GWM Problems

The Haval product has only been on sale in Australia since 2015, so it’s a bit hard to gauge its long-term reliability prospects. Even more so when it’s a model like the Jolion which hasn’t been on local roads for anything like seven years (it was launched here in 2021).

Based on the experiences of CarsGuide readers, the Jolion has been responsible for some electronic woes and the odd build-quality issue. These, however, could be isolated problems rather than a general assessment of the model. At least with a 2024 model, you’ll have at least six years of warranty, so you could use that time to assess the car’s reliability and quality for yourself before making a decision to hold on to it beyond the warranty period.

There could be any number of reasons for this from an electrical or a mechanical point of view. Since the car is under warranty, why not tackle your Haval dealership with the problem as, legally, it’s their responsibility to put right.

But on another level, are you sure the vehicle is not using its electric motor to help power the vehicle? The transition between petrol, electric and a combination of the two can be pretty hard to pick sometimes, especially in newer vehicles with smoother engines and better sound-proofing. In fact, the Jolion Hybrid has been praised in road tests for the seamless way it transitions between petrol and electric power, so maybe because you’re not feeling or hearing this transition, it appears to be not happening, even when it is.

Most of a modern car’s systems are now sealed which means you shouldn’t find any fluids under the car, with one possible exception. And that would be some water from the air-conditioning system. One of the things air-con does is de-humidifies the air passing through it (which is why it’s so good for demisting fogged-up windows). The result of that is that the water from the atmosphere removed by the A/C has to go somewhere, and that somewhere is usually on to the ground via a vent that stops the water collecting inside the cabin. However, this vent is more likely to be located under the dashboard or perhaps under the front seats, not the rear of the vehicle.

Don’t rule out, either, a simple case of rainwater which has collected somewhere along the chassis and drains out when you pull up for the night. Did you drive through a puddle just before parking the car? That could explain the liquid, too.

Given the liquid is clear and has no smell means it probably is water, but make sure you check the levels of everything else on the vehicle and keep an eye on them to make sure you don’t have a problem. And that includes the water reservoir for the windscreen washers.

Meantime, don’t forget that a fluid leak is a warranty issue for Haval to deal with.

The GWM Tank 300 and 500 models are built by GWM in China.

There’s only one solution you need to worry about here and that’s taking the vehicle back to GWM and insisting that this important safety gear is made to work properly and that the problem with the shifting is sorted out permanently and completely.

This is why we have new-vehicle warranties, and the consumer law in this country is quite simple when it comes to manufacturers’ responsibilities in situations like yours. In the case of safety gear not working properly, the vehicle is technically unroadworthy, so you wouldn’t even be able to sell it.

Live wires don’t like to be short-circuited which, I’m guessing, is exactly what you’ve done by touching something you shouldn’t have with your screwdriver. The good news is that modern cars have protection against this sort of mishap in the form of fuses and circuit-breakers.

So the first job is to find the fuse or fuses that have blown (sacrificing themselves to protect the rest of the car’s electrical system). These will be identifiable by their broken filament (if you hold them up to the light) but often, finding them is the hardest part.

Some vehicles have their fuse-box located somewhere under the dashboard or in the kick panels and others locate the fuse-box under the bonnet. Many cars have one of each, so take some time with the owner’s manual and find the fuses and then identify the blown ones. With luck, you’ll simply need to replace these fuses with new ones of the correct rating and you should restore everything to working order. Given the scope of the mayhem you’ve created, it’s a fair bet there is more than one fuse involved here.

If the fuses don’t check out, you might also find there’s a fusible link on the positive battery terminal. This can also blow as a defence mechanism but is also easy to replace. If none of that works, it’s off to an auto electrician to find out what you’ve inadvertently fried and what needs to be replaced.

Although it’s an inconvenience to lose your car for any length of time, it might be the only way the service team can diagnose the problem and attempt a fix. We like to remind each other that car makers have obligations under consumer law, but it also pays to remember that, as the consumer, you also need to give the manufacturer the opportunity to put things right if it can.

The best solution would be for the dealer to provide a courtesy car while yours is in dry dock.

It sounds as though the car has a major computer glitch if it keeps issuing phantom warnings and won’t operate things like the cruise-control or the menu-driven functions. Australia’s consumer laws on this subject are quite clear and compel Haval to fix the problems as part of the factory warranty it offers with the vehicle.

Don’t be tempted to let them get away with this. Make sure the problems have been logged with the dealership and with Haval (in writing) so that the problems will be treated as a pre-existing condition even if the warranty runs out down the track. If Haval refuses to fix a warranty problem, it is in breach of that same consumer law, at which point you can contact the ACCC who will make a judgment that can be legally enforced.

An independent inspection of the vehicle by your state motoring club might be a good thing to have too, as it will prove that an independent body has identified the problems and that they really do exist.

Plenty of owners of cars (not just Havals) with this type of 'intelligent' cruise-control have complained about it. The problem occurs at highway speeds on any road with a corner on it. At which point, the vehicle decides it's travelling too fast and slows down, sometimes actually applying the brakes. Depending on whether you simply want a comfortable journey or you've just overtaken a B-double, this can be anything from annoying to dangerous.

I've heard reports of Haval dealers having a software upgrade which can be uploaded to the car during a service which eliminates this element of the adaptive cruise-control. It would be worth asking your Haval dealer whether it's available yet.
Some owners have actually resorted to physically covering the front camera so the car no longer knows there's a corner approaching. We definitely don't recommend that as it might interfere with other safety features.