BYD Seal tips, tricks and help

[JBChiangRai]

6 minutes ago, Bandersnatch said:

 

Good to know, thanks for that. I think that will be my plan.

 

Maybe BYD will come up with a fix for repairing damage to the small plastic areas, because the rest of the car seems fine.

 

I will probably remove my wrap after 2 years and repaint in the same colour.

[macahoom]

Has anyone else seen the Electric Viking video about the transport mode button. (Sorry, I'm not in a position to include the video here.)

 

I haven't checked, but I don't think my Seal has that button, but maybe I'm wrong.

[motdaeng]

37 minutes ago, macahoom said:

Has anyone else seen the Electric Viking video about the transport mode button. (Sorry, I'm not in a position to include the video here.)

 

I haven't checked, but I don't think my Seal has that button, but maybe I'm wrong.

 

https://youtu.be/8dSFIRI_A38?si=DBaQt7OuFSGbR8v5

 

just do not push the transport mode botton ... !

 

 

[JBChiangRai]

27 minutes ago, motdaeng said:

 

https://youtu.be/8dSFIRI_A38?si=DBaQt7OuFSGbR8v5

 

just do not push the transport mode botton ... !

 

 

 

If you do push it, you will need the PIN number to unset it !!!

[Pib]

That Electric Viking video is misinformed (i.e., BS)..   Transport mode is a mode to minimize battery usage/drain normally after its built at the factory and until it's eventually sold at a dealership.

 

A few days after I got my BYD Atto I noticed that Transport Mode icon appearing on my main screen and also in one of the pull down menus.   Couldn't find anything in the car manual about Transport Mode.  But I figured it should not be activated like it currently was....I figured the dealership simply forgot to deactivate before I took delivery of the vehicle.

 

Every time I would press the Transport Mode icon a popup menu would appear  asking for a password.  After some googling I found a reddit post (below) that gave the password to deactivate transport mode.   When I entered the password the Transport Mode icon disappeared from the main screen and also in a menu it use to be displayed in.   No bricking of the vehicle, etc.  This occurred back in late Oct 2023 and almost 8000Km ago when I got the new Atto.

 

Over the next few days in some more googling and youtubing about Transport Mode which is common on many vehicles (older or brand new)---and not just EVs--it was apparent Transport Mode can be activated and deactivated in several different ways (some ways my simultaneously pressing certain control button on the vehicles) and varies from model to model.    

 

Anyway I turned off Transport Mode using the info in the Reddit post....no bricking of the Atto, no explosions, no nothing....just the Transport Mode apparently being deactivated and the icon disappearing.  How Transport Mode would get activated again in my Atto I have no clue as their is no icon to reactivate it....I expect there is some method of simultaneously pressing some buttons and/or the dealership/factory doing it.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pib]

I expect the Navigation system on the Seal and Atto are same-same so maybe one of you Seal owners know the secret answer to my below question.

 

When "zooming-in or -out" on the map without having a destination set or having pressed the Charging Station icon to display nearby charging stations "how can you get zoom-in/out to stay zoomed in/out?   

 

When I have a destination set or the charging stations menu displayed I can zoom in/out and the zoom stays in place.....does not go back to the normal non-zoomed in or out display after X-amount of time.   I want to be able to zoom-in/out and it stay put without needing to have a destination set or the charging station menu displayed taking up a third of the screen.

 

In trying to get the zoom in/out to stay put when just driving along without using a destination/charging stations I can not get the zoom to stay---and I've tried so, so many things like how I use my fingers to zoom.   I typically get the "Recenter" icon appearing at the bottom and after 30 seconds or maybe up to a couple of minutes (it varies as to how long it takes for the display zoom returns to normal) the display returns to the normal zoom level. 

 

Sometimes I can get the zoon in/out to occur without the Recenter icon appearing but it still does not make a difference in the display not returning to its normal zoom level after a minute or two or three.   But as mentioned earlier if I have a destination set or have pressed the Charging Station icon when the map display is in one of those mode my zoom-in/out will stay.

 

On my 2009 Toyota Fortuner Nav you could change the zoom level by simply pressing a + or - zoom level icon on the screen....but no such icons on the BYD Nav screen....gotta use your finger to zoom in or out like using a smartphone. 

 

Any ideas on how to get the zoom to stay put?  Thanks.

 

 

[Andrew Dwyer]

7 minutes ago, Pib said:

I expect the Navigation system on the Seal and Atto are same-same so maybe one of you Seal owners know the secret answer to my below question.

 

When "zooming-in or -out" on the map without having a destination set or having pressed the Charging Station icon to display nearby charging stations "how can you get zoom-in/out to stay zoomed in/out?   

 

When I have a destination set or the charging stations menu displayed I can zoom in/out and the zoom stays in place.....does not go back to the normal non-zoomed in or out display after X-amount of time.   I want to be able to zoom-in/out and it stay put without needing to have a destination set or the charging station menu displayed taking up a third of the screen.

 

In trying to get the zoom in/out to stay put when just driving along without using a destination/charging stations I can not get the zoom to stay---and I've tried so, so many things like how I use my fingers to zoom.   I typically get the "Recenter" icon appearing at the bottom and after 30 seconds or maybe up to a couple of minutes (it varies as to how long it takes for the display zoom returns to normal) the display returns to the normal zoom level. 

 

Sometimes I can get the zoon in/out to occur without the Recenter icon appearing but it still does not make a difference in the display not returning to its normal zoom level after a minute or two or three.   But as mentioned earlier if I have a destination set or have pressed the Charging Station icon when the map display is in one of those mode my zoom-in/out will stay.

 

On my 2009 Toyota Fortuner Nav you could change the zoom level by simply pressing a + or - zoom level icon on the screen....but no such icons on the BYD Nav screen....gotta use your finger to zoom in or out like using a smartphone. 

 

Any ideas on how to get the zoom to stay put?  Thanks.

 

 

Sorry, don’t know about the zoom question.

I stopped using the BYD Sat Nav after a couple of things appeared:

The charging stations mode omits to show the PEA Authority chargers ( particularly annoying when the nearest charger was 17km away and there was a PEA Authority charger 4km away )

On a recent visit to Bang Na ( BKK ) the BYD Nav couldn’t find an address, despite using various formats of the address, Google Maps had no problem. ( have since had Google Maps app installed ).

 

A shame because I like the format of the Sat Nav ( especially the graphics when approaching a highway/motorway exit ) but if it fails to do the simple tasks I’m sorry, maybe it will get updated ??

 

[Pib]

3 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Sorry, don’t know about the zoom question.

I stopped using the BYD Sat Nav after a couple of things appeared:

The charging stations mode omits to show the PEA Authority chargers ( particularly annoying when the nearest charger was 17km away and there was a PEA Authority charger 4km away )

On a recent visit to Bang Na ( BKK ) the BYD Nav couldn’t find an address, despite using various formats of the address, Google Maps had no problem. ( have since had Google Maps app installed ).

 

A shame because I like the format of the Sat Nav ( especially the graphics when approaching a highway/motorway exit ) but if it fails to do the simple tasks I’m sorry, maybe it will get updated ??

 

 

PEA chargers are shown on my Atto Nav.  Now do they show every PEA charger...well, I could say as I nevered compared what is reflected in the Atto Nav and the PEA Volta app.   For example of PEA chargers being shown on the Atto Nav see a few pics below where I zoomed around some of the areas I travel too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Andrew Dwyer]

4 minutes ago, Pib said:

 

PEA chargers are shown on my Atto Nav.  Now do they show every PEA charger...well, I could say as I nevered compared what is reflected in the Atto Nav and the PEA Volta app.   For example of PEA chargers being shown on the Atto Nav see a few pics below where I zoomed around some of the areas I travel too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Seal Sat Nav shows the PEA Volta chargers but not the PEA Authority chargers.

I was in a small town northwest of Nakhon Sawan, the Sat Nav showed only the chargers at the gas stations on the highway.

Figuring that most towns will have some sort of PEA head office I looked at the PEA app and there was a charger 4km away .

 

Slow, at 25kwh, but ideal when you’re looking for an excuse to slip out of the mil’s for some well earned “ me” time.

 

 

[macahoom]

 

 

I read that the new right hand drive Seals will have the indicator stalk on the left side.

 

How I'd love that! Having it on the right drives me crazy!

 

(First world problem.)

[Andrew Dwyer]

14 minutes ago, macahoom said:

 

 

I read that the new right hand drive Seals will have the indicator stalk on the left side.

 

How I'd love that! Having it on the right drives me crazy!

 

(First world problem.)

I find it’s only a problem if you have 2 cars ( one left one right ) which i do !

 

But it’s better than when i had an automatic and a manual, all sorts of fun and games then !!

[JBChiangRai]

17 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

I find it’s only a problem if you have 2 cars ( one left one right ) which i do !

 

 

Me too, it's a PITA

[Pib]

On 2/15/2024 at 11:02 AM, Pib said:

I expect the Navigation system on the Seal and Atto are same-same so maybe one of you Seal owners know the secret answer to my below question.

 

When "zooming-in or -out" on the map without having a destination set or having pressed the Charging Station icon to display nearby charging stations "how can you get zoom-in/out to stay zoomed in/out?   

 

When I have a destination set or the charging stations menu displayed I can zoom in/out and the zoom stays in place.....does not go back to the normal non-zoomed in or out display after X-amount of time.   I want to be able to zoom-in/out and it stay put without needing to have a destination set or the charging station menu displayed taking up a third of the screen.

 

In trying to get the zoom in/out to stay put when just driving along without using a destination/charging stations I can not get the zoom to stay---and I've tried so, so many things like how I use my fingers to zoom.   I typically get the "Recenter" icon appearing at the bottom and after 30 seconds or maybe up to a couple of minutes (it varies as to how long it takes for the display zoom returns to normal) the display returns to the normal zoom level. 

 

Sometimes I can get the zoon in/out to occur without the Recenter icon appearing but it still does not make a difference in the display not returning to its normal zoom level after a minute or two or three.   But as mentioned earlier if I have a destination set or have pressed the Charging Station icon when the map display is in one of those mode my zoom-in/out will stay.

 

On my 2009 Toyota Fortuner Nav you could change the zoom level by simply pressing a + or - zoom level icon on the screen....but no such icons on the BYD Nav screen....gotta use your finger to zoom in or out like using a smartphone. 

 

Any ideas on how to get the zoom to stay put?  Thanks.

 

 

 

BINGO!!!  I have figured out how to get a zoom-in or -out "to pretty much stay put" while driving.  When I say "pretty much" there are a few situations that will cause the zoom to changed back to its default level.

 

A few hours after I posted above I once again set down in my Atto in the driveway and played with the Nav zoom-in and -out....and I finally figured out the secret after a couple of months of trying this-and-that usually when driving somewhere.   The secret is to use a "one finger double tap" to zoom-in and a "multi-finger double tap" to zoom-out...."tapping is the secret....not using your fingers in a squeeze in or out motion like typically used on a smartphone phone to zoom in and out.   After a couple hours of driving where I test this "tapping" method it worked well; but the squeezing method sucks. 

 

A new zoom level set-up by "tapping" will pretty much stay put unless something triggers a sensor (like a motorcycle coming durn close to you), making certain turns that also trigger the camera system to come on your infotainment display, a "sharp" U-turn, or turning the car off.  But for the most part the zoom-in or -out will stay put while driving and not return to the default zoom level after less than a minute or a few minutes...it stays put.

 

And with those finger taps it's important to separate those taps by at least second otherwise you'll just get the Recenter icon popping up while tapping which means your zoom change is not going to stick long.  And for the multi-finger taps for  zoom-out it's best to use only use two fingers vs three or more fingers AND those two fingers must hit the screen at the same time otherwise your get the Recenter icon popping up.   Although it can get a little difficult to make both fingers hit the display at the exact same time as you are driving along with a little practice it's not hard to get the multi-finger tap down pat.

 

Yeap, "tapping" to zoom versus using a fingers in & out type motion is the secret.

 

 

Additionally, just last week I figured out another secret in how to "mark/save" a location quickly and to the exact location.   You've probably noticed if say you wanted to mark/save an exact location you were currently at you can not mark that location where your location pointer currently is/overlays.  Instead you would need to maybe tap a location a 100 meters or so away from the location pointer to get the Favorites menu to pop-up to where you could then save that location as a Favorite...but as mentioned you have not saved the ""exact" location....the location is not exact...it might be a 100 meters or so off which is like a country-mile when driving is a city like Bangkok with soi's closely spaced.     

 

So, the secret is to tap the icon at the bottom of the screen that displays the current road name/address....when tapping that icon the Favorites menu will pop up and you can save the location as a Favorite...two quick taps and you've saved the "exact" location....not a location maybe 100 meters or more away if trying to get the Favorites menu to popup by tapping another area of the display.

 

With these two secrets now known it has eliminated the only two major things I disliked about the Atto Nav system...which I assume to be the same Nav system as on the Seal and Dolphin.   

 

[Andrew Dwyer]

Had the 1st service done today combined with getting the white plates.

Opted not to have the car cleaned, some pimply youth let loose with a power washer could create problems, indeed since the talk of flaky paintwork I have now taken to washing the car myself, great cardio !!

 

Anyhoo, without the car wash option it took just under an hour.

 

They said I had been given the latest update but I took a screenshot before and nothing has changed so I think a little bit of “ justifying our existence “ is occurring !!

 

Couldn’t get a clear view of the “ service “ from the lounge but it did look like a fairly relaxed operation !

[Pib]

4 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Had the 1st service done today combined with getting the white plates.

Opted not to have the car cleaned, some pimply youth let loose with a power washer could create problems, indeed since the talk of flaky paintwork I have now taken to washing the car myself, great cardio !!

 

Anyhoo, without the car wash option it took just under an hour.

 

They said I had been given the latest update but I took a screenshot before and nothing has changed so I think a little bit of “ justifying our existence “ is occurring !!

 

Couldn’t get a clear view of the “ service “ from the lounge but it did look like a fairly relaxed operation !

 

In late Dec 2023 I had the 3 month/5K Km service done on my Atto...that is, the 1st service.  I was able to watch the whole process from the customer lounge thru big windows.  It took 2 technicians a total of approx 10-15 minutes to do a variety of visual, touchy-feely checks with the vehicle on the ground and up on the lift.  And I think 1 of the techs briefly hooked up a tablet to check the OBD2 data   Now it was another hour before I got the vehicle back due to their paperwork processing and maybe just delaying the release to give the feeling of a more through check.  Going for the free car wash would have added another 30 minutes so I declined it.   Yea, the 1st service is mainly a visual check and checking OBD2 data. 

[Andrew Dwyer]

15 hours ago, Pib said:

 

In late Dec 2023 I had the 3 month/5K Km service done on my Atto...that is, the 1st service.  I was able to watch the whole process from the customer lounge thru big windows.  It took 2 technicians a total of approx 10-15 minutes to do a variety of visual, touchy-feely checks with the vehicle on the ground and up on the lift.  And I think 1 of the techs briefly hooked up a tablet to check the OBD2 data   Now it was another hour before I got the vehicle back due to their paperwork processing and maybe just delaying the release to give the feeling of a more through check.  Going for the free car wash would have added another 30 minutes so I declined it.   Yea, the 1st service is mainly a visual check and checking OBD2 data. 

I wanted to watch what was going on but a van was delivering spares and assorted sundries and parked right in front of the lounge window !!

 

I do suspect they stretch it out time wise to appear more is being done, plus they book the services presumably taking into account a car wash so if that offer is refused then they have plenty of time to kill. The Attos arriving before and after also went unwashed.

 

I did notice that the paperwork states 2 hours were spent although actual time in the service bay couldn’t have been more than 40 minutes.

[Andrew Dwyer]

50k off all the Seal range ( that makes 100k off Dynamic ).

Order within the time frame to qualify:

 

** Retroactive to customers who purchase a car from 1 January 2024 onwards will also be entitled to cash back.

 

https://autolifethailand.tv/offcial-price-byd-seal-ev-bev-apr-2024/

[JBChiangRai]

Is anyone else having the issue on a Seal Performance, if you floor the throttle at low speed, it stutters a couple of times as it's feeding the power in?

 

It could be traction/stability control, but I am not sure.

[macahoom]

37 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

Is anyone else having the issue on a Seal Performance, if you floor the throttle at low speed, it stutters a couple of times as it's feeding the power in?

 

It could be traction/stability control, but I am not sure.

 

I have had something similar to what you’re describing.

 

It only happened one time. It was almost like the car realised full power had been asked for and was selecting a lower gear, and, once it found the gear, it took off like a bat out of hell. 

 

Note: I know the car does not have gears.

[JBChiangRai]

1 hour ago, macahoom said:

 

I have had something similar to what you’re describing.

 

It only happened one time. It was almost like the car realised full power had been asked for and was selecting a lower gear, and, once it found the gear, it took off like a bat out of hell. 

 

Note: I know the car does not have gears.

 

That's exactly it, I thought you might say that 😉

 

[Andrew Dwyer]

A quick question:

 

Just been pointed out that I have just one reversing light.

Seem to recall that this is normal, can anyone confirm ?

[JBChiangRai]

16 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

A quick question:

 

Just been pointed out that I have just one reversing light.

Seem to recall that this is normal, can anyone confirm ?

 Mine too

 

I just had a puncture repaired at B Quik, free as usual.

[Pib]

3 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

A quick question:

 

Just been pointed out that I have just one reversing light.

Seem to recall that this is normal, can anyone confirm ?

 

 

According to below reddit thread it seems one backlight for the Seal is the Norm....and the second light only comes on when turning on the Fog lights.  In the times I was at my BYD dealership before/after buying my Atto I would see brand new Seals being backed into the garage to be prepped for handover to the owner soon and only one backup light worked.  One time I pointed that out to a dealership rep as the Seal was backup and the rep just looked at me like I was stupid....expect he knew nothing was wrong...it was just I didn't know the Seal really only has one backup light.   Turn your Fog light switch on and see if that other light comes on.

 

Now for the Atto it has two backup lights and also a separate fog light.  

 

 

 

[Andrew Dwyer]

Here’s a story , not totally Seal related but thought I would share it with this topic as you all seem like level headed individuals, unlike those renegades in general population.

 

When I decided to buy a Seal, mid Oct 2023, i had to advertise my existing car ( a Haval Jolion Hybrid ).

As luck would have it my bil showed great interest but stated he would have to find a buyer for his Altis and would need someone to get finance passed on his behalf ( his son ).

We agreed on a price and as he was unsure when he would be able to come up with the readies i could sell if i got a better offer.

 

So, since Nov 30th Jo-Lion ( as thais call it ) was sat idle with only the occasional start up and runout .

 

True to his word finance arranged, blue book name changed and readies exchanged yesterday morning.

He appeared at the house late afternoon, i gave him a rundown of the anomalies of a Hybrid and in particular the Jolion, we drove ( him driving ) to a gas station for a test and came back for some more questions after which he drove home.

 

That was that until 7.00 am this morning when we got the call “ the car won’t start !! “ and he was 200 km away in a PTT station in Uthai Thani.

 

Now, I must say at this point that bil Orr is a level headed 53 yr old contract driver for the numerous Japanese factories here in Ayutthaya and has been since I met him 7 years ago. His duties include the Airport run for visiting Japanese, showing them the local sights, nightlife and on occasion the darker side ( karaoke bars and Walking St in Pattaya ! ).

His knowledge of Hybrids is zero and apparently hadn’t sought to educate himself before buying Jo-Lion !

 

What followed was some classic stereotypical miscommunication via a video chat, at this point he was distressed and what was happening was not entirely clear. From his frantic videos of the instrument cluster ( but mostly his face ! ) i could only see as he started the car he needed to put on his seat belt and release ( manually ) the electric hand brake. The screen stated “ the vehicle is now ready for driving “ but according to him nothing happened until it stopped and the normal text of how many km and hours/minutes had been used.

It was quite clear his ability to create video on a smartphone was akin to his ability to drive a Hybrid !!

 

The little lady and myself decided we should prepare to go there ( partially because he is family and partially because he hadn’t had the car for 24 hours yet !! ).

So Mrs D called the free Haval breakdown service, gave them the details, a quick shower and off we went.

 

I initially suspected the 12v battery although I had sought to give it a weekly airing .

But, as we were getting closer he reported that the emergency mechanic had checked the battery and it was okay, he had also checked out some other things and found nothing untoward.

He stated he would book a flat bed to take it to GWM showroom in Nakhon Sawan , which is closed today and possibly tomorrow also !!

 

Now the guilt, of possibly selling him a lemon, and spoiling both our weekends was climbing fast and we were thinking about the best course of action to reduce the damage of this issue.

 

We arrived at the PTT pump to find him and his grandson sat in the car with windows down and bonnet up, mechanic had already left.

 

Mrs D suggested i took a look, something i was loath to do, although from a mechanical engineering background my experience of solving car problems is probably the same as Khun Orr’s.

 

I sat inside, foot on brake, pressed start, the car started as most often did in EV mode ( ie silent ) and the “ ready for driving “ message appeared as the information screen booted.

” well this isn’t going to work “ I thought to myself as I selected R and slowly lifted the brake.

3 faces of utter amazement peered around the open bonnet as the car slowly started to back out !!

 

The car had no issue ( other than a brain dead owner !! ) and although Orr had started the car twice at my house and at least once before setting off this morning he had somehow managed to forget that procedure !!

 

Apparently he had been starting the car okay but not selecting any gear ( car remained in P ) and when no movement was forthcoming press Start again as the lack of engine noise was confusing to him.

 

As it dawned what had happened we started to laugh , Orr was a nervous laugh after loosing face and mine a relieved laugh that the car had no issues.

After a little drive round the pump car park and another quick run down of the starting procedure we went our separate ways.

 

Unfortunately for me as we were close to the in-laws this meant making a visit, unnecessary 200 km ( actually 450 km ) drive and a mil visit ! double whammy !!

 

On the drive home i had plenty of time to peruse the mornings activities and a couple of things stood out :

 

a) if Orr had only turned his phone to show the car still in P gear we could have saved both of us time and blood pressure. He had started the car but not selected any gear, how could he have missed that !!

 

b) the emergency breakdown mechanic contracted by GWM must surely seek alternative employment !! ( he later stated he wasn’t familiar with Hybrids but assumed Orr, as the owner, was 😀)

 

Sorry for the long winded post, thought you might enjoy a tale of miscommunication with a vague Seal connection here in Thailand.

 

Back on topic, I actually didn’t mind adding another 450 km to my Seal odometer as I love driving this car and it was a great excuse to get my foot down a bit !!

[Gweiloman]

15 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Here’s a story , not totally Seal related but thought I would share it with this topic as you all seem like level headed individuals, unlike those renegades in general population.

 

When I decided to buy a Seal, mid Oct 2023, i had to advertise my existing car ( a Haval Jolion Hybrid ).

As luck would have it my bil showed great interest but stated he would have to find a buyer for his Altis and would need someone to get finance passed on his behalf ( his son ).

We agreed on a price and as he was unsure when he would be able to come up with the readies i could sell if i got a better offer.

 

So, since Nov 30th Jo-Lion ( as thais call it ) was sat idle with only the occasional start up and runout .

 

True to his word finance arranged, blue book name changed and readies exchanged yesterday morning.

He appeared at the house late afternoon, i gave him a rundown of the anomalies of a Hybrid and in particular the Jolion, we drove ( him driving ) to a gas station for a test and came back for some more questions after which he drove home.

 

That was that until 7.00 am this morning when we got the call “ the car won’t start !! “ and he was 200 km away in a PTT station in Uthai Thani.

 

Now, I must say at this point that bil Orr is a level headed 53 yr old contract driver for the numerous Japanese factories here in Ayutthaya and has been since I met him 7 years ago. His duties include the Airport run for visiting Japanese, showing them the local sights, nightlife and on occasion the darker side ( karaoke bars and Walking St in Pattaya ! ).

His knowledge of Hybrids is zero and apparently hadn’t sought to educate himself before buying Jo-Lion !

 

What followed was some classic stereotypical miscommunication via a video chat, at this point he was distressed and what was happening was not entirely clear. From his frantic videos of the instrument cluster ( but mostly his face ! ) i could only see as he started the car he needed to put on his seat belt and release ( manually ) the electric hand brake. The screen stated “ the vehicle is now ready for driving “ but according to him nothing happened until it stopped and the normal text of how many km and hours/minutes had been used.

It was quite clear his ability to create video on a smartphone was akin to his ability to drive a Hybrid !!

 

The little lady and myself decided we should prepare to go there ( partially because he is family and partially because he hadn’t had the car for 24 hours yet !! ).

So Mrs D called the free Haval breakdown service, gave them the details, a quick shower and off we went.

 

I initially suspected the 12v battery although I had sought to give it a weekly airing .

But, as we were getting closer he reported that the emergency mechanic had checked the battery and it was okay, he had also checked out some other things and found nothing untoward.

He stated he would book a flat bed to take it to GWM showroom in Nakhon Sawan , which is closed today and possibly tomorrow also !!

 

Now the guilt, of possibly selling him a lemon, and spoiling both our weekends was climbing fast and we were thinking about the best course of action to reduce the damage of this issue.

 

We arrived at the PTT pump to find him and his grandson sat in the car with windows down and bonnet up, mechanic had already left.

 

Mrs D suggested i took a look, something i was loath to do, although from a mechanical engineering background my experience of solving car problems is probably the same as Khun Orr’s.

 

I sat inside, foot on brake, pressed start, the car started as most often did in EV mode ( ie silent ) and the “ ready for driving “ message appeared as the information screen booted.

” well this isn’t going to work “ I thought to myself as I selected R and slowly lifted the brake.

3 faces of utter amazement peered around the open bonnet as the car slowly started to back out !!

 

The car had no issue ( other than a brain dead owner !! ) and although Orr had started the car twice at my house and at least once before setting off this morning he had somehow managed to forget that procedure !!

 

Apparently he had been starting the car okay but not selecting any gear ( car remained in P ) and when no movement was forthcoming press Start again as the lack of engine noise was confusing to him.

 

As it dawned what had happened we started to laugh , Orr was a nervous laugh after loosing face and mine a relieved laugh that the car had no issues.

After a little drive round the pump car park and another quick run down of the starting procedure we went our separate ways.

 

Unfortunately for me as we were close to the in-laws this meant making a visit, unnecessary 200 km ( actually 450 km ) drive and a mil visit ! double whammy !!

 

On the drive home i had plenty of time to peruse the mornings activities and a couple of things stood out :

 

a) if Orr had only turned his phone to show the car still in P gear we could have saved both of us time and blood pressure. He had started the car but not selected any gear, how could he have missed that !!

 

b) the emergency breakdown mechanic contracted by GWM must surely seek alternative employment !! ( he later stated he wasn’t familiar with Hybrids but assumed Orr, as the owner, was 😀)

 

Sorry for the long winded post, thought you might enjoy a tale of miscommunication with a vague Seal connection here in Thailand.

 

Back on topic, I actually didn’t mind adding another 450 km to my Seal odometer as I love driving this car and it was a great excuse to get my foot down a bit !!

+1. Great story 🙂

[mistral53]

On 2/25/2024 at 4:59 PM, Andrew Dwyer said:

Here’s a story , not totally Seal related but thought I would share it with this topic as you all seem like level headed individuals, unlike those renegades in general population.

 

When I decided to buy a Seal, mid Oct 2023, i had to advertise my existing car ( a Haval Jolion Hybrid ).

As luck would have it my bil showed great interest but stated he would have to find a buyer for his Altis and would need someone to get finance passed on his behalf ( his son ).

We agreed on a price and as he was unsure when he would be able to come up with the readies i could sell if i got a better offer.

 

So, since Nov 30th Jo-Lion ( as thais call it ) was sat idle with only the occasional start up and runout .

 

True to his word finance arranged, blue book name changed and readies exchanged yesterday morning.

He appeared at the house late afternoon, i gave him a rundown of the anomalies of a Hybrid and in particular the Jolion, we drove ( him driving ) to a gas station for a test and came back for some more questions after which he drove home.

 

That was that until 7.00 am this morning when we got the call “ the car won’t start !! “ and he was 200 km away in a PTT station in Uthai Thani.

 

Now, I must say at this point that bil Orr is a level headed 53 yr old contract driver for the numerous Japanese factories here in Ayutthaya and has been since I met him 7 years ago. His duties include the Airport run for visiting Japanese, showing them the local sights, nightlife and on occasion the darker side ( karaoke bars and Walking St in Pattaya ! ).

His knowledge of Hybrids is zero and apparently hadn’t sought to educate himself before buying Jo-Lion !

 

What followed was some classic stereotypical miscommunication via a video chat, at this point he was distressed and what was happening was not entirely clear. From his frantic videos of the instrument cluster ( but mostly his face ! ) i could only see as he started the car he needed to put on his seat belt and release ( manually ) the electric hand brake. The screen stated “ the vehicle is now ready for driving “ but according to him nothing happened until it stopped and the normal text of how many km and hours/minutes had been used.

It was quite clear his ability to create video on a smartphone was akin to his ability to drive a Hybrid !!

 

The little lady and myself decided we should prepare to go there ( partially because he is family and partially because he hadn’t had the car for 24 hours yet !! ).

So Mrs D called the free Haval breakdown service, gave them the details, a quick shower and off we went.

 

I initially suspected the 12v battery although I had sought to give it a weekly airing .

But, as we were getting closer he reported that the emergency mechanic had checked the battery and it was okay, he had also checked out some other things and found nothing untoward.

He stated he would book a flat bed to take it to GWM showroom in Nakhon Sawan , which is closed today and possibly tomorrow also !!

 

Now the guilt, of possibly selling him a lemon, and spoiling both our weekends was climbing fast and we were thinking about the best course of action to reduce the damage of this issue.

 

We arrived at the PTT pump to find him and his grandson sat in the car with windows down and bonnet up, mechanic had already left.

 

Mrs D suggested i took a look, something i was loath to do, although from a mechanical engineering background my experience of solving car problems is probably the same as Khun Orr’s.

 

I sat inside, foot on brake, pressed start, the car started as most often did in EV mode ( ie silent ) and the “ ready for driving “ message appeared as the information screen booted.

” well this isn’t going to work “ I thought to myself as I selected R and slowly lifted the brake.

3 faces of utter amazement peered around the open bonnet as the car slowly started to back out !!

 

The car had no issue ( other than a brain dead owner !! ) and although Orr had started the car twice at my house and at least once before setting off this morning he had somehow managed to forget that procedure !!

 

Apparently he had been starting the car okay but not selecting any gear ( car remained in P ) and when no movement was forthcoming press Start again as the lack of engine noise was confusing to him.

 

As it dawned what had happened we started to laugh , Orr was a nervous laugh after loosing face and mine a relieved laugh that the car had no issues.

After a little drive round the pump car park and another quick run down of the starting procedure we went our separate ways.

 

Unfortunately for me as we were close to the in-laws this meant making a visit, unnecessary 200 km ( actually 450 km ) drive and a mil visit ! double whammy !!

 

On the drive home i had plenty of time to peruse the mornings activities and a couple of things stood out :

 

a) if Orr had only turned his phone to show the car still in P gear we could have saved both of us time and blood pressure. He had started the car but not selected any gear, how could he have missed that !!

 

b) the emergency breakdown mechanic contracted by GWM must surely seek alternative employment !! ( he later stated he wasn’t familiar with Hybrids but assumed Orr, as the owner, was 😀)

 

Sorry for the long winded post, thought you might enjoy a tale of miscommunication with a vague Seal connection here in Thailand.

 

Back on topic, I actually didn’t mind adding another 450 km to my Seal odometer as I love driving this car and it was a great excuse to get my foot down a bit !!

 

Interesting story and happy ending........ good to hear!

There is one little morsel in your post that triggered me for an entirely different reason......... 'I actually didn’t mind adding another 450 km to my Seal odometer' - implying your car was sitting in your car-port fully charged? With an ICE powered car, being low on fuel and an emergency like this comes up would not even make you think for a sec - with an electric vehicle and low battery, it could become quite embarrassing rather quickly.

 

Do you guys really keep your battery close to the max all the time? or rather, have a second car as emergency back-up on hand?

 

[macahoom]

4 hours ago, mistral53 said:

 

Interesting story and happy ending........ good to hear!

There is one little morsel in your post that triggered me for an entirely different reason......... 'I actually didn’t mind adding another 450 km to my Seal odometer' - implying your car was sitting in your car-port fully charged? With an ICE powered car, being low on fuel and an emergency like this comes up would not even make you think for a sec - with an electric vehicle and low battery, it could become quite embarrassing rather quickly.

 

Do you guys really keep your battery close to the max all the time? or rather, have a second car as emergency back-up on hand?

 

 

I have two BEV cars. I charge the Seal to 100% once a week as recommended by BYD, although the recommendation is a bit different every few months. 

 

I keep the other car at about 50% unless I'm taking it on a long journey.

 

If a situation arose which required me to drive a long distance at short notice, I'd DC charge either car to whatever level I needed at one of several rapid chargers near my house. It would almost certainly take less than 30 minutes to charge, probably more like 15 minutes.

 

I've never even thought of this scenario. I think the chances of this happening to me are close to zero.

 

Such a situation arising for me is so unlikely that, if I only had one EV, I wouldn't worry about it.

[Andrew Dwyer]

6 hours ago, mistral53 said:

 

Interesting story and happy ending........ good to hear!

There is one little morsel in your post that triggered me for an entirely different reason......... 'I actually didn’t mind adding another 450 km to my Seal odometer' - implying your car was sitting in your car-port fully charged? With an ICE powered car, being low on fuel and an emergency like this comes up would not even make you think for a sec - with an electric vehicle and low battery, it could become quite embarrassing rather quickly.

 

Do you guys really keep your battery close to the max all the time? or rather, have a second car as emergency back-up on hand?

 

Actually was at 70% and being on a Sunday I would have charged it to 100% that day, I have a TOU meter.

 

My routine is to leave the range to drop and do a long charge on a Sunday to take advantage of the cheap TOU tariff, normally it would be less than 70% but that week we had been using the Jolion for the short trips to make sure it was all okay. If it gets close to 50% then i charge o/night.

 

On this occasion I could see that I just wouldn’t have enough range to get back home so a quick ice tea at a Bangchak pump ( PEA Volta 50 kWh ) was enough to top up to make it home with 20% and then charge back up to 100% at home.

 

Travelling to the mil’s once a month ( around a 450 km round trip and nearly always on a weekend ) is ideal to get the range down for a long charge back at home for the battery balancing.

 

[Andrew Dwyer]

Just as a follow up to my rather long story:

I suggested that my wife and bil Orr visit the GWM showroom on the premise of changing the name/access to the app, meanwhile Orr could engage a salesperson in a little question and answer session about the Jolion and in particular it’s Hybrid qualities.

He declined the suggestion and i get the impression he will continue to drive the car oblivious of the regen settings or the one-pedal mode.

Well, i tried …….

[JBChiangRai]

I did my first long journey in my Seal yesterday, Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai.  I really enjoyed the drive.

 

Should the HUD show navigation options like next turn etc?  Mine doesn’t.