BYD Is Replacing Mismatched Wheels on Some Great Tang SUVs, and Restarting Warranties

BYD is apologizing after a supplier error left some owners of its new full-size flagship SUV with the wrong wheels, Electrek reported.

The Great Tang, or Da Tang as it is called in China, is the first flagship D-segment SUV under BYD's Dynasty series, the largest and most luxurious SUV in that lineup. After opening preorders at the Beijing Auto Show in April, BYD said the high-end SUV secured over 30,000 preorders in 24 hours. Two weeks later, preorders reached over 100,000. By the time it went on sale in mid-June, over 150,000 buyers had preordered the Great Tang, marking a new record for a single BYD model, Electrek reported. It has been the top-selling pure-electric large SUV for two months, with more than 10,000 sold since it hit the market.

On Nov. 11, BYD issued an apology for fitting the wrong front and rear wheel rims on some Great Tang models, after several owners complained that the wheels were improperly installed. BYD said the issue stemmed from a coding error by the wheel mesh assembly supplier, which led to incorrect assembly on some vehicles. The company said it "immediately" launched an investigation and corrected the issue so newly built vehicles will not be affected. The supplier introduced a new visual error-prevention mechanism to limit issues like this going forward.

No claimed safety risk, and a restarted warranty

BYD said the issue does not affect the vehicle's handling or pose a safety risk during driving. Owners can take affected vehicles to their local service center for a free inspection and professional wheel rim replacement. The company is also offering a replacement vehicle or compensation for transportation expenses. Effective immediately, BYD said, the warranty on affected Great Tang vehicles will also be restarted.

The Great Tang is on sale in China in pure-electric and plug-in hybrid powertrains. The cheapest Premium EV variant starts at 239,900 yuan ($35,500, Electrek's conversion). All versions use BYD's second-generation Blade batteries. The base Premium model uses a 105.79 kWh battery, and the Flagship EV trim uses a larger 130.15 kWh battery that delivers up to 590 miles (950 kilometers) of CLTC range, Electrek reported. Those are China-market prices and official CLTC figures, not U.S. sticker prices. The company's position is that the mix-up is a supplier coding error, not a handling or safety defect, and that the remedy is a free rim replacement, possible transport help or a substitute car, and a warranty clock that starts again on the vehicles that were affected.