Scheduled charging on mk1 ZS

[macaulays]

Evening All,

Thinking about swapping out our '18 Ioniq Electric for a '20 ZS EV and was just about to push the button on Monday when I came across some other threads this eve about scheduled charging (e.g for off-peak rate) only being possible on the facelift, '21 on cars. Most of the threads were a couple of years old though so just wanted to check, with latest software etc, are the pre-facelift cars still unable to schedule a charge or any solutions to that issue which have come up in the years since they were introduced?

Thanks for any comments.

Sandy

 

[fred12345]

Can you schedule on your charger? I got 3kW slow charger for about £100 that connects to WiFi and comes with an app allowing you to set start and stop time.

Here is the owner manual page - compare Mk1 and Mk2 ZS - I couldn't see scheduled charging option on Mk1 ZS

Owner Manuals | MG Motor UK

Everything you need for your MG car, including warranties, manuals and more.

www.mg.co.uk

 

[Coulomb]

I'm not aware of any updates that allow scheduled charging on the Mark 1 ZS EV, sadly.

 

[Lovemyev]

The Gen 1 model of the ZS EV was never equipped from the factory, to support any “In Car” delayed charging facilities unfortunately.
We had one of the first order cars that arrived in late 2019 and we also had one of the earlier dumb Rolec wall boxes.
Having a really cheap 5p/kWh off peak rate, it was very important to access that facility.
The work around, was installing a Wi-Fi relay inside the case of the wall box, controlled from a free o one load App on my phone.
This was invaluable to gain access for cheap rate charging.
This worked for the entire time we had the car , which was about 2 years and roughly 20,000 miles.
The Gen2 facelift model IS equipped with “in car” charging facility of course and a better option, if you can stretch your budget .

 

[macaulays]

Many thanks all, that's really helpful, if frustrating! I confess I had assumed that all EVs came with scheduling as our old '14 Outlander PHEV had that (admittedly 'clunkily') included back in the early days. Does the same omission apply to scheduled pre-heating/defrosting out of interest? Would that be facelift only also?

All the best,

Sandy

 

[Lovemyev]

Face lift only unfortunately, as the original 2019 model does not carry any App functionality to enable pre heat / cooling.
If you want to preheat / defrost the car in the winter, it is only possible in a manual crude fashion, by booting up the car and then turning on the HVAC.
Of course the car will be unlocked while this process is taking place.
Gen2 facelift model has to be a better option around ( budget allowing ).
The original model was only available in one battery size, while the facelift model has a choice of two.

 

[macaulays]

That's great, thanks for confirming all - food for thought!

All the best,

Sandy

 

[fred12345]

That's great, thanks for confirming all - food for thought!

All the best,

Sandy

I was going to get the cheapest second hand EV for "transition" from old diesel and then decided that 2022 Trophy at about 40k on the clock and at £15K (about £4k more expansive than the cheapest Mk1 2019 ZS) was much better option and likely to hold value better than Gen 1 ZS. (sunroof and all other "options" included and working)

 

[ZiggyStandard]

Face lift only unfortunately, as the original 2019 model does not carry any App functionality to enable pre heat / cooling.
If you want to preheat / defrost the car in the winter, it is only possible in a manual crude fashion, by booting up the car and then turning on the HVAC.
Of course the car will be unlocked while this process is taking place.
Gen2 facelift model has to be a better option around ( budget allowing ).
The original model was only available in one battery size, while the facelift model has a choice of two.

To secure the car, once it's up and heating:

1) lower the drivers window
2) get out and close the door, taking your key with you
3) through the window, lock the doors using the driver's lock switch
4) reach in and raise the window, removing your arm
5) when you return to the car, open the door by pressing the door handle button.

 

[Lovemyev]

To secure the car, once it's up and heating:

1) lower the drivers window
2) get out and close the door, taking your key with you
3) through the window, lock the doors using the driver's lock switch
4) reach in and raise the window, removing your arm
5) when you return to the car, open the door by pressing the door handle button.

You just have to be careful that you don’t get caught out like Mike P in this video.