Charge Flap snapped off - ZS EV Trophy

[andrew26k]

I have just been comparing what looks like the point of failure on your car, to the pictures supplied by @Filtonian above on his car.
Yours appears to have failed, where the hinge attaches to the charge door.
While on @Filtonian car, it appears to have failed at the opposite end of the hinge assembly ?.
The door definitely needs some type of reinforcement adding, to increase the overhaul strength.
Because your has failed close to the flap, is there any way that you could use a plastic bumper repair hot stapler gun, that would add strength to the hinge ( link below ).
When the new part arrives, do you intend to strengthen it, before it is fitted by the dealer.
As the replacement door will only be made to the same standard as the previous failed part.
The price of the part is okay, but the labour is a bit spiteful !.
It could become an expensive repair if carried out once a year !.

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I'm actually now a bit worried leaving the car in the public car chargers, knowing how flimsy it is, it is mostly hollow on the hinge part.... and the plastic is not soft/flexible but really hard and brittle , so I can see this becoming a problem.

 

[Kithmo]

And us Gen 1 owners used to worry about the flimsiness of our pop-up flap.

 

[Lovemyev]

I'm actually now a bit worried leaving the car in the public car chargers, knowing how flimsy it is, it is mostly hollow on the hinge part.... and the plastic is not soft/flexible but really hard and brittle , so I can see this becoming a problem.

I have been looking at these charge door hinge failures once again and I have now reconsidered my first opinion, that both hinges had broken at two different places.
I was a little confused sorry by the repair lines created, at the other end of the hinge, next to the door itself, by what looks like the use of a hot soldering iron tip.
If so, then it looks like there could be TWO points of failure of the hinge then ?
One behind the bumper cover and one at the charging door flap itself.
I have noticed, that when the door is in the fully open position and on charge, the door flap is at an angle of about 90 degrees to the bumper cover, which is in a precarious / vulnerable position but more importantly, the hinge is really hard back on stop in maximum travel position.
A wider opening door would help ?.
Both the type 2 cable and the charging gun, has little spare redundancy in clearance or travel.
Even less, if you are using a heavy CCS gun from a D/C rapid charger, that's for sure.
The almost over extended door just gives me the opinion, that if any additional pressure / load was placed BACKWARDS or from above against that hinge, by either somebody brushing past it, or the heavy cable / gun hitting it while plugging in, or when removing the heavy gun after a charge.
ANY small additional load placed on that hinge, would effectively result in a failure condition.
A bit like over extending the spline on a brand new hard backed book.
You open it to a point, then if pushed a little more, "crack" the spine breaks.
It does look more like BOTH of these hinges have failed at very similar points, if not in the identical place !.
In the great shot taken by @Filtonian .
If you zoom in close, you can see what looks like a lot of honey comb air bubbles, that have formed in the plastic moulding process.
These HAVE to be a potential weak spot in the hinge.
The door has very little to do in real terms !.
Slight push to pop it open, then very little effort involved in hinging the door to it's fully open point.
Although the design may appear a little weak, with what little is expected from it, you would expect it to last a life time really !.
It's not super stiff at the hinge, where it takes a LOT of effort or strength to open it ?.
However, it will not have be designed to take any additional load as mentioned above, that's for sure.
There could be a real opportunity here folks, for somebody with a 3D printer, to print up a solid plastic hinge to replace the honey comb design on the OEM equipment ?.

 

[uali]

Had pretty much the same issue - snapped my 2 months old car charger flat off. Latest quote is £350, the actual part is £35+ VAT. the rest is the labour to take bumper off and put it on again

Can you buy just the part off the dealer and then get someone else to fit it

 

[DriverX]

Should be warranty for sure

 

[Gomev]

Had pretty much the same issue - snapped my 2 months old car charger flat off. Latest quote is £350, the actual part is £35+ VAT. the rest is the labour to take bumper off and put it on again

Have a nosey at this thread, that documents taking the front bumper off an MG5 as part of an excercise to fit fog lights..
I know it's a different car but being the same manufacturer I wouldn't mind betting there are some similarities in construction, simply involved screws. that could set you on your way to a DIY job.

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[KiandyMG]

I know that most people hated the Mk1 charge flap but personally, I prefer it to the Mk2. With the Mk2, if the CCS charger is to the right of the car, the thick charging cable pushes against the flap. With the Mk1, gravity ensured that the charging cable never interfered with the flap.

While I appreciate your point, I would prefer a Mk2 and just park it accordingly

 

[Jlt]

If they're falling apart now, I really have to wonder how these will hold up during a freezing winter when the plastics are likely to be more brittle.

I can tell you they don't hold well. 1st freezing and snowy (few mm) night in Sweden... This morning while I want to chose the flap, I hear krrr, probably a bit of snow in it even though I cleaned... and the flap broke directly. Though I was very gentle... can't understand how fragile this s*** is! Very unfortunate. And I guess guarantee won't work.

 

[Jlt]

If they're falling apart now, I really have to wonder how these will hold up during a freezing winter when the plastics are likely to be more brittle.

I can tell you they don't hold well. 1st freezing and snowy (few mm) night in Sweden... This morning while I want to chose the flap, I hear krrr, probably a bit of snow in it even though I cleaned... and the flap broke directly. Though I was very gentle... can't understand how fragile this s*** is! Very unfortunate. And I guess guarantee won't work.

 

[drmcw]

Looks like we'll have to add superglue to the emergency kit list along with the 10 mm spanner.

 

[Susanna]

I think this is pretty shocking actually. Clearly, this charge port door is not fit for purpose, and MG should accept replacement under warranty, and a serious re-think on the structural integrity of the hinge mechanism.
A charge port door is likely to be opened/closed probably more frequently than the refuelling door of an ICE vehicle. It’s crazy that it hasn’t been made more durable. We shouldn’t just lay down and pay for a replacement that is likely to also break. Where would it end?

 

[Roldorf]

Looks very flimsy to me, maybe we should fill up the gaps in the moulding with araldite.

 

[Alb]

And I guess guarantee won't work.

Have you approached your dealer on this point?

 

[JohnInFrance]

As an aside, if anyone uses a Tesla supercharger be aware that, because they are designed for Teslas which generally have side-located charge ports, we noticed that the charging cables are quite short and you have to park very close to the charge point for the cabe to reach with enough slack for it not to put undue pressure on the charge port flap of the car.

 

[Jlt]

Have you approached your dealer on this point?

Hi. I have been in touch on Wednesday with the resealer in Sweden (the main cardealer seller/leasing >95% MG accross the country) which in its turn contacted the person in charge of warrantee, but no news yet. I will call them next week and updated you

 

[mokey]

ZS EV Charge Flap snapped off

Hello all,

Just a short note to confirm the flimsiness of the front charge flap. Ours was found snapped off last week, and I can confirm that it is a structurally weak design.
I am in the process of a warranty claim and have been quoted £150 to paint and fit a new flap by my dealer in Weston super Mare. The good news is that the flap still fits securely even though the hinge is broken.

I still love this car!

Think the best bet if MG won’t replace for free is to have the hinge 3D printed , it would appear that several people have had the same type of issue.
I haven’t got hold of my ZS EV yet but told it’s on its way.
I have asked a 3D printer if they are interested in developing a stronger replacement , if I get a reply will come back and advice , in the mean time best of luck with MG

 

[uali]

Please keep up updated as I am yet to get mine fixed

 

[andrew26k]

Please keep up updated as I am yet to get mine fixed

I will ask the dealer to return me the broken bits and see how those can be fixed/improved. Will post pictures.

 

[Lovemyev]

I will ask the dealer to return me the broken bits and see how those can be fixed/improved. Will post pictures.

We know the reverse side of this hinge on the charge flap, has a large criss-cross honey comb type design / construction.
The poor design and inadequate lack of strength in this location, appears to be weakest point and is the common failure point.
I am fairly sure if the hinge was made of solid plastic ( delete the honey comb design ) it would be very unlikely to fail in the future, as it does now.
Question :- Could this hinge be therefore reproduced on a 3D printer, but deleting the honey comb design on the rear, and produce it in a solid plastic format ??.
I have no experience of 3D printers, so I have no idea if this is even possible folks ?.
I am sure somebody will be able to provide some better knowledge in this field.
If successful, there could be an avenue for a nice little earner maybe ??.
Here comes the less ideal / crude interim idea.
Obtain a replacement flap from the dealer for about £35.00.
Then turn over the flap and then systematically and slowly ( in a every other cell type fashion ) back fill the honey comb design flush with hot melt glue, do alternative sections over a couple of days.
This would massively increase the back strength of the hinge ??.
Okay, it's a bit "Heath Robinson" I know, but replacing the flap with the same thing again, is a complete waste of time and money IMHO.
The door is a not too spiteful £35 to buy.
However here is the kicker, the labour to remove and refit the front bumper cover is about £300.00 in labour costs !.
It's fool hardy to just replace the flap door on a "like for like" basis, unless MG will be prepared to pick up the total price of the bill !.
After receiving a number of warranty claims for this failure, MG would soon become proactive in redesigned the flap door alright.
If the customer is paying the bill, then the design will stay the same.

 

[Alb]

Might be more meaningful to sacrifice £35 on a new flap then test it to destruction. If you had empiric evidence of the actual force required to break one you could better make the case that it isn't fit for purpose.