Motor named 7 problems with Lixiang hybrids that customers from the Russian Federation encountered

Lixiang (Li Auto) is a Chinese premium sequential hybrid (EREV) brand whose name translates to “Ideal Vehicle”. However, for our conditions, the “Lisyans” turned out to be, to put it mildly, imperfect. The editors of Motor magazine interviewed several owners of Lixiang and auto repair shops, and it turned out that these cars have a number of problems that came to light this winter.

Weak headlights

On well-lit Chinese roads, the quality of the headlights is not very important, so the Russian owners of “Lisyans” state that the headlights of all models shine very dimly. Especially compared to its famous classmates (like Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz).

As the car owners stated, the problem can be solved by installing MTF LED lenses. At the same time, installers are forced to “deceive” the on-board electronics, and therefore the process takes 2-3 days and costs about 80 thousand rubles.

There is an important legal nuance here. From the point of view of Russian legislation, it is considered that such tuning does not meet technical requirements, and therefore should be strictly punished.

Part 3.1 of Article 12.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation states that driving a vehicle on the front of which lighting devices are installed, the color of the lights and the operating mode of which do not comply with the requirements of the “Basic provisions for the admission of vehicles to operation and the duties of officials to ensure road safety” entails deprivation of the right to drive vehicles for a period of six months to one year with confiscation of these devices and devices.

One can, of course, argue that an ordinary traffic police officer most likely will not identify the installed lenses, but the fact remains that such modifications, if we talk strictly formally, threaten with severe punishment.

Channel tuning studio VS Performance on Drive2

Always dirty mirrors

Another problem with Chinese hybrid crossovers is the quickly dirty side mirrors. In large cities, the aerodynamics of the housings are ill-conceived, due to which the mirror element is literally covered with dirt, which greatly impairs visibility.

As a solution, specialized forums suggest treating the surface with anti-rain preparations, as well as installing small spoilers. Parts from Renault Duster are best suited, but they will have to be shortened. The price of a set of two spoilers is approximately 250 rubles.

Lack of radiator protection

At the very bottom of the front bumper are installed intercooler radiators, as well as an internal combustion engine cooling system. Due to their low location, coolers quickly jam even on completely new cars.

The optimal solution is to install a large-mesh protective mesh, since if the cells are too small, theoretically problems may arise with the cooling of the units. But in the summer it is better to remove the protection – there have already been precedents for overheating of the internal combustion engine.

Telegram channel “Kitachka”

“Falling” air suspension

The most popular Lixiang model in Russia is the mid-size crossover Li L7. Basically, this model is equipped with an AMK air suspension compressor (WABCO is much less common). Moisture accumulates inside the AMK compressor, and at low temperatures the machine literally “falls to the ground.” That is, the “pneuma” refuses to maintain the specified ground clearance.

The easiest way is to disassemble the compressor, pour a little alcohol inside, plus fill in the largest possible balls of moisture-absorbing silica gel. But this is a temporary solution: it will be much more effective to modify the pneumatic system.

The most correct option is to remake the suspension so that the air intake for the suspension to work goes through the luggage compartment. Such a modification today costs about 20 thousand rubles, including the cost of overhauling the compressor.

Condensate leaks

On the more compact Li L6 SUV, after the air temperature passes zero, condensation may leak from under the sun visors: what is the reason, car owners continue to argue. But even crossovers that have had their roofs covered with insulation suffer from this.

It must be admitted that such a defect is typical of many modern cars, not only of Chinese brands. However, roof insulation is considered the most effective way to “treat the disease.” Here this method does not work for some unknown reason.

Telegram channel “Kitachka”

Engine power loss

A completely new “disease” that was revealed by heavy snowfalls this winter. After a few hours of driving through a snowstorm, the snow literally clogs the air filter, which is why, working as a generator, the internal combustion engine “suffocates” and stops producing the power necessary to charge the traction battery.

According to the Kitachka Telegram channel, it is impossible to charge the battery, since the pipes and filter of the main motor are clogged with snow – they first need to be cleaned by disassembling part of the car. The malfunction is completely new, but really dangerous.

Localization difficulties

To activate the machine in Russia, you need the Internet, and for this you need to solder in a physical SIM card, having previously soldered in the appropriate adapter. This is an inexpensive (about 10 thousand rubles), but important procedure.

Then some owners continue to use the Chinese interface, while others order the adaptation of built-in applications, Russification of the entire menu and advanced functions of the media system, including the installation of local media players.

The cost of such services starts from 50 thousand rubles. At the same time, there are many examples when the installed software crashed, glitched, or disabled passenger touchscreens. By the way, you need to pay separately to roll back multimedia to basic settings.

However, the official representative of the brand, the Sinomach company, ensured that the hybrids acquired the Russian language, but this is only a test version that will be gradually refined and improved.

From the editors of Motor magazine

Most of the breakdowns listed by the editors of Motor magazine can be considered relatively widespread, but the number of cases themselves is difficult to estimate, since the main source of such information is chats of car owners, where there is a lot of unnecessary discussion.

In addition, the brand itself is very young. “Lisyan” began to be sold in relatively large quantities only for about two years, so really serious lists of weaknesses will appear later.