by Zeekr 9X owner faces unexpected lockout outside China
The Zeekr 9X crossover, which impresses with luxury and advanced technology, has become a source of considerable trouble for one Chinese owner. Mr. Liu, who purchased this electric car, planned a grand journey from China to Europe. However, as soon as he crossed the border into Kazakhstan, the vehicle’s intelligent systems began blocking access to various functions, turning the flagship into a virtually uncontrollable means of transport in terms of comfort.
According to Mr. Liu, immediately after leaving China, his Zeekr 9X’s navigation stopped working, the glove compartment locked itself, and most annoyingly, the electronic fuel cap remained closed for over 30 hours. He is outraged that the local Zeekr dealer knew about the planned trip during routine maintenance but did not warn him about these restrictions.
Navigation didn’t work, the glove compartment locked, and the most irritating thing — the fuel cap remained closed for more than 30 hours. The local dealer knew about the trip, but no one mentioned these restrictions.
Zeekr’s official stance: safety or inconvenience?
To prevent the spread of negative information, Zeekr explained the situation to National Business Daily. According to them, as soon as the car leaves Chinese territory, special safety mechanisms activate aimed at preventing theft and smuggling. The system blocks some functions, but they assure that the powertrain and brakes continue to operate normally.
Despite this, electronic opening of the fuel filler neck and charging port becomes impossible. The only way to open the fuel cap is to press and hold the hazard light button inside the cabin for five seconds. To open the charging port, a sharp and strong press is required. As journalists note, few owners know about this secret method.
Solution: code generator and OTA update
After the incident, the company sent Mr. Liu a special authorization code to remove the locks. However, according to CarNewsChina, such unlocking may need to be repeated every time after crossing the border of another country. Zeekr issued an official apology and stated that real safety should not be determined solely by the manufacturer, and the company is now transitioning to a model of “user control and manufacturer protection.”
Real safety should not be determined only by the manufacturer. Our updated approach is user control and manufacturer protection.
The company has already added a password generator to its smartphone app, allowing owners to create their own codes to remove locks when crossing borders. However, it is unclear whether this function works offline — in border areas, communication is often unavailable. Additionally, Zeekr has promised to release an over-the-air (OTA) update with the ability to disable this blocking by default, which will eliminate the need for Mr. Liu to obtain a new permit at every border. It should be noted that Zeekr cars sold in Europe do not have such restrictions, as daily border crossings there are common.
This story once again proves that even the most modern cars with high levels of intelligence can create problems due to excessive safety oversight, without considering real-world use cases. Owners of such vehicles should be prepared for any surprises, especially when traveling outside the country of purchase. However, Zeekr’s prompt response and promise of a quick update give hope that future long journeys will be less stressful. It remains to be seen whether the OTA fix will indeed allow easy deactivation of this protective feature without losing warranty or other hidden consequences.
