Airbag partially deployed whilst parked up after dealer update

[FiFi]

First post on here but have been following with interest until now! It’s a long one.
I’ve had my Trophy around a month now. On handover inspection, it has the bulge in the under tray as many others have the same. Advised about recall for the breather pipe. I also noted that my heating was ridiculously sensitive and I struggle to find an ambient temperature - 26 degs to get warm but then gets too warm, I drop by a degree and it blasts cold air so back into dealer it went yesterday.

No fixes were done as waiting on MG & I’m told breather pipe is no longer being added if there is no sign of a leak as it is now a known over fill issue. However, 5 updates added by dealer and car returned to me same day:
FDR - front detection radar - presumably to fix aggressive lane control i had turned off
FICM - Front infotainment control module
FLSM - Front left seat module - no idea will come back to this one!!
FVCM - Front view camera module
Gateway

I search around on the internet to try to work out what they all are - no additional info provided. Dealer called me today to say that MG had responded regarding the under tray and would be in touch with a fix soon. I take the opportunity to ask what is this FLSM update - left seat has no electrics to it and he replies could be something to do with the airbag on that side. He also states that they don’t get much info either so unknown updates are being applied to our cars?! which I point out is concerning and that at the very least the dealer should know what they updating our cars with!

Worse still. Tonight, I get an update to the app, email and text to say that the airbag has triggered the alarm on the car whilst it is sat on my driveway charging- I don’t hear any car alarm but go and inspect the car to find that the airbag has partially deployed on the steering wheel (I can see the white edges of the bag poking through), the car won’t lock and obviously I cannot drive it. The car now also thinks that it is located in Brussels. This is a nightmare as I am supposed to be going away for the weekend tomorrow and I feel like this will not be a straightforward fix, particularly as I cannot take it to the dealer myself. The fact that this airbag could have fully deployed whilst I was driving does not bear thinking about!

 

[Tig170]

Welcome to the forum, and sorry to hear of your challenges - I'm sure they will resolve this, but i admit this is not a good start!.

I dont know what fully the situation is with a new car, but the MG assist insurance / AA et al., should kick in and should provide you with overnight accomodation (if away), and a replacement car (but maybe things have changed in recent years?)

 

[BugEyed]

If it's under a month seriously consider rejecting it. All manufacturers occasionally make "Friday" cars and it sounds like you might have one.
Otherwise, you need to be sure why this happened. Good luck.

 

[Mr R]

Welcome @FiFi and an interesting first forum post.
The airbag partially deploying is pretty shocking to read… and as you said if this happened when you were driving that could have ended badly. As well as contacting your dealer I would raise this with MG UK, and I hope they are extremely accommodating towards your situation.

Would love to know how they actually develop and test the software for the MG4.

 

[FiFi]

Thank you, I am feeling pretty down about it tonight. I understand that in buying an early batch of a new car to market there will be teething issues and I have been pretty relaxed about things so far but this has certainly unsettled me somewhat. I also feel that the dealers might be underprepared with knowledge - or the chain of communication to them by MG is not what it should be.

Also forgot about this bit. It appears that the Lane Assist update now has it as a default preset on the car - I will need to check this again to be absolutely certain. This morning it kicked in (still felt aggressive thought initially I was slipping on ice) looked at options and it had been switched back on presumably with update (I had permanently turned it off after first experience on motorway with it) so I flicked it off. When I went out again later today it kicked in again and when I looked again at settings, it had turned itself back on again. This also bothers me as I really do not want this to be on at all as it was a pretty terrifying experience & the fact that it was not a preset setting was a relief so no idea why they would make it otherwise.

 

[tsedge]

Welcome. Sorry to hear about your problems.

Accidental airbag deployment is a serious safety issue. Now it could be caused by a faulty airbag system, which would be an unlucky one off. More likely it is related to the module update, which is concerning because it could happen to others.

It is crucial that your dealer gets to examine asap and talk with MG.

In terms of repair, it is likely they'll need to replace the module and the steering wheel and these probably will have to be ordered in. A loan car is your best bet for the short-term.

 

[lfc958]

This sounds very much like my experience working in IT doing software updates, Our outsourced programmers would write the software updates, not actually test them to see what knock on effect it has, sounds like the update that has been put on has overridden the permanent off of LKA, and reset it so that at restart its back on again and has to be manually shut off. Poor testing.

 

[tsedge]

This sounds very much like my experience working in IT doing software updates, Our outsourced programmers would write the software updates, not actually test them to see what knock on effect it has, sounds like the update that has been put on has overridden the permanent off of LKA, and reset it so that at restart its back on again and has to be manually shut off. Poor testing.

Possibly, but people have reported inconsistent behaviour with persistent settings, so we need to see if this is permanent and reported by others too.

 

[tsedge]

@FiFi Could you change the title of this thread to something like "Airbag deployed while on driveway" to make it clearer to others what the main issue is? Thank you.

 

[Mr R]

@FiFi forgive me for asking, but is there any possibility that your car was hit or bumped when sitting on the driveway, which may have caused the airbag to deploy?

 

[FiFi]

No not at all. We have a large driveway and the car charges to the side of the house my husband’s car was parked up all day whilst he wfh. 10 seconds before the airbag deployed the app reported an issue with the power steering. I think it is to do with updates as I had several warnings on the app yesterday whilst it was with the dealer but presumed this was the car updating.

 

[Diggsy]

@FiFi forgive me for asking, but is there any possibility that your car was hit or bumped when sitting on the driveway, which may have caused the airbag to deploy?

I can’t see this being possible. The impact needed to cause an airbag to inflate would be quite considerable, and as such there should be obvious damage to the vehicle…

“Typically, a front airbag will deploy for unbelted occupants when the crash is the equivalent of an impact into a rigid wall at 10-12 mph. Most airbags will deploy at a higher threshold — about 16 mph — for belted occupants because the belts alone are likely to provide adequate protection up to these moderate speeds.”

Source - Airbags

 

[FiFi]

@FiFi Could you change the title of this thread to something like "Airbag deployed while on driveway" to make it clearer to others what the main issue is? Thank you.

Done

 

[lfc958]

Possibly, but people have reported inconsistent behaviour with persistent settings, so we need to see if this is permanent and reported by others too.

if these change after and update then there is no other possible reason.

 

[Tig170]

....airbags either go off... or they dont? (a bit like a baloon bustring, maybe)

 

[FiFi]

Hi Tigi not sure what you mean but if you can see the airbag pushing through the plastic seal of the centre section of your steering wheel and it’s white dust on the steering wheel would you take the chance of driving it? Might not activate but I definitely won’t be putting it to the test

 

[Tig170]

Hi Tigi not sure what you mean but if you can see the airbag pushing through the plastic seal of the centre section of your steering wheel and it’s white dust on the steering wheel would you take the chance of driving it? Might not activate but I definitely won’t be putting it to the test

... but an airbag is like a baloon, it either deploys or it doesnt, there isn't much in between.

... if the dashboard is like a christmas tree, then get MG assist / AA out now - as its either one way or another?



BW Jon (aka Tig170)

 

[FiFi]

Well yes clearly the compressed air capsule hasn’t gone but the retaining clips have - why this physical change we don’t know I just won’t take any chances.

 

[Sloucher]

I would certainly be getting someone out and not going anywhere near the driver's seat in your situation! I just wonder if, as part of the FLSM update (seeing as airbag was mentioned) whether the airbag module has been removed and replaced, but not replaced properly?

 

[pd2]

I believe you 100% on the issue you're having, but any chance of a picture to see it?

Im just nosey! lol

Paul.