Not Just VinFast Taxis: All Electric Vehicles Can Lock Up When Running Out of Power

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – An incident involving the VinFast VF e34 electric taxi in the East Bekasi area has once again drawn attention to the technical characteristics of electric vehicles, particularly regarding the locking system when the car loses power.

Unlike conventional cars, electric vehicles generally no longer use mechanical transmission levers. Instead, all gear shifting operations rely on an electronic system or electronic shifter.

“All electric vehicles use an electronic shifter because they do not have a physical gearbox like ICE cars,” said Mahaendra to Kompas.com on Tuesday (28/4/2026).

According to him, this condition makes the vehicle highly dependent on the power supply, including when attempting to shift the transmission to neutral (N).

When the electrical power is interrupted, for example due to a weakened or depleted 12-volt battery, the system cannot respond to gear shift commands. As a result, the vehicle remains in a locked state and cannot be pushed.

“Without power, there is no quick way to release the lock to the neutral position so the car can be moved,” he said.

In field practice, the evacuation process for stalled electric vehicles usually requires additional steps. One of them is restoring temporary power supply using a jump starter.

“If it stalls due to a dead 12V battery, officers usually try a jump start first. Even if the car cannot be started, at least there is a chance it can be shifted to neutral,” said Mahaendra.

He added that this procedure has become standard in various countries, where tow trucks are generally equipped with jump pack devices to handle similar situations.

Thus, the condition of vehicles that cannot be pushed when losing power does not occur solely in one model or specific brand, but is a common characteristic of modern electric vehicle systems.