Zeekr 009 Owner Stranded Abroad as Car's Infotainment System Locks Storage Compartment, Trapping Documents

A car owner from Henan Province encountered partial vehicle function restrictions while driving his Zeekr 9X on a self-drive trip to Europe. While passing through Kazakhstan, the car’s onboard navigation and infotainment systems failed, the storage compartment could not be opened, and the fuel tank cap required emergency procedures to access. Since the owner’s personal documents and materials were stored inside the locked compartment, he was temporarily stranded. After over 30 hours of communication, Zeekr eventually provided him with an unlocking service. Zeekr responded that this measure is part of its anti-theft and anti-loss mechanism—not remote vehicle locking—and is a common industry practice. According to the “Notice on Regulating Remote Online Upgrades (OTA) for New Energy Vehicles,” jointly issued in March 2026 by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the State Administration for Market Regulation, it is strictly prohibited to remotely disable battery functions or lock vehicle infotainment screens via backend commands without user authorization. Zeekr’s anti-theft system restricts certain infotainment features—such as navigation and entertainment systems—once the vehicle leaves China, but does not affect normal driving functionality. Full restoration of these features requires authorized decoding by the automaker. This approach is widely seen as a strategy to prevent “zero-kilometer used cars” (i.e., brand-new vehicles registered domestically but immediately exported) from being smuggled overseas, thereby safeguarding the brand’s value and pricing structure. Previously, some Chinese automotive brands faced trust issues in international markets due to inadequate overseas after-sales support and market price disruptions. Consequently, multiple automakers have implemented measures such as restricting infotainment functions based on overseas IP address detection to mitigate unauthorized parallel exports. However, these measures inconvenience legitimate cross-border travelers and involve complex, time-consuming unlocking procedures. As automakers expand into global markets, they must strike a balance between theft prevention and user experience.