BYD Seal tips, tricks and help

[Andrew Dwyer]

Following my success with dipping the BYD badges I decided to tackle a wheel today to see what it looks like.

Put the car outside just enough to wash one rear wheel and tyre, making sure all the water is gone is paramount so I left it cooking outside for a while then back under the carport for some further cleaning with some alcohol wipes. Put some of that tyre wall black cleaner stuff on as recommended by the YouTube videos.

 

Masked it up to protect the paintwork, rotor and brakes.

 

Gentle first coat.

 

4 or 5 more coats, using almost a whole can.

This is Flat Black, gives a Matt finish.

 

I was super happy with this but slightly less so when I removed the plastic covering the rotor/brakes.

 

 

Ideally painting the brake caliper and the rotor mount would have been preferable as they seem more prominent now the wheel is black, so will decide about that before tackling the rest.

 

What does the team think, should I bother painting the caliper/mounting or stick with what I have ??

 

( NOTE: if you zoom in you can see the surface rust that appears after washing and right at the top where I rubbed some off with my finger , not present on the other 3 rotors ).

[JBChiangRai]

7 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Following my success with dipping the BYD badges I decided to tackle a wheel today to see what it looks like.

Put the car outside just enough to wash one rear wheel and tyre, making sure all the water is gone is paramount so I left it cooking outside for a while then back under the carport for some further cleaning with some alcohol wipes. Put some of that tyre wall black cleaner stuff on as recommended by the YouTube videos.

 

Masked it up to protect the paintwork, rotor and brakes.

 

Gentle first coat.

 

4 or 5 more coats, using almost a whole can.

This is Flat Black, gives a Matt finish.

 

I was super happy with this but slightly less so when I removed the plastic covering the rotor/brakes.

 

 

Ideally painting the brake caliper and the rotor mount would have been preferable as they seem more prominent now the wheel is black, so will decide about that before tackling the rest.

 

What does the team think, should I bother painting the caliper/mounting or stick with what I have ??

 

( NOTE: if you zoom in you can see the surface rust that appears after washing and right at the top where I rubbed some off with my finger , not present on the other 3 rotors ).

 

I think I would take it to a car wash and tell them to go heavy on it before doing the other 3, just in case...

 

i do have a spare set of wheels for the Performance version...

[macahoom]

9 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

What does the team think, should I bother painting the caliper/mounting or stick with what I have ??

 

Sorry, I'd need to see the car in real life to give my verdict.

[Andrew Dwyer]

13 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

 

I think I would take it to a car wash and tell them to go heavy on it before doing the other 3, just in case...

 

i do have a spare set of wheels for the Performance version...

Yes, I was thinking that also, if it’s not going to withstand a pressure wash then I would rather know now !

[macahoom]

On 1/21/2024 at 1:18 PM, JBChiangRai said:

I think you will find the brakesw are used to bring you to a complete stop, so you don't need to test them all the time.

 

Yep. I checked and it looks like there’s no regen below 10km/h. This means the mechanical brakes must take over which should ensure that rust doesn’t get a chance to build up.

 

Hopefully!

[macahoom]

 

I took my car to the BYD showroom (Phuket now has two!) for its first service - 3 months or 5000 kms. I have 2600kms on the clock.

 

It took two and a quarter hours. When picking the car up, I was presented with a five page report which listed a multitude of things they did - all in Thai, so I have no idea what was done.

 

Interesting that for my MG servicing, someone used to arrive at my house, plug a laptop into the car and was gone in 15 minutes. In four years, I think I had to take the MG to the dealership for a service on only three occasions, but lots of house visits with a laptop. 

[Breizh29]

I took my car for the 3 month/5000km service. The car had 4900km on the odometer.

 

Duration of the planned intervention: 2 hours. A little over an hour later it was finished. A 3 page report in Thai of course. An employee came to report to my wife but I'm sure she didn't understand anything. If she knew anything about cars I would know! But according to her, nothing abnormal...

Edited January 23 by Breizh29

[mistral53]

Did you guys check the software level before and after? For my 3 months/5000 km service, a software update was one thing I noticed..........apart from all the settings for the seat, AC, language etc they inadvertently changed........urrrggghhhhhh!

[macahoom]

2 minutes ago, mistral53 said:

Did you guys check the software level before and after? For my 3 months/5000 km service, a software update was one thing I noticed..........apart from all the settings for the seat, AC, language etc they inadvertently changed........urrrggghhhhhh!

 

I don't believe my software was updated. There was a small change in my front collision setting but, other than that, I didn't notice anything different.

[Andrew Dwyer]

1 hour ago, mistral53 said:

Did you guys check the software level before and after? For my 3 months/5000 km service, a software update was one thing I noticed..........apart from all the settings for the seat, AC, language etc they inadvertently changed........urrrggghhhhhh!

What version are you on now ?

[Pib]

Question for those of you who have registered with/are using the BYD App.   Today I finally got registered on the app after trying to for several months (long story...but it was all caused by dealership paperwork errors which Rever Automotive (i.e., HQ BYD for Thailand) expedited a fix after I got them involved today).  Anyway, just a few minutes ago I was able to get registered which included setting up a login password.  

 

However after logging into the app I needed to setup a "Operation Password" (a six digit number/PIN not to be confused with login password) but I never received a Operation Password; nor can I change it in the settings as changing the Operation Password requires you to first enter the "old" operation password.   What "old" operation password....I never setup an initial/old one nor did I get one from BYD.

 

How did you guys get/setup the Operation Password (PIN) not to be confused with the login password?

 

I have already tried using the two factor authorization 6 digit number (verification code) BYD emailed me when setting up my initial logon....I have tried six zero's....I only have two more attempts for today.     Thanks.

 

EDIT:  Never mind.  I figured it out.  This info may come in handy for others when registering with the BYD app. In the Change Operation Password setup menu where you need to enter the "old" Operation Password before you can make/enter a "new" Operation Password there is a very small note you can click for "Forgot Your Password?"    Well, since I never received an Operation Password (a.k.a., 6 digit PIN) nor was able to setup up a new one without having the "old" Operation Password I clicked the Forgot Your Password text (what the heck, give it a try) and BYD sent me another two factor authorization code which then allowed me to setup a Operations Password "without, repeat, without" having to enter the "old" Operations Password.   Finally, the BYD App is fully operational (I think).  

 

 

Edited January 24 by Pib

[JBChiangRai]

You guys probably don't need it, and haven't noticed, but the Seal has a heater.

 

We need it in Chiang Rai, early mornings can be cold.

[macahoom]

36 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

You guys probably don't need it, and haven't noticed, but the Seal has a heater.

 

We need it in Chiang Rai, early mornings can be cold.

 

Ha! I just assumed that it didn't have one. 

 

To make it work, is it just a matter of setting the temperature on the AC?

[JBChiangRai]

20 minutes ago, macahoom said:

 

Ha! I just assumed that it didn't have one. 

 

To make it work, is it just a matter of setting the temperature on the AC?

 

Yes, just set the temperature on the AC and it does the rest.

[mistral53]

14 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

 

Yes, just set the temperature on the AC and it does the rest.

Ooohhhh wonders of technologies......... the Seal has one of the famed heat pumps to keep you cozy - simply run the AC system in reverse. So it's not a PTC heater of yore, which is very power hungry, but the nowadays industry standard heat pump. I would not be surprised if even the BYD Dolphin is equipped such.

[Pib]

10 hours ago, mistral53 said:

Ooohhhh wonders of technologies......... the Seal has one of the famed heat pumps to keep you cozy - simply run the AC system in reverse. So it's not a PTC heater of yore, which is very power hungry, but the nowadays industry standard heat pump. I would not be surprised if even the BYD Dolphin is equipped such.

 

Yeap...a heat pump is standard equipment on Dolphin, Atto, and Seal.

 

 

 

[macahoom]

 

Question for AWD Seal owners: What is your estimated driving range, dynamic mode at 100% SOC? Mine seems to have settled at 575-585km; Econ mode, A/C on.

 

That’s driving around Phuket - which often means plenty of pretty heavy, slowish traffic.

Unlike a lot of the range anxiety mob, I am not a travelling salesman rushing around Thailand 5 days a week at breakneck speed, so I don’t need such a high range, but it’s still nice to have it.

 

Also interested to hear the dynamic range of Premium owners. 

[JBChiangRai]

8 minutes ago, macahoom said:

 

Question for AWD Seal owners: What is your estimated driving range, dynamic mode at 100% SOC? Mine seems to have settled at 575-585km; Econ mode, A/C on.

 

That’s driving around Phuket - which often means plenty of pretty heavy, slowish traffic.

Unlike a lot of the range anxiety mob, I am not a travelling salesman rushing around Thailand 5 days a week at breakneck speed, so I don’t need such a high range, but it’s still nice to have it.

 

Also interested to hear the dynamic range of Premium owners. 

 

I have only done 700km in my AWD and no long journeys yet, I may drive to Chiang Mai later in the week so I will let you know.

[macahoom]

6 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

 

I have only done 700km in my AWD and no long journeys yet, I may drive to Chiang Mai later in the week so I will let you know.

 

Thanks, but it's not really long journeys I'm asking about. Although that would also be good to know.

 

Yes, interested to hear about your long journey; should be significantly lower than about town figures.

[JBChiangRai]

4 minutes ago, macahoom said:

 

Thanks, but it's not really long journeys I'm asking about. Although that would also be good to know.

 

Yes, interested to hear about your long journey; should be significantly lower than about town figures.

 

I will charge it up later this week and tell you

[Andrew Dwyer]

11 minutes ago, macahoom said:

 

Question for AWD Seal owners: What is your estimated driving range, dynamic mode at 100% SOC? Mine seems to have settled at 575-585km; Econ mode, A/C on.

 

That’s driving around Phuket - which often means plenty of pretty heavy, slowish traffic.

Unlike a lot of the range anxiety mob, I am not a travelling salesman rushing around Thailand 5 days a week at breakneck speed, so I don’t need such a high range, but it’s still nice to have it.

 

Also interested to hear the dynamic range of Premium owners. 

Mine is around 650-667 km ( Premium high regen eco mode ) with the majority being short trips near to home and the occasional 450 km round trip.

 

I have noticed that after charging to 100% the range drops about 3 or 4 km immediately ( 20 seconds or so ) after starting for the first time.

[macahoom]

3 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Mine is around 650-667 km

 

Marvellous!

[Andrew Dwyer]

5 minutes ago, macahoom said:

 

Thanks, but it's not really long journeys I'm asking about. Although that would also be good to know.

 

Yes, interested to hear about your long journey; should be significantly lower than about town figures.

I took a journey on New Year’s Day returning the day after, mainly highway.

“Going “, at speeds around 100-120 the 205 km took 250 km off my range.

“Returning”, hit stop go heavy traffic the 205 km took 189 km off my range.

[macahoom]

5 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Mine is around 650-667 km

 

Definitely dynamic range?

[Andrew Dwyer]

Just now, macahoom said:

 

Definitely dynamic range?

Yes , standard range would give me 650 km as the app does.

[KhunLA]

3 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Yes , standard range would give me 650 km as the app does.

Impressive, as my ICEVs at best only got me 500+ kms, without running on vapors.  With petrol tanks in the 40+L range, and 14 kpL.

 

Seems range is a non issue moving forward.  I still doubt if I want to drive more than 3+ hrs for any stretch of highway driving in TH.

 

Compared to lower spec'd prices of imports from JP, ฿1.325M - ฿1.599M for the Seal is far from expensive.  Over my 4 wheeled budget 🙄 thrifty shopper than I am, but same or cheaper than many cars we see on the roads.

 

No wonder it's racking up the sales #s 👍

Edited January 29 by KhunLA

[mistral53]

8 hours ago, macahoom said:

 

Question for AWD Seal owners: What is your estimated driving range, dynamic mode at 100% SOC? Mine seems to have settled at 575-585km; Econ mode, A/C on.

 

That’s driving around Phuket - which often means plenty of pretty heavy, slowish traffic.

Unlike a lot of the range anxiety mob, I am not a travelling salesman rushing around Thailand 5 days a week at breakneck speed, so I don’t need such a high range, but it’s still nice to have it.

 

Also interested to hear the dynamic range of Premium owners. 

I take it you are taking that range from the GOM, not actual distance?

 

I did a Hua Hin to Bangkok return trip, with some heavy stop-and-go in Bangkok traffic - actual range was around 450 km (Performance version, Normal mode outside the city, Eco mode in the city)

On a previous trip without the extensive BKK traffic crawling, I got over 510 actual km.

Consumption after almost 5,000 km is 18 kWh/100 km - which computes to a theoretical range of 460 km, usable range of around 420 km (leaving a 10%  battery buffer)

 

After charging to 100%, the GOM also shows 580 km - it's feel good therapy I guess.

Edited January 29 by mistral53
corr

[mistral53]

Just in case of surprise about the above stated consumption figure of 18 kWh/100 km, for reference a comparison table from a Thai 'tester'. Keep in mind that what he tested and what you might get could differ quite a bit, since testing parameters are not well defined and could change the indicated consumption significantly.

 

[Breizh29]

What do you think of the consumption display for the last 50 kilometers?

 

For me it is really optimistic...

[Pib]

2 hours ago, mistral53 said:

Just in case of surprise about the above stated consumption figure of 18 kWh/100 km, for reference a comparison table from a Thai 'tester'. Keep in mind that what he tested and what you might get could differ quite a bit, since testing parameters are not well defined and could change the indicated consumption significantly.

 

 

Yea...this tester was doing 120KmH in Sport Mode....that's going to eat battery power faster than cruising along at 90Kmh in ECO or Normal mode,