MG4 EV (air con / fan problem) noise

[Enjoying my MG4]

My wife and I remain very pleased with our MG4 EV. However, we do have a noise problem when the air conditioning unit is switched on. We reported the problem less than four hours after driving away from the MG dealer and they were as helpful as they could be and replaced the air conditioning unit to no avail. The fault continued and seems to be fan related in my opinion (Depending on the speed the air con is working at). We decided not to have it looked at any further at this time. When we returned to our MG dealer for further repairs, we were provided with an identical car that when inspected, had an identical fault. We then asked to look at other MG4 EV’s on the forecourt, only to find the same fault with all five we looked at. Knowing all the others made the same noise when the air con is switched on, we did not want our car to be dismantled any further. We are now going to chase this up on our first EV service in the hope that other people have reported the fault and had it fixed. We are hopeful that MG4 EV’s will have a factory recall at some stage to rectify the fault. It does seem fan (hitting something ) related in my opinion.

For those that are interested and to aid further, I created a video clip of the noise, that has apparently been sent to MG (China). It probably sounds louder than it is, as a mobile phone picks up the sounds very well. Here is the You Tube link.

Summary- If you have this noise and manage to get it fixed, please let us know, so that we can educate our MG dealer to order the correct spares for repairs. Unfortunately, during our last visit, they lost their MG4 EV mechanic, so this was another reason we did not want it looked at any further, at this stage.

Thanks for reading and am pleased to be on board the forum.

 

[BrianHere6]

This evening I pitched up at my destination charger and needed my Type 2 cable which lives under the bonnet. When I opened the bonnet to get it the aircon was still on. I noticed the sound got louder, but it still wasn't at a level that would concern me if I hadn't heard all the other stories about it. I think there must be different levels of noise.

Ours was 100% silent at first, then as time passed it worsened. It was a gradual process, not someting that suddenly started.

That does seem to suggest either someting coming loose, lubrication or part failure ..... We'll see...

 

[Rolfe]

Ours was 100% silent at first, then as time passed it worsened. It was a gradual process, not someting that suddenly started.

That does seem to suggest either someting coming loose, lubrication or part failure ..... We'll see...

I could always hear mine, a sort of gentle warble it took me a week or so to realise was actually coming from the car. I'm not convinced it's getting worse.

 

[Yandards]

Wonder if a direct question to Mahle about if their pump is supposed to make this noise would actually get us an answer?

Also even with heating on it might run the AC pump depending on requirements - AC systems contain air dryers that help with demisting.

 

[siteguru]

Indeed ... after all AC stands for Air Conditioning, not Air Cooling.

 

[BrianHere6]

I think it will be helpful to all with this problem to post my video of the issue. It's a good clear visual and audio recording. Turn up your volume if necessary.

Car was silent when first picked-up. Then progressively worse until this video.

Issue has gone to dealer (who has been very helpful) and on to MG. Currently waiting for MG response.

Have response. MG authorised replacement of aircon compressor.

 

[Rolfe]

Do let us know whether this fixed the issue, and in particular could we have a second video of the sound of the aircon after the work is done?

 

[ok86]

Have response. MG authorised replacement of aircon compressor.

Funny enough my brother has a ford kuga HEV and when the aircon is on it makes the same sound but the sound proofing is much better at hiding it, he took his to get looked at they said it was normal and showed him other cars on the lot that did the same thing…. Until now I have never heard of any other electrified vehicles AC making this noise.

I will try and record it and share. My dad has a ford galaxy with the same HEV engine I will see if that does the same thing.

Either they use the same or similar Mahle AC unit and there is a bad batch or its just a characteristic of this model. Mine is booked in for late September not very confident the MG garage will do anything they haven’t come across this problem before.

 

[BrianHere6]

Do let us know whether this fixed the issue, and in particular could we have a second video of the sound of the aircon after the work is done?

Will be a some weeks for part delivery and dealer slot, but will do.

 

[Rolfe]

Thanks.

 

[GameZone]

Mine also makes the ticking sound, but can't hear it inside the car, so not bothered about it.

Also yours seems way louder, but I have not opened the bonnet to record close to the pump.

Unlike almost everyone else on this forum, our car have a heat pump, and may sound differently.

 

[Kithmo]

Ours was 100% silent at first, then as time passed it worsened. It was a gradual process, not someting that suddenly started.

That does seem to suggest either someting coming loose, lubrication or part failure ..... We'll see...

100% silent means it's not doing any work, so it's reached the required temperature or it's near ambient temperature.
In normal operating circumstances, it get louder the more work it has to do e.g. if it 35 deg out side and you have it set to 15 deg then it will be loud, if it's 22 deg outside and you have it set to 20 deg then it will make less noise.
In my experience this is the same for each car I've had with electric AC, my 3 previous Priuses and my ZS ev were the same. My MG4 is no louder than those were, the ZS even produced a light vibration through the steering wheel when the AC was going full blast.

 

[BrianHere6]

100% silent means it's not doing any work, so it's reached the required temperature or it's near ambient temperature.
In normal operating circumstances, it get louder the more work it has to do e.g. if it 35 deg out side and you have it set to 15 deg then it will be loud, if it's 22 deg outside and you have it set to 20 deg then it will make less noise.
In my experience this is the same for each car I've had with electric AC, my 3 previous Priuses and my ZS ev were the same. My MG4 is no louder than those were, the ZS even produced a light vibration through the steering wheel when the AC was going full blast.

a relative "100% silent" compared to the noise in my vid above . Not to be taken literally...

 

[Kithmo]

a relative "100% silent" compared to the noise in my vid above . Not to be taken literally...

You may have caught it when it was doing less work earlier.
I can't hear mine from inside the car even when it's working hard, if it's bad enough to hear inside, I'd say there's a problem.

 

[Rolfe]

That last is what my dealer said. If you can't hear it inside the car, there's nothing to worry about. He said it's a bit light on sound insulation outside the car, so you'll hear it there.

 

[BrianHere6]

There's multiple threads about the same subject: namely, AirCon Compressor Noise.

Air-con & Under tray update

Sounds like it is still apparent on the phase 2 then. Most describe it as a clatter type noise, as if a high speed fan is catching on metal. Will be interested in hearing yours once you have the video up

www.mgevs.com

Noisy AC compressor

Noisy AC compressor had the car in for the locking update and to look at AC tried regas but still there so if ts booked in next month for further investigation as it shouldn't be making a noise anyone else had the same problem and was it fixed

www.mgevs.com

Aircon pump squeak / chirp.

Pump on my car has suddenly become noisy as hell after a mere 200 miles, squeak can be heard quite a distance from the car, anyone else had the same issue ? If you put your hand on the pump when running there's a vibration in time with the chirp, not sure it's long for this world :unsure: The...

www.mgevs.com

All are heading in the same direction - or should be.

MG is authorising warranty replacement of aircon compressor. See YouTubes for the sound (above). Mine going in next week. Don't pay any attention to "is normal" comments.

Can we merge the threads to here?

 

[calwoo]

I have the same ticking noise which remains constant over a range of aircon blower settings so I dont think its the aircon fan. Could it be the battery cooling system - water pump?

 

[PristDean]

I have the same ticking noise which remains constant over a range of aircon blower settings so I dont think its the aircon fan. Could it be the battery cooling system - water pump?

Does it remain audible when you turn the AC off ?

 

[calwoo]

Good point. It doesn’t so its the compressor.

 

[PristDean]

Good point. It doesn’t so its the compressor.

Sounds like it, if it's loud as was mine (see video links), it may contain no oil in the compressor. In which case you need to have it re-gassed at the very least.

 

[BrianHere6]

I've had the AirCon Compressor replaced. Only took a couple of weeks for part and work slot. All the noise in my original vid is gone. Just the slight background "tick" that gets mentioned. I'll upload a new vid during the next couple of days that's as near as possible to the format of first vid for easy comparison.