Can anyone (Can't select D or R)

I remember having exactly this when I first picked up my MG5 a couple of years ago, I couldn’t work out why it was happening.

If I remember rightly I had turned on ignition switch without pressing my foot down on the break. Sometimes this happens and the break stays very stiff. Needs pressing again to activate. I was still learning the car back then. Like others have said might well be this interlock. Look on the dashboard it should say there if it has correctly started up and engaged the main battery (a yellow multiple battery sign shows when it hasn’t - sorry I forget the name of it).

There are definitely some quirks when it comes to the systems, if you do things in a certain order it’s fine… but in the wrong order, it doesn’t work or doesn’t do what you expect them to do.

I quite often have to reboot the infotainment system as it just stops working with certain things like Bluetooth or phone calls and audio etc. press and hold the home button for around 10-15 seconds and it will restart. Seems to sort the issue.

I had the same issue on a car that was a week old. I returned it to the dealer and they updated the software on 2024 Trophy. Not occurred since. No charge.

JonnyG said:

Funny thing is mine will USUALLY go into R or D without my seatbelt on but NOT ALWAYS !!

I haven't worked why but in my experience this stilll may be a factor.

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I can select R or D without a seat belt when on the level. If I am on a hill, I cannot drive off without my seat belt on. Can't see any logic to this.

This is described in the owner's manual, see below:

I'm surprised no one has said that you need to get in the car "properly".

Open door
Sit down
Close door
Wait, car will start
Keep waiting until boot up is finished
Press brake pedal
Car should work

Then I disable ELK/LKA, enable OPD and drive.

I try to wait until boot up is completely finished and I get my welcome message, but sometimes it's enough to wait until the infotainment screen is visible.

If I press the brake before shutting the door it tends to misbehave.

It sometimes objects to the steering not being centred, but tells me so on the dash.

I don't usually need my belt on to drive out of my garage, but other times I do (never when parked in garage). I haven't worked out the differences yet.

The MG4 will require the drivers seatbelt to be fastened if it is on a slope. If it is level it doesn't. This is handy if you stop to open a gate or manual garage door. It will also not creep if it is on a slope after releasing the brake. You need to touch the accelerator to get it to move either forward or reverse. It will also request you to centralise the steering before it will allow the transmission to be engaged if the wheels are turned more than a few degrees.

Every now & again the systems take longer to boot up & this can result in a myriad of error messages on the screen saying various things are unavailable. I don't bother to wait as within a minute or so when driving these systems have booted up & all is back to normal. I have never figured out why it sometimes takes longer than normal.

Yes had that on my new ZS. Dealer told me to be patient when starting and it's been ok since. Press brake and switch on, don't touch the selector until the screen shows READY.

tsedge said:

For general information, MG in the UK will investigate faults free of charge for only 3 months from new, after that if the dealer cannot reproduce a fault that is covered by warranty, MG won't pay them for the diagnostic work and so many garages will charge you their standard labour rate.

This is all part of the low-cost business model MG UK have set up.

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Yep, just been told there is a diagnostic fee of £132 to investigate the infotainment screen going black screen.

Cancelling my visit as no way am I paying them that to figure out what's going on.

Grumps said:

Yep, just been told there is a diagnostic fee of £132 to investigate the infotainment screen going black screen.

Cancelling my visit as no way am I paying them that to figure out what's going on.

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That's very frustrating. I had an issue last summer (which stretched into late Autumn) whereby my infotainment screen died and flat out refused to come back on.

Took numerous visits to the dealer including a service and a decent wait for a new screen to arrive, but they did replace it under warranty in the end.