The Chinese automaker BYD was forced to announce a service campaign for over 183,000 vehicles due to a serious technical problem with the brake pedal limiter. Such cases remind us why European regulators and buyers approach the massive offensive of the brand on the Old Continent with marked reservations. In this case, we are talking about a defect that causes the brake lights to shine continuously, sending misleading signals to other road users and creating a direct prerequisite for serious traffic accidents.
The details published by CnEVPost reveal a rather worrying picture regarding the quality of the components used. Due to the use of cheap and unstable materials, the plastic pedal limiter cracks and crumbles during operation. As a result, the brake lights remain constantly on, even when the driver's foot is not on the brake at all. This disorients drivers from behind and blocks real road predictability.
The affected vehicles are vehicles manufactured between 2014 and 2022. The majority of the affected cars are Tang crossovers - over 142,000 units, including both DM-i hybrid versions and pure electric vehicles. More than 40,000 sedans from the Qin range are also affected. It is noteworthy that the free repair of the defect is officially covered only in China, which leaves all owners of parallel imported cars in Europe and neighboring regions to pay for their safety at local workshops.
The irony lies in the fact that Tang and Qin are among the oldest product lines of the Chinese brand, whose sales in China are gradually slowing down. And although BYD continues to churn out record volumes and boast over 440,000 sold “green” cars in August alone, such gaps in basic quality are raising skepticism in Europe. Building market share with cheap rubber and unstable plastic once again raises the question of whether aggressive low-budget production is not happening at the expense of human life.