Car shut down

[Toadroy]

I came to a junction and my EV4 LR turned off. A passing motorist suggested that I power the vehicle down. Using the key fob I fiddled about and then the car restarted. I had about 40% battery charge.Is this likely to happen again as I am worried that it may do the same when I am some way off the main drag.

 

[Martinonline]

That is unfortunate and somewhat frightening. Others have reported this but, as far as I can remember, no cause has been reported. Thus it may or may not happen again.

To help you recover from this situation please can you tell us exactly what happened.

Were you in autohold or had you put on the parking brake?

Did the main power go off but the driver's and info screen stayed on?

Did you get out of the car to use the key fob or used it inside the car?

Can you remember what you did to restore power, eg. Lock/Unlock car on the keyfob?

Thanks in advance.

See also the 'Can anyone' thread.

@Toadroy, were you aware of this?

 

[Ian Key]

Might be also worth checking that the 12V battery terminals are tight.

 

[tsedge]

Quite rare but usually one of:

• Loose connection.
• Faulty car module(s).
• Software updates needed.

I don't know exactly which car modules can cause this but I would insist on getting all relevant software updates and having all connections checked at a minimum.

 

[Toadroy]

It happened again at 12 noon when I arrived at a very busy T junction. I pressed the centrally located very large knob on and then off on a couple of occasions. Nothing happened. I was unable to switch the brake on or off. Nor could I move the switch to Drive I had charged the car overnight. The driver's info screen stayed on. I was not aware of the emergency braking, which another person posted. And then suddenly the card decided to move. I have called Perrys MG Aylesdbury

Hi, Being a 87 year old motorist I thought I would call Perry's, Aylesbury to arrange for them to inspect the MG EV4. The earliest date they could offer me was the 7th of April. Do I risk breaking down between now and then. Should I risk driving. If it's not covered under the Warrantee I have to pay them £180.00 for a diagnostic check. How am I to know if it's not a Warrantee issue.

 

[Martinonline]

It is important to get the car checked but I would advise you to check out your actions first because garages sometimes blame driver error. Please answer:

How long have you had the car?

Have you driven an automatic before?

Was it the same junction as before?

When you arrived at the junction were you at the wait line or behind another vehicle?

When you arrived at the junction did you put the parking brake on (press the rotary knob or pull up the lever)?

When you tried to move again are you sure you put your foot on the brake pedal before you rotated the knob to drive?

Do you use One Pedal Driving?

Do you use Autohold?

Do you make any adjustments to the Driver's Aids before starting your journey?

Were you using Adaptive Cruise Control or Traffic Jam Assistance?

Try:

Setting Forward Collision Alert sensitivity to Low to eliminate that function.

If it happens again, take a deep breath and ignore the honks and wait to see if the power returns whilst you are pressing the brake pedal. I believe it's only 10 seconds but it will seem like a lifetime.

 

[bedsev]

That is quite worrying, sorry to hear your experince. As people have said, I would definately ask a local garage (or even Halfords) to check that the connections on the 12v battery are tight

 

[Bricktop X PWR]

Anyone near Wendover who might be able to visit in person and help?

Disgusting dealer response to an older person clearly in need of assistance.

If I was anywhere near you I would pop round and help.

I would definitely want to check your battery terminals under the bonnet as a first step.

 

[salty]

Hi, Being a 87 year old motorist I thought I would call Perry's, Aylesbury to arrange for them to inspect the MG EV4. The earliest date they could offer me was the 7th of April. Do I risk breaking down between now and then. Should I risk driving. If it's not covered under the Warrantee I have to pay them £180.00 for a diagnostic check. How am I to know if it's not a Warrantee issue.

With the kind of problems your having with your MG4. That wait until April 7th is absolutely scandalous. I would be down to the dealers, in person pronto. And it would be sorted. And I wouldn't be paying £180 either. You can't be afraid to drive you car, for fear of it, shutting down at anytime. At busy junctions etc. Suprising what a visit in person can do. And particularly (no offence) when they are aware of your age.

 

[Toadroy]

Hi, in answer to your numerous questions.
1. I have had the car , which I bought new, since the 5th of May 2023.
2. I have always owned an automatic car.
3. It stopped, not at same junction, but roughly the same distance.
4. I was at the wait line.
5. I did not put the brake on. I did press the rotary knob after trying to engage the car into Drive mode.
6. I am unsure if I put my foot on the brake pedal.
7. I use 1 pedal driving
8. I do not use auto hold
9. I did not make any adjustments to the driver’s aids before I drove the car.
I was not using Adaptive Cruise control or Traffic Jam Assistance.
I will try to set forward collision alert Sensitivity to low.
I will press the brake pedal as you suggested.
My son has suggested that maybe I had not properly closed the drivers door but I am certain that the car would not go if this was the case.
I have only done just over 4,400 miles since buying this car and the car suddenly stopping when I arrive at a Junction is a mystery. Any further help you can provide would be appreciated. Thanks.

With the kind of problems your having with your MG4. That wait until April 7th is absolutely scandalous. I would be down to the dealers, in person pronto. And it would be sorted. And I wouldn't be paying £180 either. You can't be afraid to drive you car, for fear of it, shutting down at anytime. At busy junctions etc. Suprising what a visit in person can do. And particularly (no offence) when they are aware of your age.

Thanks for your advice. I hadn’t thought a visit to the dealer’s might work.

 

[salty]

Thanks for your advice. I hadn’t thought a visit to the dealer’s might work.

Fingers crossed it does. It's to easy to fob, someone off, over the phone.
Good luck

 

[dsimpkins]

There is also a software bug that sometimes when you operate P for park on the large rotary dial, it will not go back into drive. It will throw an error on the screen (very briefly and easily missed) about the drivers seat belt being undone. In order to drive again, you have to release, and then clip the seat belt back in. Only then can drive be engaged and you can drive off.

I swapped to using autohold instead of park when at junctions to avoid this issue. I've had software update since, but kept using autohold as found it so much easier.

 

[Martinonline]

@Toadroy, thanks for answering all the questions but I think they will help to see if the issue can be solved.

It is a mystery why the problem should happen now. I assume you have not had any recent software updates.

I do not have OPD so cannot comment on arising issues with that. But, if you are happy to drive without it and use Autohold, that may eliminate an OPD problem.

Just to clarify, when you arrived at the junction and you lifted your foot from the accelerator so that the OPD held the car, you did not touch the rotary switch or the lever parking brake? And then, when you pressed the accelerator to proceed, the car would not move and went into neutral?

Do you know how long you were waiting at the junction?

Sorry for more questions but they can trigger wider responses.

 

[Tig170]

I've had it once (at traffic lights) - (put hazards on / raise your hand out of window to warn others behind) lift your bum off the seat - lock and unlock, press brake, and it should have rebooted, so you can select drive - feels like a life time, but was before the lights changed back to Red

 

[Muffler]

12 weeks wait for any service appointment is wholly unacceptable (just from a warranty perspective, I can see a scenario where that kind of wait could put someone out of time / cause them to go over a stipulated mileage etc) – but particularly in the instance of a safety issue?

Agree that you'd be better off visiting / talking to someone at the service desk in person and refuse to accept no as an answer. Also, check tightness of the battery leads as a matter of urgency - if you need some assistance, I'm not very far from you if you wish to message me privately.

 

[Ian Key]

Hi, in answer to your numerous questions.
1. I have had the car , which I bought new, since the 5th of May 2023.
2. I have always owned an automatic car.
3. It stopped, not at same junction, but roughly the same distance.
4. I was at the wait line.
5. I did not put the brake on. I did press the rotary knob after trying to engage the car into Drive mode.
6. I am unsure if I put my foot on the brake pedal.
7. I use 1 pedal driving
8. I do not use auto hold
9. I did not make any adjustments to the driver’s aids before I drove the car.
I was not using Adaptive Cruise control or Traffic Jam Assistance.
I will try to set forward collision alert Sensitivity to low.
I will press the brake pedal as you suggested.
My son has suggested that maybe I had not properly closed the drivers door but I am certain that the car would not go if this was the case.
I have only done just over 4,400 miles since buying this car and the car suddenly stopping when I arrive at a Junction is a mystery. Any further help you can provide would be appreciated. Thanks.



Thanks for your advice. I hadn’t thought a visit to the dealer’s might work.

Instead of putting the car into Park by pressing the rotary knob either apply the handbrake, the switch next to the rotary knob, or press the brake pedal to engage auto-hold. To move off again just press the accelerator.

By putting the car into Park you have to press the brake pedal to put it into Drive.

 

[Toadroy]

@Toadroy, thanks for answering all the questions but I think they will help to see if the issue can be solved.

It is a mystery why the problem should happen now. I assume you have not had any recent software updates.

I do not have OPD so cannot comment on arising issues with that. But, if you are happy to drive without it and use Autohold, that may eliminate an OPD problem.

Just to clarify, when you arrived at the junction and you lifted your foot from the accelerator so that the OPD held the car, you did not touch the rotary switch or the lever parking brake? And then, when you pressed the accelerator to proceed, the car would not move and went into neutral?

Do you know how long you were waiting at the junction?

Sorry for more questions but they can trigger wider responses.

Hi, I cannot remember if I touched the the rotary switch or the lever parking brake when I arrived at the T junction. It was a bit of a blur. The advice to press on the parking brake will be done the next time this happens. Thanks for your assistance.

 

[siteguru]

No - the advice is to press on the foot brake* (to engage auto-hold). The problem likely arose because you pressed on the parking brake (rotary dial centre button). The parking brake is only necessary when you're intending to leave the car.

* I suspect you meant this, but correct terminology is important so as to avoid confusion.

 

[Toadroy]

No - the advice is to press on the foot brake* (to engage auto-hold). The problem likely arose because you pressed on the parking brake (rotary dial centre button). The parking brake is only necessary when you're intending to leave the car.

* I suspect you meant this, but correct terminology is important so as to avoid confusion.

Hi, I am fairly certain that I did not press the rotary dial when I arrived at the T Junction as I use OPD whenever I need to stop the car.

 

[siteguru]

In which case it may have been an OPD foible, perhaps it not liking holding the car still for an extended period - especially if you were on an incline.

Either way, the advice still stands - when coming to a stop (but not parking), a short firm press on the foot brake will engage auto-hold. Then pressing the accelerator will release it and allow you to move forward. Only use the parking brake when you're intending to park up.