9 Automakers Recall 7 Million Cars Over Interior Door-Handle Safety Flaws

Nine automakers operating in China — Tesla, Xiaomi, XPENG, Leapmotor, Geely, Chery, Dongfeng, BAIC Arcfox, and FAW — have been ordered to recall a combined 7.0164 million vehicles following a coordinated announcement by the State Administration for Market Regulation on August 21.

The bulk of the recalls, covering 4.2757 million units or 60.9 percent of the total, stems from a single design flaw: interior emergency mechanical door handles that are too difficult to identify and operate when they matter most. Tesla accounted for roughly 2.7406 million additional recovers linked to an incomplete driver-monitoring system for its辅助驾驶 (driver-assist) features.

Emergency Handles Blended Into Interior Trim

The eight brands recalling vehicles over handle visibility shared a common root cause. In most cases, the emergency mechanical pull-handle was nearly the same color as the surrounding interior trim, making it hard to locate during an evacuation. Several manufacturers — Dongfeng, XPENG, Leapmotor and FAW — used identical wording, noting that in a severe collision that disables the vehicle's low-voltage electrical system, occupants may be unable to open the door quickly enough.

Chery's recall added one specific detail — the cover over the emergency handle, rather than the handle itself, was the problem. Geely, Tesla and Xiaomi went further, stating the issue could also hinder outside rescuers trying to gain access to the cabin.

BAIC Arcfox's situation diverged slightly. The recall targeted the right-rear sliding door on its Kaola model, where the emergency-handle cover lacked any printed text or icon indicating its function, rather than suffering from a color-matching problem.

Tesla's Dual Recall — Also Tackles Driver-Monitoring Gap

Tesla is the only brand facing two separate recall actions simultaneously. Beyond the 297,600 units tied to the handle issue, the company is recalling approximately 2.443 million vehicles globally (with around 297,600 units in China) due to an insufficient attention-monitoring mechanism in its driver-assist systems. When the steering-assist feature is engaged and the vehicle enters a combined driving-assist state, the current system does not adequately prompt the driver to keep their eyes on the road. If the driver fails to intervene in time, collision risk increases.

Tesla will address the driver-assist defect through an over-the-air (OTA) software update that adds cabin-camera monitoring alongside the existing steering-wheel torque sensing.

Six Remediation Strategies Across the Industry

The nine manufacturers adopted six different corrective approaches:

• Warning labels only: XPENG and FAW will apply promotional stickers near the emergency handle at no cost to owners.
• Labels plus OTA window-lowering update: Geely (including Zeekr), Tesla and Leapmotor will add warning decals and push an OTA update that automatically rolls down windows after a severe crash, creating an additional escape and rescue pathway. Dongfeng's OTA update is limited to its Nano 06 and Fengshen L8 models.
• Labels plus replacement cover: Chery will affix warning decals and swap out the emergency-handle cover for an improved version.
• Cover replacement plus OTA: BAIC Arcfox will replace the right-rear sliding-door handle cover with one bearing printed instructions and also deliver an OTA update for post-crash window lowering.
• Labels plus OTA unlocking and window logic: Xiaomi will add warning decals and push an OTA update that refines both the central locking unlock logic and the post-crash window-lowering strategy.
• OTA driver-assist upgrade: Tesla will update the driver-monitoring software for the affected assist-drive vehicles.