116,887 Units! Xiaomi SU7 Once Again Enters Recall Turmoil, Smart Driving Safety Alerts Frequently Sound, Automotive Plastics May Become The Final Guarantee

On September 19, Zhuan Su Shijie observed that the official website of the State Administration for Market Regulation disclosed Xiaomi Auto's largest recall in history.Over 116,000 SU7 Standard Edition vehicles have been recalled due to defects in the recognition of extreme scenarios in the L2-level autonomous driving system.This is Xiaomi's second large-scale recall within the year due to autonomous driving issues, forming a "triple whammy" with the SU7 self-ignition incident in Anhui at the beginning of the year, bringing the safety risks of intelligent driving to the forefront of public opinion.

Source: State Administration for Market Regulation

Recall Storm: Two Recalls Point to the Autonomous Driving System

According to the recall announcement, this recall involvesFrom February 2024 to August 2025, among the 116,887 SU7 vehicles produced, there are 98,462 XMA7000MBEVR2 models and 18,425 BJ7000MBEVR2 models that have a potential issue where the "L2 highway pilot assistance driving function may be inadequate in identifying, warning, or handling in extreme scenarios." If the driver does not intervene in time, this may increase the risk of collision. It is noteworthy that on January 24 of this year, Xiaomi already recalled 30,931 vehicles of the same series, due to the intelligent parking assistance function failing to detect static obstacles because of software timing synchronization anomalies.

Both recalls have passed.OTA remote upgrades have been implemented, but the exposed defects in the autonomous driving system exhibit a progressive characteristic: expanding from static parking scenarios to high-speed dynamic scenarios, covering the core functionality chain of intelligent driving. The market response was severe, with Xiaomi Group's Hong Kong stock price dropping by 2% immediately after the recall announcement, highlighting investors' deep concerns about the safety of intelligent driving.

Self-Ignition Incident Traced Back: Autonomous Driving System Becomes Key Factor
This year in AnhuiThe SU7 self-ignition incident points to deeper issues. Although the accident investigation revealed that the vehicle used aerogel insulation materials and high-performance plastics such as modified PPE/PPS/PC/ABS to achieve flame retardancy and high-temperature resistance for the battery pack, the rapid spread of fire after the collision resulted in three fatalities. Industry experts indicate that relying solely on the flame-retardant properties of materials has its limitations—the primary causes are systemic design flaws, such as the strength of the battery pack's protective structure, emergency response mechanisms after a collision, and the stability of the electrical system.

Particularly noteworthy is the accident involving"The phenomenon of 'car doors locked'. Although Xiaomi claims to have equipped emergency handles, in the event of collision impact, unconsciousness, or fire interference, passengers find it difficult to perform self-rescue operations. This exposes that the safety design of smart cars needs to break through traditional physical protection thinking, and in extreme scenarios, it is necessary to ensure the intuitiveness and reliability of emergency escape routes."

Xiaomi's innovation in material application is commendable. The power battery holder uses modified...Battery covers use modified PA6/PA66, and the casing employs materials such as modified PPS/PP/PPO to achieve multiple safety features such as flame retardancy, high temperature resistance, and lightweight. Electrical insulation components use PPS material, maintaining stable electrical performance in high-temperature environments, with excellent attenuation control of CTI value (Comparative Tracking Index).

However, the spontaneous combustion incident in Anhui proves that material innovation is merely the foundation of safety, not the ultimate solution. When the decision-making of autonomous driving systems fails under complex road conditions, or when collision protection structures fail to effectively cushion impacts, even the most advanced flame-retardant materials struggle to prevent the spread of thermal runaway. This requires car manufacturers to establish..."Material-Structure-System-Emergency" four-dimensional safety system: Establish a physical defense baseline with high-performance materials, optimize the collision energy transfer path through reasonable structural design, ensure the accuracy of intelligent driving decisions with reliable system algorithms, and ultimately guarantee personnel escape capability in extreme scenarios through intuitive emergency design.

Passenger safety has become a pressing challenge for Xiaomi to overcome.

As L2 level assisted driving evolves to L3 level autonomous driving, the fault tolerance of the system's decision-making must approach zero. This requires automakers to strengthen extreme scenario recognition capabilities at the software algorithm level, optimize sensor layout and redundancy design at the hardware level, and establish multi-level safety verification mechanisms at the system level.

More importantly, automotive safety design must go beyond.The "passive protection" mindset is being upgraded to a full-chain protection of "active safety + passive protection + emergency escape." As experts have said, true safety is not about avoiding all accidents, but ensuring that when accidents occur, the system can minimize harm to the greatest extent possible and provide occupants with reliable escape routes.

When the recall number exceeds 100,000 and the stock price fluctuates due to safety concerns, Xiaomi.The dilemma of SU7 is a microcosm of the era of smart cars. This safety crisis triggered by defects in autonomous driving systems will ultimately drive the industry to shift from "material innovation" to a qualitative change in "system safety"—a pressing survival issue in the era of smart cars.