unreliability survey

[Dan C]

The MG5 in general seems to be more reliable.

That’s my observation, James (from James and Kate ev YouTube / cleevely EV) has run a few MG5s and put superstar mileage on them without any issues to note.

How did the MG4 get released so unready. Like did they not test any of the software or notice gearboxes leaking oil during R+D….

 

[securespark]

They surely aren't trying to recreate the full ownership experience of 1980s MGs?

There were stories going around in the trade about BMCLeyAusRov, whatever they were calling themselves that year, having problems with engines and gearboxes that leaked. Other issues were body coloured bumpers that cracked in cold weather or minor impacts and issues with the VW-sourced gearbox linkages.

There were apparently fields stuffed full of bumperless cars at one point as there was an issue getting them right.

 

[LenEV2016]

That’s my observation, James (from James and Kate ev YouTube / cleevely EV) has run a few MG5s and put superstar mileage on them without any issues to note.

How did the MG4 get released so unready. Like did they not test any of the software or notice gearboxes leaking oil during R+D….

Agree, the issue is I think they knew and market pressures (other models coming to market from other brands) meant time was against them, so they just went ahead.

This is obviously the case with the X Power as there was a Chinese member on here reporting the vibes on the first released Chinese models, they went ahead with the European release anyway and here we are a year down the line with a legal battle on the horizon.

 

[siteguru]

How did the MG4 get released so unready. Like did they not test any of the software or notice gearboxes leaking oil during R+D….

A fair comment. My only observation is that the MG5 EV was built on an existing ICE platform, whereas the MG4 was the first car built on a new, bespoke, EV platform ... MSP. (Modular Scalable Platform). Teething issues with new platforms are not unusual, but you'd hope the major issues would have been found and fixed prior to release to market.

 

[LenEV2016]

A fair comment. My only observation is that the MG5 EV was built on an existing ICE platform, whereas the MG4 was the first car built on a new, bespoke, EV platform ... MSP. (Modular Scalable Platform). Teething issues with new platforms are not unusual, but you'd hope the major issues would have been found and fixed prior to release to market.

Agree, as you say teething issues are common with brand new cars but the major stuff should have been found. I still believe it was rushed to the market

 

[NLMGSAN]

Agree, the issue is I think they knew and market pressures (other models coming to market from other brands) meant time was against them, so they just went ahead.

This is obviously the case with the X Power as there was a Chinese member on here reporting the vibes on the first released Chinese models, they went ahead with the European release anyway and here we are a year down the line with a legal battle on the horizon.

Actually, after the Chinese customers complaints they first threw them on the Down Under market without modifications (same with the bulge). Despite complaints there also, they brought the Xpower unchanged to Europe.

 

[Tonych]

This is how the Daily Fail is reporting the lowest ranging by MG4 "
At the other end of the spectrum, budget-friendly brand MG was found to be the least reliable brand, coming in 31st place with a score of 76.9 per cent.

That's a fall of two places from last year, and a huge fall from grace from 2022 when it came in 9th place with a score of 95 per cent.

Drivers reported a high fault rate and slow repairs, with the overall score largely due to a high proportion of MG4 owners encountering large repair bills."

 

[LenEV2016]

This is how the Daily Fail is reporting the lowest ranging by MG4 "
At the other end of the spectrum, budget-friendly brand MG was found to be the least reliable brand, coming in 31st place with a score of 76.9 per cent.

That's a fall of two places from last year, and a huge fall from grace from 2022 when it came in 9th place with a score of 95 per cent.

Drivers reported a high fault rate and slow repairs, with the overall score largely due to a high proportion of MG4 owners encountering large repair bills."

Doing really well with the ZS, MG 5 etc then 2 years ago it all goes south after the 4 is released.

 

[tsedge]

Doing really well with the ZS, MG 5 etc then 2 years ago it all goes south after the 4 is released.

4 was the first use of the brand-new EV-only platform. There were always going to be new platform issues. What is disturbing is not that there were issues, but that MG still haven't got to grips with them all.

 

[LenEV2016]

4 was the first use of the brand-new EV-only platform. There were always going to be new platform issues. What is disturbing is not that there were issues, but that MG still haven't got to grips with them all.

Agree and new platform issues were to be expected however some of the faults shouldn't have made it to market and with proper R&D wouldn't have.

 

[securespark]

I think CAD can lead to issues, as there is less physical testing and more reliance on the computer.

 

[Tonych]

Doing really well with the ZS, MG 5 etc then 2 years ago it all goes south after the 4 is released.

Thing is, my own experience of a long term ZS and MG 4 dont support this, and I dont see too many posts on unreliability other than the crappy software update situation. Does it cost more to have an MG4 repaired?

 

[T1 Terry]

Being an ex mechanic with 50 yrs in the trade, MG was always a car you drove for fun, they were not known for their lack of problems ..... Being one of the BMC range, they had the reputation for having an external oil cooler, the oil cooled as it leaked out and was cooled by the time it covered the driveway
I did note in the survey, they listed what the problem areas were for each of the cars listed .... until it came to the MG4 ....... Let's face it, if the entertainment system has glitches ... hardly a life threatening or driveability issue, more of a first world problem, same as a lot of the issues.
The biggest issue seems to be the poor fault fixing by the dealerships .... probably down to poor technician (not mechanics any more) training and that all comes back to the central office for the country concerned ..... maybe complaints direct to the parent company might shake loose some of the apathy in the UK head office, or maybe once asked, they can point to the area up line that is giving them the bad name ....... or maybe someone can do a Gilbert and Sulivan performance based on the Pirates of Penzance to embarrass them into action

T1 Terry

 

[tsedge]

Thing is, my own experience of a long term ZS and MG 4 dont support this, and I dont see too many posts on unreliability other than the crappy software update situation. Does it cost more to have an MG4 repaired?

A single person's experience is never representative.

With my MG4, I have had a broken CCU, broken footrest, rattling bootlid (that they couldn't fix), prematurely cracking seat leather, numerous software problems with ELK, AEB, ACC, eSOS phone, CarPlay some of which seem to have no solutions.

I didn't have the oil leak issue and I don't have a sagging undertray, my door handles haven't had to be replaced, nor has the infotainment unit, nor my charger port (although the lights did stop working), But others have had these hardware problems and more.

But my experience may be entirely atypical, hence the point of a survey.

 

[DelBoy]

Adding to the previous, I have had issues with AC charging (software fix), DC charging (CCU replaced but took nearly 2 months to sort) and issues with LKA and other software problems, so I agree with the reliability issues. Shame as I now have a car that I enjoy driving but the journey to get here was painful.

 

[smartn]

Drivers reported a high fault rate and slow repairs, with the overall score largely due to a high proportion of MG4 owners encountering large repair bills."

Why should anyone be encountering 'large repair bills'? Surely its all warranty work. I actually think the survey is probably fairly accurate based on MG UK and dealership experience but has anyone actually suffered from large repair bill?

 

[LenEV2016]

Why should anyone be encountering 'large repair bills'? Surely its all warranty work. I actually think the survey is probably fairly accurate based on MG UK and dealership experience but has anyone actually suffered from large repair bill?

I think there have been reports of mg saying some repairs aren't covered by warranty and quite a lot of stuff drops off the warranty cover after 3 months 6 months a year and so on

 

[smartn]

I think there have been reports of mg saying some repairs aren't covered by warranty and quite a lot of stuff drops off the warranty cover after 3 months 6 months a year and so on

Be interesting to see if any of the forum members have been stung like this though. I've not seen anyone paying big money for repairs to the best of my knowledge.

 

[securespark]

Here is the warranty for all cars since 01/09/19 (top of the list).

Warranty | My MG

All new MGs come with a warranty as standard, along with a six-year anti-perforation warranty. Discover more about MG warranties here.

www.mg.co.uk

It would make the 7 year warranty sticker as big as the back window if they listed all those parts whose warranty expired earlier....

 

[smartn]

Here is the warranty for all cars since 01/09/19 (top of the list).

Warranty | My MG

All new MGs come with a warranty as standard, along with a six-year anti-perforation warranty. Discover more about MG warranties here.

www.mg.co.uk

It would make the 7 year warranty sticker as big as the back window if you listed all those parts whose warranty expired earlier....

True, there are a lot of items not covered but most of these are the consumable type. No MG4 is over 3 years old yet so all the big cost items should be covered. I'm interested to hear from anyone who has had to pay big money for repairs.