2024 GWM Haval H6 Pricing and Specs

Yes it is. All engines use a small amount of oil, but recently, car makers have started using low-tension piston rings to reduce internal friction and save fuel. In turn, that means some modern engines consume a bit more oil than some older engine designs. That has led some car owners, more used to seeing very small levels of oil consumption, to become concerned when their new car consumes more oil than their old one. But this is pretty normal and the fuel saving is deemed worth the trade off.

Your level of oil consumption is absolutely normal and is no cause for concern. As with any car, however, it pays to keep an eye on the dipstick between services, as modern, low-friction engines and ever-longer service intervals mean some have ben caught out with an empty sump before the next service is due. Checking the oil every month is a good idea; checking it every week is an even better one. What you’re looking for is a change to the usual oil consumption rate, as well as making sure the oil is between the low and full marks on the dipstick.

It sounds like the fact that Haval’s warranty on this car of seven years/150,000km as a commercial vehicle (as opposed to unlimited kilometres for a privately operated vehicle) was not fully explained to you when you bought the car. Either that or you didn’t advise the dealer of your intentions for use of it.

However, I wouldn’t be too worried about the car falling to bits at the 150,000km mark. Modern cars (even cheaper ones) are pretty robust things these days, and provided they’re serviced properly, I don’t think 250,000km is too much to ask. That said, your car is a hybrid, so the life of the EV battery is probably the biggest question mark, and not something we can speculate on with any accuracy as the Havals using this tech aren’t old enough to have started failing yet.

The best bet is to be fastidious with your servicing and keep a close eye on the car’s habits and performance including its fuel economy. Because you’re driving the car a lot, you should be pretty well tuned in to the normal noises it makes and the way it feels to drive. Any change in this is when you need to start looking deeper.

This occurs more often than you think and it’s often caused by overtightening of the sump plug when the old oil has been drained out and the new stuff is ready to go in. Generally speaking, the sump plug will be screwing into either a thin metal oil pan or a rather soft alloy sump. Either way, too much torque on the spanner that tightens it can easily strip the treads and leave you stranded. This is far from just a Haval problem – many makes and models have suffered the same fate.

The fix is usually to get the vehicle to a workshop where the mechanic can either drill out the messed up threads and cut a new thread to take an oversized sump plug. Done carefully, this can often be achieved without removing the sump.