MG5 Tesla Supercharger problems: FAQ 1 - Timeline of events

MG5 Supercharger problems: Index and FAQ 1 - Timeline of events

See also these other Supercharger FAQs:

MG5 Supercharger: FAQ 2 - What upgrades does my MG5 need to use a Tesla charger?

FAQ 2 - What upgrades does my MG5 need to use a Tesla charger? What is the current situation? This is the MG buelltin posted by Miles Roberts describing the EVCC upgrade. I found it worth while having this with me to show dealers who may not be aware of it. Note that the EVCC part numbers...

www.mgevs.com

MG5 Supercharger: FAQ 3 - How to get a charge at a Tesla Supercharger

FAQ 3 - How to get a charge at a Tesla Supercharger Can I charge at any Tesla charger? No is the short answer. Tesla provide two types of chargers: DC rapid and AC fast. Let's get the lesser known one out of the way first: AC chargers use the car's onboard charger and are like OHME, Zappi and...

www.mgevs.com

FAQ 4 Etiquette when charging an MG5 at a Tesla Supercharger

FAQ 4 Etiquette when charging an MG5 at a Tesla Supercharger There are some limitations when charging your MG5 at a Tesla Supercharger. Remember you are not a Tesla! Yes I know that but it is easy to forget that the MG5 charging port is in a different location. While the later V4...

www.mgevs.com

As I promised I have started to bring together the information from the many discussions re the MG5 supercharger problems.

This is the first of several FAQs that will provide a concise summation of the the whole situation. I hope that I do a good enough job that it becomes a pinned or similar post. It is therefore important that this is kept clean.

I think we need some rules to stop this becoming like the original 1000 post thread and I would appreciate moderators helping with this:

1. This is focussed on the MG5 issue and while it has relevance to the ZS issues, it is really difficult to confirm this without the similar level of detail that the MG5 owners provided as a group. So no "does this affect my ZS" posts, please.

2. While I have acknowledged there is a great "warranty vs enhancement" debate, this is not the thread for further discussions.

If you like it, please give me a like! and thanks to everyone who contributed - without that information this is not possible.

Tesla Supercharger timeline

November 2021
Tesla starts open supercharger trial in Europe
January 2022
Tesla starts trial in the UK at selected locations.
June 2022
Tesla open network expanded. First reports MG5 successful charging.
December 2022
First reports of MG5s not being rcognised. Almost overnight Tesla superchargers fail to connect to MG5s that previously worked fine.
Zapmap comments for the Flint supercharger site state that a Polestar and Ioniq suffered similar problems.
December 2022
Report from Tesla states MGs and other have been blocked.

"I rang the Tesla helpline today and the technician said thay have had to block MG and a number of other non Telsa cars from the public open SC sites because of a problem with CCS comms on those cars. He listed MG, Kia, VW, Daccia and Jag. He said he could see in his notes a plan to fix this within a few weeks (today 6/12/22) I guess it won't be fixed until Jan 2023 at the minumum. "

31st December 2022
Reports from Tesla saying the MGs are blocked from European superchargers.
New Year 2022
MG5 owners waiting for Tesla to fix the problem as promised.
January 2023
Tesla date passes. Still no fix.
28th January 2023
Facelift MG5 works at Banbury superchargers but PFL MG5s still can't charge.
March 2023

"In Portugal, all new Tesla chargers are blocked by law until Tesla update their software & allow universal access to all via their MOBI network thus forcing standardisation."

"This weekend in the Netherlands I tried a supercharger and it did not work. I called Tesla and the help support mentioned no models of MG are currently able to charge from the superchargers. Tesla is still investigating this. Mailing Tesla does not work, just call the support number on their website."

April 2023

"I emailed MG HQ and they said it is a Tesla problem and Tesla need to alter their software to accommodate MG's."

Three months after Teslas promised a fix and did not deliver, Tesla now start blaming MG for causing the fault...

"I can confirm that at the moment, MG EV vehicles are still blocked from using the open Tesla superchargers.
Tesla is unable to accommodate vehicles that do not fully comply with CCS communication and safety protocols. If you encounter any issues while charging your vehicle, reach out to Tesla Customer Support or your vehicle manufacturer.
We have reached out to MG to investigate further."

"Tried the Tesla chargers in Aberystwyth last week, Nog would not recognise car, did use these back in October with no problems my car has not been in for any updates since October so nothing has changed on my car, so my feeling is Tesla have done some sort of update that renders the useless to us. MG 5 LR Excite"

June 2023
Tesla expands their open network.
Still no resolution of the MG5 problem

"Not true when I charged on Tesla last October had to stop charge before I could unplug, charged fine last year. Have tried same chargers this year and they don't work on MG5's ,car has had no updates since I have owned it so can't say some obscure update has stopped it from working."

July 2023
Dutch Facelift owner states that MG are issuing software updates. This is believed to be the SC052 CCU recall update

"So here it is, my MG5 LR Luxury facelift has received an update of the CCU controller in the car which should make it able to charge at the Tesla supercharger, I still need to find some time to test this. At my dealership in the Netherlands they described this as a recall sw update of the CCU. So get your MG to the dealer and request them to update the CCU software, which is NOT the MCU software. @admin, please make this answer stand out in this topic!"

August 2023
Update did not work.

"the CCU update that had been done did not result in the car charging at the Tesla supercharger."

September 2023
Swedish article reveals supercharger software fix from MG for Swedish facelift models. Sweden never had the PFL cars.
Oct 24, 2023
Updated PFL successfully charges at Supercharger after several software updates.
November 2023
MG announce that there is an EVCC update that addresses the problem. This is not the SC052 but the famous EVCC update.
Dutch guy gets the EVCC upgrade and it works!
MG HQ now state that if a car's software is fully up to date then it will work with Superchargers.
Owners now reporting that despite dealers saying their cars are, supercharging still doesn't work. Suspicion falls on MG not telling the dealers and dealers not getting the information.
First hints at the update being chargeable.

"So, I took my MG5 FL to have its VCC update today and had chance to chat to the service people. What they told me is:
1. that they cant apply changes to a car unless it is approved by MG in case the update breaks something else and the dealer is left with the bill for fixing the subsequent damage.
2. The charging system update would be treated by MG as chargeable.
3.As I had bought the car from them and would be having it serviced in January, they would cover the cost of the update and do it when I get the car serviced (providing MG say it is OK to apply).
All in all I am quite pleased with that result ( if it does actually happen)"

The great "is it an enhancement or a warranty fix" debate starts in earnest.
December 2023
Many dealers are not aware of the EVCC update causing confusion all round. The update appears to be approved by MG to be installed.
MG state it is a chargeable update we the owner pays for the tech time to do the upgrade.
MG5 PFL SR cars still cannot charge at Tesla sites.
January 2024
Despite Tesla promising to fix the problem over 12 months ago, Tesla maintains that MG does not fully comply with the CCS safety protocols.
Information starts leaking out indicating that Tesla has added their own proprietary components to CCS which are causing the problem.

Meanwhile... owners are caught between a rock and a hard place. Tesla blame MG and MG say it is not a priority as the cars can charge on other networks. The fix exists but dealers do not know about it.
Owners start getting dealers to perform the EVCC update.
Meanwhile, the great "is it an enhancement or a warranty fix" debate gathers momentum!
March 2024
A clearer picture starts to appear from the confusion.

• FL cars get the software update under warranty.
• PFL LR cars can get the update as an enhancement for which they pay the update time (approx £100).
• PFL SR cars can get the update but require the EVCC module to be replaced with a latest version to be compatible with the software. The cost is quoted at around £800 to £1000.

The great "warranty or enhancement" debate rages on!
May 2024
MG issue a technical bulletin stating that all PFL cars require a replacement EVCC module despite many documented cases where PFL LR cars simply had a software upgrade and worked perfectly afterwards.
June 2024
Dealers stop applying the upgrade because of the "replace EVCC" instruction. Owners feel angry and start collating data and cases that disprove this latest instruction from MG. They identify the build and model revisions of compatible EVCCs that allow owners to establish what the position is re upgrades.
MG realise the mistake and issue a new bulletin that states which EVCC revisions are compatible. These have different numbers from the modules owners identified. Causes more concern. Turns out the numbers are yet another set of build references that MG obtain through the diagnostic software and not the numbers put on the labels.
Dealers start to be a bit more accommodating about the charges. The great "warranty or enhancement" debate rages on!

 

[johnb80]

Tesla charger in Fort William - 40p going over to Skye At 11:30 and 49 p coming back at 18:15.
69 p on Skye at the CPS unit in Kyleakin any time.
And £20 on the ferry

If Tesla can do it at those prices, all the others are ripping us off for sure,

 

[Coulomb]

If Tesla can do it at those prices, all the others are ripping us off for sure,

I'm not convinced. Tesla are very vertically integrated: they make the charger dispensers at very large scale, I believe that they make their own back-end electronics (the stuff that does the real power conversion in those big white cabinets), and Tesla have access to a lot of capital to make investments. For a long time, supercharging was viewed as part of the cost of ownership of a Tesla, so it was heavily subsidised by vehicle sales in the early days.

None of the other players has the scale that Tesla has, and are not likely to any time soon.

Having said all that, there appears to be plenty of room for the other players to compete more effectively. But they don't seem to have the drive/incentive somehow.

 

[johnb80]

I'm not convinced. Tesla are very vertically integrated: they make the charger dispensers at very large scale, I believe that they make their own back-end electronics (the stuff that does the real power conversion in those big white cabinets), and Tesla have access to a lot of capital to make investments. For a long time, supercharging was viewed as part of the cost of ownership of a Tesla, so it was heavily subsidised by vehicle sales in the early days.

Absolutely but I still maintain if Tesla can sell at 43p kWh the others are ripping us off at 80p+.

None of the other players has the scale that Tesla has, and are not likely to any time soon.

Remember Tesla is the new kid on the block, starting from scratch with new technology EV's. They designed new cars from scratch and launched into the market place. ALL of the other manufacturers could have had a head start on Tesla and done exactly the same calling on their greater experience and resources but they didnt.

Having said all that, there appears to be plenty of room for the other players to compete more effectively. But they don't seem to have the drive/incentive somehow.

Yep, agreed, when Tesla open up more chargers that will make the others wake up, let the price wars begin

 

[M44LCY]

Don’t know where you are in UK but I had my MG5 lr 71 reg car “Teslafied” on Thursday.
Frasers of Falkirk carried out the MOT, 3rd service, Tesla update, washed the car and of course applied the next year’s AA cover.
The cost was £166 all in and I verified the Tesla charge capability yesterday at the supercharger at Heartlands near Bathgate.

Hi. Kirkcaldy confirmed that I would have to pay for the update. I cancelled that, and have booked my '5' into Frasers. They confirmed that the Tesla update is included in their service. It looks like a friendlier outfit than the mega Arnold Cark too, which I prefer, even if it is a 100 mile round trip. Thanks for the tip-off!

Thanks for that - it sounds great value. Looks like I'll probably be having a day out in Falkirk, then up to Stirling. I can put my bike in the back, drop the car off and go to The Kelpies for that visit I've thought about for ages but never got round to ...

Hi @Archev

I had my service done at Frasers last Monday. The interaction at reception wasn’t seamless but they did do the Tesla update (the main reason I went there after seeing your post).

I’m in Dundee today and took the chance to try the Tesla hub. Contrary to my expectations, it worked!

I don't do many longer trips but when I do, it should make things easier and maybe a little bit cheaper. I guess the main benefit is that when it comes time to change cars it'll be easier to sell.

Thanks for your help, which I appreciate very much.

 

[Archev]

Don’t know if you’ve seen my report a few weeks back. I left home on 100% charge and drove to Fort William via Tyndrum and used the Tesla chargers while niece and I had lunch in the train station. We then drove to the Skye bridge via the wonderful Glendale ferry. At the bridge I topped the car up on CPS charger while we had coffee. We visited Eilan Donnan castle for a couple of hours en route back to the Tesla chargers at the Fort. There we topped up whilst we had dinner on the High Street. We then drove home arriving with around 35% remaining.
That was 415 miles over a fabulous 14+ hours with no hold ups and even less hassle - perfect.
Glad you’re car is doing similar.

 

[M44LCY]

I did read that post - it was interesting and I admired the fact that you did all that in one day. I used to do 25000 a year going around the UK & a couple of trips to mainland Europe. We had to curtail our travels in 2016 when mother-in-law became ill. When she passed away 5 years ago, I thought we would get back to Europe but we had got out of the way of travelling and it's mostly running about locally with the occasional trip to Leeds, Newcastle or up the A9. Never say never though …

We're friends with a couple on Skye - they have a B&B in Armadale, plus the gift shop at the pier for the ferry. We keep saying we’ll go for a visit, but time goes by … Certainly, having access to the supercharger at Fort William will make that more convenient. If we ever get round to it

Thanks again for the tip about Frasers.

 

[jhenkins]

Hi All,

I have the PFL SR version, and I am mulling over the idea of getting the EVCC + SC052 upgrades done. I find myself going up and down the M1 and M40 between London and Birmingham quite frequently, and being able to Supercharge will save me quite a bit. However, this by itself might not be enough to justify the £800-£1k in costs, so I would like to know whether this upgrade will add V2L to my car - does anyone perhaps know? If this works, it would make it a lot more justifiable.

Cheerio,
Jan

 

[SimonomiS]

Hi All,

I have the PFL SR version, and I am mulling over the idea of getting the EVCC + SC052 upgrades done. I find myself going up and down the M1 and M40 between London and Birmingham quite frequently, and being able to Supercharge will save me quite a bit. However, this by itself might not be enough to justify the £800-£1k in costs, so I would like to know whether this upgrade will add V2L to my car - does anyone perhaps know? If this works, it would make it a lot more justifiable.

Cheerio,
Jan

I don't know what those two updates are that you mention, but I have a pre FL SR too and was quoted £150 by my local dealer for the Tesla upgrade. I don't think this model has the hardware to do V2L however.

 

[kevin ellard]

Hi All,

I have the PFL SR version, and I am mulling over the idea of getting the EVCC + SC052 upgrades done. I find myself going up and down the M1 and M40 between London and Birmingham quite frequently, and being able to Supercharge will save me quite a bit. However, this by itself might not be enough to justify the £800-£1k in costs, so I would like to know whether this upgrade will add V2L to my car - does anyone perhaps know? If this works, it would make it a lot more justifiable.

Cheerio,
Jan

I'm fairly sure that it won't give you V2L. V2L needs hardware the none of the pre-FL had.
I would also wait a while before getting anything like this done. There seems a fair likelyhood that the new regulations about chargers having to have card reader may mean that Tesla just close all of their open chargers except the new V4s.

 

[jhenkins]

I'm fairly sure that it won't give you V2L. V2L needs hardware the none of the pre-FL had.
I would also wait a while before getting anything like this done. There seems a fair likelyhood that the new regulations about chargers having to have card reader may mean that Tesla just close all of their open chargers except the new V4s.

Hi Kevin,

Thank you for the comment, it adds a lot of clarity. Yes I have read about the new legislation changes, but have not fully considered the possible ramifications. I don't see how Tesla can stay compliant without closing all their non V4 sites, and I certainly don't see them throwing money at changing all their perfecly good V2/3 chargers without them having a useful return on investment. On the off-side chance that the new EVCC enabled V2L I was willing to entertain doing the upgrade in spite of the Tesla situation. But since I only do approximately 10 long journeys per year, the upgrade that doesn't add V2L to the mix it is certainly not worth doing. Thankfully there is a large choice of great portable power-banks by the likes of Bluetti, Anker and the like, so I'm certainly not stuck.

I don't know what those two updates are that you mention, but I have a pre FL SR too and was quoted £150 by my local dealer for the Tesla upgrade. I don't think this model has the hardware to do V2L however.

Hi Simon,

I think you are correct about the missing hardware in pre-FL models, Kevin also commented on this. The two updates I mentioned can be seen here (follow the link to the FAQ 2):

MG5 Tesla Supercharger problems: FAQ 1 - Timeline of events

MG5 Supercharger problems: Index and FAQ 1 - Timeline of events See also these other Supercharger FAQs: https://www.mgevs.com/threads/mg5-supercharger-faq-2-what-upgrades-does-my-mg5-need-to-use-a-tesla-charger.17570/...

www.mgevs.com

It's a bit of a dramatic read, but interesting nonetheless!

 

[Pebblefeline]

So if I remember the legislation correctly, there is a loophole for membership organisations thus it's possible that Tesla will be going down that route and you won’t be able to charge without a membership.

They also have one year from the point that the site was open to the public to install new chargers, it’s possible the sites they are opening are already slated for upgrade to V 4’s

But who knows?

 

[kevin ellard]

I really doubt that Tesla are going to replace any V2 or V3 chargers with V4's. There is no incentive for them to do that rather than install new V4s somewhere else.

 

[revpeterw]

Unfortunately Dees of Croydon refused to do the necessary updates on my PFL LR MG5 on Tuesday. They claimed that the MG HQ had blocked update, but were very reluctant to show me the bulletin. When they did allow me to look at part of it on his laptop, it looked the same as the one posted at the top of this thread. No matter what I said, they wouldn't do it. Anyone know of a garage in South London that will do it?

 

[Pebblefeline]

I really doubt that Tesla are going to replace any V2 or V3 chargers with V4's. There is no incentive for them to do that rather than install new V4s somewhere else.

Looks like they will

 

[shpub]

Hi All,

I have the PFL SR version, and I am mulling over the idea of getting the EVCC + SC052 upgrades done. I find myself going up and down the M1 and M40 between London and Birmingham quite frequently, and being able to Supercharge will save me quite a bit. However, this by itself might not be enough to justify the £800-£1k in costs, so I would like to know whether this upgrade will add V2L to my car - does anyone perhaps know? If this works, it would make it a lot more justifiable.

Cheerio,
Jan

No it won't.

 

[electricsteve]

Hi all. Just taken my mg5 pfl LR, with the later modules which can be updated, in for a service and update. The dealer is willing to do the Tesla upgrade but have advised me that MG have released a service bulletin that Tesla have blocked all MGs except the MG 4. Anyone able to use an MG 5 at a Tesla charger?

TIA

 

[Pebblefeline]

Used a Tesla charger a couple of weeks ago and it was fine

Haven’t used one since

 

[shpub]

same here.

 

[electricsteve]

Thanks for the responses. I'll get it done.

Btw, if anyone's interested the bulletin is from August this year.

 

[kevin ellard]

Hi all. Just taken my mg5 pfl LR, with the later modules which can be updated, in for a service and update. The dealer is willing to do the Tesla upgrade but have advised me that MG have released a service bulletin that Tesla have blocked all MGs except the MG 4. Anyone able to use an MG 5 at a Tesla charger?

TIA

That status is about 18 months out of date. And they never blocked specific models, it's just the the mg4 was the only model that didn't have the charging bug.
Once the bug is fixed by the update the open Tesla chargers work just fine.