An abnormally high atmospheric pressure has recently settled in St. Petersburg and most of European Russia. Because of this, Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft could not take off, and in some Chinese cars, even the Check Engine light came on.
A record pressure of 1055.1 hPa (791.33 mm Hg) was recorded in St. Petersburg on February 7, and the next day, February 8, a new record was set - 791.5 mm Hg. Normal atmospheric pressure is 760 mm Hg.
Social networks are actively discussing the problem with Haval Jolion cars. Some models with all-wheel drive and a 150-horsepower GW4B15D engine have a P2229 error. The reason is the incorrect operation of the turbine boost pressure sensor.
It turned out that the MAP sensors in these cars are not designed for pressures above 786 mm. Because of this, car owners began to massively contact dealerships.
The problem affected not only Haval Jolion, but also some other Chinese brands. Messages about this can be found on forums. Interestingly, the owner of a second-generation Renault Duster also noticed changes in the behavior of his car. He suspected that his car might be "weather-dependent".
Was there a breakdown?
Nikita Rodionov, technical director of the Fit Service service station network, said that the number of Chinese-brand cars noticeably increased at their stations in St. Petersburg on weekends. Compared to the previous weekend (February 8–9) and weekdays (February 5–6), the growth was 40–60%. The number of visits on American cars also increased. However, Rodionov stressed that it is not worth talking about a massive influx of Chinese cars.
Perhaps, after the appearance in the media of information about the dependence of Chinese cars on weather conditions, their owners began to pay more attention to the condition of their cars. They began to notice breakdowns that they had not paid attention to or ignored before. As a result, the number of requests to service centers for repairs increased.
Why high pressure is dangerous for cars
Valery Antyufev, head of the wheel equipment assessment department of Alfa-Leasing Group, said that problems may arise with Chinese cars due to abnormally high atmospheric pressure. However, in his opinion, these problems are more related to technological features than to design flaws.
Modern cars are becoming more and more technically complex. They are equipped with dozens of sensors that have their own operating ranges. This also happened with atmospheric pressure sensors of turbocharged engines with direct fuel injection in some Chinese cars.
Antyufev explained that there is an atmospheric pressure sensor in the turbo engine that does not allow too much air to be supplied to the combustion chambers. The parameters of this sensor are taken into account by the engine control system in order to prepare the fuel-air mixture in constantly changing conditions. This is important even if you are driving along a mountain serpentine, where you quickly gain altitude above sea level.
If too little air is supplied to the combustion chambers, the combustion of the mixture will be incomplete, which will immediately be noted by the catalyst electronics, and the engine power will decrease. If there is too much air, this can lead to engine failure - precisely because of too high pressure. To prevent this from happening, a work lock is prescribed in the engine control program, which is logical, and the dosage is controlled taking into account the atmospheric pressure outside.
Experts are convinced that car owners who are sensitive to changes in atmospheric pressure should not worry. As soon as the atmospheric pressure level normalizes, the error that appeared on the dashboard will disappear by itself, and the engine will work at full power again.
Earlier www1.ru reported that the Association of Russian Automobile Dealers sent a letter to the Ministry of Industry and Trade in which it proposed to oblige foreign car companies to share technologies when localizing car production in Russia. However, the Chinese authorities do not agree with this proposal. They strongly demand that Chinese car manufacturers do not allow the export of technology outside the country.
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