Every accident can be the last
Dmitry Rogov, founder of the RogovMobil company (supplying cars from abroad), told socialbites.ca about the problems drivers experience in restoring access to drive Li Auto cars after accidents.
“Now the nuances of Li Auto cars are beginning to be clarified. People brought a car, it started to have accidents, they say that if the car’s airbags explode, it “turns into bricks”. It can be completely repaired externally but cannot be reactivated.
“For this, the car needs to be taken to China,” he said.
— Rogov told socialbites.ca.
The average market value of Li Auto crossovers in Russia ranges from 6.5 million rubles to 10 million rubles, depending on the configuration.
According to Rogov, there is currently no complete clarity about this situation, but it is assumed that the Li Auto company is striving to ensure that there are no damaged cars of this brand on the roads and encourages customers in China to return damaged cars to the original service. Bought new ones at a discount from the dealer.
“This may be a good message, but in Russia, where there is no official dealer network, this situation really needs to be addressed,” Rogov said.
Auto collector Sergei Lomonov also told socialbites.ca about a similar situation with the Li Auto L7 crossover, which was blocked after an accident.
“My colleagues encountered this situation after an accident. They wrote a letter to the factory and tried to solve this problem.
“We have been told that the problem is currently unsolvable and the only option is a discount on a new car, there is no other option.”
– said Lomonov.
According to him, it was most likely not possible to fix the problem on the spot and reboot the electronic brains of the car in Russia, after which a complaint was written to the Chinese automaker.
Workarounds
Representatives of companies supplying spare parts for Chinese electric vehicles admit that Li Auto cars have problems locking after an accident and even when the 12-volt battery is discharged.
“If the airbags deploy, the vehicle will actually lock up and this can only be eliminated by connecting diagnostic equipment and software that eliminates this error.
“And the main problem is that today in Russia we do not have diagnostic equipment that would eliminate this error.”
— Oleg Tumanov, founder of Kazandigital company, which supplies electric vehicles and spare parts from China, explained to socialbites.ca.
However, some car owners who are not afraid of third-party intervention in the car’s complex software may try to solve this problem remotely in an indirect way through a Chinese dealer. The cost of such a service is 15 thousand rubles, but third-party intervention also carries certain risks for high-tech electronics.
“They have communication channels with the same Chinese who can diagnose a car remotely. And if there is internet, you can diagnose the car remotely, read and clear errors,” said Tumanov.
Battery may fail
Li Auto cars can be locked even in the event of a less significant malfunction: if the regular 12-volt battery in this crossover is discharged, it is also blocked and access to the car must be restored via the Internet through a dealer in China.
At the same time, the procedure for unlocking a hybrid car when the vehicle is damaged is quite problematic: if the airbags are deployed, you have to remove them, install new ones and remotely connect to the server for diagnostics.
“Theoretically it looks like this, but I haven’t tested it in practice yet,” Tumanov said.
Avilon Electro dealer, which supplies Li Auto models as well as other high-tech Chinese cars, reported that they have not yet encountered a similar problem.
“I would like to state that, in general, there are currently no problems in the spare parts and repair of electric vehicles. Spare parts for them are usually delivered faster than for premium European cars, Sergei Melyukh, director of Avilon Electro, told socialbites.ca.
Parts for body repair are also provided. He assured us that waiting times were within reasonable limits.
What are you thinking?
Source: Gazeta
Anika Rood is an author at “Social Bites”. She is an automobile enthusiast who writes about the latest developments and news in the automobile industry. With a deep understanding of the latest technologies and a passion for writing, Anika provides insightful and engaging articles that keep her readers informed and up-to-date on the latest happenings in the world of automobiles.