First long run...... Disaster

[reddeviluk]

Well, I'm typing this while sitting in the car park at an airport. Our few month old type 2 MG ZS EV was used to being us here in its first long distance run and it was fine, perfect in fact.... It's now 7 days later and we've just had to break out the emergency key to even unlock the door while we wait for the AA. Cannot even open the boot to put the cases in the damned thing.

The car is completely flat, no interior lights left on, no dash cam and we left it with a 60% charge.

Any ideas before I break out the napalm?

Even if we do get it started by the AA, we will still need to charge it to get home.

 

[aserraric]

The traction battery is probably still at 60%. It's just the 12V battery that has gone dead.

I keep a 12V jump starter in the car for just that eventuality, but I haven't needed it so far, even after 2 weeks of the car sitting at an airport. Either I got lucky, or you were unlucky. Maybe a bit of both...

 

[Lovemyev]

You can use the emergency blade inside of the key fob to open the car from the drivers door.
This will unlock the car so you can load in your suit cases.
ABC - Always carry a 12 volt booster pack inside of the car at all times.

 

[aserraric]

You can use the emergency blade inside of the key fob to open the car from the drivers door.
This will unlock the car so you can load in your suit cases.

If the 12V battery is dead, this will only unlock the driver side door, not the trunk, or any other door.

 

[Lovemyev]

You can manually open the other doors with the internal handles and the boot should have a manual override facility also ?.

 

[aserraric]

Yes, I guess you could fold down the backseat and crawl into back to pop the trunk/boot door. Probably easier to wait for AA, though

 

[reddeviluk]

Right, update, we're mobile once again. The AA guy jumped us, the 12v battery was completely dead. Nothing left on inside the car so no idea why? The car was previously stood for 18 days in August while we were away with no issues but can't do 7 days now?

Been told not to stop till we need to so thankfully we charged it before leaving.

Door wise, the blade only opened the driver's door, none of the others or the boot, so the kids could climb over, but the cases (and me) had to wait outside.

 

[Lovemyev]

Glad you are sorted !.
For future ref here is the manual release for the boot.
Strongly consider purchasing a booster pack.

As the battery has become so depleted, it is very unlikely to be unable to carry and retain a decent charge anymore.
If you need to stop on the way home, do not close down the car !.
You can try charging the battery if you have a smart charger, but I would seriously recommend replacing that battery now.
Go for a decent unit with 5 year warranty as the original battery is only covered for 12 months by MG.
Tanya on-line offer a really good next day delivery service.

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Yes, I guess you could fold down the backseat and crawl into back to pop the trunk/boot door. Probably easier to wait for AA, though

Agreed - Save the wait time and buy a booster pack !.
You could be waiting a couple of hours for what takes 30 seconds to connect a jump pack.

 

[reddeviluk]

Thanks all, we're diverting to a town that has chargers, food AND a Halfords (in case).

The jumper pack mentioned by all, anything specific I need to look for? They all mention petrol and diesel.... None mention EV?

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Shop the latest NOCO GB20 500A Jump Starter UltraSafe Lithium Jump Starter at Halfords UK

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[aserraric]

EVs don't really need to be "jumped", you just need something to provide a few seconds of 12V power to boot up the car. Once the car is in "READY" mode, it will produce its own 12V supply.

Look for something that has decent capacity and will hold a charge reliably. The "ampere rating" doesn't matter for EVs at all.

 

[Lovemyev]

There are a number of booster packs that will be suitable for an EV.
EV’s do not need a massively powered unit, but I would strongly suggest you go for a unit with a decent capacity battery size, that is capable for jumping a ICE car as well.
This way, if you have any ICE cars in the family, it will work fine on them also.
It really is a worthwhile investment.
Having a booster pack is more important on an EV than it is on a ICE car IMHO.
You can’t bump start an EV !.
The one you have suggested will be fine.
Keep it in the glove box or under the drivers seat.
If the car battery runs flat, you can open the drivers door with the key, then flip the internal handle on the rear door to gain access.
I would still replace that original battery !.
It’s one of them, if you buy a booster pack, you are unlikely to need it.
But when you do ……….. of course you have discovered what that means the hard way.
I bought one when I got my first EV in 2019.
It has been used many times to help out people in a tight spot with a flat battery.
None of them believed it was possible to jump start a heavy engine with such a small pack.
Of course when it starts the engine, they are all going straight out to buy one !.
It’s never been used to jump an EV yet strangely enough ( yet ).

 

[Bodgerx]

The traction battery is probably still at 60%. It's just the 12V battery that has gone dead.

I keep a 12V jump starter in the car for just that eventuality, but I haven't needed it so far, even after 2 weeks of the car sitting at an airport. Either I got lucky, or you were unlucky. Maybe a bit of both...

How often did you check in on the car using the MG app whilst you were away?

 

[reddeviluk]

Many thanks all, just in our last top up before the final stint home.

The car is leased and fully maintained so will be heading to the dealers for a new battery (or an explanation as to why not...) in the next few days.

I'm 100% sold on the booster pack idea, at this stage is rather try that than wait hours for the AA. Just need to hunt a suitable unit.

Regarding using the app, in all honesty, we tried it the first day once, after that it wasn't touched till early this morning, to try and heat the car up, at this point noticing that the app wasn't connecting, so it certainly wasn't battered.

 

[Bodgerx]

Many thanks all, just in our last top up before the final stint home.

The car is leased and fully maintained so will be heading to the dealers for a new battery (or an explanation as to why not...) in the next few days.

I'm 100% sold on the booster pack idea, at this stage is rather try that than wait hours for the AA. Just need to hunt a suitable unit.

Regarding using the app, in all honesty, we tried it the first day once, after that it wasn't touched till early this morning, to try and heat the car up, at this point noticing that the app wasn't connecting, so it certainly wasn't battered.

Interesting, yeah just hunch but I was thinking frequent use may have meant the car wasn't going into a deeper sleep for ancillary stuff.

Must be some other parasitic drain going on somewhere...

 

[Lovemyev]

I'm 100% sold on the booster pack idea, at this stage is rather try that than wait hours for the AA. Just need to hunt a suitable unit.

Good .
Do it now or I WILL slip your mind ! .

 

[aserraric]

How often did you check in on the car using the MG app whilst you were away?

About once or twice per day, until it stopped responding on day 5.

 

[Tim Green]

Having paid some £25-30k for a new car, it seems bizarre to contemplate needing a battery booster pack. If the 12v battery is going flat the car needs to go back to the supplier to get sorted! It might just need a new battery, but there might be a persistent drain and that needs to be ruled out.

 

[aserraric]

Since it only happens sometimes, and only to some people, it is probably not a persistent drain, but rather a software issue with some module(s) not going to sleep mode correctly.

By all means, go to the dealer to have it looked at, but don't expect to much. Intermittent problems are notoriously hard to track down.

 

[Tim Green]

£30k says it needs sorting, especially as it seems to affect more than a few cars.....

 

[Lovemyev]

Sudden unexpected flat battery ?.
Human error is fairly unlikely TBH as the car SHOULD close down completely after a while.
Unless you have something plugged into the OBD port, which could remain active ?.
I have left the tail gate open, in the summer months but after a while even the boot light will go out, when the car finally goes to sleep.
A parasitic drain should be investigated and a drop check performed on the battery itself.
We have seen reports of a number of owners of different models suffering from a sudden flat battery.
Dealers tend to carry out a 12 volt charging cycle on the battery, then hand it back the customer !.
Even after a second appointment ( and maybe a ride on a flat bed ) they have still assured the customer that the battery is okay.
However, some owners have not been convinced by this and taken upon themselves to replace the 12 volt battery regardless, as they have completely lost all confidence in both items !.
I do think a batch of these units are some what defective in some way.
MG only offering a 12 month warranty on a brand new 12 volt battery, tells you some think here.
A good reliable battery is fundamental in any car, but too me, it is even more important in an EV.
At the first sign of any issue with my battery, I will replace instantly without any question.
I aways carry a booster pack under the seat regardless.