BYD Dolphin — Common Problems by Pattern

Written and edited by Ethan Cole, Editor-in-Chief · ✓ Technically reviewed by Daniel Wei Chen — Senior Chinese Automotive Diagnostics & Repair Specialist, Sydney · 24 October 2026.
BYD Dolphin guides: Overview Service schedule Oil & fluids Problems Recalls (BYD)

When we searched the Australian Government recall register for BYD on 6 October 2026 (a browser reading, not an archived copy), it listed no Dolphin recall, and our notes record australiancar.reviews as agreeing; we hold no copy of that source. For recalls, check our BYD recalls tracker. The owner reports, which we have not verified, are about grip and software: this page has said that the factory tyres give up early in the wet, and that the screen occasionally locks up until you learn the volume-roller reset, which our notes give as the fix. All manageable, by our reading. This page describes five owner-reported patterns that we have not verified; each is labelled where it appears.

1. Wet-road traction loss and axle tramp — the tyre problem wearing a traction-control mask

Unverified owner report: from australiancar.reviews, an Australian compendium of owner-reported faults, and owner notes on productreview.com.au and forums, as our research notes recorded the reports on 22 August 2026; we have not verified the reports, and we hold no copy of those sources. Those sources report that on a wet road a Dolphin Dynamic on 16-inch wheels can lose traction and suffer axle tramp, and that the Premium on 17-inch wheels is less affected. Our notes give the factory-fitted ChaoYang low-rolling-resistance tyres, soft front damping and instant electric torque as the cause, and better-quality tyres as the fix. This page has also said that owners who switch to a mainstream touring tyre (Michelin Primacy, Continental UltraContact class) report that the problem largely disappears; our notes name neither those tyres nor that result. Budget for tyres at the first sign: it is the single biggest running-cost upgrade this car has; we have not measured that comparison.

2. Touchscreen, audio and app failures — learn the reset first

Unverified owner report: from australiancar.reviews, an Australian compendium of owner-reported faults, and one owner’s story on thedriven.io, as our research notes recorded the reports on 22 August 2026; we have not verified the reports, and we hold no copy of those sources. Those sources report the 12.8-inch screen freezing, all audio going silent and the smartphone app losing its connection to the car. This page has also said that the screen can freeze on the BYD logo, that the lost audio includes the indicator clicks, and that the screen can crash in wired CarPlay; our notes record none of this. Our notes give a Telematics-Box (T-Box) or DiLink lockup as the cause, and as the fix, holding the volume roller for 10–15 seconds, which this page has said clears most of it (our notes give no share), or a T-Box flash at a dealer. Try the reset before booking the appointment.

3. A reported false “TPMS Error” (2023–24)

Unverified owner report: from australiancar.reviews, an Australian compendium of owner-reported faults, as our research notes recorded the report on 22 August 2026; we have not verified the report, and we hold no copy of that source. That source reports a “TPMS Error” warning on 2023–24 cars with nothing wrong with the tyres. Our notes give two possible causes, a tyre-pressure sensor’s battery or the sensors’ IDs lost after a tyre rotation, and give the fix as a new sensor or re-pairing the sensors with a TPMS tool. This page has also said that one cause is a failed valve-mounted sensor, and that if the error appeared right after a service that rotated the tyres it is almost certainly the lost sensor-ID map, and that saying so at the counter saves a sensor; our notes record neither the valve mounting nor that likelihood. If the warning appeared right after the tyres were rotated, say so at the service desk.

4. The charging roar — not a fault

Unverified owner report: from australiancar.reviews, an Australian compendium of owner-reported faults, and owner reports from hot climates, as our research notes recorded the reports on 22 August 2026; we have not verified the reports, and we hold no copy of those sources. Those sources report a loud roar from the front while charging or on a hot day. This page has also described it as high-pitched, and as coming while fast-charging or parked; our notes record none of these details. Our notes give the cooling fan running at full speed to cool the Blade battery, by design, as the cause, and give no fix, noting that a firmware update has smoothed the fan curve. We list it because it sends people to service counters — it shouldn’t.

5. A reported recirculation override

Unverified owner report: from australiancar.reviews, an Australian compendium of owner-reported faults, as our research notes recorded the report on 22 August 2026; we have not verified the report, and we hold no copy of that source. That source reports that the climate system periodically overrides “recirculate” to bring in fresh air, which matters in tunnels and traffic fumes. We hold no second source for the behaviour. Our notes give an intentional anti-CO₂ algorithm, not a fault, as its cause. Our notes give, as the fix, double-pressing the lock button on exit to shut the climate pre-conditioning cycle down fully.

Buying used — 5-minute checklist

Correction note: Each owner-reported pattern on this page is now labelled as an unverified owner report: we have not verified these patterns, and we hold no copy of their sources. Causes and fixes are given as our notes record them, and what this page said beyond our notes is kept and marked as such; the exceptions are named below. The source line no longer says that the patterns were triangulated across independent sources. We also withdrew a suggestion that Snow Mode helps on wet roads: the owner’s manual recommends that mode on slippery surfaces such as grass, snow, ice or gravel, and does not name wet roads. We also withdrew a checklist suggestion to drive a wet or loose surface to see the traction behaviour: it asked you to provoke a loss of traction. The source line no longer says that we document a 12V battery pattern on other BYDs; it says that owners report one on some of them, that we have not verified it, and that our notes record it as not prominent in Australian Dolphin reports. We also dated what we found on the recall register, and now name the single source behind the statement that independent recall archives agree; we hold no copy of it.

Pattern sources: Australian owner-and-repairer aggregations and long-term press reviews (AU/NZ); the five patterns on this page are owner reports that we have not verified, from australiancar.reviews and the other sources each label names, as our research notes recorded the reports on 22 August 2026; we hold no copy of those sources, and each is labelled where it appears. Individual posts are not republished. This page does not describe a 12V battery pattern on the Dolphin: our notes record that the 12V battery drain owners report on some other BYDs, which we have not verified, is not prominent in Australian Dolphin reports, so we don’t list it rather than assume it.

Disclaimer: Information on this page is general guidance only and does not replace the manufacturer’s official documentation or the judgement of a qualified technician. Issue patterns vary between markets and production years. Last verified: 22 August 2026.