Zeekr 9X locked its owner's fuel cap after he crossed China's border

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The owner says the plug-in hybrid’s fuel filler cap was locked after he left China.

Zeekr says it locks down elements of the 9X for security reasons if they leave the country.

Mr. Liu is planning a cross-continent trip in his 9X, traveling from China to Europe.

The Zeekr 9X is a deeply luxurious SUV stuffed with technology, and by most measures that counts as a selling point, but one owner in China has run into the flip side of all that intelligence. As he found out, the 9X may be smart enough to become a problem for the person who actually paid for it.

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Earlier this month, 9X owner Mr. Liu set off on a planned road trip from China all the way to Europe, a journey meant to be the ultimate test of Zeekr’s flagship SUV. Things went sideways as soon as he crossed into Kazakhstan, forcing the brand to step in so his trip could continue.

Read: Zeekr’s Flagship 9X Costs Lincoln Money But Crushes Hypercar Power

Liu claims that once he left China , his 9X clamped down hard. The navigation quit, the glove box locked itself, and, most maddening of all, the electronically operated fuel filler cap stayed shut for more than 30 hours. He points out that his local Zeekr dealer knew about the trip ahead of time, since the 9X was in for routine maintenance beforehand, yet nobody mentioned these limits.

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Too Much Tech?

No doubt eager to get its side of the story out before Liu’s experience went viral, Zeekr spoke to the National Business Daily and explained that the SUV’s security mechanisms kicked in the moment it left China. That triggers on-screen prompts and pop-up warnings and also restricts certain functions. The system, Zeekr later said, is meant to deter theft and smuggling.

Although Zeekr says the powertrain and brakes will continue to operate normally, it is not possible to open the fuel filler cap or charging port electronically, as is usually done in the 9X. Instead, the only way to open the fuel filler door is to hold the hazard light button inside the cabin for five seconds. Additionally, the charging flap can be opened by applying direct and firm pressure to it. While this all sounds rather easy, we suspect very few 9X owners know the hazard light switch can double as an opener for the fuel cap.

The restrictions were ultimately lifted through an authorization code sent to the 9X . However, CarNewsChina understands this may be something the owner has to do every time he crosses into a new country. Zeekr has since apologized, saying that real safety “shouldn’t be solely defined by the manufacturer” and framing its revised approach as “control by the user & protection by the manufacturer.”

A Passcode And An Apology

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The company has now added a passcode generator to its companion app, letting owners create their own unlock codes after a cross-border lockout. Whether those codes work offline is unclear, since signal is hard to find near international crossings. Zeekr has also promised an over-the-air update with an opt-out toggle that turns cross-border lockouts off by default, sparing Liu a fresh authorization code every time he enters a new country.

Zeekr has already expanded into multiple countries, Europe included. Vehicles sold there presumably skip these location-based restrictions, given how often drivers hop between countries in a single trip.

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