My ZS is slowly falling apart...

[Lovemyev]

He's driving a mk1 zs not a mk2. All of these problems have been sorted on mk2.

Thanks for that !.
I have owned both the Gen 1 for two years and 20,000 miles and now town the new facelift Gen 2 for 7 months and 7,500 miles and trust me, some of the issues have still migrated across over the models.
As I am sure other owners of both models would agree.

 

[Gadget Geek]

What is the point of owning a EV if you’re having to use a fan to pre-heat the cabin.

I’m sorry but to me that is ridiculous. Research thoroughly or get an EV with a bigger range or stick to ICE,

The point is, if you are worried about the range, use a fan heater. If not, don't. I personally just get on with it and drive a very nice car.

 

[Ukchris]

Here is my take on the ZS EV, first model not the facelift. Loss of range in winter is normal in all EVs and don’t go by the MG GOM, it’s less than accurate.

MGZS EV Issues and Niggles



Dealers - Lots of bad ones so it seems from my own experience and those of other on the MG Facebook groups. I ended up travelling over 200 miles to buy mine from Chorley MG, a dealership that I would certainly thoroughly recommend. Just a shame about the car! Local garages Arnold Clark, Glasgow and Fraser’s of Falkirk did not phone me back. The latter also threatened to charge £90 per hour if they deemed the water leak I had wasn’t a warranty issue. Needless to say I never used them and went back to Chorley instead.

Water Ingress - rear doors leak into floor well when the car is parked nose up on the driveway during rain and high winds. Solution is to park face down, no leak, but then I couldnt charge the car. Seals were replaced but it still leaked so appears to be a design fault.

Creaking and excessive steering wheel play - known issue that either needs to be addressed by tightening adjustable bolts on steering column or complete replacement of column.

Door handles sticking in open position - particularly in freezing weather. Again another known and common issue.

Charge Flap not opening or locking in freezing conditions - need to use a hair dryer around the flap or park the car face into the sun to warm it up.

Air vent reflections in both mirrors - silver trim in middle of air vents shines onto the glass and is constantly seen when looking at either near side or offside mirrors.

Condensation build up on windscreen - Another very common issue with the windscreen running with condensation as and when there is a sudden temperature drop. Probably made worse with panoramic sunroof and definitely with carpet mats if fitted.

Poor headlights - Replaced bulbs with Osram Nightbreakers, they are a bit better but still not great.

Lack of interior lighting - At night time the inside of the car, particularly the rear passenger space is a very dark place. No ambient lighting other than the pathetic courtesy light which has a filament bulb.

Sport Mode - don’t use it unless you want your passengers to feel sick. The car just can’t put down the sudden torque from the tyres onto the road. It judders and wheel spins and just gets annoying. Stick to normal or Eco mode instead.

Exposed Underpinnings - Other EVs I own have completely flat floors but not the ZS, everything including the “engine bay”, batteries and suspension is open to all of the elements, road grime and winter salt. See online posts relating to rust and that would certainly be a long term worry.

Suspension and Handling - not the worst but it’s a bit sloppy in the corners. Don’t try driving it fast on a country road, it’s not that type of car.

Poor positioning of charge socket - it’s not ideally suited given that you’ve got to crouch down to see the covers and insert the cable into the charge port.

Speed sign recognition - regularly misreads road signs or isn’t intelligent enough to realise you’ve left a speed restricted area. I’ve had it showing that I’m in a 60 in a built up area and likewise showing I’m in a 20 when I’m on a National speed limit road.

Speed warning indicator - keeps coming on by itself despite me switching it off. Flashing indicator is annoying. Seems to default back to on position after charging.

Lane Keep Assist - other than on a motorway it’s more annoying than anything. If you need this to stay in lane your driving skills aren’t very good or you are so tired you should be stopping!

No lighting in charge port - would be nice in the dark when you are crouching down to see what you are doing. I’m sure most other EV’s have a light in there, i3 certainly does and it’s colour coded too. They went to the bother of created a glowing MG badge so pity they couldn’t have added a light to the rear of the flap when they were at it.

Poor infotainment system - extremely sluggish and on occasion non responsive. I’ve had to restart mine many times to get it to work although sometimes it just randomly goes blank and restarts by itself. It seems to be worse when a phone is connected and using CarPlay. The ZS finished in last last place in a What Car review of infotainment systems.

Sat Nav system - mapping detail very basic. No live traffic information. Use Waze instead.

Faux leather seats - they are vinyl, not even remotely like leather, not absorbent nor perforated.

Telephone Calls - can barely hear Bluetooth calls through the speaker when car is moving even at full volume.

12 volt battery drain - using consumables like heater and so on drain the 12 volt battery, even for a short while is enough for the car not to start.

Front seat belts are fixed and have no adjustment.

Steering wheel reflection - Shiny metal insert on steering wheel reflects sunlight into your eyes when the sun is at certain positions in the sky.

Big drop in load floor so useless for dog cage with opening front door.

Rear floor isn’t flat with seats folded down. In fact the seat bases don’t move so backs lie on top when folded.

Not provided with a type 2 cable - you have to pay for one, haggle or take out MG finance to get one from the dealer.

No window tints - so you have to pay for after market fit. Most folks get it done. It’s much better with it and makes the car look much smarter too.

No battery percentage indicator - It’s there when it’s charging so why can’t we have the display available as and when required when actually driving instead of having to guess what the little led light on the speedo indicate.

Regenerative braking - it’s not that strong even in Kers 3 and despite MG suggesting that you will be able to one pedal drive you most certainly will not. It’s more like stronger deceleration and the car just will not come to a halt on its own, it’s just keeps rolling forward unless it’s going uphill.

Sound system - it’s decidedly average, if that, even with it optimised in the Exclusive model.

No climate control - just air conditioning

No light in glove box - again a little light in there would be handy. Some cars also have them in the storage tidy in the centre console.

No baggage hooks in boot - I bought mine from AliExpress and hung them onto the rear headrests so that a couple of shopping bags can at least be held secure without falling over.

No phone app - Another common feature but missing here so no ability to control any of the vehicles functions remotely or check on the state of charge.

No scheduled charging - Not in the vehicle itself so reliance is on the home charger having that facility.

Sharp edged trim - I’ve cut my wrist on the plastic of the rear wiper washer hole whilst washing the car. There are also a few sharp edges along the bottom of the doors and below the bonnet to be wary of.

Glue Marks - I had them on both the carpet and another on the dash.

Expensive and limited official MG accessories. “Cheap” car but expensive add ons like the mats, cables, roof bars and so on. Mostly all found at a fraction of the price aftermarket or on the aforementioned AliExpress which has loads.

Window Wiper blades are poor and a specific fit so you either buy expensive ones from MG or opt for the aforementioned AliExpress. Problem with mines were that they were left hand drive so had cut tabs off to get them to fit.

Not impressed then ?

Does anyone know what could be causing a rubbing sound somewhere in the steering when turning early on in a drive? Any suggestions would be good

 

[Exdro]

Here is my take on the ZS EV, first model not the facelift. Loss of range in winter is normal in all EVs and don’t go by the MG GOM, it’s less than accurate.

MGZS EV Issues and Niggles



Dealers - Lots of bad ones so it seems from my own experience and those of other on the MG Facebook groups. I ended up travelling over 200 miles to buy mine from Chorley MG, a dealership that I would certainly thoroughly recommend. Just a shame about the car! Local garages Arnold Clark, Glasgow and Fraser’s of Falkirk did not phone me back. The latter also threatened to charge £90 per hour if they deemed the water leak I had wasn’t a warranty issue. Needless to say I never used them and went back to Chorley instead.

Water Ingress - rear doors leak into floor well when the car is parked nose up on the driveway during rain and high winds. Solution is to park face down, no leak, but then I couldnt charge the car. Seals were replaced but it still leaked so appears to be a design fault.

Creaking and excessive steering wheel play - known issue that either needs to be addressed by tightening adjustable bolts on steering column or complete replacement of column.

Door handles sticking in open position - particularly in freezing weather. Again another known and common issue.

Charge Flap not opening or locking in freezing conditions - need to use a hair dryer around the flap or park the car face into the sun to warm it up.

Air vent reflections in both mirrors - silver trim in middle of air vents shines onto the glass and is constantly seen when looking at either near side or offside mirrors.

Condensation build up on windscreen - Another very common issue with the windscreen running with condensation as and when there is a sudden temperature drop. Probably made worse with panoramic sunroof and definitely with carpet mats if fitted.

Poor headlights - Replaced bulbs with Osram Nightbreakers, they are a bit better but still not great.

Lack of interior lighting - At night time the inside of the car, particularly the rear passenger space is a very dark place. No ambient lighting other than the pathetic courtesy light which has a filament bulb.

Sport Mode - don’t use it unless you want your passengers to feel sick. The car just can’t put down the sudden torque from the tyres onto the road. It judders and wheel spins and just gets annoying. Stick to normal or Eco mode instead.

Exposed Underpinnings - Other EVs I own have completely flat floors but not the ZS, everything including the “engine bay”, batteries and suspension is open to all of the elements, road grime and winter salt. See online posts relating to rust and that would certainly be a long term worry.

Suspension and Handling - not the worst but it’s a bit sloppy in the corners. Don’t try driving it fast on a country road, it’s not that type of car.

Poor positioning of charge socket - it’s not ideally suited given that you’ve got to crouch down to see the covers and insert the cable into the charge port.

Speed sign recognition - regularly misreads road signs or isn’t intelligent enough to realise you’ve left a speed restricted area. I’ve had it showing that I’m in a 60 in a built up area and likewise showing I’m in a 20 when I’m on a National speed limit road.

Speed warning indicator - keeps coming on by itself despite me switching it off. Flashing indicator is annoying. Seems to default back to on position after charging.

Lane Keep Assist - other than on a motorway it’s more annoying than anything. If you need this to stay in lane your driving skills aren’t very good or you are so tired you should be stopping!

No lighting in charge port - would be nice in the dark when you are crouching down to see what you are doing. I’m sure most other EV’s have a light in there, i3 certainly does and it’s colour coded too. They went to the bother of created a glowing MG badge so pity they couldn’t have added a light to the rear of the flap when they were at it.

Poor infotainment system - extremely sluggish and on occasion non responsive. I’ve had to restart mine many times to get it to work although sometimes it just randomly goes blank and restarts by itself. It seems to be worse when a phone is connected and using CarPlay. The ZS finished in last last place in a What Car review of infotainment systems.

Sat Nav system - mapping detail very basic. No live traffic information. Use Waze instead.

Faux leather seats - they are vinyl, not even remotely like leather, not absorbent nor perforated.

Telephone Calls - can barely hear Bluetooth calls through the speaker when car is moving even at full volume.

12 volt battery drain - using consumables like heater and so on drain the 12 volt battery, even for a short while is enough for the car not to start.

Front seat belts are fixed and have no adjustment.

Steering wheel reflection - Shiny metal insert on steering wheel reflects sunlight into your eyes when the sun is at certain positions in the sky.

Big drop in load floor so useless for dog cage with opening front door.

Rear floor isn’t flat with seats folded down. In fact the seat bases don’t move so backs lie on top when folded.

Not provided with a type 2 cable - you have to pay for one, haggle or take out MG finance to get one from the dealer.

No window tints - so you have to pay for after market fit. Most folks get it done. It’s much better with it and makes the car look much smarter too.

No battery percentage indicator - It’s there when it’s charging so why can’t we have the display available as and when required when actually driving instead of having to guess what the little led light on the speedo indicate.

Regenerative braking - it’s not that strong even in Kers 3 and despite MG suggesting that you will be able to one pedal drive you most certainly will not. It’s more like stronger deceleration and the car just will not come to a halt on its own, it’s just keeps rolling forward unless it’s going uphill.

Sound system - it’s decidedly average, if that, even with it optimised in the Exclusive model.

No climate control - just air conditioning

No light in glove box - again a little light in there would be handy. Some cars also have them in the storage tidy in the centre console.

No baggage hooks in boot - I bought mine from AliExpress and hung them onto the rear headrests so that a couple of shopping bags can at least be held secure without falling over.

No phone app - Another common feature but missing here so no ability to control any of the vehicles functions remotely or check on the state of charge.

No scheduled charging - Not in the vehicle itself so reliance is on the home charger having that facility.

Sharp edged trim - I’ve cut my wrist on the plastic of the rear wiper washer hole whilst washing the car. There are also a few sharp edges along the bottom of the doors and below the bonnet to be wary of.

Glue Marks - I had them on both the carpet and another on the dash.

Expensive and limited official MG accessories. “Cheap” car but expensive add ons like the mats, cables, roof bars and so on. Mostly all found at a fraction of the price aftermarket or on the aforementioned AliExpress which has loads.

Window Wiper blades are poor and a specific fit so you either buy expensive ones from MG or opt for the aforementioned AliExpress. Problem with mines were that they were left hand drive so had cut tabs off to get them to fit.

What is the point of owning a EV if you’re having to use a fan to pre-heat the cabin.

I’m sorry but to me that is ridiculous. Research thoroughly or get an EV with a bigger range or stick to ICE,

Sounds like you are looking for top of the range extras in an inexpensive vehicle.
Regen braking does not apply when you have a full battery. Try putting more beer into a full pint glass! Not possible until you have drunk some. Same for braking. Until there is somewhere for the Kers energy to go, it won’t work. Works fine after about 10 miles driving from full battery.
Misting up is a known problem with EVs.

 

[Brianlescargot]

Not impressed then ?

Knew about a lot of the foibles before I bought it but was only aware of some of the others through use. The faults were the major issue though, but too much too bear.

 

[Alan Electric]

I have got the MG mark2 version and i am reasonably happy with the car. Steaming wind screen is a problem if the car is in eco mode. In the normal mode there are no issues with the steaming wind screen. I think every car has its own little issues and there is always room for improvement. My previous electric car was a Jaguar I-Pace which is a lovely car and it cost more than twice the money I paid for my MG Trophy connect. The car had loads of little issues including the issue with charging flap and its display software. It was showing the same range no matter what the setting was for driving mode! I think MG software is much more advanced than Jag I-pace. The app for MG is much better than Jag as it allows me more control including pre heating the car and specifying when the charging can start. Panoramic glass roof was optional for Jag and it costed and extra £1000. Folding side mirrors were also extra. Currently MG ZS EV is the cheapest electric car in UK for the driving range you get. I have had my car for over 3 month now and In my opinion MG ZS EV is a solid car with very minor issue that you can live with.

 

[mj224]

Just to square the circle, I have owned and driven the ZS EV Mk1 for two years now. For the money, it has been an excellent car, no major niggles at all. I am very pleased with it...........

 

[IanMG]

I have got the MG mark2 version and i am reasonably happy with the car. Steaming wind screen is a problem if the car is in eco mode. In the normal mode there are no issues with the steaming wind screen. I think every car has its own little issues and there is always room for improvement. My previous electric car was a Jaguar I-Pace which is a lovely car and it cost more than twice the money I paid for my MG Trophy connect. The car had loads of little issues including the issue with charging flap and its display software. It was showing the same range no matter what the setting was for driving mode! I think MG software is much more advanced than Jag I-pace. The app for MG is much better than Jag as it allows me more control including pre heating the car and specifying when the charging can start. Panoramic glass roof was optional for Jag and it costed and extra £1000. Folding side mirrors were also extra. Currently MG ZS EV is the cheapest electric car in UK for the driving range you get. I have had my car for over 3 month now and In my opinion MG ZS EV is a solid car with very minor issue that you can live with.

Interesting you should site the I-Pace, I also had an I-Pace before the facelift MG ZS EV LR.
I NEVER had a problem with a steaming up I could choose whether I had range or heating!
As for the software, the I-Pace wasn't perfect, it evolved a long way during my ownership, but it was MILES better than the MG. The MG software is so buggy, especially with the infotainment. Never did the radio just stop working and become totally unresponsive on the I-Pace! Never did the sat nav announce that I driving in a field when on the A34, or decide to just stop navigating in rural Wales and in the dark!
I did have the panoramic roof and folding mirrors on the the Jag, and blindspot monitoring, and to be honest the I-Pace is a lovely car, twice as expensive, but with the radio and sat nav playing up on a daily basis on the MG, I quite wish I still had the Jag!
One last thing, even in Eco the front wheels just cannot maintain traction when taking off into a busy roundabout, a bit like turbo lag on a diesel, and that can be dangerous.
You do get a lot for your money with the MG ZS EV LR and I like driving it, but with that software and front wheel grab-spin-grab I am inclined to look back to the I-Pace or something with sorted infotainment software and rear wheel drive.

 

[Dougal62]

Interesting you should site the I-Pace, I also had an I-Pace before the facelift MG ZS EV LR.
I NEVER had a problem with a steaming up I could choose whether I had range or heating!
As for the software, the I-Pace wasn't perfect, it evolved a long way during my ownership, but it was MILES better than the MG. The MG software is so buggy, especially with the infotainment. Never did the radio just stop working and become totally unresponsive on the I-Pace! Never did the sat nav announce that I driving in a field when on the A34, or decide to just stop navigating in rural Wales and in the dark!
I did have the panoramic roof and folding mirrors on the the Jag, and blindspot monitoring, and to be honest the I-Pace is a lovely car, twice as expensive, but with the radio and sat nav playing up on a daily basis on the MG, I quite wish I still had the Jag!
One last thing, even in Eco the front wheels just cannot maintain traction when taking off into a busy roundabout, a bit like turbo lag on a diesel, and that can be dangerous.
You do get a lot for your money with the MG ZS EV LR and I like driving it, but with that software and front wheel grab-spin-grab I am inclined to look back to the I-Pace or something with sorted infotainment software and rear wheel drive.

I nice review. I think I've said in my opening post that I've had many cars over the years with only one rear wheel drive. It was murder in the slippy conditions and the other day my cousin's husband echoed his woes with his 5 series beamer in the winter.

 

[Tim Falkiner]

The MG ZS EV Mk1 has a number of little things (like no cloth seats and no passenger electric seat adjustment and no forward sensors) which could have been attended to whilst omitting some expensive things like the sunroof. But mine has been reliable, enjoyable to drive and it enabled me to go electric at an affordable cost.

 

[Elec Car Aust]

Just wondering how many other ZS EV drivers are finding their cars are developing more than an average amount of faults. Mine is.
Started with a rattle at the hatch door as of it's not tight when shut.
Then an intermittent loud noise when slowing down that sounds like a high pressure water hose hitting the inside of an empty bucket.
Little heat in the cabin unless on front window demist (very annoying at this time of year). This follows on to what I consider a design fault with the mirrors misting very easily and having to use the front window demist to keep them clear. I consider this very dangerous because it obviously stops me seeing if anything is overtaking on high speed roads.
Drivers side mirror has stopped folding when locking/unlocking the car.
Infotainment system has a mind of its own like still seeing the main screen when changing to the reversing camera and going back to station selection when text info has been selected for that station.
Mileage capacity on the battery has dropped drastically in this cold weather - I mean down from 180+ miles to just 130+ on some of our colder days of around 2°C or less. At temperatures around 10 to 18°C the range has already dropped to below 150 miles.
So I ain't doing anything about this till my service as the car is still useable but if things don't improve and the car doesn't become more stable in its behaviour I doubt I will be recommending an MG to anyone any time soon. So far out of 23 cars I've had in my lifetime this is going down as the most faulty... And I doubt I'll buy another if the above list is not cleared at service time.
Oh, I forgot... Yesterday the left indicator lost its clicking sound ???
How do others feel...

No, all good here after 2 years and 25k klms. Ohh, except the external mirrors don't always fold in but that doesn't worry me.

 

[Colin E]

I don't know if it's a Gen 2. It's registered 2021 before September else it would be 71. Can't remember the reg date. It's an exclusive. I'm pretty experienced with all types of climate/air conditioning and never had anything as bad. Even my first car, an Austin 1100, did not must up like this one. Makes me think the air vent controlled are perhaps not moving properly. No, it's not left on 'Recirc' but I do leave it on Eco as we need as much range as possible depending upon the day as we have a disabled person to cater for and we don't always know what we're doing on the day. I've tried balancing the battery three times without any noticeable difference. This makes me believe the battery charge control is malfunctioning also. I cannot use the car with only 80% battery, leaving it to reduce to 20% before I do. This is simply not practical for our use. I do understand battery conditions as well as I used to work with all sorts of electrical/electronic equipment but I will admit to not being an expert with batteries. I can't understand either why we don't have an app to control the charging of the battery more accurately than we do ourselves.
The missing indicator sound my have been due to a warning message now you mention it.
It made me laugh yesterday when a snow shower came on and we had I think for warning massages in a row. Two or of the first three could be related to snow build up covering the forward looking camera for the safety features that use it. It was alarming that the antilock braking system was also lost - according to the warning message.
I get the distinct feeling that water is getting into the electronics somewhere and playing havoc. I think I'm extremely lucky so far and can't wait for the service interval to come around. If our service centre was closer I would complain now but it isn't. I'm covered by breakdown so don't care meantime.
It's just so disappointing that I've finally got a car that's so faulty and it's unfortunately of Chinese manufacture which is starting to put a dent in any faith I have in the car.
C'est la vie.

re: MG app. Only works on later MG ZS EV models, not on the 2021 Essence.

 

[mahmoud]

Just wondering how many other ZS EV drivers are finding their cars are developing more than an average amount of faults. Mine is.
Started with a rattle at the hatch door as of it's not tight when shut.
Then an intermittent loud noise when slowing down that sounds like a high pressure water hose hitting the inside of an empty bucket.
Little heat in the cabin unless on front window demist (very annoying at this time of year). This follows on to what I consider a design fault with the mirrors misting very easily and having to use the front window demist to keep them clear. I consider this very dangerous because it obviously stops me seeing if anything is overtaking on high speed roads.
Drivers side mirror has stopped folding when locking/unlocking the car.
Infotainment system has a mind of its own like still seeing the main screen when changing to the reversing camera and going back to station selection when text info has been selected for that station.
Mileage capacity on the battery has dropped drastically in this cold weather - I mean down from 180+ miles to just 130+ on some of our colder days of around 2°C or less. At temperatures around 10 to 18°C the range has already dropped to below 150 miles.
So I ain't doing anything about this till my service as the car is still useable but if things don't improve and the car doesn't become more stable in its behaviour I doubt I will be recommending an MG to anyone any time soon. So far out of 23 cars I've had in my lifetime this is going down as the most faulty... And I doubt I'll buy another if the above list is not cleared at service time.
Oh, I forgot... Yesterday the left indicator lost its clicking sound ???
How do others feel...

I had my ZS EV 2020 (used) for over 8 months now and I am very happy with it. It had a few issues but so was my previous cars. Before the MG I was driving 2 Mercedes C200 cars for 20 yrs and both had their share of faults. The only thing I had with my MG was software issues. the MG pilot wasn’t working and I had to take it to the dealer 3 times for an update. I had the range drop which I now understand is expected in cold weather.
The Balsall Common dealer was friendly and pleasant and did everything they can to help me.
Overall I am very happy with my choice, my first suv and my first electric car.
Have a very Happy Xmas everybody. ?

 

[IanMG]

To be clear, I'm not knocking the MG ZS EV LR that I have, it is fantastic value for money. You get a lot for your money, it is the little niggles that really annoy me.
The radio that goes silent and nothing you can do apart from stopping the car, getting out and lock it will bring it back to life! That is poorly written software, plain and simple. OK the chips inside it might be different from the ones originally specified but some code tweaking can sort that out!
A sat nav that gives up the ghost when most needed is another. Again software.
If the guys on the payroll aren't up to it then bring in some specialist help to sort it and keep the customer informed of the progress!
Again software related, my car bongs at me if a car approaches me down a narrow road, OK that might be a help for some people, but I don't want the bong, can I turn it off, NO!
The same issue if I coast up to a car in front at the traffic lights, BONG, I am well aware I am approaching a car and I am slowing to a stop, WHY BONG?

It is well made, well mine is, the shut lines are very good, as is the paintwork. It puts an american made Tesla Model 3 in the shade in that respect.
When Tesla has software issues, and they have, a couple of days later your car has an over the air software update to correct the issue.
All that is possible with the facelift ZS and MG 4, but the Chinese don't work that way!

My car doesn't like the cold! Never mind about the range loss, that I can understand. Below freezing every warning indication comes up on a 5 mile trip! Camera not working, Forward collision not working, and so on. The car keeps going, that's the main thing but it is very annoying constantly having it bong at you! Your attention is taken from what lies ahead to what's happening on the dashboard, not good!

 

[Lovemyev]

The radio that goes silent and nothing you can do apart from stopping the car, getting out and lock it will bring it back to life!

Hi Ian - We had the Gen 1 ZS EV for over two years, before upgrading to the Trophy LR.
Now eight months old and covered almost 8000 miles.
The info screen crashing at versions levels, was a fairly frequent thing really.
I reported to the supplying dealers after about four weeks of owning the car, I am still waiting for a call back with regards to this issue ?.
I have found the Android system in face lift model to be much more stable than the old laggy Windows based system in the Gen 1 version.
I think I have only had to reboot the info unit once or twice, while on the move in the face lift version.
I guess you are already aware, but if the head unit crashes while on the move, you can try rebooting the head unit without having to stop and completely reboot the WHOLE of the car itself !.
Just try hold down the ( first ) HOME button on the info unit.
Either you or front your passenger, press and keep HOLDING down on the HOME button for about 10 seconds.
The screen will turn black, but do not release the button until you see the large MG logo appear on the screen, how you can release the home button.
This info Master reset should restore the head unit on the move.
Last week, I was sitting in the car in READY mode with the heater running.
After a while, I wanted to turn down the blower motor speed, when I looked at the screen, both the small temperature control and fan blower read outs on the bottom corners of the screen where missing ?.
Press and hold of the HOME button to reboot the head unit sorted the job !.
When it boots the 12 volt system, you will get a fief warning to tell you hat the front camera and anti collision is unavailable, that’s how it rolls I am afraid ?.
I can live with the occasional glitches as long as they are not a daily thing to have to deal with.
I have said this many times before I know, but this things that get us from A to B are not really cars in the true sense of the words anymore, they are mobile computers !.
In the strive to give us all more and more features ( that many of us either don’t want or don’t use ) building in all of this Tech, only increases more complication and more software / hardware issues.

 

[IanMG]

Yes, holding that button will nearly always restore things but that is not easy or safe when driving on your own!
For something that costs upwards of £30,000 this shouldn't happen in my view.
Mine went in for a software/firmware update which improved things, but not completely, which I find frustrating.
If the phone is plugged in and Apple Carplay is working, this causes problems, not straight away, but after about an hours worth of driving!
West Sussex to Reddich it happened about 2/3rds of the way up the A34!
With issues like this how can a dealer get to the hub of the problem?
MG UK should call customers in and put a logging device into the OBD2 port so that when this happens they can call up the data at that point.
Other manufacturers do this why not SAIC I wonder?

One thing I forgot happened the other day in the cold weather was the emergency call disabled itself!
Luckily we only had cold weather here in West Sussex, no snow, but imagine if I had ruin off the road into a snow drift, I couldn't call for help! The prime use of the emergency call feature!!
Yes they are computers on wheels, but when did someone moan about the Windows blue screen of death (I'm an Apple user by the way) not since about 2015 maybe longer ago than that, computers have come on in reliability terms and now hardly ever crash! Having said that, I know what will happen, but I've got everything crossed!

I think you will find that the software inside the infotainment on the facelift models is HERE based and thus uses Linux?

 

[Dougal62]

That is very interesting, and reassuring thank you !.
I ran the reg number of our Gen 2 facelift model via "Halfords" & "Euro Car Parts" and they said they where both not available at either of these outlets ???.
I will measure them up in the morning .

I've been told it'll be after new year. I also had a look in Halfords a couple of days ago and they have Bosch ones in stock.

 

[Cocijo]

Interesting you should site the I-Pace, I also had an I-Pace before the facelift MG ZS EV LR.
I NEVER had a problem with a steaming up I could choose whether I had range or heating!
As for the software, the I-Pace wasn't perfect, it evolved a long way during my ownership, but it was MILES better than the MG. The MG software is so buggy, especially with the infotainment. Never did the radio just stop working and become totally unresponsive on the I-Pace! Never did the sat nav announce that I driving in a field when on the A34, or decide to just stop navigating in rural Wales and in the dark!
I did have the panoramic roof and folding mirrors on the the Jag, and blindspot monitoring, and to be honest the I-Pace is a lovely car, twice as expensive, but with the radio and sat nav playing up on a daily basis on the MG, I quite wish I still had the Jag!
One last thing, even in Eco the front wheels just cannot maintain traction when taking off into a busy roundabout, a bit like turbo lag on a diesel, and that can be dangerous.
You do get a lot for your money with the MG ZS EV LR and I like driving it, but with that software and front wheel grab-spin-grab I am inclined to look back to the I-Pace or something with sorted infotainment software and rear wheel drive.

I don’t know about the latest ZS, my experience was thatAC was not available when using heat on the mk1. This meant that the air was not conditioned (essentially dried) when heating and therefore didn’t clear windows as effectively.

 

[Dougal62]

Hi Ian - We had the Gen 1 ZS EV for over two years, before upgrading to the Trophy LR.
Now eight months old and covered almost 8000 miles.
The info screen crashing at versions levels, was a fairly frequent thing really.
I reported to the supplying dealers after about four weeks of owning the car, I am still waiting for a call back with regards to this issue ?.
I have found the Android system in face lift model to be much more stable than the old laggy Windows based system in the Gen 1 version.
I think I have only had to reboot the info unit once or twice, while on the move in the face lift version.
I guess you are already aware, but if the head unit crashes while on the move, you can try rebooting the head unit without having to stop and completely reboot the WHOLE of the car itself !.
Just try hold down the ( first ) HOME button on the info unit.
Either you or front your passenger, press and keep HOLDING down on the HOME button for about 10 seconds.
The screen will turn black, but do not release the button until you see the large MG logo appear on the screen, how you can release the home button.
This info Master reset should restore the head unit on the move.
Last week, I was sitting in the car in READY mode with the heater running.
After a while, I wanted to turn down the blower motor speed, when I looked at the screen, both the small temperature control and fan blower read outs on the bottom corners of the screen where missing ?.
Press and hold of the HOME button to reboot the head unit sorted the job !.
When it boots the 12 volt system, you will get a fief warning to tell you hat the front camera and anti collision is unavailable, that’s how it rolls I am afraid ?.
I can live with the occasional glitches as long as they are not a daily thing to have to deal with.
I have said this many times before I know, but this things that get us from A to B are not really cars in the true sense of the words anymore, they are mobile computers !.
In the strive to give us all more and more features ( that many of us either don’t want or don’t use ) building in all of this Tech, only increases more complication and more software / hardware issues.

I agree with a lot of your sentiments. Having worked with computers and various operating systems most of my working lifei understand the need for simplicity. This shows in the mobile phones that I buy. The latest I bought is an attempt at reliability, ruggedness and simplicity. I'm hoping that the XDA developers bring out a version of their system for the phone to get rid of what little extra blast it has, which is not a lot. As you say car manufacturers should perhaps look to give us options for the infotainment system and allow us to choose a minimal system (that has nothing to do with using Windows as it is a dreadful system to use in this scenario. Small wonder it crashes and has problems. I did not know it was a Windows based system. Just presumed it was a botched Android system). From what I've seen most Android systems in cars are way way out of date. It's no surprise there are so many connection problems with our mobile phones. My last car, a Suzuki Ignis had Android version 4.4 and that was an update while, most mobile phones were on Android 10. It beggars belief.

 

[Dougal62]

I don’t know about the latest ZS, my experience was thatAC was not available when using heat on the mk1. This meant that the air was not conditioned (essentially dried) when heating and therefore didn’t clear windows as effectively.

My front screen heating/demisting brings on the AC automatically. I now use this till the screen's clear and leave it to heat the car for a short period after then switch back to heating the car gently. This is seeming to be effective and reasonably economic with electricity.