First Service BMS upgrade anxiety

[GeoffNewport]

It’s real guys!!!
Sitting here at the dealership waiting for my ZS EV to have its first service and software upgrade l can’t believe how nervous l have become.
When the technician said, “it’s ok sir, we’ll take good care of her” and walked off, it felt like she (ZSEV) was going into surgery ?
l know it’s just a car but giving it to mechanics that are just in EV training is a deep breath and hot cup of tea moment. Also noting that the service tech standing next to me as my car pulled away said this was the very first software update they had done.... gulp!
So yes, BMS updates are anxious moments never to be underrated or dismissed. Stay tuned for the outcome
Cheers

 

[TassiedEVil]

Crikey! I’m nervous too!! Deep breaths...why were ICE services never this stressful??
Let us know what software update it is - if they can tell you ?

 

[GeoffNewport]

The take away from the first service (at least here in Australia)
BMS upgraded as follows (changes highlighted)

Only notable change l could see was the kms remaining now permanently on the center display (replacing second clock), and a seat belt warning (2 minutes on empty seat) observed and reported to the MG mothership in China.
The service technicians were a little wary of the car and tech as well. "Seems like there's nothing to fix on these cars" was one comment and the sales guys couldn't say a sentence without mentioning the fantastic new MG hybrid however forgetting the poor 60 km range assisted battery.
All in all an interesting day.
Could MG have done it a little better.... I think so.
Training their staff to understand the car and at the very least have a bulletin of software updates to the car and what they mean would have been appreciated.
Cheers

 

[Dr Dave]

I thought the latest BMS update (10-02-2021) is 0210622EU1 which was installed on my car last Wednesday as part of the service. Check with your dealership!

 

[JodyS21]

The take away from the first service (at least here in Australia)
BMS upgraded as follows (changes highlighted)
View attachment 2394
Only notable change l could see was the kms remaining now permanently on the center display (replacing second clock), and a seat belt warning (2 minutes on empty seat) observed and reported to the MG mothership in China.
The service technicians were a little wary of the car and tech as well. "Seems like there's nothing to fix on these cars" was one comment and the sales guys couldn't say a sentence without mentioning the fantastic new MG hybrid however forgetting the poor 60 km range assisted battery.
All in all an interesting day.
Could MG have done it a little better.... I think so.
Training their staff to understand the car and at the very least have a bulletin of software updates to the car and what they mean would have been appreciated.
Cheers

You have received yet another new BMS version never seen before!
Your previous BMS version had only been seen in Australia too.

Clearly down under in Australia, MG are giving you specific BMS versions. Could it be temperature related??

The changes you're seeing - permanently dash showing range instead of clock, is part of what we know as the comfort 2 pack. Normally this encompasses things such as the annoying bongs being removed. Could they have installed comfort pack 2 do you think?

 

[TassiedEVil]

The take away from the first service (at least here in Australia)
BMS upgraded as follows (changes highlighted)
View attachment 2394
Only notable change l could see was the kms remaining now permanently on the center display (replacing second clock), and a seat belt warning (2 minutes on empty seat) observed and reported to the MG mothership in China.
The service technicians were a little wary of the car and tech as well. "Seems like there's nothing to fix on these cars" was one comment and the sales guys couldn't say a sentence without mentioning the fantastic new MG hybrid however forgetting the poor 60 km range assisted battery.
All in all an interesting day.
Could MG have done it a little better.... I think so.
Training their staff to understand the car and at the very least have a bulletin of software updates to the car and what they mean would have been appreciated.
Cheers

Glad to hear that it wasn’t too traumatic.
And yes, it sounds like MG need to do a lot better. I don’t understand why any dealer would think that ignorance and mystery from staff about their products is going to result in any ongoing or return business. Clueless and disappointing.

 

[TassiedEVil]

You have received yet another new BMS version never seen before!
Your previous BMS version had only been seen in Australia too.

Clearly down under in Australia, MG are giving you specific BMS versions. Could it be temperature related??

The changes you're seeing - permanently dash showing range instead of clock, is part of what we know as the comfort 2 pack. Normally this encompasses things such as the annoying bongs being removed. Could they have installed comfort pack 2 do you think?

Yes, I reckon probably temperature related - only a very few locations where low temperatures would be an issue and we haven’t hit winter as yet - if only there was someone to anewer our queries ?

 

[GeoffNewport]

The changes you're seeing - permanently dash showing range instead of clock, is part of what we know as the comfort 2 pack. Normally this encompasses things such as the annoying bongs being removed. Could they have installed comfort pack 2 do you think?

Thanks @JodyS21, l too would like to know why our BMS is so different to our northern cousins.
Regarding Comfort 2 Pack, l was lucky enough to not have any annoying "bongs" from the beginning so think that this update is a hybrid copy of that version, maybe Comfort 2.1 ?. Hence why l would like to pursue MG in releasing notes regarding software updates and their meaning moving forward.
It would be good to get the different BMS versions from members via country. I noted ours (Aus) ends in A00 where as Europe ends in EU1.
Happy travels

 

[GeoffNewport]

I thought the latest BMS update (10-02-2021) is 0210622EU1 which was installed on my car last Wednesday as part of the service. Check with your dealership!

Thanks @Dr Dave, definitely a country firmware release for sure. I'm with @JodyS21 who thinks its temperature related. I guess time will tell

 

[JodyS21]

Thanks @JodyS21, l too would like to know why our BMS is so different to our northern cousins.
Regarding Comfort 2 Pack, l was lucky enough to not have any annoying "bongs" from the beginning so think that this update is a hybrid copy of that version, maybe Comfort 2.1 ?. Hence why l would like to pursue MG in releasing notes regarding software updates and their meaning moving forward.
It would be good to get the different BMS versions from members via country. I noted ours (Aus) ends in A00 where as Europe ends in EU1.
Happy travels

Just thought, the range not previously showing on the dash may have been a mistake in the configuration done, it would not be the first time it's happened.... Did you get the comfort pack 2 update applied at some point last year or was it already on the car from the factory??

I've added your BMS to our list at

ECU Module version spreadsheet

I'll update this top post as more data is provided. In an attempt to figure out what the different versions of all the software do/cause, we are putting together a list of peoples car ecu versions. If you have the OBD2 device (currently being looked at in another post) or OVMS, please post your...

www.mgevs.com

The BMS versions used to pretty much all end, "Rnn", but then we in europe got an "A01"! and then we got superseded by the "EU1"
And your new "A00" has a later date than the "A01" version!!!!!

Copied here:

Date Developed	Description	Version	Notes
23/08/2019? (600 P09)	?	0823600P09	Singapore version?
25/11/2019 (600 R15)	Original	1125600R15
06/01/2020 (600 R17)	12/2019	0106600R17
03/06/2020 (610 R28)	7/2020	0603610R28	0807620R32
07/08/2020 (620 R32)	?	0807620R32	Australian version? (car production date 1/11/20)
16/10/2020 (620 R40)	24/10/2020 ?	1016620R40	Need someone with this to check it
30/12/2020 (621 A01)	15/1/2021	1230621A01
28/01/2020 (622 A00)		0128622A00	Australian version? (a car was updated 22/3/2021)
10/02/2021 (622 EU1)	mid 2/2021	0210622EU1	!!!!!!!!!!!WTF!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mike]

The date the BMS was actually released is in the first 4 digits of the number..... the date it was made available is always a few days later.....
Eg 0210622EU1 date is 10/02
1230621A01 date is 30/12
Etc....

 

[GeoffNewport]

Did you get the comfort pack 2 update applied at some point last year or was it already on the car from the factory??

Thanks @JodyS21 ,
Our MG ZS EV was born 01 Nov 2020, arrived in Australia mid December and warehoused. We purchased 31/12 to get a great deal including 3 years free servicing, 5 years roadside assist, 7 years warranty and 8 years HV battery warranty.
Everything was going to plan until we heard (off the record) that 400 cars delivered to Australia failed to have car charges with them on inspection at the warehouse. Rather than air freight, MG decided to ship these to us meaning that we got our car only 4 weeks ago. (sorry for the woffle)
So unsure of what version of the comfort pack we had other than the 0807620R32 BMS.

Thanks to our ZS Community here myself and other Aussie buyers were made well aware of the faulty version and tried our hardest to find out before putting significant mileage onto the cars.

I feel that the versions would be very similar apart from climate and temperature controls etc. That being said, there is no doubt that your use of heaters in the UK would be offset by our use of A/C here in Australia. For us, there is only so much fresh air you can get via the vents before you have to turn the A/C on.
Cheers

 

[Richie]

Yes, I reckon probably temperature related - only a very few locations where low temperatures would be an issue and we haven’t hit winter as yet - if only there was someone to anewer our queries ?

So don't drive anywhere cold! Is that what they tell you, I guess not.

 

[JodyS21]

Thanks @JodyS21 ,
Our MG ZS EV was born 01 Nov 2020, arrived in Australia mid December and warehoused. We purchased 31/12 to get a great deal including 3 years free servicing, 5 years roadside assist, 7 years warranty and 8 years HV battery warranty.
Everything was going to plan until we heard (off the record) that 400 cars delivered to Australia failed to have car charges with them on inspection at the warehouse. Rather than air freight, MG decided to ship these to us meaning that we got our car only 4 weeks ago. (sorry for the woffle)
So unsure of what version of the comfort pack we had other than the 0807620R32 BMS.

Thanks to our ZS Community here myself and other Aussie buyers were made well aware of the faulty version and tried our hardest to find out before putting significant mileage onto the cars.

I feel that the versions would be very similar apart from climate and temperature controls etc. That being said, there is no doubt that your use of heaters in the UK would be offset by our use of A/C here in Australia. For us, there is only so much fresh air you can get via the vents before you have to turn the A/C on.
Cheers

Hmm, if they were made 1/11/2020, then that would suggest that the preinstalled software should have had the full comfort pack 2, you'd like to think that when preinstalled at the factory it would be all done correctly.
You've got different versions there, as if this was for europe made at that time, it probably would have been preinstalled with the very dodgy "October" BMS.

I was thinking specifically if the battery conditions the BMS maintains in order to maintain battery health etc are slightly different due to your higher temp climate.

 

[ChrisR]

The take away from the first service (at least here in Australia)
BMS upgraded as follows (changes highlighted)
View attachment 2394
Only notable change l could see was the kms remaining now permanently on the center display (replacing second clock), and a seat belt warning (2 minutes on empty seat) observed and reported to the MG mothership in China.
The service technicians were a little wary of the car and tech as well. "Seems like there's nothing to fix on these cars" was one comment and the sales guys couldn't say a sentence without mentioning the fantastic new MG hybrid however forgetting the poor 60 km range assisted battery.
All in all an interesting day.
Could MG have done it a little better.... I think so.
Training their staff to understand the car and at the very least have a bulletin of software updates to the car and what they mean would have been appreciated.
Cheers

I've got mine booked in to check updates tomorrow because I just realised the range should be showing instead of the clock. I must have one from the same batch as yours (bought 6 weeks ago). It will be a good chance to see if the technicians are up to it. Saleswoman was quite knowledgeable so I'm hopeful.

 

[GeoffNewport]

I've got mine booked in to check updates tomorrow because I just realised the range should be showing instead of the clock. I must have one from the same batch as yours (bought 6 weeks ago). It will be a good chance to see if the technicians are up to it. Saleswoman was quite knowledgeable so I'm hopeful.

Lets hope it all went to plan, do you have the app and can you see what version firmware you now have, cheers

 

[ChrisR]

Lets hope it all went to plan, do you have the app and can you see what version firmware you now have, cheers

Thanks Geoff, it seems to have gone well - info panel now showing range instead of clock. Apparently there were two updates to do. One went quickly but the other took over an hour (technician said it had to come via China and was really slow connection ??).
I didn't know there was an app to check firmware version. Where could I get that?

 

[GeoffNewport]

I didn't know there was an app to check firmware version. Where could I get that?

It starts with the following link on this website (search for below)

Project OBD2 - Mobile App v1.2.1​

Luckily we had an old android phone so l could down load the app and l picked up a OBD2 which sits in the car now. the attached pics from Dr Dave in this post and my stats all come from these.
Best of luck, let me know if l can assist.
Cheers

 

[ChrisR]

It starts with the following link on this website (search for below)

Project OBD2 - Mobile App v1.2.1​

Luckily we had an old android phone so l could down load the app and l picked up a OBD2 which sits in the car now. the attached pics from Dr Dave in this post and my stats all come from these.
Best of luck, let me know if l can assist.
Cheers

Ta Geoff, I'll have a look - I have an android phone but not sure I need to know too much more than the car already tells me. I had hoped the technician might be more of an enthusiast but they're selling way more ICE than EV so good to have this forum for info.