BYD Atto 3, Dolphin recalled due to fire risk, Australia not impacted

Chinese carmaker BYD has reportedly recalled almost 100,000 examples of its Atto 3 and Dolphin electric vehicles (EVs) in its home market, over a steering fault that could potentially pose a fire risk.

CnEVPost reports 96,714 examples of the BYD Yuan Plus (sold here as the Atto 3) and Dolphin have been recalled as their electric steering control units could catch fire, citing a recall notice published by China’s State Administration for Market Regulation.

“This recall affects specific batches of vehicles within the Chinese mainland only and does not apply to Australia,” a spokesperson for EVDirect, BYD’s Australian importer, told CarExpert.

“BYD Dolphin and Atto 3 vehicles delivered to Australia are not impacted by this recall.”

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According to the publication, the fire risk stems from a potential for the Column-Assist Electric Power Steering (CEPS) controller’s circuit board to develop microcracks in its capacitor.

If this occurs, a short circuit could be triggered, causing the capacitor to overheat and catch fire, resulting in a blaze to the EVs. Affected vehicles were reportedly built between November 2022 and December 2023.

In Australia, BYD has only once recalled a vehicle to date, with 703 Atto 3s requiring modifications to make the top tether for the middle rear seat accessible.

No recall notices have as yet been issued relating to the fault in Australia.

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