I can't lock MG4

[tsedge]

The niggles are a pain and should have been sorted out by now, if MG want to progress as a brand out of the low cost space they need to do better.

I will be watching whether updates to Phase 1 cars happen at first service and how many of the software bugs are fixed.

You're not having a great experience with your car at the moment, I do believe there is questionable quality control issues at the factory, and faults are either being identified and not corrected or they are just not bothered and checking.

Either way it makes for a frustrating ownership experience and certainly takes the shine of buying a new car.
If you add into that questionable dealership experiences and a terrible customer service attitude from MG UK, if you have been unfortunate enough to have a car with niggles it can very quickly sour the experience.
I also think this is making owners put up with a few more niggles than they normally would as they can't be bothered with the hassle of getting things fixed

Indeed. I am also wondering how many things have been fixed but the issue is getting dealers to apply all the right updates - we know the process is far from slick and far from automated.

It isn't just putting up, in my case I am unaffected by a host of bugs because I use CarPlay with a cable always (as a preference) and it just works (no longer getting reboots occasionally for some reason). But if I was on bluetooth with AA, I'd be jumping up and down a lot.

Disabling LKA has become a reflex, I would still prefer a button but that's not enough to be a niggle.

I can see I am lucky, and it should not be that way. The cars should be more consistent.

He stole the show that much on his first podcast they never invited him back!!
He's still a star in the rest of our eyes though?

By the way, I like the look of the new Renault 5 EV and the Alpine version, we have room on our drive for a second car... ?

 

[Deleted member 10041]

Indeed. I am also wondering how many things have been fixed but the issue is getting dealers to apply all the right updates - we know the process is far from slick and far from automated.

It isn't just putting up, in my case I am unaffected by a host of bugs because I use CarPlay with a cable always (as a preference) and it just works (no longer getting reboots occasionally for some reason). But if I was on bluetooth with AA, I'd be jumping up and down a lot.

Disabling LKA has become a reflex, I would still prefer a button but that's not enough to be a niggle.

I can see I am lucky, and it should not be that way. The cars should be more consistent.

They realised the importance of providing a car that was reasonably up to scratch to yourself?

 

[PristDean]

I was all for handing the MG4 back, but my wife would not let this happen.( it's her car)
Having read the posts on this forum,
The car drives fantastic. But the niggles from the infotainment unit drives me mad. As my wife has more patience she spends 5 mins turning things off before driving away.
So now just waiting for further updates to come through and time to take it into dealers, who have been very good.

You didn't / don't have a career in IT do you ?.... I did and I find that it's worn my patience very thin when it comes to technology bugs and shortcomings.... much to the annoyance of my wife who has far more patience than me

 

[Rolfe]

@Leni16 Thanks for the background. I think a contrary view is often very valuable.

If people don't squeal about the lack of folders on the USB player, the radio constantly coming on, the auto-lock not turning off (all on the SE), the temperature reading being 5 degrees too high, the lights coming on in broad daylight, the central screen changing to SNOW when the car is in SPORT, and come to think of it, the failure of the central screen battery % indicator to change to amber then red as the charge gets low, they won't bother their backsides.

And the external temperature won't come back either.

These are BUGS. Three of them are SE-only, but the Trophy has its own bugs, I'll let Trophy owners list these. There is a long list of genuine, deliberate differences that set the Trophy apart from the SE. I'm damn sure someone didn't sit down and say, OK, as well as all that, we'll also remove folders from the SE's music player, and prevent them from turning off the auto-lock, drive them mad by having the radio come on every time they sit down in the car, and not allow them to see the outside temperature while they're driving (oops, we accidentally left that one in, better get rid of it).

MG needs lots of owners moaning about these things, because they would (should) take about ten minutes to fix and it would cost nothing.

 

[Deleted member 10041]

If people don't squeal about the lack of folders on the USB player, the radio constantly coming on, the auto-lock not turning off (all on the SE), the temperature reading being 5 degrees too high, the lights coming on in broad daylight, the central screen changing to SNOW when the car is in SPORT, and come to think of it, the failure of the central screen battery % indicator to change to amber then red as the charge gets low, they won't bother their backsides.

And the external temperature won't come back either.

These are BUGS. Three of them are SE-only, but the Trophy has its own bugs, I'll let Trophy owners list these. There is a long list of genuine, deliberate differences that set the Trophy apart from the SE. I'm damn sure someone didn't sit down and say, OK, as well as all that, we'll also remove folders from the SE's music player, and prevent them from turning off the auto-lock, drive them mad by having the radio come on every time they sit down in the car, and not allow them to see the outside temperature while they're driving (oops, we accidentally left that one in, better get rid of it).

MG needs lots of owners moaning about these things, because they would (should) take about ten minutes to fix and it would cost nothing.

I agree, if people just put up with it then MG will never improve.

They are/were in an enviable position where they got in first with an affordable, ground up EV. It completely changed the direction they were heading.

It was an ideal opportunity to introduce a new customer focussed dealer and manufacturer support network, unfortunately it's a missed opportunity and they seem content with the stack em high, sell them cheapish budget mentality.

 

[Rolfe]

My car is due in the dealer's tomorrow for a few things, including the sodding undertray issue. I will report back on how they do.

The big irony is that on Saturday I thought, Caliban was pristine when I drove him away from there in April, maybe I better clean him up a bit. So in the morning I vacuumed the floor mats and the floor and wiped down the door sills and the fascia, dashboard etc. He looked so good I then thought, car wash. So I googled to find a decent hand-wash a bit nearer than the ones I'd used just because I'd been passing, and found the nearest place was 17 miles away. Oh well. In the car, drove 17 miles, very good service indeed, car even dried off by hand (then the heavens immediately opened!) Car now looks superb.

Got home to find an email about tomorrow's appointment, and one of the services offered is a complimentary car wash and interior vacuum.

 

[Ian Key]

Got home to find an email about tomorrow's appointment, and one of the services offered is a complimentary car wash and interior vacuum.

The car wash will have done a better job than the jet washer mad spotty youth at the garage.

 

[Rolfe]

I'm glad I found my way to the hand-wash anyway. It does seem to be the nearest since the one that was near where I used to work folded its tents and vanished (leaving me with a token wanting only one more stamp for a free wash) amid rumours that it was run by a bunch of crooks using it as a cover for a money-laundering scam. And it had glowing reviews, which I added to after my visit.

 

[PristDean]

If people don't squeal about the lack of folders on the USB player, the radio constantly coming on, the auto-lock not turning off (all on the SE), the temperature reading being 5 degrees too high, the lights coming on in broad daylight, the central screen changing to SNOW when the car is in SPORT, and come to think of it, the failure of the central screen battery % indicator to change to amber then red as the charge gets low, they won't bother their backsides.

And the external temperature won't come back either.

These are BUGS. Three of them are SE-only, but the Trophy has its own bugs, I'll let Trophy owners list these. There is a long list of genuine, deliberate differences that set the Trophy apart from the SE. I'm damn sure someone didn't sit down and say, OK, as well as all that, we'll also remove folders from the SE's music player, and prevent them from turning off the auto-lock, drive them mad by having the radio come on every time they sit down in the car, and not allow them to see the outside temperature while they're driving (oops, we accidentally left that one in, better get rid of it).

MG needs lots of owners moaning about these things, because they would (should) take about ten minutes to fix and it would cost nothing.

My Trophy list for the dealer to look at on the 3rd:

1. Battery - power consumption graph does not work
2. No sound from radio - ‘USB Disk Identification failure’ message.
3. Info System - When navigation directions are sent from iSmart app, the only way to retrieve in the car is via ‘User profile - POI’, then address is in Chinese.
4. iSmart app & Charging - If the car has been left overnight, when attempting to start a charge from the app with a ‘Granny’ charger connected, the request will return a ‘Fail’ when trying to start a charging session. Unlocking and locking etc makes no difference. The only way to make it work is to sit in the car to fully wake the car, or switch off and on the Granny charger, then start the charging session from the app.
5. Air-con only seems to emit warm air when set to 28 degrees and above
6. Aircon is excessively noisy when in operation (possible fan issue, or more likely compressor oil change required). See report & info below.
7. Rear undertray on the car is warped from intended shape and needs replacing. See report.

 

[Rolfe]

My list is

1. Undertray warp/sag/bulge whatever.
2. Check aircon noise.
3. Apply update so car will pre-heat when plugged in but not charging (they think it has an official recall for this to be done).
4. Check alignment of dipped-beam headlights.
5. Check angle of washer jets.

Also I noticed yesterday that the driver-side windscreen wiper is smearing.

Plus, is there any way you can please jemmy the automatic locking so that it doesn't happen because it is driving me nuts.

And finally, here is my list of annoying bugs, please will you pass this to MG. And please don't update the infotainment software with any version that loses the outside temperature.

(My phone doesn't support Android Auto and yes I ought to upgrade the phone but I find I don't really care that much, I'll do it some day. It's possible I'm missing a bunch more bugs because of this!)

 

[tsedge]

(3) is interesting. I have this bug but no recall I am aware of, nobody has contacted me and nothing on the checker.

 

[Rolfe]

I mentioned it to the garage, because I had seen on the forum that other people had had it fixed. The receptionist said, I see there is a recall notice about your car, I think it might be about that.

 

[tsedge]

I suspect then it is not a official recall - no need to bring car in early - but a service bulletin, so when the customer brings the car in they will check and apply.

 

[Rolfe]

Yes, I agree. She used the word recall, but it's just a minor bug-fix. Which from my point of view doesn't need to happen until winter, because the car is only plugged in while inside the garage, which is cool, hence no need to pre-cool.

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

To address OP's original issue, when standing next to the car with a key in your pocket, press the button on either of the front door handles to lock or unlock the car.
If the car is still switched on, it may require 2 presses to lock - one to switch the car off and a second to lock the doors.

 

[Paulmg5]

I have had my pre facelift MG5 for20 months and have had no problems at all in 6000 miles I only do local journeys the longest I have done is a 150 mile round trip. I charge from home on a Rolec charger, and we have a petrol bmw for holidays and longer trips.The MG5 was bought mainly for local trips and to visit my daughter in central London and to take advantage of the concessions in London for electric cars ( however I dont expect them to last too long)
What I like about the prefacelift model is all the controls I need are buttons or stalks and I hardly ever use the screen mainly for sat nav and lane control on motorways I am 82 and have been a BMW and classic MG nut for 40 odd years rallying and motorsport.
But I can honestly say the MG5 is the most relaxing and easy car to drive that I have ever owned and the performance virtualy matches my BMWs, my dealer Brown & Gammons in Baldock is most efficient (the original Classic MG dealer) 1st service and valet completed in an hour for £102
I read with interest the forum and am a little concerned at what seems to be the poor response from MG uk if any problems occur
just my thoughts

 

[PristDean]

I have had my pre facelift MG5 for20 months and have had no problems at all in 6000 miles I only do local journeys the longest I have done is a 150 mile round trip. I charge from home on a Rolec charger, and we have a petrol bmw for holidays and longer trips.The MG5 was bought mainly for local trips and to visit my daughter in central London and to take advantage of the concessions in London for electric cars ( however I dont expect them to last too long)
What I like about the prefacelift model is all the controls I need are buttons or stalks and I hardly ever use the screen mainly for sat nav and lane control on motorways I am 82 and have been a BMW and classic MG nut for 40 odd years rallying and motorsport.
But I can honestly say the MG5 is the most relaxing and easy car to drive that I have ever owned and the performance virtualy matches my BMWs, my dealer Brown & Gammons in Baldock is most efficient (the original Classic MG dealer) 1st service and valet completed in an hour for £102
I read with interest the forum and am a little concerned at what seems to be the poor response from MG uk if any problems occur
just my thoughts

I am pleased to hear you car is good and that you seem to have good dealership too, that's almost invaluable to have. I'd like to be an MG nut and enthuse about the car and dealerships, but it seems in 2022/23, it's money first.

My updated issue list from above, differences are resolved or worked around:

1. Rattle from the passenger side, coming from behind the upper dashboard. This rattle is apparent when driving at low speeds over uneven surfaces.
2. Info System - When navigation directions are sent from iSmart app, the only way to retrieve in the car is via ‘User profile - POI’, then address is in Chinese.
3. Air-con only seems to emit warm air when set to about 26 degrees
4. Aircon is excessively noisy when in operation (possible fan issue, or more likely compressor oil change required). See report & below. Dealership wants to replace the pump
5. Rear undertray on the car is warped from intended and original shape hence needs replacing. See report. Dealership has ordered a new one

 

[Kithmo]

On the original topic, is the car not locking with the door button and/or the fob ?