Which? report on MG4 lane keep assist issues reported by This Is Money

[Deleted member 12972]

I’m just about to trade in my MG4 mainly because of the appalling LKA. As I’ve posted before, I find it very unsafe on rural roads. I have repeatedly had the same issues Which? have noticed: pushing me toward dangerous verges on the left or pulling me over the white line to the wrong side of the road. I know it can be turned off but it is a PITA to do this every journey as it is at least 5 or 6 buttons all in different places on the screen to do it & return to the previous view. My other experiences with LKA have been fine - eg on my previous Audi it was a suggestive twitch on the steering wheel and one press on a steering wheel button to turn off. I can’t drive a car I don’t feel safe in. MG have had plenty of time to fix this and they haven’t.

 

[Evgen K]

I'm already on R46. It's not as simple as that. There are other modules and possible calibration issues as well.

I assume you upgraded to R46 at the dealer, in this case dealer should have update\calibrate other modules as well.
By the way, do you know what "other modules" are? I heard that MG periodically issues firmware updates but didn't see the "other modules" list, i thought that car has kind of central computer that is responsible for all smart features.

I can’t drive a car I don’t feel safe in. MG have had plenty of time to fix this and they haven’t.

I hope the next car will suit you, good luck with it

 

[rjhfandclf]

I'm already on R46. It's not as simple as that. There are other modules and possible calibration issues as well.

Exactly!

I assume you upgraded to R46 at the dealer, in this case dealer should have update\calibrate other modules as well.

My ER was supplied in Nov 2023 with R46 installed - and, as already stated at #30 above, it is a potentially very dangerous nightmare. No idea what other 'modules' could have been changed, but i have no faith in the dealers having done more than the minimum, if anything, as everything was rushed through for completing the sale. I've never changed the setting; I just try to remember to turn it off. Need to look at this perhaps to see if it makes any difference and whether it remembers new settings - otherwise still an unnecessary waste of time.

 

[smartn]

I assume you upgraded to R46 at the dealer, in this case dealer should have update\calibrate other modules as well.
By the way, do you know what "other modules" are? I heard that MG periodically issues firmware updates but didn't see the "other modules" list, i thought that car has kind of central computer that is responsible for all smart features.


I hope the next car will suit you, good luck with it

Again I think you are over simplifying it. R46 is independent of other firmware updates. Different dealers at different times are applying different updates so there is no consistency. Plenty of people on R46 will have a big variety of overall software levels. The MG approach is all wrong.

 

[Evgen K]

, but i have no faith in the dealers having done more than the minimum, if anything, as everything was rushed through for completing the sale

Plenty of people on R46 will have a big variety of overall software levels. The MG approach is all wrong.

Guys, i think you as owner of the car have a choose - you should either request from dealers the necessary support (and influence on MG in this way) or sell the car and do not suffer because of its disadvantages. I believe the car as expensive thing should only give pleasure. Why should you suffer, life is too short.

 

[smartn]

Guys, i think you as owner of the car have a choose - you should either request from dealers the necessary support (and influence on MG in this way) or sell the car and do not suffer because of its disadvantages. I believe the car as expensive thing should only give pleasure. Why should you suffer, life is too short.

Lol. Clearly you have been lucky with yours. No one should have to sell a car at a great loss when a fix is available. If you read the forums you will understand that the level of support from MG and a large percentage of its dealers is inadequate.

I'm living with it as I believe fundamentally it's actually a very good car and I'm now used to turning of LKA before any journey. This does not mean I am happy with the ownership experience and I wouldn't recommend MG to anyone.

 

[rjhfandclf]

Why should you suffer, life is too short.

That is precisely the point! ... Personallly, at closing onto four-score-years, I still find a lot to enjoy with the car (albeit certainly not as much as my first 1939 MG TA!), but a lot of very silly issues that owners should not have to put up with for the sake of so-called 'safety standards' (that are quite simply the eopposite to that) impact fundamentally on that enjoyment.

and I wouldn't recommend MG to anyone.

I wouldn't go that far; but I would certainly stress a few important caveats. I do think that what is now referred to on the back of an extraordinarily fine historic British brand name being as a modern MG - quite simply is not that, in any understandable way. It is a very inexpensive intro into the EV market, but which has been overtaken by events, and is, frankly, trying to run fast before it has learnt to walk properly (and safely!). I just hope that they learn quickly from their mistakes. I will need to renew contracts withi three years. I will probably stick it out for simplicity's sake (unless something major goes wrong), but the jury's out as to where I might look next ... and three more years is an enormous time in EV development terms in relation to my own lifetime in !!!

 

[salty]

Posted this in one of the MG4 Facebook groups today about the same topic, but was pretty much flawless since picking it up in December 2022...until pretty much the week we brought home our baby from hospital. Since then it's been steering us in random directions and suddenly giving us the phantom emergency braking, including one when turning into a junction and just left us frozen solid mid-turn.

Going in for updates on Friday, so I'm hoping things are better after that. I'm a little nervous about taking the little one out in it at the minute.

Not jealous of the new addition is it. ?
Seriously though hope you get it sorted.
And congrats on the new baby. ??

 

[MartinSEsr]

Hi

I know we've all experienced this and many of us do the 3-button sequence to turn it off.

Which? magazine tested the car and experienced dangerous behaviour and contacted MG and VOSA.

You can read the reports here:

Which? concerns over MG4 LKA

Which? tests MG4 LKA and experiences serious problems

I found them interesting, but the MG response is not reassuring.

 

[HazardLights]

MG4 EV owners tell us how flawed safety tech is putting them at risk

Owners of MG4 electric cars have been contacting This is Money in droves detailing the dangerous scenarios they've been put in by their Chinese EVs due to a flawed safety feature.

www.thisismoney.co.uk

New (follow-up) article from This Is Money. This is farcical.

 

[Rolfe]

The more pressure on MG, the better.

 

[HazardLights]

The more pressure on MG, the better.

I agree. I cannot believe the way MG and the DVSA seem so sanguine about this...

MG: "As stated before this upgrade has not been classed as safety related and is designed to improve the driver experience. MG Motor UK will be making no further comment in the meantime."

DVSA: "DVSA investigations show this issue does not meet the criteria for a safety recall. Drivers who experience this are able to maintain control of the vehicle at all times, and they can switch off the system to allow the vehicle to be used."

Do DVSA realise the LKA turns itself back on each time the car starts?

I am luckily in no rush to buy my new car but am reluctant to buy until MG drop their cavalier attitude to safety and software quality and make software updates freely and easily available (ideally OTA with user opt in).

I hope someone can supply the DVSA and media some dashcam footage to get them to waken up before this results in serious injury.

 

[Rolfe]

I've merged a few posts in with the thread originally opened about this.

 

[NLMGSAN]

Dvsa is the UK national NCAP?

 

[DrPlokta]

Dvsa is the UK national NCAP?

No, the UK NCAP is NCAP. It’s not an EU institution, so the UK is still a full member.

 

[Yorkshire Hillbilly]

Just seen this in my newsfeed:

Hundreds of MG4 owners say their £27k EVs have flawed safety tech putting them at risk - what is the Chinese brand doing about it?

 

[DannySB1]

Lol. Clearly you have been lucky with yours. No one should have to sell a car at a great loss when a fix is available. If you read the forums you will understand that the level of support from MG and a large percentage of its dealers is inadequate.

I'm living with it as I believe fundamentally it's actually a very good car and I'm now used to turning of LKA before any journey. This does not mean I am happy with the ownership experience and I wouldn't recommend MG to anyone.

This is my first EV so maybe I'm ready to be more lenient with MG. The LKA/ELK system is terrible on my current software (R33) and I'm sure to disable it before any sort of meaningful journey, but I absolutely love the car. It's above and beyond anything I've owned before.

As for MG and their dealer network, I contacted MG customer service about getting my car unbound from the previous owner (For the iSmart app), and it was done within 24 hours. I've also contacted my local MG garage about getting a software update to which they responded very quickly and got my car booked in for a an update (recall as they put it) within 2 weeks. So no complaints from me there either.

It seems to me people's enjoyment of this car varies heavily depending on the service from their local dealers and how willing you are to work around the software bugs. But I totally take people's points on that, the software shouldn't have the issues that it does in this day and age.

 

[Yorkshire Hillbilly]

Do DVSA realise the LKA turns itself back on each time the car starts?

Not even... If I get out with the key in my pocket to open the boot, or a door, or to plug in a charger. As soon as I get back in the flippin thing's back on again!

I ALAYS disable it, and the flashy distracting traffic sigh recognition whenever I get into the car, but it's caught me out reenabling itself and I've set back off on my journey only to be surprised by the "automated cyclist murdering mode"

 

[YaR]

It seems to me peoples enjoyment of this car varies heavily depending on the service from their local dealers and how willing you are to work around the software bugs

It's mostly the software. If there was a single button that could turn off the LKA and emergency braking without needing to navigate through menus, particularly when driving, then there'd be massively fewer complaints. The truth is these software components were released in a non functional state and should either be turned off or replaced by MG ASAP.

 

[Rolfe]

Not even... If I get out with the key in my pocket to open the boot, or a door, or to plug in a charger. As soon as I get back in the flippin thing's back on again!

I ALAYS disable it, and the flashy distracting traffic sigh recognition whenever I get into the car, but it's caught me out reenabling itself and I've set back off on my journey only to be surprised by the "automated cyclist murdering mode"

Once you realise the trigger for it coming on is someone sitting down in the driver's seat, it's easier to remember when to turn it off.