Leaving MG4 plugged in while on holiday? Advice appreciated.

[emmadragon]

HI, we're shortly going on holiday, and not taking the MG (yes, I know, but the ancient diesel is the one registered in the airport parking account, so it was easier not to change it, and we just couldn't be bothered).

Hubbie would like to leave the MG plugged into the charger (it's the granny lead, btw), with the power off, as an additional security measure, once it has locked on. To get the lead out then would mean taking off the garage doors, or removing the entire power socket from the MG. Just to make it that bit less inviting.

I mean, we're lucky to live in a very safe village, but any kind of deterrent is a good one, to our minds. We already have a stoplock which we always put on, and the keys are always stored safely in individual faraday pouches, as far away from the car as is physically possible in the house.

We'd like to know whether this is wise, or is it advised against, for some reason?

Edit: should have said stoplock, not steering lock. Also added key storage information.

 

[Rolfe]

I can't think of any reason why not.

 

[Ian Key]

To get the lead out then would mean taking off the garage doors, or removing the entire power socket from the MG.

Or a pair of insulated bolt croppers straight through the cable.

To be safe make sure both sets of keys are in a Faraday box/pouch out of sight and if you want a further deterrent get a Stoplock. This has the advantage that you can use it anywhere you park the car.

https://amzn.eu/d/10GIK12

 

[Alb]

Ditto the above.
Protect or remove the keys and use a quality steering wheel lock.

 

[Anon70]

You can also turn alarms on in the iSmart app to let you know if the car has been started

 

[tsedge]

HI, we're shortly going on holiday, and not taking the MG (yes, I know, but the ancient diesel is the one registered in the airport parking account, so it was easier not to change it, and we just couldn't be bothered).

Hubbie would like to leave the MG plugged into the charger (it's the granny lead, btw), with the power off, as an additional security measure, once it has locked on. To get the lead out then would mean taking off the garage doors, or removing the entire power socket from the MG. Just to make it that bit less inviting.

I mean, we're lucky to live in a very safe village, but any kind of deterrent is a good one, to our minds. We already have a stoplock which we always put on, and the keys are always stored safely in individual faraday pouches, as far away from the car as is physically possible in the house.

We'd like to know whether this is wise, or is it advised against, for some reason?

Edit: should have said stoplock, not steering lock. Also added key storage information.

I don't know under what conditions the connection of the charging lead stops the 12V top up. It is possible that this will stop it topping up while you are away.

Personally, I wouldn't do this, I don't think it is likely to be an effective deterrent. The most likely way they would steal your car is using the keys (perhaps with a relay attack). So just don't leave the keys there and you will be fine.

 

[Rolfe]

Mmm, that's a point. Would it stop the 12v being kept topped up?

 

[Wadda]

had anyone heard of a case of a mg4 being stolen yet?

 

[DixieTGS]

You can also turn alarms on in the iSmart app to let you know if the car has been started

If you use this make sure you've tested it works reliably. It worked for me a couple times just after buying the car and not since, although I have had a couple of fault warnings when being serviced as you'd expect.

I've tried all the normal fixes (settings on off, resetting data, reinstall etc) but no joy. It's not really important to me, but I'd be interested in any suggestions.

 

[Kithmo]

I might be a bit old fashioned, but I've seen a lightning strike come down the tv aerial and destroy a house's whole wiring system and anything attached to it, I would not leave anything plugged in when going on holiday.

 

[yellowking]

We went to Thailand for 5 weeks, I left my MG4 with 50% charge and not plugged in. Came back and it drove perfectly.

 

[Rolfe]

The OP is talking about using the granny cable as an anti-theft device though.