers, online sources and technical service bulletins. This information is provided solely for reference purposes and AustralianCar.Reviews recommends that only properly qualified persons carry out repairs or modifications. Furthermore, the number of items below should not be taken as an indicator of a model’s reliability or the frequency with which they may occur.

To report a problem or fault to the AustralianCar.Reviews team, please use the Contact Us form. Note that AustralianCar.Reviews does not offer advice on automotive problems or disputes; such enquiries will not receive a reply. For vehicles purchased from dealers after 1 January 2011, please see our Australian Consumer Law fact sheet.

BYD Dolphin Dynamic: lack of traction and traction control intervention when driving on wet roads

For BYD Dolphin Dynamic variants with 16-inch wheels and when accelerating on wet roads, owners have reported a loss of tyre traction and axle tramp (i.e. up-and-down bouncing of the vehicle’s wheels). This problem has also been noted on BYD Dolphin Premium variants with 17-inch wheels, but to a lesser extent. This happens because:

1. the front tyres struggle to transfer the electric motor’s torque to the road, causing the traction control system to intervene and stop torque delivery;
2. from the factory, the BYD Dolphin is fitted with low-rolling-resistance ChaoYang tyres. These tyres prioritise energy efficiency over wet-weather mechanical grip; and
3. the soft damping of the BYD Dolphin’s front suspension contributes to weight transfer under acceleration, lifting load off the front wheels.

To fix, owners recommend replacing the factory-fitted ChaoYang tyres with higher quality tyres that provide greater wet weather grip(e.g. Michelin Primacy/Pilot Sport or Continental MC6/UltraContact). Separately, driving the car in “Snow Mode” reduces initial torque delivery and provides greater control over acceleration on wet surfaces.

BYD Dolphin: intrusive Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), Lane Keep Assist (LKA) and Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR)

For the BYD Dolphin, the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) – particularly the Lane Keep Assist (LKA) and Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR) – have been criticised as being overly sensitive. Specifically,

1. the car frequently issues loud beeping noises;
2. the LKA may pull sharply on the steering wheel;
3. the TSR system may read adjacent service road or school zone signs incorrectly, causing the car to believe it is speeding and sounding a continuous alert.

In part, these problems were caused by poor software calibrations of the vehicle’s forward-facing camera, which were not developed for Australian road markings, speed sign fonts or how school zone signs are for particular times. BYD has issued several over-the-air (OTA) software updates (V2.0.0 and subsequent iterations) that significantly reduce the volume and frequency of these alerts/chimes.

For the LKA pulling on the steering wheel, owners can manually turn off or switch the LKA to “Alert Only” via the infotainment screen. Upon starting the vehicle, a swipe-down shortcut menu can be customised on the touchscreen to turn these features off in two steps.

BYD Dolphin: touchscreen and smartphone app problems

For BYD Dolphin vehicles, the central 12.8-inch touchscreen may:

1. Freeze while showing the BYD logo;
2. Lose audio completely (including safety chimes and indicator clicks); or
3. Crash while running wired Apple Car Play.

Separately, the BYD smartphone app – which provides remote vehicle functions – may stop communicating with the car. These problems are due to:

1. A software-hardware lockup in the vehicle’s Telematics Box (T-Box); or
2. An error in the DiLink infotainment software, which can stall when trying to process simultaneous wireless data and smartphone handshakes.

To fix, a hard reset can be performed by holding down the physical volume control roller on the centre console for 10-15 seconds, until the touchscreen begins its power cycle. If the T-Box is completely frozen (i.e. total loss of app connectivity and GPS positioning), a BYD dealer must perform a T-Box software flash or temporarily disconnect the 12 volt battery to force a system power-cycle.

2023-24 BYD Dolphin: “TPMS Error” and incorrect tyre pressure monitoring

For 2023-24 BYD Dolphin vehicles, the dashboard may display a “TPMS Error” (where TPMS stands for Tyre Pressure Monitoring System) even when the tyres are properly inflated. This can be caused by:

1. The battery or signal transmitted inside the valve-mounted wheel sensors failing prematurely. For this problem, the sensor module must be replaced; or
2. The central receiver loses its sensor ID mapping data after the tyres have been rotated. For this problem, a BYD dealer must re-pair the wheel sensors to the car’s central computer using a TPMS diagnostic tool.

BYD Dolphin: high-pitched roar from the front of the vehicle when charging

When the BYD Dolphin is parked or charging on hot days, owners have reported that a very loud, high-pitched roaring sound comes from the front of the vehicle. This happens because the BYD Dolphin’s integrated thermal management system which uses a heat pump. To cool the high-voltage Blade battery during fast charging or when there are high ambient temperatures, the radiator fan must spin at its maximum speed. However, there is no actual fault with the fan – it is designed to protect the battery. However, firmware updates have smoothed out the fan speed curves.

BYD Dolphin: automatic venting into the cabin

Some BYD Dolphin owners have reported that the climate control system defaults to bringing fresh air into the cabin (which may include external exhaust fumes) when the climate control system is set to “recirculate”. This air recirculation reset is an automated software algorithm intended to prevent carbon dioxide build-up inside the vehicle. To stop this from occurring, owners can double-press the lock button on the key fob after exiting the vehicle – this forces a full shutdown of the climate control’s pre-conditioning cycle.