Cracks in rear light plastic - internal

[tsedge]

My new rear light bar has now arrived. I'm having it fitted as I type this.

 

[MattyS]

Mines booked in for the 11th

 

[tsedge]

All done, I am very happy.

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

Mines booked in for the 11th

If your dealer hasn't done SC077 yet, this is the perfect time to ask for infotainment updates.

Dealers don't like to do software by request, as it ties a tech up for as much as 4 hours solid.
With SC077, MG are paying the dealer for those 4 hours, and mine at least was perfectly happy to do all the updates because the labour charge was covered..

If you weren't aware, SC077 makes the LKA slightly less murderous
The SC stands for "Service Campaign" which is a level down from a full recall.
It just means "Do this the next time you have the car"

 

[MattyS]

If your dealer hasn't done SC077 yet, this is the perfect time to ask for infotainment updates.

Dealers don't like to do software by request, as it ties a tech up for as much as 4 hours solid.
With SC077, MG are paying the dealer for those 4 hours, and mine at least was perfectly happy to do all the updates because the labour charge was covered..

If you weren't aware, SC077 makes the LKA slightly less murderous
The SC stands for "Service Campaign" which is a level down from a full recall.
It just means "Do this the next time you have the car"

Having been able to have a peek at the service documents a few months back, this update has already been applied for my vehicle thankfully good shout though!

 

[BernieB]

Wow that's really bad @BernieB.

Still waiting for MG to come back to me

 

[BernieB]

Still waiting for MG to come back to me

MG responded to my lease hire company this morning to confirm that they inspected the cracked rear lamp and found no signs of clear damage on rear of car, but they suspected that that the rear lamp has been leant on/acted on by an external influence. They advised the plastic cracking on its own did not seem likely and they have not seen this on other vehicles.

I assume this is the garage that inspected the car. They are still waiting for a response from MG’s Warranty Team. No sense of urgency from them at all.

 

[Anon70]

plastic cracking on its own did not seem likely and they have not seen this on other vehicles.

Ask them if you were to provide them of a list of other cars it happened on if it would change their % of likelihood? How would they feel about a list of other dealers who were more sympathetic to owners with issues or examples of warranty replacements?

 

[BernieB]

Ask them if you were to provide them of a list of other cars it happened on if it would change their % of likelihood? How would they feel about a list of other dealers who were more sympathetic to owners with issues or examples of warranty replacements?

Where would I get such a list from? I’ve sent them a link to this thread - thanks to those of you that have shared your experiences.

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

Where would I get such a list from? I’ve sent them a link to this thread - thanks to those of you that have shared your experiences.

It sounds suspiciously like they "have not seen this on other vehicles" that are not MG4s.

 

[Anon70]

Where would I get such a list from?

Starting point would be as you have already suggested, real owner experiences on the forum. If you really wanted to crazy you might be able to get a list from MG (but I doubt this as they would be owing up to dogy parts).

I suppose you could challenge their statement and ask them for their stats, like all those beauty product adds 70% of the 50 people we asked said they noticed a difference is not really convincing. How many of the 40,000 MG 4 sold in the UK have they checked?

 

[tsedge]

It is worth exhausting your options, you may as well try.

However, previously MG have said to people that they don't look at online forums and you can't trust anything you read on the internet etc...

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

It is worth exhausting your options, you may as well try.

However, previously MG have said to people that they don't look at online forums and you can't trust anything you read on the internet etc...

Ah, yes. Mr Gary (not-so) Smart.

 

[MattyS]

Cracked left rear plastic now replaced. Interestingly, a member of staff said to me that the condensation was in there because of the crack, not the partial cause.

 

[Wizard of Oz]

Anyone in Australia had any luck with warranty on this? I've developed a crack on the outside portion of the left tail/indicator plastic. I dropped by a dealer who suggested stone damage, but I can leave the car with them and they "would give it a go" with MG Australia.

I'm about 95%* sure it's not stone damage as it faces away from oncoming traffic, and it's a very precise hit. There would have been a 99% chance of anywhere else on the side of the car taking a hit. I hadn't been driving on anything but regular suburban roads prior, and it seemed to develop on the first 30 degree day we've had since about April, so possibly prior stresses coming out?

* I guesstimate 5% chance that someone leant on it or something stupid like that.

 

[Wizard of Oz]

Photo of the damage. The long oval bit in the middle isn't a hole, it's two cracks almost meeting

 

[Michiel]

The 2 small cracks are stress cracks induced due to too tight installed rear light. The other cracks I pressume are by somebody leaning into, bumping against it or from closing the boot what normally wouldn't be a problem but in combination with the stress cracks accelerated the damage. If you notice the cracks coming from inside to the outer side of the light you could try to claim warranty if you are still within your warranty period.
I had 2 small stress cracks and they replaced it within the warranty period (first year). The garage also suggested stone damage at first but I told them that this was nearly impossible because nothing else was hit in the vicinity of it and the crack formed from the inside out. Good luck!

 

[Wizard of Oz]

By "2 small cracks" do you mean the ones right in the curve, coming from near the top of the grey triangle of body panel?

 

[Tuareg]

I see so many people slamming their tailgates shut on all cars that have them. When I close the tailgate, I lower it gently down and then let it drop on its own weight when it's about a hand palm's height from closing. Slamming tailgates can cause cracks in lights and light bars after some time. Far easier to close gently and avoid most of these issues that mean visits to dealers, warranty claims and lots of wasted time and general moaning.

 

[tsedge]

Since I had my rear light bar replaced, I have been careful not to push down on it and to close the boot by using the handle on its inside.