4.3 Million Chinese Vehicles, Including 3 Million Teslas, Recalled For Door Handles That Are Too Hard To Open

Nine manufacturers in China are recalling nearly 4.3 million vehicles — nearly 3 million of which are Teslas — because their doors are considered too difficult to open in an emergency. It marks the largest automotive recall in the history of the country, and fixes range from software updates to warning labels and improved markings around door handles.

Most of these recalls targeted emergency mechanical door-release handles that regulators say may be hard to locate or operate in a crash, Reuters reports. It's a defect that has drawn scrutiny following several cases of passengers getting trapped inside burning vehicles. In October of 2025, Chinese state media reported on the driver of a Xiaomi SU7 who died after a fiery crash because a passerby couldn't open the car's doors to pull him out. We've reported on similar cases in the U.S., but unlike our government, China is doing something about it.

Earlier this year, we told you that China had become the first country to ban flush-mounted, Tesla-style door handles by 2027 after Beijing increased oversight of the EV industry and introduced more stringent safety requirements. Tesla was a pioneer in the space of concealed door handles, and since they aid in aerodynamics and help give cars a more aesthetically pleasing, futuristic, and sleek look, many other OEMs have adopted them as well.

In total, 2.98 million China-made Teslas will be recalled starting on September 25. Its remedy includes warning labels and an over-the-air update that automatically lowers the car's windows after a crash, according to Reuters. We've written in the past about how Tesla's interior emergency door latches are hidden away, hard to find and poorly labeled.

Leapmotor, Xpeng and Geely also announced their largest recalls on record. Not all numbers have been released yet, but Xiaomi is recalling 390,000 vehicles, Leapmotor is recalling 371,000 and Xpeng is recalling 264,000. Other companies that filed with regulators are undertaking much smaller recalls. Because many of the fixes will be conducted via OTA updates, they should be fairly quick and painless for the owners.

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Oh, and just for a little more fun, the Chinese government issued a separate recall for 50,000 imported 2019-2026 Model 3, Model X and Model S vehicles, because their driver monitoring systems weren't doing the job well enough, according to Wired. The government said the tech was actually increasing the risk of a collision. Some of these vehicles can be fixed with software updates, but some are going to need new in-car cameras altogether.

Imagine if our government was looking out for us in this specific regard so vehemently. What a world.