Technology

When switching my 2022 Haval Jolion 1.5 Super Luxury on, it switches off again and a warning exclamation mark appears in an orange square, along with an LSS FAULT message on the dashboard. When I switch the car back on, the warning disappears, but the same thing happens again after a few days. What could be the problem, and will the Haval dealership charge to have a look at it?

China has revolutionised new cars and it is only the beginning. The China Society of Automotive Engineers has come together to show carmakers and third-party suppliers aren’t sitting on their laurels and are planning a big 2027. These are the trends and tech to revolutionise it all again in 2027, according to the gaggle of engineers. This game-changing technology is becoming a reality. The futuristic cells are entering the pilot production stage with an energy density of 400Wh/kg, which is more than double that of conventional electric car batteries. Solid-state batteries are said to be more energy dense, less fire prone and faster to charge than current batteries. This means range can be doubled, or carmakers can use batteries half the size for the same driving range as current EVs. This will allow for lighter, more efficient EVs and will make electric utes, 4WDs and sports cars more palatable.  Nearly every carmaker and battery supplier on the planet is working on this. Watch this space. Harnessing the stored energy inside a car’s battery to power homes and neighbourhoods during times of high power demand and emergencies is the holy grail of EV capabilities. This technology isn’t just being trialled in China, but is also being tested in Australia where is is arguably more valuable. V2G when paired with solar can effectively allow owners to live off the grid and to earn money by sending power back to the grid during peak times. The infrastructure is what is holding it up, the majority of electric cars are not yet set up to handle V2G and it can void the warranty if owners try to use the tech now. Chinese carmakers such as BYD, Geely, MG and others are trialling die-casting using a magnesium alloy which is lighter, stronger and better at reducing vibration than current materials. The die-casting method will make for more affordable construction methods thanks to reduced components, while the material will make EVs more efficient and pleasant to drive via increased structural rigidity and reduction of NVH. This new tech could revolutionise mining operations with a group of trucks following a prescribed route - from the mine to port for example - with one elad vehicle and several following it along major roads. This helps reduce the cost of freight, improve safety and reduce fuel use due to the following vehicles benefitting from reduced drag. 3D printing is common, but an emerging tech is 3D printing using metal. It can be used to make vehicle structures and complex single-piece mouldings. There are numerous constraints currently with the technology, but it has the potential to reduce weight from fewer parts used. It can improve strength, durability and crash safety performance by creating a stiffer structure with fewer welds. The engineers society believe there will be significant breakthroughs next year. Low-cost metal powders are expected to be used as building materials, plus layer thickness to make sturdier structures and improved printing performance. This works by cars and infrastructure all talking to each other to help make collaborative scenarios.  This can help improve road safety with advanced identification of hazards and reduced crash scenarios. It can also help reduce traffic with traffic lights prioritising the flow of traffic in real time rather than on set parameters. It also allows for better pedestrian safety with the cars able to effectively see around corners and other blind spots thanks to integration with static infrastructure and public cameras.

The term ‘China speed’ is now firmly entrenched in the automotive vernacular, with engineering and design cycles coming out of carmakers from that country setting the bar ever-higher for legacy brands around the world. In response, General Motors is looking to bridge the gap by embracing the time-saving potential of AI to “cut development cycles in half” and rapidly bring high-level autonomous driving to market. That could mean a reduction from GM’s traditional four- to five-year new model development timeframe to as little as two years.  In fact, the Detroit giant says a large percentage of the US$16 billion (~A$22.8 billion) it has dedicated to research, development and manufacturing in 2026 has been directed towards modernising operations and developing new technology faster. Under the banner of ‘GM Forward’, initiatives including a Generation 4 electric vehicle platform, next-generation electrical and computing architecture, more advanced OnStar Connected Intelligence systems and a wide roll-out of fully-autonomous highway driving (following the next Cadillac Escalade in 2028) have been accelerated through the use of AI. GM said its new EV platform features the world’s first production lithium manganese rich (LMR) prismatic battery, an in-house developed low-cost chemistry designed to offer 33 per cent more energy density than lithium iron phosphate (LFP). According to GM, AI-driven computer modelling allowed its development team to test more than 300,000 battery designs before building a physical prototype, ultimately moving from its first LMR battery pack concept to formal program approval in only one month. At the same time, GM said the future platform will feature new electric motors and power electronics that require 40 per cent fewer parts in the powertrain, a third less wiring and will boast 40 times the current EV average processing power. GM added its “connected intelligence (is) transforming the everyday driving experience and helping businesses run their fleets more efficiently.” A new-generation OnStar system includes a ‘Fleet Intelligence’ function “to help fleet managers spot issues sooner, reduce downtime and manage costs across vehicle health, maintenance and fuel and energy use.” It said the system’s AI Assistant “turns that data into practical guidance” allowing fleet managers to “ask questions in natural language to quickly identify trends, improve vehicle utilisation and make more proactive decisions.” GM has already confirmed its plan to roll out “eyes-off, hands-free” autonomous highway driving with its next-generation pure-electric Cadillac Escalade IQ, due to hit the North American market in 2028, and now says it will be able to quickly expand the capability to higher-volume models thanks to AI. Confirming the broader program GM said, “Expanding autonomous capabilities to high-volume vehicles requires validation at unprecedented scale.  “That foundation starts with the trust built over more than 1.2 billion hands-free miles driven by Super Cruise customers.  “To accelerate autonomous deployment safely, our engineering teams are combining real-world data collection with frontier AI and machine learning tools.” The autonomous system combines active safety, chassis control, propulsion and other systems into a single ‘Central Compute Unit (CCU), allowing vehicles to run in-cabin AI and self-driving systems simultaneously.

Physical buttons are making a return to cars around the world, but the Chinese government is taking it a step further. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has filed proposals to mandate physical buttons and switches for critical car functions. Multimedia screens, large-area displays and complex head-up displays in cars must undergo mandatory safety checks under the proposals. These tests will measure the impact on driver distraction, reliability in extreme weather and crash performance. The rules take effect for new models from January 1, 2027, with existing models getting the same scrutiny from July 1, 2027. In February 2026, China overtook Japan as the biggest seller of cars in Australia. The China-built BYD Sealion 7 and Tesla Model Y have consistently been the two best-selling electric cars in Australia. They feature 15.6-inch and 16.0-inch central touchscreens, respectively. The Model Y’s screen controls virtually all functions, while the touchscreen in the Sealion 7 controls climate as well as vehicle and safety settings. Installing a large screen instead of a series of buttons and switches can save carmakers money. Housing features like this in a touchscreen increases driver distraction, with drivers needing to sift through menus instead of looking at the road. It arguably causes a similar distraction to using a mobile phone while driving, but using a big touchscreen isn’t illegal. These new rules will require key functionality to be controlled physically as opposed to being embedded in the in-car software. Buyers will see many of Australia’s most popular models adopt a new layout inside the cabin from 2027. Some brands have already started to reintroduce physical controls in the cabin in response to buyer feedback, including Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen. The Chinese government is moving to prohibit “folding” or “flexible” screens inside the car. While there aren’t mass-production cars that have these styles of screen, some brands were developing plans to introduce them down the line. China is also banning the use of ‘zero-gravity’ seats while driving that have become hugely popular in luxury models. This feature enables a seat to recline back on a steep angle, while elevating the leg rest to distribute body weight evenly, hence ‘zero-gravity’. This poses dangers to passengers, because in the event of a sudden stop or a crash, they could slide under the seatbelt, and will also be misaligned with airbags. It comes after the Chinese government outlawed electrically-operated hidden door handles, in favour of manual emergency releases.

I have an intermittent problem with the remote on my 2011 Hyundai. It sometimes will open the doors and won’t start the car, other times it will open the doors and the car starts. I have checked the batteries in the remotes and changed them. I have opened the doors and tried to start the car a few times.

Sometimes it will start, other times it takes a few goes to get it started. I have turned it off straight away and it starts again and it locks when I turn it off and pushed the button on the remote. I have noted that sometimes when I push the remote the red light flashes other times it doesn't.

Do I get two new remotes, or can the two I have be reprogrammed. If so do I go to the dealer or an auto electrician?

In the last few months, the front camera in my 2019 Mitsubishi ASX that controls the front-collision management system and lane-departure alert has been telling me it needs a service. Mitsubishi tells me this is common and that the camera literally heats up and malfunctions. Is this common?

Think you’ve been snapped by a camera while holding your mobile phone? Here’s how you’ll find out if a mobile phone detection camera caught you, how these cameras work, the penalties you could face for each state of Australia, the loopholes and what to do if you think the camera got it wrong. We’re not going to ask why you’ve found yourself in this situation where you really want to know if you were caught by a camera holding your phone while driving. You know it’s not just against the law, but incredibly dangerous to hold or use your phone while driving. But we’re not here to judge, just to (Cars) guide you. So here’s a state-by-state and territory-by-territory guide to how you’ll find out if you’ve been caught with your phone while driving, the penalty you’ll pay and ways to use your phone legally while driving. First a little explainer on the mobile phone detection cameras themselves. Mobile phone detection cameras, also known as distracted driver and seat belt detection cameras, come in two forms - fixed and portable. Fixed mobile detection cameras are often located over gantries above motorways and highways. Portable mobile detection cameras are sometimes mounted on a small trailer parked on the side of the road. These have a large boom arm that holds the camera and sensors above the road and often have solar panels. The cameras themselves are about the size of a shoe box and may be accompanied by multiple sensors. If you see one while driving and holding your phone, it’s probably too late, so just don’t be tempted to pick it up at all. Mobile phone detection cameras operate in all states of Australia except for the Northern Territory. The phone detecting technology works by Artificial Intelligence (AI) first identifying the suspected use of a device and snapping an image, which is sent off to a human to verify with their own eyes. What if they make a mistake? More on that below. Here’s how you’ll find out if you’ve been caught by a mobile phone detection camera and the penalty you’ll face state-by-state. In NSW you’ll generally find out if you’ve been caught by a mobile phone detection camera through the post about a week after the offence, although reports say this can also take up to 30 days.  You’ll receive the penalty notice and you’ll be able to check the camera image online through the Service NSW app. The penalty for holding and using a phone while driving in NSW is five points and $410. In Victoria you’ll be notified of any mobile phone detection camera infringement by post, and as with other states, you’ll be able to check the actual camera image online through Fines Victoria The penalty for holding a phone while driving in Victoria is four points and $627. South Australians you’ll find out the bad news through the post and there’s not a standard delivery time. The penalty in South Australia for holding and using a phone while driving is $592, plus an $108 victims of crime levy for adults and $20 for people under 18. You’ll also have three points taken off your licence. Queenslanders you’ll be notified by mail and the notice includes images of the alleged offence. The Queensland Revenue Office handles the infringement and you’re looking at a fine of $1295 and four demerit points.  Tasmanians you’ll also be notified of a mobile phone detection camera offence by post and you’re looking at receiving that infringement within 21 days.  If you want to view the images you can do so online using the photo ID printed on the physical notice in the mail. The penalty for holding and using your phone while driving in Tasmania is $426 and three points. Western Australians you’ll get the infringement notice in the mail, but there are some interesting twists to where you get caught and what you were doing. First if you were snapped by the cameras on the Mitchell Freeway, then from June 1 for six months you'll receive a caution notice. If you’re reading this in late 2026 or 2027 double check this as the period of leniency may have ended. Next, your penalty or penalties vary because WA has two categories for mobile phone infringements - ordinary illegal phone use and serious illegal phone use. Ordinary illegal phone use refers to just holding or touching the phone and the fine is $500 and three demerit points Serious illegal phone use refers to actively using the device to do things such as texting, filming, posting and so on. The fine is $1000 and four demerit points. In the ACT drivers are posted an infringement notice for mobile phone detection camera offences and you should receive this within 28 days. Like Western Australians your penalty depends on how you were using the device which makes sense. So in the ACT if you’re snapped just holding the phone the penalty is $615 and three demerit points. And if you’re actively using the device to message, search or post then you’ll receive a $745 fine and four demerit points. There are no mobile phone detection cameras in the NT, but holding and using a phone while driving is still against the law and police are on the lookout. The penalty for holding and using a mobile phone while driving is $500 and three demerit points. You would have seen plenty of cases in the media where phone detection cameras have detected other things that aren’t phones, or possibly phone shaped, or just a case of somebody maybe scratching their ear.  Even then mistakes can be made and so it’s always important to check the images of you allegedly using your device. You may have just been eating a banana, or yawning, or both. As for loopholes, such as passing the phone to somebody or using the phone in an emergency. This varies around Australia, but if you’re unsure then don’t touch it.  In NSW you can pass the phone to a passenger legally and this is detailed in Transport for NSW mobile phone usage guidelines 2025. That said we have read accounts on forums recently where NSW drivers have had this exemption denied and asked to front-up to court to fight it.  Victoria on the other hand has a blanket rule that says you can’t hold the phone no matter what. The only legal way to use your phone anywhere in Australia while driving is by mounting it in a phone cradle - unless you’re a learner or P-plater then there’s no allowance for ever touching a device even in a cradle. Fully licensed drivers can only use some phone functions. These include GPS navigation, music or podcasts and phone calls - using hands free.  Messaging, scrolling, posting, searching by hand are not allowed even in a cradle. Again as with all this information and guidance given here it’s important to check the rules in your state because they are constantly updated and changed. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are legal to use everywhere in Australia and all new cars these days come standard with these apps. You can make calls and send messages hands free, and listen to music and podcasts using the central media screen as your interface If your car is a bit older you may still have been able to use Bluetooth connectivity to set up your phone and if you’re driving something verging on ancient/classic we suggest an aftermarket Apple CarPlay or Android Auto system.

How confidently can you drive on hardened snow, or in icy conditions? And what about electric vehicles (EVs)? Are they better or worse? The answers very much depend on the model of vehicle in question, as well as the level of advanced driver assistance technologies (ADAS) fitted. That’s because modern vehicles are immeasurably better at steering and braking control on very low grip surfaces, and are able to react far quicker than a human ever can. A high-grip or sticky road (usually dry and warm) has a high mu (denoted by the Greek letter m), while low mu represents a low-grip, low-friction surface like ice, snow or on a wet steel plate. Before the advent of safety aids like traction control, electronic stability control (ESC), anti-lock brakes, ADAS and all-wheel drive (AWD), vehicles in low mu situations required exceptional driving skills just to keep it from veering off uncontrollably into the scenery. Basically, the driver would often become the passenger. Now, in concert with advances in tyres and chassis engineering tuning, an electronic driving mode can be chosen according to the prevailing environment and conditions, for far-safer travel. It’s all the difference between progress and ploughing into something. Just as importantly, there are degrees of electronic intervention to allow for a variety of different ways to travel over low-mu surfaces, according to the level of driver skill. Here’s where Skoda steps into the picture. To demonstrate just how far modern vehicles have come, the Volkswagen Group brand organised a demonstration for a small number of Australian motoring media on a special closed circuit on an ice field in New Zealand. To keep it interesting, both vehicle types were performance-orientated grades of popular family-sized AWD SUVs that people might reasonably be expected to drive up to snowy regions during a ski season. Or navigate an ice-storm in on a freezing night on the other side of the globe. You never know. In this case, they were the 2026 Skoda Kodiaq RS 4x4 from $70,590 (all prices are before on-road costs) and a 2026 Skoda Enyaq RS 4x4 from $76,590 – with the latter being the go-faster EV version that is also known as the vRS in other markets. They wore winter tyres, a common addition in Europe, North America and other cold-climate regions, but not so in Australia due to our temperate climate. Several revealing demonstrations were prepared, and all on ice that looked like soft snow due to flurries but, in reality, revealed a mu surface as slippery as you’ll ever likely to experience out in the real world. Here we were shown the most basic level of ice-driving car control: attempting a low-speed cornering manoeuvre, without spearing off into a snowbank, and with limited ESC intervention. This introduced us to the three basic rules we would always have to adhere to: easing in intricate steering inputs, precise throttle control and very gentle tapping of the brake pedal, to allow momentum and the laws of physics to take the vehicle through the turn. Super difficult to achieve at first, and barely at walking pace initially, the speed was increased slowly over repeated exercises, until the balance and behaviour of driver and vehicle were in unison with the road and environmental conditions being negotiated. During these, we learned to importance of understanding and controlling ice-driving understeer (where the vehicle’s front wheels lose grip and then ploughs ahead whilst cornering regardless of steering angle) and ice-driving oversteer (where the rear wheels lose grip and the vehicle’s tail slides out to eventually spin out of control). After that, there was more of the same, but this time with a series of road twists and sharp turns combined with long straight pathways, with the goal of inducing controllable oversteer where possible in order to achieve the smoothest and cleanest route through a particular driving course. Note that understeer in such conditions is never desirable as it impedes progress. Sounds fun, is cool, but not as easy as the professionals on hand make it look. Especially at higher speeds Here’s the exception to the general rule of gently-gently car control. Sat in the Enyaq RS with nothing but icy snow behind, we were instructed to straighten the wheel, select reverse and floor the throttle, before tugging the wheel left or right once reaching 60km/h, then tapping the brake as the vehicle spins around 180 degrees backwards and slows to a momentary halt, before selecting drive and powering forward. The aim here is for a seamless transition turning the car from reverse to forward in a rapid getaway situation, as per every action movie involving a heist of some sort ever made. This was the highlight of the day. After countless exercises learning to control a vehicle better on ice than we ever thought possible thanks to the advances in electronic technologies like ADAS, we were driven to another location with two Skodas with all electronic systems switched off and instructed to temporarily forget about everything we had learned that day about smart, safe yet speedy ice driving. No ESC. No traction. No ADAS. And no safety net. Instead, we were told to drive around a point in the centre of a large field, but in a constant oversteer motion where the rear was sliding out to help pivot the vehicle around. In other words, we were told to drift our hearts out! With a cool and collected professional our only safety net in the seat next to us, the only instruction was full throttle and eyes fixed on the centre point. Doing that, with foot planted firmly down on the accelerator, resulted in a long, continuous circular drifting, yet within a chosen path and without losing control. This was the culmination of very particular steering and throttle inputs, designed to create spectacular drifting manoeuvres. Since these instructions require to do the very opposite of the extremely precise steering and throttle inputs that are the core of safe modern-vehicle ice-driving techniques, we do not recommend you try this on public roads. But, in the off-chance you have a private circuit away from danger for you or any other road user, it might be the most fun you’ll ever have on ice. And the Skodas behaved exactly as instructed, without missing a beat.

A fix for a huge electric car problem is in the works. The Electric Vehicle Council (EVC) has announced a $1.43 million investment into a national EV charging roadmap.  The EVC said in its 2026 State of EVs report that Australia still needs "substantial public charging investment”.  It called for better data on demand use, reliability and coverage, with Australia’s charging infrastructure conundrum more complex than merely installing more fast chargers.  The roadmap is expected to be finalised in mid-2027.  The $1.43 million is made up of funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) ($1.06 million) as well as contributions from the EVC and other project partners.  The roadmap will look at charging demand, pressure points and where greater coordination could inform investment decisions through to 2035. It aims to introduce a coordinated charging network for passenger cars and heavy vehicles in metropolitan and regional Australia.  “Other major EV markets have recognised the value of coordinated national planning,” EVC Chief Executive officer Julie Delvecchio said.  “This Roadmap will bring that to Australia, shaped around our distances, our electricity system and the needs of everything from passenger cars to heavy trucks.” Owning a petrol or diesel car is becoming more expensive in Australia, and buyers are making the switch to EV power.  The Tesla Model Y has consistently featured in the top five best-selling cars, and in June 2026, it achieved a recording-breaking 8072 sales.  The BYD Sealion 7 has also recorded a serious increase in sales as it provides tough competition for the Model Y, while Geely’s EX5 has had a bumper 2026.  The federal government is targeting 5 million electric cars on Aussie roads by 2035, which would require the total number of EVs on the road to increase tenfold. Electric cars are now among the cheapest on offer in Australia.  The BYD Atto 1 starts from $19,990, drive-away (until December 15, 2026), while the Geely EX2 is available from $26,490, before on-road costs.  The New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) is helping to increase EV choices for buyers, with high-emission cars incurring hefty fines under the scheme. 

BYD has revealed key details following vehicle hacking concerns emerging in an ABC Four Corners investigation. BYD acknowledged someone can gain unauthorised access to the Shark 6 ute’s developer-only software and also control functions like headlights and windscreen wipers. The brand said this access can only be approved by a prompt on the ute’s central touchscreen and tapping into vehicle wiring. It is still investigating whether these issues affect other models in its line-up. BYD will issue a future over-the-air update to fix software issues and continue to assess what other changes are necessary. BYD acknowledged a software bug can enable unapproved apps to bypass internal protections and gain access to the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) used for software developers to work on the car.  BYD said someone must manually approve the access via a prompt on the car’s central touchscreen for internal protection to be bypassed. The brand said cybersecurity expert Dan Hreszczuk in the Four Corners report exploited a software defect to enable the ADB and then install a third-party app. BYD has announced it will remove the software pathway that could approve access through the Shark 6's central touchscreen. It will roll out this fix in a future over-the-air (OTA) update, following a validation process. BYD said someone must tap into vehicle wiring responsible for the Control Area Network (CAN) bus to gain external access to the Shark 6’s headlights and windscreen wipers. As a result, BYD will implement new security measures, including device authentication and physical isolation to increase cybersecurity safeguards. It will conduct a risk assessment to evaluate the necessity of additional measures to prevent unapproved access to the vehicle's CAN. In a September 2026 ABC Four Corners report, Hreszczuk said he gained remote access to various functions on the BYD Shark 6, including operating the wipers and headlights. Hreszczuk said by unpicking the software programs controlling different functions on the ute, he could blast music over the speakers and remotely switch the car’s lights on and off. “It’s a little bit scary how open … the BYD Shark is to a hacker,” Hreszczuk told the ABC.