3sheds
Standard Member
Two weeks ago my MG5 stopped working completely with steering lock activated. This is how the problem got resolved...
On a 20 minute drive across my city, I noticed that the rear windscreen washer spray was not shooting up high enough, but thought nothing of it. Due to severe congestion the same journey to me 90 minutes on the way back home, during which time I used the auto handbrake setting to avoid having to keep taking on and off the handbrake while stuck in traffic.
As I got back to my home street there was an error saying auto handbrake and hill start had stopped working. There are double yellow lines outside my house but I stopped with half the wheels on the pavement to unload the car. When I tried to start again it said hv battery shutdown, also I couldn't turn off the car, it would only go into stand by mode.
I called the AA who came within a couple of hours. AA man put on diagnostic computer which according to him showed around 25 errors. He couldn't get it to reset the system to start the car. So he tried disconnecting the 12v battery. This didn't work, although he did notice the brake lights kept going in and coming off randomly. He tried several times without success.
Then he decided to tow the car to my local EV service garage (Buckingham Stanley). We tried to move it, it would go into neutral and the wheels moved when pushed, but the steering lock was in so he wouldn't be able to manoeuvre it on and off his car trailer attacked to his van.
So he called a tow truck to come following morning when garage would be open. The following morning car actually worked! But tow truck was happy to take my car to avoid me breaking down again on way to garage.
Buckingham Stanley said they might not be able to investigate for four days, so I left the car there. To their credit a mechanic investigated the following day and realised the washer fluid tube for the rear windscreen was leaking. This had been going into the brake pedal switch for the brake light and causing all the issues.
Now the previous sequence of events makes me sense!
They called back after four days after having tested the car over the weekend and drying out. They sorted out for no charge under warranty. Since then I've had no issues.
On a 20 minute drive across my city, I noticed that the rear windscreen washer spray was not shooting up high enough, but thought nothing of it. Due to severe congestion the same journey to me 90 minutes on the way back home, during which time I used the auto handbrake setting to avoid having to keep taking on and off the handbrake while stuck in traffic.
As I got back to my home street there was an error saying auto handbrake and hill start had stopped working. There are double yellow lines outside my house but I stopped with half the wheels on the pavement to unload the car. When I tried to start again it said hv battery shutdown, also I couldn't turn off the car, it would only go into stand by mode.
I called the AA who came within a couple of hours. AA man put on diagnostic computer which according to him showed around 25 errors. He couldn't get it to reset the system to start the car. So he tried disconnecting the 12v battery. This didn't work, although he did notice the brake lights kept going in and coming off randomly. He tried several times without success.
Then he decided to tow the car to my local EV service garage (Buckingham Stanley). We tried to move it, it would go into neutral and the wheels moved when pushed, but the steering lock was in so he wouldn't be able to manoeuvre it on and off his car trailer attacked to his van.
So he called a tow truck to come following morning when garage would be open. The following morning car actually worked! But tow truck was happy to take my car to avoid me breaking down again on way to garage.
Buckingham Stanley said they might not be able to investigate for four days, so I left the car there. To their credit a mechanic investigated the following day and realised the washer fluid tube for the rear windscreen was leaking. This had been going into the brake pedal switch for the brake light and causing all the issues.
Now the previous sequence of events makes me sense!
They called back after four days after having tested the car over the weekend and drying out. They sorted out for no charge under warranty. Since then I've had no issues.
