Mechanical knocking / popping noise coming from rear of MG5 Long Range

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charles

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Hi All

I'm new to the forum but have read loads on it over the past 6 months or so whilst deciding whether I should buy an MG5 Long Range or not. ....

Well, I took the plunge and bought one in Piccadilly Blue and I have to say I love it. I've had it for about 2 months so far.... But.....

There does seem to be one problem with it and it has now been back to the dealer twice and it's still not fixed. This time they told me MG Motor UK are aware of the issue and it will be subject to a service bulletin when they find the fix... But they could not advise if this would be a week, a month... or indeed never!!! In fact I wonder if actually I have just been fobbed off! I have Googled the issue but can find nothing which in itself makes me believe it is not a widespread issue and is therefore unlikely to be being investigated by MG Motor UK... Call me sceptical!!!

So I thought I'd put a post on here to see if anyone else has the issue

The issue.... There is a mechanical sounding clonking or knocking noise coming from the rear... Can't work out if it's left or right so could be both or central. The dealer initially thought it was like a panel pop noise and allegedly dropped the roof lining and re-bonded it. Made no difference. It seems worse when driving down a bumpy road, more when the car is being 'twisted' by rough road surface rather than the sort of bump like a speed bump (Although it does sometimes do it over them too). Happens at all speeds from 0 upward and is bluntly beginning to drive me mad! It is literally non stop!!!

The sort of noise we are talking about ... well imagine it's an old car and the drop links are knackered... you know the knocking noise... well it's like that and happens in the same sort of scenarios.

Any thoughts or advise would be really gratefully received.

Thanks - Charles
 
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A bit more of an update... further investigation proved if I open the tailgate and then push up on it... IE as if trying to open it further hence pushing it against it's will and then lowering it slightly... so basically pushing it against its stop then lower and pushing back the noise happened everytime.

although I couldn't stop it completely pushing hard down on the strip of metal between the two hinges lessened it and indeed just resting my hand on that area whilst moving the tailgate up and down I could feel as well as hear the noise...

I dropped the headlining down away from the roof panel incase it was that... no change so really I think without doubt, the noise is the metal panel which the hinges bolt in to creaking and flexing... Of course this panel is actually just a small area of the actual roof panel so I would have no idea how a fix could be applied... Clearly there is just flex in the panel that shouldn't be there.

In reality I noticed that actually I hear the noise everytime I close the boot as it starts to move... I guess to now I just hadn't noticed it in that scenario as it just sounds like a bit of 'hinge creak'

If anyone has any marvelous ideas on how to fix or at least reduce this noise please post, I imagine the only reason the sponges I rammed in is because the are pressing against the flexing panel.

It would be interesting to know if anyone else who may have the same noise is driving an original or long range MG5.

Thanks - Charles
 
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charles said:
I've had a morning of testing scenarios this morning.

Firstly I could get the noise to happen by twisting the boot lid like Kompins can.

1. Removed everything from the boot, the boot cover, polystyrene tool holder, boot floor, everything I could.... Then a test drive... no change! - Reloaded the boot.

2. Shut the boot with a folded over towel trapped in it around the sides and bottom. No Change

3. Same again with the towel along the top..... And as I was trying to get it to stay in place while shutting the boot... I heard the noise! clearly coming from the top of the boot opening. Test drive... Still made a noise but possibly less and definitely quieter!

4. Removed the towel and shook the car while holding it by the top of the boot opening... The noise!!! Tried again... nothing.... Then tried prodding and pushing the metal area in front of the boot seal... nothing... Shook the car again by the top of the boot opening... The noise!!! I then discovered... If I push the metal area along the top of the boot opening infront of the rubber seal... IE in the hinge area... along the centre section between the two hinges and then grip the car by the top of the boot seal and gently shake I get the noise... Just a single 'pop' or 'knock' each time... but each time faultlessly.

So then I removed the top of the boot seal... The noise still happened. So then I dropped the head lining.. There are two pop fittings just 1-2 inches back from the boot opening.... Tried again... No noise.

How could I stop this.... Time for a mince pie... coffee and the think....

I had a pack of finest quality 3 for £1 wilko car cleaning sponges. Thick but very squishy.... I cut one in half across its width and stuffed one half in each of the holes that were in the double skin of the roof (IE the bit immediately above the boot opening.... The other sponge I cut in half length ways and then in half again to make it half the thickness and laid one piece on either side of the head lining and then popped the head lining back up with its pop fixings...

Tested... No noise... Test drive... No noise... Found a really bumpy road... I got one pop...... This is not a fix... It's a bodge and perhaps on a sunny day rather than a wet day I'll have a better look but the source of the noise is deffo there... It's just a case of what and why.

Kompins - If you're bored perhaps you could try pressing your car along the hinge edge and then shaking it to see if that creates the noise for you.

I'll feed back more as I drive the car more... The issue could be a simple as the headlining pop fittings 'creaking' and a bit of grease may sort.... I'll keep you updated

Of course if anyone has any other thoughts on what it could be or how to fix what I have found please post!!

Charles
Click to expand...
Excellent research! I reckon my creaking is the the bodywork between the hinges flexing. I'm not sure if the bump stops on the bottom of the boot lid are actually contacting the rear panel properly which may be allowing the boot lid to move. I have a large selection of stick on rubber bump stop samples from a past customer so may experiment with these when I have time; will report back.😁
 
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Kompins said:
Excellent research! I reckon my creaking is the the bodywork between the hinges flexing. I'm not sure if the bump stops on the bottom of the boot lid are actually contacting the rear panel properly which may be allowing the boot lid to move. I have a large selection of stick on rubber bump stop samples from a past customer so may experiment with these when I have time; will report back.😁
Click to expand...
Watch out the bump stops don't grind through the paintwork, especially as the little clear plastic wear disks stuck on the paint where the bump stop hits are probably as badly misaligned as mine
 
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Quick update. I managed to completely stop the creaking by wedging a small piece of wood in the hole in the box section of metal between the 2 boot hinges... but although silent for 100+ miles, it has now started again.... the occasional noise initially and now slowly becoming more frequent again... This is very worrying to me.... What I am thinking is this.... insert something to make the metal more rigid... problem solved... but very quickly the flexing returns... does this mean the car is actually continually flexing and just doing so more and more and hence fatiguing the structure... to ultimate failure.. Does it mean the noise will get worse and worse (which it has since I have had it) until becoming intolerable and undriveable ?

Charles
 
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The bodyshell isn't particularly rigid so I take it as a given that there will be some amount of flex.
If you can now accurately identifiy the source of the noise shouldn't you put this in the hands of your dealer as a warranty issue?
 
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Yes, I totally agree! I just wanted to find the source and prove it. I will indeed return it again but I suspect they'll just again tell me they've referred it to MG UK and nothing more will happen.

I guess my major concern was just how quickly it started creaking again meaning, to me, ongoing flexing or weakening?!?!

Charles
 
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I wonder how tightly the tailgate is going against the bump stops or how tightly it is being clamped by the tailgate latch. If it was a bit loose it could be moving too much. Rather than experiment, it might be worth checking against a non clonking reference vehicle.
 
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Given manufacturing tolerances, with robots, even in China it is unlikely that this problem is inherent, if it were all of the cars would have it. If a few cars have the problem, it is more likely do do with assembly rather than design strength. Whichever, it is a very poor show on the part of the manufacturer and the dealers when owners have to do there own tests to isolate an issue as well as to find solutions to issues they have not caused. What is the point of a warranty if the dealer can simply say they have referred this to manufacturer, when the manufacturer is not expected to respond quickly. I do not think this is in the spirit of a warranty and most certainly is a breach of trust if not a breach of contract.
If your car is on PCP I learned from a dispute with Mercedes not to waste time with the manufacturer or dealer but go straight to the finance provider with issues as it is their car until you have finished paying for it in full. In my case they carried all costs including providing me an identical car for nearly 4 months whilst Mercedes main dealer sourced and replaced the entire wiring loom.
If not on PCP you could take a few of your mates with you and camp out in the showroom making a lot of fuss and noise whenever a new customer comes in you should get some action then.
 
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Just before Christmas as I was loading the car up for a trip the left hand clear plastic pad the tailgate bump stop hits fell off. I was in a hurry and didn't have time to look into it thoroughly but did notice the right hand one was still in situ and the paint was slightly abraded as you would expect. Anyhow a week later I had a look through my stick on bump stops but nothing suitable so cut a disc of rubber about 2mm thick and superglued it in to replace the missing part. There has been a definite reduction in creaking. When I have time I'll do some tests to see what sort of contact I have on each side, it certainly looks like the tailgate lock is taking load off one or both bump stops.
 
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I had the clonk on bumps. Then I adjusted the rubber stoppers bit by bit, and it stopped. It’s the boot latch and boot not tight enough against the stop bumps.
 
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Mines just started klonking at circa 30mph over bumpy roads. Thought it was something in the boot until I took everything out. I'll investigate this, thanks for the help
 
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I should probably keep my thoughts to myself at this point as I am quite aggressive in my approach to this sort of issue, but I think we are all friends on this platform so here goes.Given how many of you have the same problem you should, in my opinion, start collectively seeking remedy. Perhaps this forum could act as a gatherer of details to submit a Block claim against MG warranty. Surely none of us bought an EV that we thought would rattle or made any undue noise at all. Seems that straight forward to me. All this needs is for one of you to become the problem owner to lead this through. And come on let’s complain properly, if things aren't right, get MG to fix this so that our 7 year warranty is unaffected. By all means from your experience point MG in the right direction.If your cars need to be with the dealer for some time to be fixed, it is not unreasonable to expect a like for like replacement not an ICE as I have read in other threads before. Whilst none of what I have said has legal precedent manufacturers do not want huge negative buyer comments or feedback. So come on, get together and get it sorted. From my experience the more expensive this is to fix, the quicker the fix will be found and corrected.
 
Upvote 0
charles said:
A bit more of an update... further investigation proved if I open the tailgate and then push up on it... IE as if trying to open it further hence pushing it against it's will and then lowering it slightly... so basically pushing it against its stop then lower and pushing back the noise happened everytime.

although I couldn't stop it completely pushing hard down on the strip of metal between the two hinges lessened it and indeed just resting my hand on that area whilst moving the tailgate up and down I could feel as well as hear the noise...

I dropped the headlining down away from the roof panel incase it was that... no change so really I think without doubt, the noise is the metal panel which the hinges bolt in to creaking and flexing... Of course this panel is actually just a small area of the actual roof panel so I would have no idea how a fix could be applied... Clearly there is just flex in the panel that shouldn't be there.

In reality I noticed that actually I hear the noise everytime I close the boot as it starts to move... I guess to now I just hadn't noticed it in that scenario as it just sounds like a bit of 'hinge creak'

If anyone has any marvelous ideas on how to fix or at least reduce this noise please post, I imagine the only reason the sponges I rammed in is because the are pressing against the flexing panel.

It would be interesting to know if anyone else who may have the same noise is driving an original or long range MG5.

Thanks - Charles
Click to expand...
Hi I had this from the off of picking up my MG5 took it back to dealer and MG Stated that they had a issue with the manufacture of the body panel connection that mated the top boot panel to the main frame. Apparently the top panel hooks into the beam and on only a few cars this did not quite lock in. The dealer was able to rectify this and seal/adhesive the joint as this was missed. All sorted.
 
Upvote 1
charles said:
Quick update. I managed to completely stop the creaking by wedging a small piece of wood in the hole in the box section of metal between the 2 boot hinges... but although silent for 100+ miles, it has now started again.... the occasional noise initially and now slowly becoming more frequent again... This is very worrying to me.... What I am thinking is this.... insert something to make the metal more rigid... problem solved... but very quickly the flexing returns... does this mean the car is actually continually flexing and just doing so more and more and hence fatiguing the structure... to ultimate failure.. Does it mean the noise will get worse and worse (which it has since I have had it) until becoming intolerable and undriveable ?

Charles
Click to expand...
I would suggest if the wood worked maybe expanding form could be a more permanent fix, however I would take it to the dealer and show him what you found and your fix and see what they say
 
Upvote 0
sido said:
I should probably keep my thoughts to myself at this point as I am quite aggressive in my approach to this sort of issue, but I think we are all friends on this platform so here goes.Given how many of you have the same problem you should, in my opinion, start collectively seeking remedy. Perhaps this forum could act as a gatherer of details to submit a Block claim against MG warranty. Surely none of us bought an EV that we thought would rattle or made any undue noise at all. Seems that straight forward to me. All this needs is for one of you to become the problem owner to lead this through. And come on let’s complain properly, if things aren't right, get MG to fix this so that our 7 year warranty is unaffected. By all means from your experience point MG in the right direction.If your cars need to be with the dealer for some time to be fixed, it is not unreasonable to expect a like for like replacement not an ICE as I have read in other threads before. Whilst none of what I have said has legal precedent manufacturers do not want huge negative buyer comments or feedback. So come on, get together and get it sorted. From my experience the more expensive this is to fix, the quicker the fix will be found and corrected.
Click to expand...
I am with you on this one (of sorts) I believe that when you purchase a new vehicle with a warranty then you have the right to send it back when an issue arises. No matter how many times or how many hours it takes them to fix it. With MG you have a 7 Year Warranty use it, if the car has a fault send it back do not try and resolve it yourself as you could end up invalidating the warranty anyway. It is the job of the dealer to resolve the fault/issue as it is under warranty. I am sure some of you have taken to resolving issues due to poor dealer experience and I get this but again this is an MG UK issue so you should request getting it looked at by another dealer as you have no faith in the dealer you are using. Also as has been mentioned in this thread before if all else fails and you have financed the vehicle use the clout of the finance company. IMO
 
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Hi all my MG5 long range went in for the recall on brake lights and i told them about noise at rear i was told it was boot latch and a replacement was on order, i hope its not too long wait.
By the way i am very pleased with the car i did a 698 mile trip recently and cost £37 mostly motorway.
 
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Keep us up to date on your boot latch order.
There are plenty of recent stories quoting a long waiting time for parts so it will be interesting to see if your story is better.
On the plus side, at least your issue hasn't taken the car off the road.
 
Upvote 0
charles said:
Hi All

I'm new to the forum but have read loads on it over the past 6 months or so whilst deciding whether I should buy an MG5 Long Range or not. ....

Well, I took the plunge and bought one in Piccadilly Blue and I have to say I love it. I've had it for about 2 months so far.... But.....

There does seem to be one problem with it and it has now been back to the dealer twice and it's still not fixed. This time they told me MG Motor UK are aware of the issue and it will be subject to a service bulletin when they find the fix... But they could not advise if this would be a week, a month... or indeed never!!! In fact I wonder if actually I have just been fobbed off! I have Googled the issue but can find nothing which in itself makes me believe it is not a widespread issue and is therefore unlikely to be being investigated by MG Motor UK... Call me sceptical!!!

So I thought I'd put a post on here to see if anyone else has the issue

The issue.... There is a mechanical sounding clonking or knocking noise coming from the rear... Can't work out if it's left or right so could be both or central. The dealer initially thought it was like a panel pop noise and allegedly dropped the roof lining and re-bonded it. Made no difference. It seems worse when driving down a bumpy road, more when the car is being 'twisted' by rough road surface rather than the sort of bump like a speed bump (Although it does sometimes do it over them too). Happens at all speeds from 0 upward and is bluntly beginning to drive me mad! It is literally non stop!!!

The sort of noise we are talking about ... well imagine it's an old car and the drop links are knackered... you know the knocking noise... well it's like that and happens in the same sort of scenarios.

Any thoughts or advise would be really gratefully received.

Thanks - Charles
Click to expand...
I have exactly the same problem. Do you already sorted this?What is was wrong?
 
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Sorted my issue!

It was the Silver strip above the numberplate called the "Chrome Numberplate Moulding". It was overlapping the nearside combination lamp and making a clacking sound. Factory error more than likely.

Dealer fixed it by removing it and re-installing.
 
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Hi All

Quick update on this and apologies for not posting more recently. Been a bit manic at work.

Thank you all so much for all your posts on this and I agree with the point that we should get together on on this and push collectively for a resolution if MG Motor UK are not helping us individually. I think simply pushing MG Motor UK to replace the car is somewhat futile as, thinking of the statistics here, if you think how many MG5s are out there, how few in comparison are represented on this forum, and how many of those few have similar symptoms and hence likely the same problem, it seems obvious to me that in all likelihood a replacement car would have the same issue; if not immediately then within a few weeks/months

Currently I am pushing my dealer to take this up with MG Motor UK and to provide me with a long term loan car (of similar or identical spec so I am not losing out) while they sort the issue properly and permanently. If I have a loan car then I guess they can take as long as they like over it.

To be totally fair the service manager at the local dealer has been fantastic thus far and is supportive of my request and is meeting with MG Motor in the next few days after which he will update me. I will of course keep you guys updated too.

With regard to the noise... Well.. It's horrendous... literally non stop and now creaks too at times. To be honest other than short journeys I can't drive it as it's driving me mad! We went out for the day last weekend and took the MG5.. about an hour and a half each way.. It creaked and knocked relentlessly the whole time. The problem I find is I can't 'unhear' it! I was ready to slit my own wrists by the time I arrived! All a bit of a shame really as if it wasn't for this noise I'd really love the car.

I'll keep you all updated.
 
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