The "Coffee Cup" alert.

[AndrewS]

Well today I got the "coffee cup" and "bongs" ? . I'd no idea what they were for as (as is normal) the actual text of the alert flashed on and off the drivers display faster than can be read....

As I'd been driving for about 2 1/2 hours I worked out that my MG was nagging me to take a break!!

 

[Rolfe]

REALLY!! What did you do to merit that? I've never seen it at all and I've driven for over three and a half hours without a break on several occasions.

 

[Silver estate]

Well today I got the "coffee cup" and "bongs" ? . I'd no idea what they were for as (as is normal) the actual text of the alert flashed on and off the drivers display faster than can be read....

As I'd been driving for about 2 1/2 hours I worked out that my MG was nagging me to take a break!!

Merc Actros truck has this as well , nothing like the thing being your mother and telling you to take a rest

 

[AndrewS]

REALLY!! What did you do to merit that? I've never seen it at all and I've driven for over three and a half hours without a break on several occasions.

No idea! As with all of them, the warning message was gone before I could read it!!

The speed these alert messages flash across the drivers display isn't good. By the time I've spotted there's a message to read, it's gone. That's something MG could improve for sure. Even if they gave us a way to recall/replay the alert messages that would useful.

 

[Rolfe]

I have tended to assume that messages that are too quick to be read are the system playing up and talking to itself. It's possible it was a false alarm. Except, did the coffee cup stay put?

 

[DixieTGS]

Even if they gave us a way to recall/replay the alert messages that would useful.

Some of the fault/error messages may be available on the right hand tyre pressure display page. A down arrow appears under it if the list is not empty.

But even these ones will disappear if the fault clears itself ?‍.

 

[amdmad]

I've had the cup on the dash from the 1st day of ownership.

 

[securespark]

And it has never extinguished?

 

[amdmad]

And it has never extinguished?

No I'm still on Original software 2022 .

 

[Ian Key]

I've had the cup on the dash from the 1st day of ownership.

Is it one of the original ones with the bulge on top of the steering binnacle?
There is a software update that removes its functionality and stops the drowsiness warnings which should have been installed at your first service.

 

[AndrewS]

I have tended to assume that messages that are too quick to be read are the system playing up and talking to itself. It's possible it was a false alarm. Except, did the coffee cup stay put?

The little orange coffee cup warning symbol continued to flash and the audible 'bong' continued until my wife googled it and found that it was related to a setting in the MG Pilot. When the Driver Alertness monitor was turned off the coffee cup and audio alert stopped.

 

[fnegroni]

My son was driving extensively last weekend. I could tell he was a bit tired and needed a break. Literally the moment after I told him, the symbol appeared and a reminder to take a break flashed on the screen of his car.

I wish more drivers took regular breaks. Especially as we get tired, we become less aware of how deprived we are and by the time we realise, it’s too late.

 

[Rolfe]

I remember driving back to Scotland from a holiday in Harrogate with a friend. (This was in 2018 and I was driving my Golf.) I was fine when we left Consett after having lunch, and continued to drive. But we soon hit trouble. The A68 was closed and we had to take the A69 across the Pennines to get to the M74 - just as a fairly heavy fog came down. It was a strain.

I must have been OK when we passed Gretna, because we didn't stop there, but soon afterwards I was suddenly hit by really marked fatigue. I must have done something that was obvious, because my friend said, are you all right? I said no, I'm just looking for a place to get off this motorway and get a coffee, and after we've done that, you're driving.

I managed to get to Annandale Water without collapsing over the steering wheel, but it was quite scary. I wondered afterwards if I should have stopped on the hard shoulder then and there and switched drivers. At least I did have a spare driver with me, who was insured to drive my car. That's not usually the case. If I'd been alone, how long would I have to have stayed at Annandale Water before it would have been safe to go on?

 

[tsedge]

If you suddenly feel you can't continue, it is fine to stop on the hard shoulder and quickly switch drivers. That counts as an emergency.

 

[tsedge]

If it happens when you are alone, you can stop and use the emergency phones to request assistance. But it isn't a pleasant or risk-free place to be, so if you can make it to services or off the motorway it is probably better.

(That's assuming it isn't a smart motorway with no hard shoulder!).

 

[siteguru]

Not "smart" motorways? ?



And the worst bit is - the operators will rarely even put on a red X as their "work instructions" say to put on a lane divert (which many people simply ignore).

 

[DixieTGS]

That's not usually the case. If I'd been alone, how long would I have to have stayed at Annandale Water before it would have been safe to go on?

On the couple of times I had this happen years ago, I found if I bunked down and actually got to sleep on the back seat for at least 10 minutes, I was completely refreshed for the 30 to 60 minutes it took to finish the journey.

I'm not sure that would work if the root cause was previous sleep deprivation though.

 

[Rolfe]

The hard shoulder of the M74 is quite normal, but not a great place to get out of your car. Maybe I should have stopped, but I made it to Annandale Water, which wasn't very much further on. The cause wasn't sleep deprivation, it was the strain of driving across the Pennines in very poor visibility on a twisty road I had never been on before. I felt OK after we'd had coffee and cakes and chatted a bit for half an hour or so, but I was adamant that my friend was taking the wheel after that.

 

[amdmad]

Is it one of the original ones with the bulge on top of the steering binnacle?
There is a software update that removes its functionality and stops the drowsiness warnings which should have been installed at your first service.

Yes . Didn't update anything at service. Glad as LKA is permanently off.

 

[numblittlebug97]

The little orange coffee cup warning symbol continued to flash and the audible 'bong' continued until my wife googled it and found that it was related to a setting in the MG Pilot. When the Driver Alertness monitor was turned off the coffee cup and audio alert stopped.

Do you know how to turn it off please?