BYD’s God’s Eye driver-assist system is facing complaints as glitches emerge across a number of vehicles
7 hours ago
- BYD’s “God’s Eye” system faces complaints about glitches and unintended behavior.
- Tech is standard on millions of cars in China, which is exposing problems at scale.
- A report says BYD pushed advanced driver-assist before the software was ready.
It’s no secret that Tesla has and even now is facing backlash for calling its autonomous driving tech things like Autopilot and Full-Self Driving (Supervised). One could surmise then that BYD saw such attention and figuratively said, “hold my beer,” because it named its tech “God’s Eye.”
Yes, that’s also a major McGuffin in the Fast and Furious franchise, but for BYD, it’s all about on-road safety. There’s just one problem: drivers are reporting huge safety issues that not even Tesla has had to deal with.
Read: BYD Ignites Self-Driving Price War, Fits ‘God’s Eye’ ADAS Tech To $9,600 EV
According to a new report, the issues highlight what can happen when advanced driver-assistance systems are rolled out across an entire lineup before the software is fully sorted. And unlike Tesla’s optional Full Self-Driving package, BYD made its system standard on millions of vehicles, which means any flaws show up at scale.
One owner in China told Bloomberg he paid about $160,000 for a Yangwang U8 luxury SUV expecting cutting-edge technology, only to experience multiple malfunctions. In one case, the SUV allegedly accelerated to highway speed on its own and veered toward a roadside median. On another drive, the vehicle reportedly made a sudden steering input that nearly sent it into oncoming traffic.
Widespread Complaints Surface Online
Complaints about the system have also surfaced on Chinese social media, with drivers reporting navigation errors, missed exits, and inconsistent steering behavior. Analysts say part of the problem may be BYD’s decision to install the tech across nearly its entire range, from budget hatchbacks to six-figure luxury SUVs.
That scale is something most Western automakers haven’t attempted. Tesla, Ford, and GM all offer advanced driver-assist features, but they’re typically optional and limited to certain models. Even some higher-end models have had such tech delayed while automakers sort it out. BYD, by contrast, has already put the system in more than 2.5 million vehicles in China alone.
Complicating The AV Situation
Most Western automakers have a system that integrates a hardware package with a software stack. Sometimes there are very slight variations between models but the general package is very uniform. BYD didn’t go that route. Instead, some models get lidar, while others get a camera-based system. Tracking down issues is harder as a result.
None of this means BYD is alone. Tesla’s Full Self-Driving, Ford’s BlueCruise, and GM’s Super Cruise have all faced investigations after crashes involving driver-assist features. But the Bloomberg report suggests BYD’s aggressive push to make high-tech features standard across such a wide range of vehicles may be exposing growing pains faster. Even so, we don’t expect the autonomy race to slow down anytime soon.
