New to EV - new to my MG 4 Trophy

[Deleted member 18097]

HI all - just joined this forum. Just go a 5 month old MG 4 Trophy yesterday. Hhmmm having problems. Not had an EV before and my last car was 14 years old so not up on new electronic car controls (which is not helping). So

a) - on the way home, the car beeped and the steering pulled - multiple times and for no reason I could see. I took it back to the dealership (not an MG dealership) and they turned off Assist Mode Emergency Lane Keeping to Lane Departure Assist. We pootled about some other settings too. On my way home (second time) did the same thing - I would swear in the same places. I again could not see what would affect the car. Any comments ? Thanks

b) my charger is not being fitted for a few weeks. I am granny charging today (I have PV and battery). I have followed the instructions - the car has been plugged in for about 1.5 hours but I cannot see if it is charging. The MG app has decided to not connect. Would I see a change in battery from such a short time ? How do I know it is charging ?

So far, regretting this purchase ! All comments gratefully received. Thanks

 

[webhiker]

No worries
A) Many settings are being reset when turning off and on again
Do not fight or fear LKA (lane keeoing assist). It is trying to help you or at least alert you that it thinks you are not paying attention/keeping in the middle of the lane.
I have learnt to accept the way it works and I can see that it reacts when it can't see the lines well (thinking you are straying off)
My best advice is to see, understand and accept, as otherwise you will always be upset and have to use time before every ride to adjust a number of settings. Ie, be pragmatic

Enjoy you new car (I live mine)

 

[Deleted member 18097]

No worries
A) Many settings are being reset when turning off and on again
Do not fight or fear LKA (lane keeoing assist). It is trying to help you or at least alert you that it thinks you are not paying attention/keeping in the middle of the lane.
I have learnt to accept the way it works and I can see that it reacts when it can't see the lines well (thinking you are straying off)
My best advice is to see, understand and accept, as otherwise you will always be upset and have to use time before every ride to adjust a number of settings. Ie, be pragmatic

Enjoy you new car (I live mine)

Thank you - I am learning that driving preferences are not saved and most have to be reset. I just could not see why this was happening.

 

[Ferretusmaximus]

a) is LKA - Lane Keeper Assist- a favourite topic on here - just search for it. Most people turn it off on entering the car.

b) the screen in front of the driver should show if charging is in progress.

 

[Deleted member 18097]

a) is LKA - Lane Keeper Assist- a favourite topic on here - just search for it. Most people turn it off on entering the car.

b) the screen in front of the driver should show if charging is in progress.

Hi - I think I will turn off LKA - I find it very disconcerting. Re the charge - I have tested the extension lead and it works, I have followed all the instructions - I don't think it is charging - would have any ideas why ? I will also call the dealership too...

 

[Anon70]

As mentioned above the pulling is the lane keeping assist and can be manually disabled (it's on the MG pilot screens)before setting off on any journey that will take you above 40mph (as this is when it activates)

Even without the app you should be able to see the car is charging by the colour of the 4 LED indicators that surround the charing port and by the displays inside the car

If you want to find out more about how some of the techy bits work I would suggest a YouTube channel called Jerry Pan and Cars he has produced some very comprehensive guides to the MG4

 

[siteguru]

Re. charging ... look at the lights around the charge port. When charging they should be green, and the segment currently charging should flash, and charged up segments should be solid.

0-25% = top-right segment
25-50% = bottom-right segment
50-75% = bottom-left segment
75-100% = top-left segment

 

[Deleted member 18097]

So - just gone to look again - the lights around the charge port were not on. I went into the car - and looked at the charging on the central display - it was asking to plug in the charger (so it definitely isn't charging). When I then went out of the car and locked it - there were three segments lit up (kind of green more like a blue - the top left was not lit up). The amount of charge on the battery has not moved and it has now been about 2.5 hours since I have been trying to charge. Any further ideas ?

 

[Martinonline]

Do you have an MG Granny charger? If so the coloured LEDs on it will indicate if the car is charging or if there is an error. The light combination tells you the problem, see the back of the charger.

Second, in the battery management page on the Info screen (tap battery on the home page) see what limit is set for charging, you may have reached it.

 

[Kithmo]

There is a sequence to follow when using the granny, I think you have to plug the car in first then the charger.
From the manual:
Residential Charging
During the charging operation the vehicle power system must be OFF. Carry out the following procedure to charge the vehicle:
1 Ensure the vehicle is power OFF and all doors are closed.
2 Open the charging port door.
3 Connect the 7 pin charging plug to the socket on the vehicle.
4 Connect the charging device plug to the domestic electricity supply. Lock the vehicle.
5 On completion of the charge, shut off the power, unlock the vehicle, disconnect the plug from the
vehicle, and then the domestic plug.

 

[Cpfoxhunt]

This might sound daft, but did you turn the granny charger on at the plug before plugging it into the car? (My first 'charge' I did not do this). Also as a general rule, if charging is being funny try locking the car, it seems to help for some reason.

Also if you are charging using an extension lead, I believe there might be a safety issue if you have the wire coiled and it is better to have it all unwrapped although I'm sure more knowledgeable people here can confirm that one?

 

[dsimpkins]

I bought an extension lead designed for EV charging via granny charger as you must use one capable of handling a sustained 10amp load. Otherwise, your extension lead, and plug socket will heat up, and potentially melt. The inner conductors need to be 1.5 sq.mm as a minimum. The writing on cable insulation will confirm size of conductors.

As for charging, following the instructions as @Kithmo posted should rectify your charging issue.
Disabling Lane Keep Assistance on startup is just something I do automatically when I get in the car now. It's a NCAP 5 safety requirement that it cannot be permanently disabled. Any NCAP 5 rated car will have the same issue.

My MG4 was my first EV too. Also moved to it from a 13 year old car. It was a steep learning curve to begin with, and the range anxiety quickly fades. Hopefully you'll soon be used to it, and enjoy it. I love my MG4, it's so effortless and comfortable on long journeys, but also so much fun.

 

[Martinonline]

@Kithmo, re your instructions, that used to work for me until I started adjusting the charging settings (see another thread). For the last 2 granny charges I have had to put the car in the ready mode before plugging in the charging cable.

@nicki m, is there a charging schedule set for your car? That will stop the charging.

 

[Deleted member 18097]

HI - went back to the dealer (who is actually an MG dealer). We did some tests. They plugged in their faster charger - worked. We then tested another of their granny chargers and it didn't. The upshot is that the software needs to be upgraded to allow for a three point pin. Good grief. But good to have solved the issue. Will take it to them next week for this.

I am turning off the LKA at the start of the journey as well as lane assist and anything else I don't like the look of !! Most of these have magically switched on again by the end of the journey. I am having numerous beeps, steering wheel pulls and sometimes both at once (and sometimes double beeps). Very disconcerting but the MG garage is being helpful and I am hoping that this will also be cured by the software update. Fingers crossed !

Thank you everyone for all your very helpful comments - what a great forum!

 

[dsimpkins]

You have to place car in ready state (press brake pedal) before turning off LKA, otherwise as soon as you press brake pedal it will turn back on. On the dash if the car and lanes symbol has yellow lanes, it's off. White it is on.

 

[Deleted member 18097]

You have to place car in ready state (press brake pedal) before turning off LKA, otherwise as soon as you press brake pedal it will turn back on. On the dash if the car and lanes symbol has yellow lanes, it's off. White it is on.

Thank you !

 

[AndyL61]

HI - went back to the dealer (who is actually an MG dealer). We did some tests. They plugged in their faster charger - worked. We then tested another of their granny chargers and it didn't. The upshot is that the software needs to be upgraded to allow for a three point pin. Good grief. But good to have solved the issue. Will take it to them next week for this.

I am turning off the LKA at the start of the journey as well as lane assist and anything else I don't like the look of !! Most of these have magically switched on again by the end of the journey. I am having numerous beeps, steering wheel pulls and sometimes both at once (and sometimes double beeps). Very disconcerting but the MG garage is being helpful and I am hoping that this will also be cured by the software update. Fingers crossed !

Thank you everyone for all your very helpful comments - what a great forum!

Just a thought, if you have the display on auto (changes from light to dark when auto lights switch on) this can trigger the LKA to turn back on. I use mine in dark mode all the time as I prefer the display like this , but it also has the benefit of not turning the LKA back on during a journey. Hope this helps. ?

 

[Grriff]

My guide may help you MG4 Trophy - a Guide.
We had the same problems as you, so I wrote the guide.

 

[Deleted member 18097]

My guide may help you MG4 Trophy - a Guide.
We had the same problems as you, so I wrote the guide.

That looks awesome -thank you

 

[salty]

nicki. ??