Xiaomi SU7 breaks down and unrepairable in China after only 39 kilometers

Since the Xiaomi SU7 began deliveries on April 3 there have been no shortage of stories about accidents involving the car and now one has reportedly made it only 39km before breaking down completely.

We opined previously about the reliability of car made by people with zero experience in the industry and whose claim to fame were handphones.

It positioned itself aggressively against the Porsche and made concerted efforts to boast about its century sprint times.

Well according to one owner of the vehicle, Mr. Wen, took delivery of his car from the Xiaomi Auto Xiamen Xing’an Delivery Center in Fujian Province on possibly May 4.

On May 6 the owner posted a video on social media platforms saying that his Xiaomi SU7 had broken down when travelling at high speed just after leaving the 4S store and that it had covered 39 kilometers. Mr. Wen said that car had to be towed back to the deliver centre.

The video shows the car parked up on the hard shoulder with the hazard warning lights blinking. Inside the infotainment unit displays “The car is about to stop, please safely pull over and contact the online service center” the message then changed to display something like “the drive system is faulty and cannot be shifted.” This showed there was error meaning the car couldn’t be switched between drive and reverse.

The Xiang’an Delivery Center confirmed on May 7 that they head received Mr. Wen’s complaint and that they were unable to work out what the problem was. The car has been sent to the factory for analysis to find out the reason for breaking down.

Surprisingly after this incident Mr. Wen actually requested a new car rather than a refund and is unhappy with the fact he cannot be given one saying “I want a car, not to return the car, and I don’t want to place a new order and schedule production.”

While phones may receive a one-to-one replacement, it appears it is not the case for the SU7. On Xiaomi’s part, they have offered to refund the purchaser.

Is this a worrying trend about the shoddy workmanship of China-made vehicles (see our coverage on the Chery with a broken axle here)? Or is this just a case of a customer receiving a lemon? We’ll find out as more SU7s drive off the dealership.