Faulty Steering Forces BYD to Recall Top-Selling EVs

BYD has filed an application to recall close to 97,000 electric vehicles from the market starting September 30, 2024. The EV manufacturer informed Chinese regulators that the BYD recall of top-selling EVs was triggered by a production fault involving the steering control unit.

According to Reuters, the regulator said the steering control fault exposes BYD top-selling EVs to fire risks.

Vehicle Brands

A statement released by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) shows that BYD is recalling two brands of electric vehicles. These are Yuan Plus and Dolphin EVs produced between November 2022 and December 2023.

Yuan Plus and Dolphin were the two best selling models for the company in 2023. Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the two brands comprised 26% of the 3 million BYD electric cars sold that year.

A Rare Recall

China’s BYD recall of EVs is quite rare because it affects electric and plug-in hybrid cars. It comes at a time when the Chinese EV manufacturer has grown fast to become the biggest seller of such vehicles in the world. In 2022, BYD recalled a small batch of its Tang plug-in hybrids due to a battery pack defect that had the potential to cause fires.

A statement from SAMR shows BYD addressed this issue by asking dealers to install a physical fix to the recalled vehicles. The company did not state whether the affected electric vehicles had been exported.

In July 2024 BYD announced plans to set up a $1 billion EV manufacturing plant in Turkey as part of its strategy to expand beyond China’s borders. BYD also signed a deal with US ride-hailing company Uber to add 100,000 Chinese-manufactured electric cars to its fleet of cars globally.

Mitigating Risk

The steering unit problem occurs when the cover is closed. The closure has the potential to interfere with the capacitors in the controller circuit board. This causes micro-cracks in the capacitors that can expand when the vehicle is in use. This could result in overheating and short circuiting that can potentially cause fire.

To eliminate these safety risks, BYD dealers are required to install insulation pads on the controllers at no extra cost. Affected electric vehicle owners will receive a notification via WeChat, phone calls, or registered mail. BYD has set up a dedicated customer service hotline to ease communication with users who are affected by the recall.