2018 Haval H9 Pricing and Specs

The two warnings are probably linked. 'Inadequate clamping force' on this model generally indicates a problem with the parking brake system. The car is trying to tell you that the electric motors that operate the parking brake can’t generate enough force to be sure that the vehicle won’t roll away on a hill.

This could be because your brake pads are very worn, the hydraulic lines are blocked or crimped, the brake calipers have seized or are sticky, or even that there’s low voltage in the car’s battery. Since you recently had a flat battery, there’s a decent chance the car still isn’t happy with the level of charge on board and is triggering this safety warning. Modern cars and their electronic systems hate insufficient battery voltage.

Whatever the cause you need to get it fixed, because a faulty parking brake has the potential to be a big problem. A decent workshop should be able to check the battery’s condition as well as test the parking brake system. You may need to consult a Haval dealer, however, to figure out how to cancel the warning on the dashboard once it’s been established that everything is working properly.

There’s nothing wrong with having your vehicle serviced by a non-Haval mechanic as a registered workshop will still be authorised to stamp your service booklet and maintain your factory warranty. For many people, a non-Haval workshop is the logical choice as the Haval dealer network is not as wide as some of its competitors. But some independent workshops will forget or not know how to cancel the service indicator on the dashboard, and that’s probably what’s happened in this case.

While some makes and models have a simple, DIY method for cancelling this reminder, it seems these late-model Havals do not and the service indicator needs to be cancelled via the diagnostic port and a laptop with the correct, Haval-specific software. Which could mean a trip to your nearest dealer. The other option is to phone around local workshops to see if they have the software to perform this task. The third option is to put up with the service indicator beaming at you constantly and remembering when the next service is due.