A number of BYD owners questioned whether the "lifetime warranty" service for car batteries was not worthy of its name

　　The threshold for free battery replacement is high, and I want to see the test report "boring bag"

　　A number of BYD car owners questioned whether the "lifetime warranty" service for car batteries was not worthy of its name, and expected manufacturers to be more transparent about replacement standards and test results

　　When buying new energy vehicles, batteries are undoubtedly a "core concern". A number of citizens recently reported to "Xinmin Help" that in their impression, BYD car batteries are "lifetime warranty" and "free replacement", but in reality, they are "heavy thresholds", and the battery quality inspection report has been "mysterious". The response given by the official customer service is: There are indeed certain conditions for obtaining a warranty.

　　Two recalls still fail

　　Mr. Ni's BYD "Tang DM-i" hybrid car was purchased in October 2021. The next year, the 4S store called him and said that the battery pack needed to be recalled and replaced. In April 2023, the 4S store called for the second time and recalled the replacement battery pack again.

　　Unexpectedly, the battery after the two recalls suddenly failed on April 1, 2024. "The car was charging in the community that day, and at about 4 p.m., I picked up the car to pick up my children from school, only to find that the car could not start. "The mobile app shows that the vehicle somehow terminates charging when it reaches 87% of the charge. The next day, Mr. Ni reluctantly called a tow truck to deliver the "Tang DM-i" to a nearby 4S store. What caught Mr. Ni off guard was that the 4S store replied: It may be that the battery pack is broken, and if it is replaced, consumers need to pay about 50,000 yuan out of their own pockets. Mr. Ni found it difficult to accept for a while: Didn't he say that the battery was guaranteed for life? And the battery that was recalled last year had been used for less than a year, so there was no "warranty"? However, the store said that the battery of the family car was a "lifetime warranty", but Mr. Ni's vehicle was a commercial vehicle (online taxi), and the battery was only guaranteed for "8 years or 150,000 kilometers", while the actual mileage of the car had exceeded 150,000 kilometers; in addition, the so-called warranty period was not related to the recalled and replaced batteries, but only to the sales time of the vehicle.

　　After many negotiations and improvement of the maintenance plan, as of press time, the 4S shop has completed the troubleshooting of the battery failure without replacing the battery pack. Although Mr. Ni did not pay 50,000 yuan, he was still worried: Will he have to replace the battery pack "at his own expense" in the future? 50,000 yuan is really not cheap. This is something he didn't consider at all when he spent 220,000 yuan to buy a car.

　　Battery testing is not reported

　　Consumers of family cars will also face the problem of battery capacity attenuation, will the battery "warranty" be smooth?

　　Mr. Xia, a citizen, told reporters that in March 2020, he bought a BYD "Yuan" pure electric car. "At that time, the data advertised 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 in actual measurements, and although there is a drop, he can also accept the possible deviations between the experimental data and the measured data. In the past two years, the car's range has been declining year by year. "Now you can only run about 220 kilometers on highways and about 280 kilometers on city roads. Mr. Xia said that when he bought the car, the salesperson said that the vehicle could be replaced free of charge if the vehicle was 100,000 kilometers or more than 6 years old. Since the car has run more than 120,000 kilometers, he came to the BYD 4S store to replace the battery for free. However, the 4S store feedback: after the factory test, the battery data is normal and will not be replaced. What puzzled Mr. Xia was that everything was "decided by the other party", how much did the battery decay, and to what extent did it decay before it was replaced? "Moreover, I asked for a battery test report, but I was also refused. ”

　　Mr. Zhou, a citizen, had a similar experience. Mr. Zhou also owns a BYD "Yuan" pure electric car, which was purchased in December 2020. Now, the vehicle mileage has reached more than 120,000 kilometers, and the range has decreased significantly. "I commute about 160 kilometers back and forth, and if I turn around at noon, I will encounter a lack of electricity. Now you can only drive 200 kilometers. He called BYD's customer service hotline, and then went to a BYD 4S store to do a battery test, and the store replied: There is no problem with the test results, and you can continue to use it. "I haven't been able to get a specific written test report. Mr. Zhou believes that according to the "BYD Automobile Three-Guarantee Certificate and Maintenance Service Manual", the capacity attenuation limit of lithium iron phosphate/ternary battery is 15% during the validity period of 2 years or 50,000 kilometers, and the attenuation limit of 6 years or 150,000 kilometers is 25%. "My car is battery replacement. The reply given to the reporter by the 4S store is that the battery attenuation data currently detected is less than 25%.

　　Replacement standards are kept in the dark

　　So, how much is the attenuation value of battery capacity before it can be allowed to replace batteries for free? Many consumers say they are "kept in the dark". According to Mr. Jin, a citizen, one of his BYD "Qin" hybrid vehicles was purchased in 2014. Within 6 years, the vehicle's battery has been replaced (free of charge) 2 times. At present, the battery life has dropped from 70 kilometers to 35 kilometers, and he proposed to replace the battery, but the 4S store said that the battery was qualified. This made Mr. Jin really a little "confused": "The battery was replaced twice free of charge during the previous 6-year warranty period, and it was replaced when the battery life reached about 50 kilometers, but now it can only be driven for 35 kilometers, but it is 'normal'?" He asked for the battery test report and was told that "the manufacturer's secret is not provided".

　　Mr. Yang, a citizen, was also full of depression. One of his BYD "Tang" diesel-electric hybrids was purchased at the end of 2015. In the beginning, the pure electric driving could reach 80 kilometers, and after 3 years of use, the electric driving can only reach less than 50 kilometers. "I have reported for repair many times, and every time I test the battery, I say that it is only a little bit away from replacing the battery. I consulted again a few months ago, and asked me to continue to wait until the weather was cooler before going to the test, in short, it was a delay. ”

　　Whether the rules are transparent

　　How is BYD's battery warranty implemented? The reporter logged on to its official website, but did not find the relevant content and standards.

　　Subsequently, the reporter consulted the BYD hotline. Staff said there was a difference between a business vehicle and a family car. The "three electrics" (battery, motor and electronic control system) of family cars are guaranteed for life, but commercial vehicles do not have the "three electrics" lifetime rights. The company stipulates that the warranty period for commercial vehicles delivered after January 1, 2022 is within 1 year or 100,000 kilometers, the warranty period for power cells is 8 years or 500,000 kilometers, and the warranty period for core components of power battery packs other than battery cells is 8 years or 150,000 kilometers. For over-insured repair or replacement items, consumers need to bear the corresponding costs according to the actual situation. The reporter learned from a number of 4S stores that the replacement price of BYD's battery packs for different models ranges from 50,000 yuan to 100,000 yuan. This price is uniform across the country, but there may be differences in labor costs between regions. For the commercial vehicles delivered before January 1, 2022, the customer service did not find the relevant regulations. However, the reporter learned that for the commercial cars purchased by consumers in previous years, 4S stores usually deal with the above "standards".

　　The "three electrics" of the family car are guaranteed for life. 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, 25% for 6 years or 150,000 kilometers, and 30% for 8 years or 150,000 kilometers. So, if the attenuation limit is exceeded within the specified period, can the battery be replaced? The customer service did not give a clear answer, but only emphasized that it should be handled according to the actual measurement 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, as long as the attenuation exceeds 30%, it can be replaced free of charge", and some said that "we are only responsible for collecting data, and the manufacturer will give a decision on whether to replace the battery in combination with other actual conditions".

　　There is no doubt that consumers have the right to be "clear" about the rules involving their own rights and interests, and they pointed out that consumers are the asymmetrical party of information, and although BYD has the right to interpret the "standard" of "free replacement" of batteries, it also has the responsibility to eliminate the feeling of being set a "threshold" for consumers. "Hopefully there will be more transparency in standards, more transparency in testing, and more transparency in enforcement. In this regard, "Xinmin Help" will continue to pay attention.

　　Reporter Chen Hao

　　Source: Xinmin Evening News