Battery capacity and poor range

[bryer]

I think we've wasted enough of our time on this one. Just ignore him.

It's keeping me amused while off work with cancer. Got another 3 months before I'm back to work.

 

[andymgzs]

Ah I see - Mk 2 comment was based on another comment ‘And the MK2 is hugely different in what way?’

Seems other users think the Mk2 is as bad and I wouldn’t buy a mk2 based on MK 1 experience.

For the record - I have a car that was build in 2019 on a 2020 plate. Call it whatever Mk you want. It doesn’t say on the car or the docs.

Certainly does whip up some emotions.

I come back the to the fact that I expect a car to meet specification. And get customer service.

 

[bryer]

Ah I see - Mk 2 comment was based on another comment ‘And the MK2 is hugely different in what way?’

Seems other users think the Mk2 is as bad and I wouldn’t buy a mk2 based on MK 1 experience.

For the record - I have a car that was build in 2019 on a 2020 plate. Call it whatever Mk you want. It doesn’t say on the car or the docs.

Certainly does whip up some emotions.

I come back the to the fact that I expect a car to meet specification. And get customer service.

MK2 is a completely different car from the MK1. Users having issues are again people that wanted a Tesla but their budgets couldn't go that far so went for the MG without reading reviews or taking it on a 24 hour test drive.

I've had both and because I knew what I was buying, along with the other happy owners am satisfied with the experience and product. If I'd paid £40k+ I would be in the same boat as yourself, but I didn't and have managed expectations accordingly.

 

[andymgzs]

MK2 is a completely different car from the MK1. Users having issues are again people that wanted a Tesla but their budgets couldn't go that far so went for the MG without reading reviews or taking it on a 24 hour test drive.

I've had both and because I knew what I was buying, along with the other happy owners am satisfied with the experience and product. If I'd paid £40k+ I would be in the same boat as yourself, but I didn't and have managed expectations accordingly.

Still expect it to meet specification. Sale of good act covers that.

When I got mine 2020 users had not published their experience. BMS issues had just emerged. First fault i discovered was that car had to be locked to charge. Apparently so you can’t drive off with it plugged in.

 

[bryer]

Still expect it to meet specification. Sale of good act covers that.

When I got mine 2020 users had not published their experience. BMS issues had just emerged. First fault i discovered was that car had to be locked to charge. Apparently so you can’t drive off with it plugged in.

You're just digging yourself a deeper and deeper hole here.

A quick forum search would show you that there are lots of "experience" posts dating from when the ZS EV Mk1 was released, and also the battery BMS issues from the first service window on 1st and 2nd shipments.

The charging while locked saga was something MG decided to do at the design phase, it wasn't a fault. After listening to customers feedback, it was changed in the 2nd firmware/software update for the cars.

 

[andymgzs]

I must say. [charge while locked saga] During the first winter of ownership having to stand in the rain while the car charges made it feel like a design fault.
MG did listen on this one and I was please to receive the ‘comfort update’.

 

[bryer]

I must say. [charge while locked saga] During the first winter of ownership having to stand in the rain while the car charges made it feel like a design fault.
MG did listen on this one and I was please to receive the ‘comfort update’.

You clearly never tried locking it when sat inside it then......

 

[andymgzs]

You clearly never tried locking it when sat inside it then......

The alarm went off.

 

[bryer]

The alarm went off.

Even when just using the internal lock button and not the fob?

 

[Lovemyev]

First fault i discovered was that car had to be locked to charge.

This only applied when A/C charging and not D/C charging and it was not a fault directly, the car was original set up to be this way.
MG assumed that as A/C charging is fairly slow process, owners where therefore LESS likely to be sitting in the car with the doors unlocked, and could also be charging overnight.
D/C Rapid charging ( due to the higher speed ) they considered different, so set the car to allow charging with the doors locked / unlocked.
When customers highlighted the problem when A/C charging, MG released a software update to correct the problem and allow A/C charging with the doors unlocked.
This required a software update to the EVCC module to allow this.
The "Comfort 2" update included this update, but on some cars this "tick box" process on the EVCC module, simply got missed.
I think we need to remember something here, when the ZS EV was the first released way back in 2019 in the UK, it was the first full BEV released here by MG.
At that time, for most people, the Tesla models where way outside of the budget for a lot of people.
Back then, there was absolutely nothing that could match the size / spec and price of this new EV.
The Gen 1 ZS EV brought the average "Joe" within real grasp to get behind the wheel of mid sized family / decent spec / full BEV for the first time.
As a new venture, it was always going to have some teething problems to be fair.
Was it perfect - NO of course not.
But I do consider myself, it was about 95% there, or there about.
It's no surprise then that the car was in big demand, which caused supply problems.
Today in 2023 it's a much different story of course, more full EV's available and the price of the ZS EV has increased significantly from it's original starting point.
It has much stiffer opposition now, than it did way back then.
It's a shame that you did not discover this forum a lot earlier TBH.
There is a lot of sharing of knowledge & experience and I am sure a lot of your frustration could have been avoided.
A number of members here, have owned BOTH Gen1 and now Gen 2 models and covered a lot of miles in them.
I very much doubt that any member who once owned a Gen 1 that spent most of it's time at the dealers, would have upgraded to the Gen 2 facelift model ?.
Before the ZS EV first arrived the dealers had never even seen an EV before, let alone worked on one !.
So it was a very steep learning curve, for sure !.
It was then ( and still is now IMO ) important that you find a dealer who has EV Master Tech's, who have previous experience of working on EV's ( Nissan Leaf etc ) prior to the MG range.
You may have to travel in order to do this, but it could be well worth the journey.
I have three MG dealers within a 20 mile radius of my home address, however I choose to travel about 100 miles to a dealer I can rely on to do the work correctly on my car.
A service on an EV is one thing, applying critical software issues CORRECTLY is whole different ball game altogether.
Get it right and your sorted, get it wrong and your in a whole new world of pain.
Trust me, I know !.

 

[N2STY]

The alarm went off.

There is no movement sensors

 

[RajMG]

You need to be clearer about what you are saying here.

Are you saying you know your charger has supplied a total amount of 44.5kwh and your battery has only has 32kwh of energy in it so total charging losses are 12.5kwh?

I'd be interested to see how you are calculated what the car has actually received to get to that number.

I don't think the MG is much different to other cars of its type on DC rapid charging losses.

I bought my MGZSEV in February. It had 30k miles on it. On a full charge it still gives me 186 miles. I do 500 miles a week in my car. I absolutely love it.

 

[Gandalfharrow]

Charger dispatches 32kwh to charge the car from 0 to 100%. Charger measures what it supplies and the energy is also measured on my house meter.
I expect a 44.5kwh battery to take 44.5kwh (less a small amount for usable capacity).
32kwh measured at the charger * charging efficiency at the car of say 90% = 27kwh into the battery.

Then there are the losses (I squared) in the cable from your consumer unit to the charger. If the distance is large or the cable sized at the minimum these losses could be significant ...

 

[andymgzs]

Then there are the losses (I squared) in the cable from your consumer unit to the charger. If the distance is large or the cable sized at the minimum these losses could be significant ...

Have you stopped to check how hot my wiring would be if your hypothesis was true?

FWIW - measurement was at the point of supply to the charger.

 

[pollenface]

How are you going with this issue, what have you tried doing to resolve it?

 

[johnb80]

It seems to me that Andymgzs needs to commence some legal action if he's confident in what he is witnessing with his vehicle.
Andy, are you a member of AA or RAC? could you ask them for legal help / advice eg an independent engineer review followed by documentary challenge to MG if your suspicions are proven?
Emotions can certainly run high when cars are involved, I mention in the i3 forum that I had road tested an MG5, I was really impressed and ordered one. I said it was quieter, more comfortable and definitely on par quality wise to the i3 which really did get keyboards hammering LOL.
If andymgzs says there's a problem, clearly there is either his understanding of the car / system or indeed an actual problem with the car itself, either should be easily sorted once independent facts are obtained.

 

[andymgzs]

How are you going with this issue, what have you tried doing to resolve it?

MGZS is relegated to short journeys only and absolutely no road trips.
MG customer support have been a complete waste of time.
The data is clear but MG have told the dealer not to do anything and they do not return emails. Quite funny because they requested that all correspondence were via email so they were recorded. Turns out that that request made it easier for MG to ignore me.
It has been off the road for 3 months now. 2 months while waiting for a service appointment and another 2 months wait while I wait for another. A cock-up with the booking. It has service booked in June but MG still telling dealer to do nothing about the battery. It’s booked in for headlight issue - keeps blowing bulbs. This is why off the road.

I guess there is no such thing as lossless charging, heat increases resistant generates more heat! . So your recorder looses are typical see the link below:

EV Charging Efficiency: Why Are There Energy Losses and How to Avoid Them?

Why are there charging losses when charging an EV? And what can you do to minimise the energy loss? Read the article!

go-e.com

I think you have not understood my post. And my data. Charging losses mean I would be putting more energy in. Not less.
Ref your article - if any charger or car has 25% losses is it’s charging circuit it is broken!

It seems to me that Andymgzs needs to commence some legal action if he's confident in what he is witnessing with his vehicle.
Andy, are you a member of AA or RAC? could you ask them for legal help / advice eg an independent engineer review followed by documentary challenge to MG if your suspicions are proven?
Emotions can certainly run high when cars are involved, I mention in the i3 forum that I had road tested an MG5, I was really impressed and ordered one. I said it was quieter, more comfortable and definitely on par quality wise to the i3 which really did get keyboards hammering LOL.
If andymgzs says there's a problem, clearly there is either his understanding of the car / system or indeed an actual problem with the car itself, either should be easily sorted once independent facts are obtained.

Legal action is clearly what is needed but frankly I can’t be bothered. It will be costly and time consuming.
The car is relegated to short trips and absolutely no road trips.
Poor battery capacity, very slow rapid charging and a history of HV battery faults causing car to stop. (12volt battery reset). All conspire to relegated status of car.
18 months left on lease.
I’m impressed with the knowledge on this site - more than MG (admits).
Hard coded battery degradation is another Diesel gate. Well done bloggers for finding this one.
EV are the solution to road transport - been exclusive EV for 5 years now.
FWIW - i3 is a great car. And MG made up for some of its short falls. Like 5 seats, rear passengers that can get in and out, going around corners and it’s high price. That’s why it is no longer.

 

[johnb80]

Legal action is clearly what is needed but frankly I can’t be bothered. It will be costly and time consuming.

Can you not involve AA/RAC or media eg BBC Watchdog? It's a shame to give up. In the past I have done battle with Renault and Ford when they have put up similar walls, small claims court, job done. It didnt take much to win the cases, a well documented diary and a bit of evidence, it was very straight forward.

 

[Bodgerx]

Hard coded battery degradation is another Diesel gate. Well done bloggers for finding this one.

I'd hardly call it a dieselgate.

The hardcoded degradation is reset at service (where it can be accurately measured) to actual degradation anyway, so it's not as if there is anything underhanded going on.

 

[andymgzs]

I'd hardly call it a dieselgate.

The hardcoded degradation is reset at service (where it can be accurately measured) to actual degradation anyway, so it's not as if there is anything underhanded going on.

Reset at service? Mine wasn’t! Tell me more about what they do.