DRV8834: VREFO bypass cap

Part Number:DRV8834

I see in the DRV8843 data sheet that you should not place a bypass capacitor on this pin.  I have inherited a design where this directive was ignored and there is a 0.1uF cap on this pin.  I'm getting some units where the DRV8843 is failing, though all the input signals are correct (also, motor voltage supply is 8V max).  I'm wondering if a bypass cap on this pin (perhaps over multiple power up/down cycles) could cause damage to the chip leading to inability to step?

Related - the design has VREFO going thru a resistor-divider DAC and back to AVREF/BVREF.  My question is, does VREFO modulate at all (i.e. for current limiting, during certain phased, etc.) or is it always a constant 2V nominal?

Thanks,

Marc