A Chinese motorist has sparked widespread conversation online after claiming that his Xiaomi SU7 Max electric vehicle keeps mistaking his naturally small eyes for signs of drowsiness behind the wheel.
Mr. Li, a young driver from China’s Zhejiang Province, recently purchased the luxury electric vehicle praised for its lightning-fast performance and sleek design. The Xiaomi SU7 Max can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in just 2.78 seconds, making it one of the hottest EVs currently on the market. However, Li’s excitement quickly turned to frustration.
Shortly after hitting the road in his new ride, Mr. Li began hearing a repeated alert: “Please focus on driving.” This message was also displayed as a written warning on the car’s digital dashboard: “Focus on driving, pay attention to safety.” Oddly, this would happen even when Li was alert and had his eyes on the road.
In a video that has since gone viral on Chinese social media, Mr. Li demonstrated the issue. He claimed, “When I open my eyes normally, the alert goes off. But when I open them wide, it stops.” He concluded that his naturally narrow eyes were confusing the car’s fatigue monitoring system into thinking he was dozing off.
During just a short trip, the system reportedly triggered over 20 times, making it difficult for Li to concentrate. “It’s not just annoying, it’s dangerous,” he said, pointing out the irony of a safety feature becoming a distraction itself.
Many online viewers who saw Li’s video chimed in with similar complaints. Some reported issues with other Chinese electric vehicles from brands such as Deepal and Lynk & Co. Several Xiaomi SU7 owners also said they had experienced the same problem and had reached out to the company.
One user commented, “I thought I was the only one! Every time I drive, I have to exaggerate my expressions so the car knows I’m awake.”
After the video went viral, Xiaomi issued an official response. The company explained that the driver was interacting with the SU7 Max’s advanced fatigue monitoring system. The system uses a camera mounted on the steering wheel to analyze facial features and eye movement.
If it detects signs of drowsiness or distraction, it issues both audio and visual alerts. Should the driver ignore the warnings, the vehicle gradually slows down and stops for safety purposes. Xiaomi also confirmed that this feature can be turned off in the settings menu but discouraged users from doing so due to its safety benefits.
Still, the incident has raised questions about how AI-driven driver assistance systems interpret physical diversity among users. For Mr. Li and many others, it’s a glitch that turned a dream car into a mildly frustrating ride.
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