BYD Seal tips, tricks and help

[Andrew Dwyer]

2 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

 

 

I wouldn't have gone for 35% profile had I known the car had 45% profile originally.  However, I'm happy that it works and it does look cooler.  My speedo will over read by 4.8%, acceleration should be improved and top speed lowered.

 

I'm happy with my choice.  I'll post a side on picture next time I take the car out the garage.

 

 

Yes please do.

Would be interested in hearing any benefits you are seeing from the Michelins. 
Although it’s not a direct comparison since you went all Street Rodder on us !!

[JBChiangRai]

29 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Yes please do.

Would be interested in hearing any benefits you are seeing from the Michelins. 
Although it’s not a direct comparison since you went all Street Rodder on us !!

 

I'm worried I went all dementia on you

[Pib]

1 hour ago, JBChiangRai said:

 

 

I wouldn't have gone for 35% profile had I known the car had 45% profile originally.  However, I'm happy that it works and it does look cooler.  My speedo will over read by 4.8%, acceleration should be improved and top speed lowered.

 

I'm happy with my choice.  I'll post a side on picture next time I take the car out the garage.

 

 

 

Your speedo overreading around 4 to 5% to pretty much normal for all vehicles for many, many years as that's a requirement in most countries' laws/regulations to help prevent the exceeding of speed limits..    My 2009 Fortuner reads around 4-5% high....my 2023 Atto reads around 4 to 5% higher (closer to 4%).   When my speedo is reading 100kmh or 50KmH  I'm truly doing around 96KmH or 48KmH per OBD2 data where you can also get the true speed and also Google Maps in displaying a GPS speed of around 96KmH or 48KmH.  Yeap...nothing wrong with your vehicle speedo as that's the way it's set at the factory.      

 

So for us  folks out there  when we get a a speeding ticket saying  we were doing 95KmH in a 90KmH zone, well, your speedo was displaying around 99-100Kmh when the traffic radar (which reads true speed) snapped your vehicle zipping along.   Just pay the ticket.   

 

And speaking of tickets I typically get a ticket in the mail every 5 years or so....none for speeding so far but usually for some other traffic law infraction like some entry/exit infraction, some lane change to close to a intersection in Bangkok, and now I can add running a red light to my list which I did indeed do.  It was at a highway intersection (the highway speed limit was 90KmH with traffic and me moving at that speed when the light went from green to red like in 2 to 3 seconds and I had glanced down just when the light was doing its quick change from green to red.  As I look up I'm indeed going thru a red light at 90KmH and think to myself I could be seeing a ticket in the mail if they had cameras at this intersection (which they did).   Six weeks later I get the ticket in the mail for Bt500 with less than two weeks left before it's suppose to be paid (typical for mail tickets I've got where it arrives around 6 weeks later).  The picture in the ticket had me dead-to-rights and I remembered that red light very clearly in how it changed from green to red so quickly as I zipped along around 80KmH with a bad-timing glance down while zipping along.   I just love how many (most) red lights in Thailand quickly change from red to green....sometimes even without any yellow light for a few seconds.   Oh well, just one of the challenges of driving in Thailand in don't expect to get much (or any) of a  "yellow" light warning between the red and green.   P.S. the Bt500 was so easy to pay...just scan the bar/QR code on the ticket with your mobile banking app....a few seconds later Bangkok Bank facilitated me contributing to the police to help maintain the outstanding road safety laws in Thailand....I hope they use some of that money to maybe extend "yellow light" time from 2 seconds to maybe 5 seconds.  😀

 

[JBChiangRai]

I have had one speeding ticket and one traffic light infringement, turning right from lane 3 not lane 4

 

My daughters have had a few speeding tickets, they come to me and I pay them.

[Andrew Dwyer]

Never had a speeding ticket yet, but has got flashed a few times on the highway radars, maybe they will come later.

 

I did get a ticket for running a red light.

What i thought a little strange was that there were two photos, 1 showing me right at the light when the light was on red and the other showed i had continued on past the light.

What was missing, imo, was a photo at the exact moment the light went red and my distance from the light.

In theory, and from the photo, i could have hit the white line at the exact moment the light went red and, again imo, wouldn’t have given me enough time to stop safely ??

Not worth arguing over but i did think it a tad unfair.

 

Did also get a “ fine “ for not paying at a toll booth, in reality i just didn’t wait for the receipt !!

Toll was 40 baht and the fine was 50 baht, now i always get a receipt !!

Biset khrap !

[JBChiangRai]

Here are some photos, car is filthy

 

[KhunLA]

No rabbit starts, or hard braking, and usually drive the speed limit.  New, haven't a clue.

 

 

 

[motdaeng]

i've been driving the byd sealion 7 awd for a few months now. it's a great travel suv that’s also fun to drive, still loving it!

 

but can someone explain how one of the world’s biggest car manufacturers fails to fix obvious software issues, even though features like this have been standard in competing brands for years? things like camp mode, dog mode, sentry mode, a useful energy consumption display for trip a/trip b, or a proper readout for electric secondary consumers, etc. 

 

when my car goes into "sleep mode", i can no longer connect to it with the byd app, neither via wifi nor bluetooth, even when i'm standing right next to the car. my byd dealer spent over an hour trying to fix the issue. according to a facebook user, it's a known software and possibly hardware problem, but byd thailand doesn't offer any solution ... 

 

why hasn’t byd addressed some of these issues by now? it seems they still need to learn that the customer should be king. too bad, on this point, byd gets a thumbs down from me!

 

note: most other car brands also have unsolved issues, so byd isn’t alone in that ...

[carlyai]

@motdaeng pmoff too.

Have you tried Apple Car Play or just Android Auto?

This is a question without much thought as I haven't really been trying to find a fix.

Just wondering if you use Maps in Android Auto or Apple Car Play if the maps gives different results.

My Android Auto Maps can never take me Home. Wants to go down all these streets that don't go home.

 

[motdaeng]

31 minutes ago, carlyai said:

@motdaeng pmoff too.

Have you tried Apple Car Play or just Android Auto?

This is a question without much thought as I haven't really been trying to find a fix.

Just wondering if you use Maps in Android Auto or Apple Car Play if the maps gives different results.

My Android Auto Maps can never take me Home. Wants to go down all these streets that don't go home.

 

 

my daughter uses apple carplay, and i use android auto. for our "simple needs", both systems work quite ok, though there is still room for improvement in the software ...

 

for navigation, i rely on google maps through android auto. i've been using google maps for years. i only tried the byd navigation briefly, so i can't say much about it, but i wasn’t impressed (filter / couldn't find hotels / user friendly etc). in my opinion, the byd navigation system still needs improvements before it could be a real alternative for me ...

 

on my last road trip (around 2,800 km), i used google maps the whole time, including to find charging stations. it worked without any problems ... 

[Andrew Dwyer]

13 minutes ago, motdaeng said:

 

my daughter uses apple carplay, and i use android auto. for our "simple needs", both systems work quite ok, though there is still room for improvement in the software ...

 

for navigation, i rely on google maps through android auto. i've been using google maps for years. i only tried the byd navigation briefly, so i can't say much about it, but i wasn’t impressed (filter / couldn't find hotels / user friendly etc). in my opinion, the byd navigation system still needs improvements before it could be a real alternative for me ...

 

on my last road trip (around 2,800 km), i used google maps the whole time, including to find charging stations. it worked without any problems ... 

 

On my Seal, the BYD Navigation has one big fault !

It has a nice interface, uses the full screen in portrait or landscape, easy to bring up charging stations on a designated route ( although on a highway will show chargers on the other side of the highway, which means 2 U-turns, very annoying, so not ideal ! ) and now has a route planner.

But, try to type in an address, either local or distant, and it invariably can’t find it !

It has also given me the “ you have reached your destination “ message when still 5 or 6 km away as well as once showing me i have 13 km left to drive when passing my destination !!

 

It is okay i believe for general destinations i.e. Chiang Mai or Hua Hin where it will provide the route accurately but as yet is untrustworthy for finer navigation.

In other countries the recent update added Google support for the search mode in Navigation which apparently resolved this issue but we don’t get that here .

 

Google Maps is definitely a better choice.

On Apple CarPlay it is a simplified version but still usable, although cannot use portrait option.

 

When BYD became popular here in Thailand owners wanted to add more apps ( sideloading ) to the screen and I had someone do this service for me.

Google Maps ( along with YouTube and YouTube Music, Netflix etc ) were available to me in their full versions ( i.e. not the mobile version used in CarPlay ) and life was good !!

 

Then Réver/Byd decided to change the SIM card from Sing Tel to True and add a GBox app ( possibly due to the increase in owners sideloading apps ? )

This was okay and all my previous side loaded apps disappeared but could be replaced via GBox.

Then GBox was pulled, as no license for use in vehicles, Réver/BYD offered a replacement app ( Gpack ) but I have taken my bat and ball home a little on this and sticking with the dodgy BYD Navigation or CarPlay.

 

I could visit BYD for the gpack app or my BYD tech guy to sideload again but the impetus to stock up on apps has left me. Don’t feel the urge for YouTube or Netflix in the car anymore, just want a reliable Sat Nav and until BYD get their act together will continue with the mobile version of GM . 

 

Rant over 😀

[Andrew Dwyer]

1 hour ago, motdaeng said:

i've been driving the byd sealion 7 awd for a few months now. it's a great travel suv that’s also fun to drive, still loving it!

 

but can someone explain how one of the world’s biggest car manufacturers fails to fix obvious software issues, even though features like this have been standard in competing brands for years? things like camp mode, dog mode, sentry mode, a useful energy consumption display for trip a/trip b, or a proper readout for electric secondary consumers, etc. 

 

when my car goes into "sleep mode", i can no longer connect to it with the byd app, neither via wifi nor bluetooth, even when i'm standing right next to the car. my byd dealer spent over an hour trying to fix the issue. according to a facebook user, it's a known software and possibly hardware problem, but byd thailand doesn't offer any solution ... 

 

why hasn’t byd addressed some of these issues by now? it seems they still need to learn that the customer should be king. too bad, on this point, byd gets a thumbs down from me!

 

note: most other car brands also have unsolved issues, so byd isn’t alone in that ...

The “ sleep “ mode on my Seal is resolved by pressing the external door button a few times which wakes it up, usually there is an accompanying message to turn the steering wheel for calibration but then it is all back to normal.

It apparently is triggered when a door is opened for any length of time but seems to be triggered more by the bonnet or the boot and sends the car to sleep  after a strangely short amount of time !!

I can’t see the reason for this, unless it is protecting the 12v battery but also don’t hear about other brands doing this .

[carlyai]

TL&C

 

[JBChiangRai]

You can come and do mine next

[carlyai]

25 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

You can come and do mine next

Yeah I'd love to go back up there again and visit you. Did a bit of MTXing up around there and along the boarder when just dirt roads.

How did you go with all the rain?

[carlyai]

Nearly ready to go.

 

[JBChiangRai]

5 hours ago, carlyai said:

Yeah I'd love to go back up there again and visit you. Did a bit of MTXing up around there and along the boarder when just dirt roads.

How did you go with all the rain?

 

We've been away for 11 days, mostly in Pattaya, a nostalgia trip.  There's been a lot of rain in that time, about 6" judging from a lake here.

 

We don't have to worry about flooding here, we're on a lake with a 12" overflow pipe to a canal.  In the last 13 years, we've only reached the overflow pipe once and that was last year.  We're 6" away already so I reckon it's 50/50 Chiang Rai will flood again this year.

[mistral53]

On 6/25/2025 at 7:44 AM, motdaeng said:

i've been driving the byd sealion 7 awd for a few months now. it's a great travel suv that’s also fun to drive, still loving it!

 

but can someone explain how one of the world’s biggest car manufacturers fails to fix obvious software issues, even though features like this have been standard in competing brands for years? things like camp mode, dog mode, sentry mode, a useful energy consumption display for trip a/trip b, or a proper readout for electric secondary consumers, etc. 

 

when my car goes into "sleep mode", i can no longer connect to it with the byd app, neither via wifi nor bluetooth, even when i'm standing right next to the car. my byd dealer spent over an hour trying to fix the issue. according to a facebook user, it's a known software and possibly hardware problem, but byd thailand doesn't offer any solution ... 

 

why hasn’t byd addressed some of these issues by now? it seems they still need to learn that the customer should be king. too bad, on this point, byd gets a thumbs down from me!

 

note: most other car brands also have unsolved issues, so byd isn’t alone in that ...

When reading such rants I wonder why it is that some people fail to understand that BYD - and most Chinese car manufacturers for that matter - make cars for their massive captive market, the few dozen cars they are selling in Thailand or other smaller export markets are simply just an after thought. 

 

I am not defending their marketing strategy, there is a lot to be desired and improved upon, but I see the bigger picture, and boy am I happy that we can buy some select Chinese car models and benefit from their cost advantage, we now have more choices, lower prices and a level of technology that simply would not be here without them.

 

So yes, we all have our ways to focus on what either makes us miserable, or what is great for the money we have to spend to get most of what we want, and live with what we cant get - yet.

[motdaeng]

4 minutes ago, mistral53 said:

When reading such rants I wonder why it is that some people fail to understand that BYD ...

 

"... such rants ... " thanks for your contribution ... did you have a bad day?