Campaign for adding "Camping Mode" to MG4

[onurelmas]

Hello, everyone!

I need a "Camping Mode" feature for my MG4 vehicle. When I'm spending time in the car, waiting for someone, enjoying an open-air cinema, or camping, especially at night, I can't use the climate control without disturbing others with my Daytime Running Lights (DRL). When I press the switch-off button, not only do the DRLs turn off, but the air conditioning also stops working. Adding a feature that allows the air conditioning to continue running while the DRLs are off would solve this problem.

In short, I see the lack of a "Camping Mode" button, which would disable the driving functions and lights but keep the climate control and multimedia functions active, as a significant shortcoming of the MG4.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this and would appreciate your support for the campaign I've started!

Requirements for Camp Mode:

1. The car should switch to park mode.
2. All driving functions should be disabled (this includes sensors or other features that consume extra electricity).
3. The driver’s display should turn off.
4. The DRLs should turn off. Other lights should switch from auto to manual mode and be turned off, but they should still be able to be turned on and off as needed (a separate menu under Camp Mode could be created to control all the lights, including the DRLs).
5. The multimedia screen should remain on. Pressing the home button for 3 seconds should dim the screen, and pressing it again should make the screen visible once more.
6. It should be possible to watch films and listen to music.
7. The air conditioning should be fully operational (this is the most important).
8. The car should be able to charge in Camp Mode.
9. The car should be able to discharge for V2L in Camp Mode.
10. The car should only automatically exit Camp Mode under the following conditions:
    1. If the Camp Mode button is pressed again to deactivate it (with a warning).
    2. If the brake pedal is pressed, putting the car into ready mode.
    3. If the car’s battery falls below a designated level (in this case, the vehicle should shut down).

If there's anything I've forgotten, feel free to add it.

 

[Rolfe]

I was tempted to merge this with the "Sleeping in the MG4" thread, which goes on about this at some length, but it's a very specific point not just related to camping so let's see how it goes.

My feeling is that it would be better to approach this with MG as a simple request for the ability to turn the DRLs off while leaving the car on, and enumerate all the circumstances where this could be useful, rather than tying it specifically to camping. The car already does everything you'd want from a camp mode anyway, apart from the lights thing.

Drive in cinemas. Aurora watching. Simply sitting in the car waiting, without illuminating the surrounding streets. Maybe others can think of more applications.

I wonder if it's worth tying this in with a request for a dog mode, or whether that's a bridge too far and might dilute the core message.

 

[onurelmas]

I was tempted to merge this with the "Sleeping in the MG4" thread, which goes on about this at some length, but it's a very specific point not just related to camping so let's see how it goes.

My feeling is that it would be better to approach this with MG as a simple request for the ability to turn the DRLs off while leaving the car on, and enumerate all the circumstances where this could be useful, rather than tying it specifically to camping. The car already does everything you'd want from a camp mode anyway, apart from the lights thing.

Drive in cinemas. Aurora watching. Simply sitting in the car waiting, without illuminating the surrounding streets. Maybe others can think of more applications.

I wonder if it's worth tying this in with a request for a dog mode, or whether that's a bridge too far and might dilute the core message.

Not merging it with the other topic was a wise decision, in my opinion. Because if we simply request an option to switch off the DRLs, they could potentially use safety standards to justify their stance against our request. What we actually want is not to turn off the DRLs while driving, but rather to have a proper 'Camping Mode'.

 

[Rolfe]

I don't think the safety standards issue holds water at all. I don't know of a single other car where light pollution is compulsory.

So what if you're supposed to leave the lights on if you're parked on the roadside where the speed limit is over 30 mph? This doesn't even achieve that, as you can simply lock the car and walk away if you want to, even in that situation. It's not relevant.

I would make it an issue of light pollution in residential streets, car parks and camp sites, all places where one might want to sit in the car with the heating on but without the lights blazing. It's not just camping. And it doesn't need a dedicated camp mode, which might be a bit much for the tiny brains at MG to cope with. It's just the lights.

 

[Robf]

It would also be handy when heating / cooling the car remotely. Mine was parked facing some houses, it was around 1 am and I thought great will heat the car. When I got to it it was like a lighthouse shining in all the windows

 

[haloweenhamster]

IMO some of the secret menu posts should be split off as it's off topic & possibly moved here but I didn't help with that

All cars after released after 2011 have to have automatic DRLs, the MG4 doesn't have an ignition like other cars so it can't be linked to that like ICE cars & some EV's do so they linked it to the awake, a possible solution would be to request they change it from awake to ready that way as soon as the car is in a ready to move state the lights come on.

 

[Rolfe]

I don't think we should try to second guess how this might be done. We have a simple request. We want a function to turn off the lights when the car is switched on but not moving. How that is achieved is up to MG. I don't believe it's impossible.

 

[DixieTGS]

If the request for a DRL off function doesn't get anywhere, then would an ability to simply allow the AC to be used when the car is turned off satisfy many users needs? There would probably need to be a warning about battery use to the user each time it was turned on from this mode though, and like V2L a minimum battery level may be appropriate.

Would the above help at all with not having to remember the correct sequence of door openings, closing and locking etc?

 

[Rolfe]

Dunno. And it's not just the HVAC, it's the sound system.

I would think that requesting the facility to turn off the DRLs is the simple approach. I was also wondering if it might be more effective if people were to write individual letters to MG about it, rather than it coming from an organised campaign, at least in the first instance. People could also emphasise which aspect was the biggest concern for them personally.

 

[Rolfe]

One point that strikes me is that MG might well - and with some justification - say that they didn't design the car with the intention it should be used for sleeping overnight/camping. So tough luck.

The thing is that it's much wider than that. It's not just camping, it's all the other things I mentioned. One member some time ago was complaining that he parks his car near his child's school to wait for her coming out, and doesn't want the lights on while he's sitting waiting. It's light pollution. It's embarrassing.

I was thinking that an initial approach might be to regard it as a software bug that we would like fixed. That might get more traction than a straight-up demand to add an entire new facility like "camp mode".

 

[tsedge]

If the request for a DRL off function doesn't get anywhere, then would an ability to simply allow the AC to be used when the car is turned off satisfy many users needs? There would probably need to be a warning about battery use to the user each time it was turned on from this mode though, and like V2L a minimum battery level may be appropriate.

Would the above help at all with not having to remember the correct sequence of door openings, closing and locking etc?

I don't think you can have the main HV battery off when camping - you need it to power the AC/heating and also to keep the 12V battery charged up.

Having a configurable minimum level for the HV battery after which it shuts off would be fine, but people should be able to set it to any level they like.

The simplest thing that occurs to me with the DRLs is:

• If you switch the lights to off and the car is in (P) then the DRLs turn off also. There is already a sidelight setting there for when you want them, so arguably there is already a bug that there's no difference with this setting.
• If you then switch into anything other than (P), the DRLs automatically turn on again.

 

[Rolfe]

Could you elaborate on this? If I put the car in P then turn off the auto lights (which at least turns off the tail lights, thank God), then the front lights are still blazing. I can't really say what "blazing" means, only that after dark it's serious light pollution and I'm a bit tired of explaining this to uncomprehending neighbours in camp sites who are understandably baffled as to why I'm putting a blindfold on the car.

What is this "sidelight" setting you refer to?

If this is actually a bug, then it would make it a lot easier to press for a fix, I think.

I also think lots of individual letters might have more traction than a single petition.

Indeed, the more I think about this, the more I'm inclined to contact MG and represent this as a bug, along with the other (SE only) bug that still remains after R33 was applied, that is the inability to disable the automatic central locking. However, I could do with a bit more detailed understanding as to the nature of the bug. I think all the lights should go out if I switch off the auto-lights. Is that all it is, when you actually get down to it?

 

[DixieTGS]

I don't think you can have the main HV battery off when camping - you need it to power the AC/heating and also to keep the 12V battery charged up.

Yes, behind the scenes quite a few of the systems would turn themselves on, but you wouldn't be able to do things like ready mode on by pressing the brake pedal etc.

Having a configurable minimum level for the HV battery after which it shuts off would be fine, but people should be able to set it to any level they like.

Given the V2L level is to protect your ability to drive away at some point, the same setting could be used.

The simplest thing that occurs to me with the DRLs is:

• If you switch the lights to off and the car is in (P) then the DRLs turn off also. There is already a sidelight setting there for when you want them, so arguably there is already a bug that there's no difference with this setting.
• If you then switch into anything other than (P), the DRLs automatically turn on again.

That makes sense. The sidelight setting has front and rear lights on I think. The lights off setting is DRLs (sidelights) on at the front only which just seems weird to me when stopped, and as you say maybe a bug or an unintentional feature. I suppose the lights off option does currently mean you want sidelights only, but to revert to auto when you next drive off.

Turning the DRLs back on with the brakes would mean they're on for a bit longer before you get to pull away which may be an advantage.

Just to clarify, the idea behind my original suggestion was to not mention 'camping ode', just 'AC on when you want' so it appears to be a small change.

 

[onurelmas]

Rolfe's request seems quite simple: a basic on-off switch to turn off the DRLs. Given that this vehicle has been on sale since June 2022, I certainly don’t think it’s due to MG’s software engineers not having the foresight to include such a straightforward feature. It’s more likely that there are regulations in some country we aren’t aware of that are preventing MG from adding this button.

I’ve considered that this request might be met through a feature similar to Tesla's "camp mode," which I believe MG wouldn't resist implementing. Tesla has nicely explained this feature in a video:
Perhaps saying, “Dear MG engineers, this is what we want!” would make it easier for MG to understand why we’re requesting this feature, especially since it already exists in a competing product.

I don’t subscribe to the idea that MG engineers, who struggled to grasp Rolfe's simple request, would have difficulty with the more complex task called 'Camping Mode.' My request is extremely clear: I want a camping mode similar to Tesla's. In this mode, all driving functions are disabled, while the air conditioning, multimedia, and V2L would remain operational, allowing me to set the maximum battery consumption level during my camping. The realization of my wish will be simpler and easier than Rolfe's .

 

[Rolfe]

I don't buy the regulations thing. I don't know of another car that does this. When I explain to people in camp sites why I'm blindfolding the car I usually get expressions of disbelief, and suggestions to try this or that to see if the lights go off. Not a single person has ever said, oh yes that's mandatory in modern cars.

At the time when I was moaning about the early infotainment software, particularly the useless USB music player and the missing external temperature display, I got a lot of lecturing from people on the forum about how the "base model" wasn't meant to come equipped with such luxurious facilities as a music player that supported folders and a temperature display. "It's meant to be like that, SE is poverty spec, should have bought the Trophy" was a common reaction. Except, when R33 came out for the SE, pretty much all the issues (bar one) I was complaining about had been fixed. They were, as I had believed all along, bugs.

Same with this. I don't buy the "it's meant to be like that" explanation. There is absolutely no regulation on the face of the globe that mandates a car's lights be on if someone is sitting inside it when it's not moving. The more I think about it the more I believe it's a bug.

 

[haloweenhamster]

If it bothers people that much they can can add a relay to disconnect the wire between the BCM & lights

 

[tsedge]

Could you elaborate on this? If I put the car in P then turn off the auto lights (which at least turns off the tail lights, thank God), then the front lights are still blazing. I can't really say what "blazing" means, only that after dark it's serious light pollution and I'm a bit tired of explaining this to uncomprehending neighbours in camp sites who are understandably baffled as to why I'm putting a blindfold on the car.

What is this "sidelight" setting you refer to?

If this is actually a bug, then it would make it a lot easier to press for a fix, I think.

I also think lots of individual letters might have more traction than a single petition.

Indeed, the more I think about this, the more I'm inclined to contact MG and represent this as a bug, along with the other (SE only) bug that still remains after R33 was applied, that is the inability to disable the automatic central locking. However, I could do with a bit more detailed understanding as to the nature of the bug. I think all the lights should go out if I switch off the auto-lights. Is that all it is, when you actually get down to it?

Hopefully this was clearly explained above by @DixieTGS - I was wrong that there's no difference between the sidelights and off settings (for off you have to pull it to the right and hold briefly - the settings are Headlights, Sidelights and then pull right for autolights on/off), the front DRLs stay on.

Yes, this seems like a bug to me and the driver should have the option to turn off all lights while parked.

 

[tsedge]

If it bothers people that must they can can add a relay to disconnect the wire between the BCM & lights

As long as there's no monitoring in the lights or checks that they are working.

Plus this isn't trivial for most people, a software fix would be best.

 

[DixieTGS]

If it bothers people that much they can can add a relay to disconnect the wire between the BCM & lights

Yes, I would just do that if the car was out of warranty, but I don't want to give MG any reason to quibble should they poke around near the BCM during a warranty investigation.

I only have a mild interest in this for myself so am really only interested in a software fix.

If the fix involves the lights off toggle becoming inoperative while moving I think quite a few people would take an interest as a number have plunged themselves in to darkness when going to dip the lights while driving.

 

[Rolfe]

Hopefully this was clearly explained above by @DixieTGS - I was wrong that there's no difference between the sidelights and off settings (for off you have to pull it to the right and hold briefly - the settings are Headlights, Sidelights and then pull right for autolights on/off), the front DRLs stay on.

Yes, this seems like a bug to me and the driver should have the option to turn off all lights while parked.

Forgive me that I'm still not clear. I was unaware that I was supposed to leave sidelights on when parked on a road with a speed limit of more than 30 mph. (This is quite new to me - I remember long ago you could buy a small light to clip on top of a front window which showed white in front and red to the rear, and I think my dad had one, and then I remember being told to throw it away because these were now illegal.) So, suppose I wanted to do the right thing and comply with this legislation (which doesn't seem to be being enforced), how would I do it? If I get out and lock the car in the normal way, all the lights go out. Is there a setting on the stalk that leaves the DRLs on when the car is locked? Is that what you're describing? Sorry if I'm being dim.

I'm increasingly of the view that approaching this as a request for a bug fix is much more likely to bear fruit than if it's phrased as a request for an entirely new feature to be added to the car.