Great Wall Cannon Problems

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.

You’re dead right that this is a serious problem. Not being able to accelerate briskly when pulling out in traffic (for instance) is a huge risk to you and other road users.

The problem could be a simple adjustment issue, an electronic glitch or a major mechanical issue, but whatever it is, it needs to be fixed before you try to drive anywhere else. But here’s the good news: This is definitely a warranty issue, so make sure it becomes Great Wall’s problem, and not yours.

It's not uncommon for diesel engines to give a little shiver as they start up. There's a fair bit going on inside a diesel engine, with some heavy bits and pieces moving around inside it that can cause vibrations. This is why – along with the way either engine ignites its fuel - a diesel engine is, typically, not as smooth as a petrol engine.

But the sensation should last only a second before the engine settles to an even, relatively smooth idle. You may also find that as you put more kilometres on the car, the engine will smooth out a little.

But if you're still concerned, log this behaviour with the dealership. Your GWM has a seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, so if there really is a problem down the track to do with this vibration, you'll be covered as you've recorded a pre-existing condition.

It’s possible that your car has a windscreen that was manufactured with this defect. In some cases, automotive glass can either be manufactured with a lamination fault or can delaminate sometime after that due to a variety of factors.

It could also be that you’re dealing with a windscreen that has been damaged by flying debris. This can be caused when the vehicle is transported from the docks or warehouse to a dealership on the back of a truck. If the debris was the right size, it could virtually `sand-blast’ the windscreen, leading to the problem you’re seeing in particular lighting conditions. You might have noticed cars being transported by truck where the new vehicle at the front of the semi-trailer will have its glass taped over. This is why.

The first step is to have a windscreen specialist look at the vehicle to determine what the problem is. If it’s a manufacturing or transporting fault, you should be covered by the vehicle’s new-car warranty.

You’re in a bit of a spot here, Rod, because you want vehicle that can handle beach driving every now and then (so, a four-wheel-drive) but one that will spend the bulk of its time in an urban setting. That means a vehicle with a diesel engine is not your ideal solution, yet the vast majority of four-wheel-drive utes are, indeed, diesel powered.

Diesel is a problem for folks like you because modern diesel engines don’t appreciate being used for short, urban journeys. The fact is, these modern diesels are fitted with diesel particulate filters (DPFs) which aim to clean up the tailpipe emissions. That’s fair enough, but when driven in an urban environment without a good run at highway speeds every few weeks, the DPF can clog up and that’s when the problems – and repairs costs – start.

Beyond that, a diesel can easily cost more to service and maintain over the long term, even if it gets more kilometres per tank than a petrol. You might just find that, in an overall sense, the diesel will be costlier to own and run.

Perhaps a better alternative for you is an SUV with a petrol engine and all-wheel-drive. These won’t have the low-ratios of a four-wheel-drive ute for heavy-duty off-roading, but they should be able to handle loose surfaces like a sandy track down to a fishing spot. The catch is that if you do get an SUV stuck on the beach, you won’t get much sympathy for taking the vehicle out of its depth (literally). Perhaps an older four-wheel-drive with a petrol engine would be your best bet. Look at vehicles like a 2015 to 2017 Toyota HiLux ute which was available with four-wheel-drive and a very handy four-litre petrol V6 engine. That way, you’ll get both the driveline and the engine that best matches your requirements.