Many BYD car owners questioned that the "lifetime warranty" service of car batteries was not worthy of the name.
Free battery replacement threshold is high. I want to see the test report "boring package"
Many BYD car owners questioned that the "lifetime warranty" service of car batteries was not worthy of the name, expecting manufacturers to be more transparent about the replacement standards and test results.
Buying new energy vehicles, batteries are undoubtedly a "core concern". Recently, many citizens told Xinmin to help them. In their impression, BYD’s battery is guaranteed for life and replaced free of charge, but in reality, it is a "heavy threshold" and the battery quality test report has been "mysterious". The response given by the official customer service is that there are certain conditions for obtaining the warranty.
Recall twice and still fail.
Mr. Ni’s BYD "Don DM-i" hybrid car was purchased in October 2021. The next year, the 4S shop called him and said that the battery pack needed to be recalled and replaced. In April 2023, the 4S shop called for the second time and recalled the battery pack again.
Unexpectedly, the battery that was recalled and replaced twice suddenly failed on April 1, 2024. "The car was charged in the community that day. At 4 o’clock in the afternoon, I took the car to pick up the children from school and found that the car could not start." The software on the mobile phone shows that the vehicle somehow stopped charging when it was charged to 87%. The next day, Mr. Ni had no choice but to call a trailer and send this "Tang DM-i" to a nearby 4S shop. To Mr. Ni’s surprise, the 4S shop replied that the battery pack may be broken. If it is replaced, consumers need to pay about 50,000 yuan. It was hard for Mr. Ni to accept: didn’t you say that the battery is guaranteed for life? And it took less than a year to recall the replaced battery last year. Is there no "warranty"? However, the store said that the battery of the family car is a "lifetime warranty", but Mr. Ni’s vehicle is an operating vehicle (online taxi), and the battery is only guaranteed for "8 years or 150,000 kilometers", and the actual mileage of the car has exceeded 150,000 kilometers; In addition, the so-called warranty period is not related to the recall of the replaced battery, but only depends on the sales time of the vehicle.
After many consultations and improvement of the maintenance plan, as of press time, the 4S shop has completed the troubleshooting of battery failure without replacing the battery pack. Although Mr. Ni didn’t pay 50,000 yuan, he was still worried: Do you have to replace the battery pack at your own expense in the future? 50 thousand yuan is really not cheap. This is a problem that he never considered when he spent 220,000 yuan on a car.
Battery testing is not reported.
Consumers of family cars will also face the problem of battery capacity attenuation. Is the battery "warranty" smooth?
Mr. Xia told reporters that he bought a BYD "Yuan" pure electric car in March 2020. "At that time, the data promoted by the brand was that it could run about 410 kilometers on a single charge." Mr. Xia’s new car can run about 370 kilometers. Although there is a gap, he can accept the possible deviation between the experimental data and the measured data. In the past two years, the endurance of this car has been declining year by year. "Now the highway can only run about 220 kilometers, and the urban road can run about 280 kilometers." Mr. Xia said that when buying a car at that time, the salesperson said that the vehicle was over 100,000 kilometers or more and the battery could be replaced free of charge. Since the car has run for more than 120,000 kilometers, he came to BYD 4S shop, hoping to replace the battery for free. However, the feedback from the 4S shop: After testing by the factory, the battery data is normal and will not be replaced. What puzzles Mr. Xia is that everything is the other party’s "one mouth has the final say". How much does the battery decay and to what extent should it be replaced? There is no clear answer in 4S stores. "Moreover, I asked for a battery test report and was rejected."
The experience of Mr. Zhou, a citizen, is similar. Mr. Zhou also has a BYD "Yuan" pure electric car, which was purchased in December 2020. Now, the mileage of vehicles has reached more than 120,000 kilometers, and the endurance has dropped significantly. "I commute about 160 kilometers. If I turn around at noon, I will encounter the problem of insufficient electricity. Now I can only drive about 200 kilometers. " He called BYD’s customer service hotline, and then went to a BYD 4S store for battery testing. The store replied: There is no problem with the test results and you can continue to use them. "I have never been able to get a specific written test report." According to Mr. Zhou, according to "BYD Auto Three Guarantees Certificate and Maintenance Service Manual", the capacity attenuation limit of lithium iron phosphate battery/ternary battery is 15% during the three guarantees period of 2 years or 50,000 kilometers, and the attenuation limit of 6 years or 150,000 kilometers is 25%. "My car has reached the battery replacement standard." The 4S shop replied to the reporter that the battery attenuation data detected at present is less than 25%.
The replacement standard is in the dark.
Then, what is the battery capacity attenuation value before it can be allowed to replace the battery for free? Many consumers claim to be "kept in the dark". According to Mr. Jin, one of his BYD "Qin" hybrid vehicles was purchased in 2014. Within 6 years, the battery of the vehicle has been replaced twice (free of charge). At present, the battery life has dropped from 70 kilometers to 35 kilometers. He proposed to replace the battery, but the 4S shop said that the battery was qualified. This makes Mr. Jin really "puzzled": "In the previous six-year warranty period, the battery was replaced for free twice when the battery life reached about 50 kilometers. Now it can only drive 35 kilometers, but it is’ normal’?" He asked for the battery test report and was told that "the manufacturer is confidential and will not provide it".
Mr. Yang, a citizen, is also full of depression. One of his BYD "Tang" hybrid cars was purchased at the end of 2015. At first, pure electric driving can reach 80 kilometers, and after three years of use, electric driving can only reach less than 50 kilometers. "Many times, every time the battery is tested, it is said that it is only a little bit away from changing the battery. I consulted again a few months ago, let me continue to wait until the weather is cooler before testing. In short, it is dragging. "
Can the relevant rules be transparent?
How is the battery warranty of BYD Auto implemented? The reporter logged into its official website, but found no relevant content and standards.
Subsequently, the reporter consulted the BYD hotline. The staff said that there is a difference between operating vehicles and family cars. The "three electricity" (battery, motor and electronic control system) of family cars are guaranteed for life, but the operating vehicles do not have the lifelong rights of "three electricity". According to the company’s regulations, the warranty period of operating vehicles delivered after January 1, 2022 is within 1 year or 100,000 kilometers, the warranty period of power batteries is 8 years or 500,000 kilometers, and the warranty period of core components of power battery packs other than batteries is 8 years or 150,000 kilometers. For the over-insured maintenance or replacement project, consumers should bear the corresponding expenses according to the actual situation. The reporter learned from a number of 4S stores that the replacement price of battery packs of different BYD models ranges from 50,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan. This quotation is unified throughout the country, but there may be differences in labor costs between regions. For the operating vehicles delivered before January 1, 2022, the customer service did not find the relevant regulations. However, the reporter learned that for the operating vehicles purchased by consumers in previous years, 4S stores usually treat them with the above-mentioned "standards".
The "three electricity" of the family car is guaranteed for life. To what extent can the battery decay before it can be replaced for free? The customer service staff explained that the battery pack is a complex combination, which generally includes batteries, BIC information collectors, cooling circuits, components, etc. According to the latest "standard" for vehicles delivered after January 1, 2022, the battery power attenuation limit is 15% during the period of 2 years or 50,000 kilometers; 6 years or 150 thousand kilometers, the attenuation limit is 25%; 8 years or 150,000 kilometers, with a limit of 30%. Then, can the battery be replaced if the attenuation limit is exceeded within the specified period? The customer service did not give a clear answer, only stressed that it should be handled according to the measured results of the service store and then according to the warranty policy. The reporter interviewed a number of 4S stores, some said that "the battery is guaranteed for life, and it can be replaced free of charge as long as the attenuation exceeds 30%", and some said that "we are only responsible for collecting data, and the manufacturer will decide whether to replace the battery according to other actual conditions".
There is no doubt that consumers have the right to "clearly understand" the rules concerning their own rights and interests. They point out that consumers are asymmetric in information. Although BYD has the right to interpret the "standard" of "free battery replacement", it is also responsible for eliminating the feeling of being set a threshold for consumers. "I hope that standards will be more transparent, detection will be more transparent, and implementation will be more transparent." In this regard, "Xinmin helps Nong" will continue to pay attention.
Our reporter Chen Hao
Source: Xinmin Evening News