Xiaomi’s First Electric Vehicle SU7 Faces Brake Problems and System Errors Within a Month

Xiaomi’s first EV, SU7
Plagued with defects just a month after launch
Inoperable after just one day

Xiaomi SU7

Xiaomi’s first electric car, SU7, was released in March 2024. Despite its sophisticated design and performance that exceeded expectations, it was priced reasonably at around $30,000, attracting 90,000 contracts in just one day. Soon, however, defects started appearing one after another.

In particular, many accidents occur due to brake problems, and design defects have been revealed as the cause, raising concerns. Recently, an absurd case was reported where a new vehicle suddenly became unable to drive a day after delivery.

After driving 39 km (24 miles)
Error message pops up and stops

According to foreign media reports such as Car News China, on May 8, 2024 (Chinese time), a resident of Xiamen City, Fujian Province, uploaded a video on social media of the Xiaomi SU7 4S being delivered and driving stopped due to a system error. He was a customer who signed a contract early in the launch of SU7 and received the vehicle on May 5 after waiting for over a month.

Afterward, he started his first drive from the Xiaomi Xiamen Xing’an Shipping Center and experienced a problem after driving 39 km (24 miles). A message appeared on the infotainment system: “The vehicle will soon stop, so stop safely and contact the online service center.” Shortly after, an additional message appeared: “The drive system is defective and cannot shift gears.”

Xiaomi offered a refund
The car owner showed an unexpected reaction

The man parked his vehicle on the shoulder of the road and had no choice but to wait for a tow truck to arrive with his family before sending it. The Xiaomi delivery center that recovered the vehicle notified him: “It is difficult to identify the problem, so repair is impossible. Our center will send the vehicle to the factory for analysis and determine the cause of the failure.”

Xiaomi offered to issue a refund to him but received an unexpected response. He said he would receive a new car rather than a refund. However, Xiaomi responded that it would be difficult to receive it quickly because all vehicles in production have designated owners, and he reportedly expressed his dissatisfaction with this. Xiaomi is negotiating a refund along with compensation for damages to the man.

It is still popular despite many problems

Meanwhile, the Xiaomi SU7, based on the standard model, has a battery capacity of 73.6 kWh and can drive 700 km (435 miles) (based in China) on a single charge. The upper model, SU7 Pro, has a driving range of 830 km (516 miles). Although various quality issues have been raised in the month since its launch, its popularity does not seem to be cooling down easily due to its low price.