MG4 Reduction Gearbox Oil Leak

[Macadoodle]

Well, it would evoke memories of the real MG's from yesteryear .... sniff

 

[Fogey]

Well, it would evoke memories of the real MG's from yesteryear .... sniff

Yes, very evocative, I can almost smell my Midget right now (actually it was a Sprite). Rustbucket.

 

[skynett]

So did MG actually release a statement today as promised from the email from Miles Roberts?

 

[SueH]

Having read through the last few pages of the thread I can see that MG and their dealers are masters of communication, to the extent that I'm still not sure how to progress the issue. In that I appear to be in good company as neither do Richmond Portsmouth.

Phone call on Tuesday from the dealer to say phone MG assist to get them to bring the car in.

Phone MG assist who say no, after a wait to refer higher, as they only do roadside assistance.

I fail to get through to my contact at Richmond mid afternoon, nor do I get a call back.

Check on here and find that MG assistance have helped others. Check MG website and note Home Assistance.

Call MG Assist again, different phone operative and get a visit arranged.

AA man calls, and says no, the car is not unsafe to drive and in view of the 6 miles to the dealer will not recover to there. Such action would also render them liable to providing a hire car, and although he doesn't say so I get the impression that Richmond have 'form'.

I cycle the 4/5 miles to football training to avoid using the car, and at least get a bit of a warm up and some extra exercise..

After this masterful display of buck passing I have decided to drive to the dealer on Wednesday and have words.. I will also print off some of the posts which reference MG communications on here to show them.

I really need the car on Sunday as we are playing away in the Hampshire league and I'm giving 3 of the youngsters a lift. It really wouldn't look good locally if a game was called off because 4 players couldn't make it due to a dodgy brand new car and absence of courtesy car.. Social media beckons..

Watch this space for more exciting/frustrating updates.

 

[Ian Key]

MG4 with modified oil breather

 

[Fogey]

MG4 with modified oil breather
View attachment 12143

Nah - collects rain when reversing!

 

[BugEyed]

which is agitated furiously by the gears forum members

FTFY

MG need to be a bit more savvy to the spread of (mis)information via the web and be a bit more in control of the content of what is released.

 

[SueH]

"a bit more"?!! How about "any" pro-active communication?

 

[tsedge]

So did MG actually release a statement today as promised from the email from Miles Roberts?

It seems they did send a message to dealers but we have not seen it and there is confusion about exactly what it says. It is a mess.

 

[tsedge]

Having read through the last few pages of the thread I can see that MG and their dealers are masters of communication, to the extent that I'm still not sure how to progress the issue. In that I appear to be in good company as neither do Richmond Portsmouth.

Phone call on Tuesday from the dealer to say phone MG assist to get them to bring the car in.

Phone MG assist who say no, after a wait to refer higher, as they only do roadside assistance.

I fail to get through to my contact at Richmond mid afternoon, nor do I get a call back.

Check on here and find that MG assistance have helped others. Check MG website and note Home Assistance.

Call MG Assist again, different phone operative and get a visit arranged.

AA man calls, and says no, the car is not unsafe to drive and in view of the 6 miles to the dealer will not recover to there. Such action would also render them liable to providing a hire car, and although he doesn't say so I get the impression that Richmond have 'form'.

I cycle the 4/5 miles to football training to avoid using the car, and at least get a bit of a warm up and some extra exercise..

After this masterful display of buck passing I have decided to drive to the dealer on Wednesday and have words.. I will also print off some of the posts which reference MG communications on here to show them.

I really need the car on Sunday as we are playing away in the Hampshire league and I'm giving 3 of the youngsters a lift. It really wouldn't look good locally if a game was called off because 4 players couldn't make it due to a dodgy brand new car and absence of courtesy car.. Social media beckons..

Watch this space for more exciting/frustrating updates.

That's shockingly bad communication. Sorry to hear it. I think your plan is the right one.

 

[WalkingBootWeather]

My dealer is not aware of any communication problems, which kinda says it all....

 

[Ian Key]

My dealer is not aware of any communication problems, which kinda says it all....

No communication...no problems....

 

[BugEyed]

All good stuff, but they are not typically open-ended pipes. This is how one typically looks.
View attachment 12131

Ok, so please be aware that I'm not disagreeing with @tsedge , but "breathers" exist for a number of different reasons and work in different ways accordingly.
Traditional ICE have breathers to allow the combustion gases that get past the piston rings to escape, and to avoid the build up of liquids such as water in the oil in the crankcase. Clearly that's not the issue with an EV gearbox.
Other requirements for breathers are to allow for expansion of the air in the gearbox and motor to avoid pressurising the system and encouraging leaks around seals, particularly into the system as everything cools.
If there's much gas flow there becomes an issue of separating out any oil mist within the air which is generally not simple.
It's not clear what the current issue is. Is the current assembly "sealed for life" as per most modern gearboxes, or does it already have a breather that is just ineffective at separating out the oil mist? Either way creating an effective solution is not simple without the risk of introducing other issues. MG need to explain further (Ok - even at all would be good).

 

[Les burrows]

BuEyed I don’t know much about there being different types of breathers or weather there is one fitted to the gearbox on the Mg4 or not, it appears there is something along those lines apparently according to this thread but what I want to say is this
That I totally agree with the last line in your posting, MG do need to explain what is going to be done to get away from this problem and they need to do it now.

We where told 2days ago they have found what the issue is and have a fix to cure it, but no one has heard anymore about it as far as I can see.
My wife’s 4 does not as yet appear to have any oil leak ( early days ) but the Bulging under tray is the quite bad surprised and disappointed it was not attended to on the PDI before we collected the car, but I’m not Worrying about it at the moment as it is not causing a problem from what I can see and I’m sure it will be addressed in due course.
Les

 

[AndyM]

surprised and disappointed it was not attended to on the PDI before we collected the car,

There's nothing really the dealers can do. It needs a replacement part imo.

 

[Deleted member 9692]

Update - I have spoken to my dealer today. He told me that the dealer bulletin states that the new part should be available by second week in November. He told me that MG say the cars are “safe to drive in the meantime and should be filled with 0.7l of oil and that owners should be told not to exceed 50 mph, use the throttle “lightly” and avoid long journeys if possible, also to be aware of any vibrations and report to dealer if they happen”. I am going to collect my car that has sat there for 2 weeks and drive it while waiting for the new part, I rarely get over 50 mph on my commute and TBH if the gearbox goes bang its MGs problem, not mine.

Incredibly, they have been told they can release new cars also with no mention of the problem to new owners.

 

[Diggsy]

Not being told to advise new owners of an underlying issue that requires them to take care, not drive over 50 and not undertake long journeys seems more than a little ridiculous!

 

[Taq]

safe to drive in the meantime and should be filled with 0.7l of oil and that owners should be told not to exceed 50 mph, use the throttle “lightly” and avoid long journeys

Does this include vehicles;

• that have had leaks, had the levels adjusted and now appear ok ?
• had a leak that stopped after a bit of use ?
• yet to show signs of a leak ?

I’m a bit baffled why one UK spec MG4 should be any different to another in regard to the breather other than perhaps the type/amount of use its getting.

 

[siteguru]

It could be a variation in driving styles and/or locations ... maybe people who drive at higher speeds for longer are more prone to encountering the leak?

Edit: the 50 mph recommendation may be a reflection of this?

 

[Taq]

Think you just pipped me to that ?