MG4 Software Update Thread

[NLMGSAN]

Wasn't the LKA update mandatory?

 

[tsedge]

So is it the case that there have been no mandatory updates since last March?

There will have been some car module updates for various things but it is not possible to tell as we have no access to the installed version numbers. Your garage should have a record of what was done.

 

[robrymond]

There will have been some car module updates for various things but it is not possible to tell as we have no access to the installed version numbers. Your garage should have a record of what was done.

Ok, I will give it a drive to see if the LKA has been updated. I was just going off the software version.

 

[Ian Key]

I had mine serviced last week and they didn't update the infotainment software. I'm still on r24.

I wonder if they have stopped updating the infotainment software as there is a new "improved" version of the infotainment software coming out and they don't want to pay the dealers twice for doing the update.

 

[tsedge]

I had mine serviced last week and they didn't update the infotainment software. I'm still on r24.

I wonder if they have stopped updating the infotainment software as there is a new "improved" version of the infotainment software coming out and they don't want to pay the dealers twice for doing the update.

Possibly, although the infotainment IS easy to upgrade and can be done via USB so it is rather different to the car modules.

It might be fear of you getting a problem with the upgraded version, so that might be either an MG or dealer decision.

I got R46, but not at service, in response to me reporting various minor issues - however I would say my dealer's attitude was "let's get you on all the latest software because that's likely to solve most of your problems".

 

[Ian Key]

Possibly, although the infotainment IS easy to upgrade and can be done via USB so it is rather different to the car modules.

It might be fear of you getting a problem with the upgraded version, so that might be either an MG or dealer decision.

I got R46, but not at service, in response to me reporting various minor issues - however I would say my dealer's attitude was "let's get you on all the latest software because that's likely to solve most of your problems".

It's booked in later this month to have the passenger door handle replaced and I've asked for them to check that all the software updates have been done at the recent service.

To be honest I'm not overly bothered about the infotainment version. I don't use bluetooth and rarely Android Auto and don't want to swap one set of problems which don't bother me or I can work around for another set which I can't.

 

[tsedge]

It's booked in later this month to have the passenger door handle replaced and I've asked for them to check that all the software updates have been done at the recent service.

To be honest I'm not overly bothered about the infotainment version. I don't use bluetooth and rarely Android Auto and don't want to swap one set of problems which don't bother me or I can work around for another set which I can't.

That is wise. It took 3 visits in the end to get everything sorted after the CCU fix and updates.

The car is much improved with the updates but repeated visits over weeks wasn't a fun way to get there.

The improvements I am aware of:

• Charging: better compatibility with DC chargers, charge port lights work reliably
• BMS: battery management fixes
• eSOS: emergency phone no longer fails on most journeys, much rarer.
• ACC: this is now smooth and usable on bendy and single carriageway roads.
• LKA: was never bad for me but seems even better now.
• CarPlay: improved reliability, no more reboots every now and then.
• AC: new big button screen for easier controls.
• Infotainment: various fixes but mostly is just more reliable and likely to respond. Not quicker but somehow less annoying.
• AEB: I can't easily test it but apparently this is now less sensitive and less likely to give a false positive.

There is probably more but that's what springs to mind.

None of these were deal breakers but given I had a hardware problem with CCU and was going to get some of these updates anyway, I opted to report minor problems and ask for them to be fixed.

 

[siteguru]

• AEB: I can't easily test it but apparently this is now less sensitive and likely to give a false positive.

Do you mean less likely to give a false positive?

 

[crl84]

It's booked in later this month to have the passenger door handle replaced and I've asked for them to check that all the software updates have been done at the recent service.

To be honest I'm not overly bothered about the infotainment version. I don't use bluetooth and rarely Android Auto and don't want to swap one set of problems which don't bother me or I can work around for another set which I can't.

Asking them to do all software updates isn't likely to get you onto a newer version of the Infotainment.
If nothing has been flagged with MG as a problem, then the dealer isn't going to see any updates available for your Infotainment software.
It's only going to show up for the dealer as an update available, if you've raised an issue, dealer has raised it to MG, and MG have approved an update to your vehicle to solve that issue.

 

[tsedge]

Do you mean less likely to give a false positive?

Yes. Amended.

 

[IanMK]

I'd like to understand why the module firmware updates are proving so troublesome. It's not rocket science. Consumer electronics software upgrades have been common for years (mobile phones, Smart TV's, etc). Do MG have this problem on their other vehicle platforms? Are the dealers' problems the result of an unreliable, poorly-implemented CANBUS communication protocol on the MG4?

 

[tsedge]

I'd like to understand why the module firmware updates are proving so troublesome. It's not rocket science. Consumer electronics software upgrades have been common for years (mobile phones, Smart TV's, etc). Do MG have this problem on their other vehicle platforms? Are the dealers' problems the result of an unreliable, poorly-implemented CANBUS communication protocol on the MG4?

• There are hundreds of modules from dozens of third party suppliers.
• They all talk different protocols, by no means does everything use CANBUS, there are 4 or 5 different car comms technologies depending on power and bandwidth requirements.
• They all have their own software systems and updates from the vendor, they all have different update processes and sources of patches.
• They are also heavily interdependent - a bug in one can affect another.

Managing this is a nightmare and a constantly moving nightmare.

Some (eg Tesla) have opted for a vertical approach where they write all the software and just buy in the dumb electronics.

Others (eg Renault) have attached themselves to the Google car ecosystem to get benefits from the work of others.

So far, MG has persisted with the traditional approach, as have others. VW famously took 2 years to get systems and updates working properly on the ID3.

We are fast coming up to 2 years since MG launched their new platform with the MG4.

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

We may be currently stuck in a situation where applying update "A" before update "B" breaks module "C".
Hopefully, MG can dig themselves out of such a hole soon.

 

[IanMK]

@tsedge - But surely they would design a Support and Maintenance regime for the MG4 around the dozen or so modules actually in the MG4, so it's not quite the problem that you suggest. As you say, we're almost 2 years into the product and there is apparently little or no recognition of any faults, let alone fixes for them.

 

[tsedge]

@tsedge - But surely they would design a Support and Maintenance regime for the MG4 around the dozen or so modules actually in the MG4, so it's not quite the problem that you suggest. As you say, we're almost 2 years into the product and there is apparently little or no recognition of any faults, let alone fixes for them.

There are far more than a dozen modules in the MG4, especially on the higher spec versions (which get more problems).

I am not saying it is good that 2 years on they haven't seemingly improved the system. Far from it and I have said before I will leave the brand if it doesn't change.

 

[IanMK]

There are far more than a dozen modules in the MG4, especially on the higher spec versions (which get more problems).

I was trying to find a list of the modules recently. Do you know where I can find one (and what they do) ?

 

[gwatuk]

Just taken delivery of a MG4 SE standard range.
The software is R21 but from this thread it looks like it should be R33.
Is this correct?
Thanks

 

[Martinonline]

R33 is associated with the Trophy spec.

 

[gwatuk]

R33 is associated with the Trophy spec.

Thanks very much.
I should have read this thread more carefully ?

 

[tsedge]

I was trying to find a list of the modules recently. Do you know where I can find one (and what they do) ?

I don't have one - maybe in the workshop
manuals there is a list?