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Great Wall Problems

Are you having problems with your Great Wall? Let our team of motoring experts keep you up to date with all of the latest Great Wall issues & faults. We have gathered all of the most frequently asked questions and problems relating to the Great Wall in one spot to help you decide if it's a smart buy.

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Why does my 2023 GWM Cannon X idle roughly when the air-con is on?

You’d be surprised at how much load an air-conditioner places on an engine, especially when it’s idling and not making much power or torque. It can certainly be enough to make the engine labour and drop revs, forcing it down to a speed where it can no longer idle smoothly; almost as if it’s trying to stall.

Carmakers get around this by programming an idle-up function into the car’s computer. This detects that the air-con has been switched on and will then tell the engine to idle a little faster to keep everything running smoothly. If this idle-up function is not working, you can get the precise symptoms you’ve described. However, if this is the cause then make it GWM’s problem to put right, as it amounts to a fault and should be covered by the new-car warranty.

Why would my 2020 GWM Steed be dropping tyre pressure monitoring sensors?

The failure to load the sensors is probably a centralised computer problem, since it’s more than one sensor (it would be an amazing coincidence if three sensors died at once). Either the Bluetooth connection is iffy, or there’s a software problem with reading what the sensors are saying.

I’m unsure how Great Wall can call the tyre-pressure sensor monitoring system a consumable. Yes, things like brake pads, tyres and batteries are considered consumables and not covered by a new-car warranty, but the tyre pressure monitoring system should last the life of the vehicle and is an important safety feature. I’d be ignoring the dealer and talking directly to GWM’s Australian customer service department and asking the tough questions. Australian consumer law is pretty clear on matter such as this one.

Where are the anchor points for car seats in my 2017 Great Wall Steed?

One of the biggest criticisms of the 2017 Great Wall Steed was that it had Isofix restraint anchor points in the seat bases, but no legal top-tether anchoring points at the top of the seat. As such, the vehicle was unsuitable for carrying children of child-restraint age with safety body ANCAP stating the vehicle was “not suitable for transporting young children”. This was a major reason the vehicle scored just two out of five safety stars from ANCAP.

It’s possible to retrofit top-tether points, but, because of the consequences of getting this wrong, the changes would have to be approved by a consulting engineer and signed off by the Tasmanian state registration authorities.

What happens if the engine oil light comes on in my 2017 Great Wall Steed ute?

In modern vehicles, there are usually two oil warning lights. The first – an orange or yellow light - is to alert you that the oil level in the sump is becoming too low. This is easily fixed by stopping and topping up the engine oil. Provided you do it promptly and don’t ignore it, you shouldn’t do any permanent damage.

The second light is a red one and indicates that your engine has insufficient oil pressure to lubricate the moving parts. Sometimes, when this light shows, it’s already too late and permanent damage will have been done. But if you do see the oil-pressure warning light, drive to the nearest safe place to stop and switch off the engine as soon as possible. The vehicle will then need to be towed to a workshop to be checked out.

If you stopped the engine early enough, you might be able to repair the cause of the low oil pressure. But in many cases, it’s all over and done by the time the light flickers on, and you may need a replacement or reconditioned engine.

What lifespan can I expect from a 2018 Great Wall Steed ute?

Engine longevity is closely linked to how well maintained it’s been. As such, there’s no definitive lifespan for a specific make and model. An engine that has been treated well and maintained correctly will easily outlast the same make and model engine that has been driven hard and missed critical servicing and upkeep.

That said, 260,000km seems like a lot of kilometres for this vehicle. Which is not to suggest it’s necessarily ready to explode, rather that you’d have to know for sure it was a pampered car with an impeccable service record for it to be a reasonable bet. But a gamble of some sort it would definitely be.

What tow vehicle or hybrid camper should I consider for after retirement?

The last decade of dual-cab four-wheel-drive utes have emerged as the tow-vehicles of choice, and you see them everywhere filling roles exactly like the one you have planned. Popular models include the Ford Ranger you’ve nominated, Toyota HiLux, Mazda BT-50, VW Amarok, Mitsubishi Triton, Nissan Navara and Isuzu D-Max. But there are also cheaper alternatives including makes like the South-Korean made Ssangyong and various Chinese brands like LDV and Great Wall.

Just make sure you know exactly how much you need to tow before making a decision as some of the cheaper models don’t have the same outright towing capacity and even if they do, some of them don’t have the engine performance to make towing as easy as it should be. For parts availability, the Toyota would be king in really remote areas, but any of the major brands are pretty well covered in Australia.

Meantime, don’t rule out ute-based wagons such as the Ford Everest, Isuzu MU-X, Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and Toyota Fortuna. These offer better ride comfort when unladen thanks to more sophisticated rear suspensions and most have as much or almost as much towing capacity as their ute brethren.

Where is the fuel pressure sensor located on a 2013 Great Wall X200 diesel?

It all depends on the model and variant of the vehicle you’re talking about, but, generally speaking, the fuel rail pressure sensor on a turbo-diesel engine will be somewhere along the fuel rail. But, even if you know for absolutely certain that this sensor is the problem, we have to advise against any amateur mechanic taking on this, or any other, job that deals with the fuel system. That’s because the fuel systems on a common-rail turbo-diesel run at incredibly high pressures. So they’re dangerous things to fiddle with.

In some cases, the pressure could be enough to slice fingers off. Which means you have to know the exact process to follow in order to bleed off any residual pressure in the fuel system (even if the engine hasn’t run for days) before you can safely tackle jobs like this one. Leave it to the experts, in other words. Also, a specialist is a chance to be able to make a more accurate diagnosis than the one given by an online forum of dubious credibility.

Problems with the air-conditioning in my 2022 GWM Cannon L

Your car is fitted with climate-control air-conditioning which means it should be able to be set at, and maintain, temperatures from low to high. To claim that heat can only be produced at settings of 29 degrees (pretty darn hot) and above is just ridiculous.

Perhaps there is a problem with your car that means this is the case, but I can assure you it’s not normal for this, or any other, model.

The first thing to do is try another dealer. But if you don’t do any good there, go over the dealer’s head and tackle GWM’s Australian customer service department. Unless you’ve neglected the car’s maintenance or modified the car in a way that affects the A/C performance, this is almost certainly a warranty issue and GWM needs to fix it. Don’t take no for an answer.

2012 Great Wall is overheating when towing or loaded

This is a great example of when it’s necessary to go back to basics. Obviously, towing or running heavily loaded places greater strain on every single component of a car. And, of course, that includes the cooling system. So start with the obvious things like the correct grade of coolant and its level in the radiator.

Working back from there, check the radiator hoses for wear (worn hoses can 'suck in' under the load of the water pump, leading to reduced coolant flow. Are all the clamps tight and leak-free? What about the radiator itself? Is it blocked with gunk or is it flowing freely (you might need a radiator shop to check this and flush the unit)? Are the engine’s cooling fans working properly? Is all the factory shrouding for the fans present and in place? Moving further inside the engine, is the thermostat working properly and opening sufficiently to allow extra coolant to circulate as the engine gets hotter? Is the fan belt tight and driving the coolant pump properly?

Any one of these things can cause overheating, but it’s also where most mechanics will start looking for the problem. If that doesn’t turn up anything, you need to dig deeper and start looking at the condition of the engine, whether the ignition timing and fuel mixture are correct and even whether there’s a dragging brake or park-brake that could be loading things up to the point where they start to get hot.

Electrical problems with 2013 Great Wall X200

When a whole bunch of electrical and convenience items go on the blink all at once, the prime suspect is the vehicle’s body computer. This computer controls all the functions you’ve mentioned as well as plenty more including the entertainment and climate-control systems, the powered seats (if fitted) and even things like the seatbelt warning lights and buzzers.

An auto electrician is your best bet at this point, and chances are they’ll have seen this exact problem on similar models. Ultimately, you’ll probably need to replace the body computer, but you can try this trick first. Disconnect the car’s battery and leave it disconnected overnight. Next morning, hook it back up and see if the various functions have returned. Disconnecting the battery will sometimes force a reset to the factory settings and will return the body computer to normal service. It’s not a guarantee, but definitely worth a shot since it costs nothing to do.

Disclaimer: You acknowledge and agree that all answers are provided as a general guide only and should not be relied upon as bespoke advice. Carsguide is not liable for the accuracy of any information provided in the answers.
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