If you break down, beware!

[bigal]

I recently had my ZS EV break down on my drive with a control unit error code

I called MGAssistance who sent an AA engineer.
He was unable to fix the issue and said the car needed to be taken to a MG main dealer for repair.

But trying to find a MG dealer to accept a roadside breakdown was a big problem as main dealers just said no, including the dealer where I car the car serviced less that two weeks previous.

I asked MG Assistance to help who pointed out that they are just the AA and it was my responsibility to find a dealer and then they would take the car

MG customer services - who you can only chat via email - were worse than useless

When I finally did get my car to a garage the fault finding process was as follows:-

MG tech advise the garage via email to try x and y. MG dealer try’s the fix then emails the results back to MG Tech . This process goes on until it gets fixed. The big problem for me here is that NOBODY uses the telephone so the whole process just drags on and on

After 4 weeks it was found that the battery needs to come out of the car. So the car had to get shipped to Longbridge near Birmingham as local MG dealers do not have the facility to remove batteries from long range cars.

After 5 weeks I have my car back and the fix was a faulty HV component in the battery. I assume the inverter.

I love my ZS EV but the whole back up and support from MG has really left a bad taste in my mouth and I am very tempted to shift to a Kia Eniro

Hope this others try and avoid getting stressed out if you break down

 

[Gadget Geek]

You should be able to get repairs at any garage. It doesn't have to be an MG dealership.

 

[bigal]

I believed that it needs to be an MG garage to work with the warranty

 

[Gadget Geek]

Not if the garage follows MG procedures and uses genuine parts.

Under the European Block Exemption legislation, car manufacturers cannot invalidate your warranty if you take it to a non-franchised dealership. However, you must ensure that the repair centre uses genuine parts and that they make a note of the work they’ve done, the changes they’ve made and even the type and grade of oil they’ve put in the car. This will protect you in case the vehicle manufacturer says that the service was not up to standard or the incorrect parts and substances were used.

Should further work be required on your vehicle, the manufacturer can insist that this is done at their repair centre if they are covering the cost of the work. If your vehicle is out of warranty, you can choose where these repairs are made as you’re paying for them.

 

[Nstric]

I recently had my ZS EV break down on my drive with a control unit error code

I called MGAssistance who sent an AA engineer.
He was unable to fix the issue and said the car needed to be taken to a MG main dealer for repair.

But trying to find a MG dealer to accept a roadside breakdown was a big problem as main dealers just said no, including the dealer where I car the car serviced less that two weeks previous.

I asked MG Assistance to help who pointed out that they are just the AA and it was my responsibility to find a dealer and then they would take the car

MG customer services - who you can only chat via email - were worse than useless

When I finally did get my car to a garage the fault finding process was as follows:-

MG tech advise the garage via email to try x and y. MG dealer try’s the fix then emails the results back to MG Tech . This process goes on until it gets fixed. The big problem for me here is that NOBODY uses the telephone so the whole process just drags on and on

After 4 weeks it was found that the battery needs to come out of the car. So the car had to get shipped to Longbridge near Birmingham as local MG dealers do not have the facility to remove batteries from long range cars.

After 5 weeks I have my car back and the fix was a faulty HV component in the battery. I assume the inverter.

I love my ZS EV but the whole back up and support from MG has really left a bad taste in my mouth and I am very tempted to shift to a Kia Eniro

Hope this others try and avoid getting stressed out if you break down

I feel your pain re bad communication - I had an issue with my infotainment and it took several months of “we need to email MG” - “we heard back from MG, we need to see your car, earliest appointment is in 3 weeks” - “so we’ve looked at the car and emailed MG” - “they’ve replied and we’ll try an update, we can book you in for 4 weeks from now”…. Etc etc

 

[Lovemyev]

I recently had my ZS EV break down on my drive with a control unit error code

I called MGAssistance who sent an AA engineer.
He was unable to fix the issue and said the car needed to be taken to a MG main dealer for repair.

But trying to find a MG dealer to accept a roadside breakdown was a big problem as main dealers just said no, including the dealer where I car the car serviced less that two weeks previous.

I asked MG Assistance to help who pointed out that they are just the AA and it was my responsibility to find a dealer and then they would take the car

MG customer services - who you can only chat via email - were worse than useless

When I finally did get my car to a garage the fault finding process was as follows:-

MG tech advise the garage via email to try x and y. MG dealer try’s the fix then emails the results back to MG Tech . This process goes on until it gets fixed. The big problem for me here is that NOBODY uses the telephone so the whole process just drags on and on

After 4 weeks it was found that the battery needs to come out of the car. So the car had to get shipped to Longbridge near Birmingham as local MG dealers do not have the facility to remove batteries from long range cars.

After 5 weeks I have my car back and the fix was a faulty HV component in the battery. I assume the inverter.

I love my ZS EV but the whole back up and support from MG has really left a bad taste in my mouth and I am very tempted to shift to a Kia Eniro

Hope this others try and avoid getting stressed out if you break down

Wow ......... What a battle !.
I know from experience that the whole process is hard work to say the least.
Firstly the car needs to be given an appointment, then the dealer will contact MG CS.
Dealers are not allowed to order parts unless first authorised by MG CS.
Then after a lot of back and too, there is the painful wait for the spares to arrive.
Car has to booked in again and the parts installed and hopefully this provides the fix.
When our Gen 1 ZS EV we had a problem and the A.A. where involved, he was able to diagnose the problem and then looked for the closest MG dealer ( which was about 8 miles away ).
The car was delivered to their door - period !.
It was a Saturday afternoon and the workshop was closed, I enlisted the help of one the sales advisors and left the keys with him.
It was over to them to fix the car now IMO.
Car was with them for four weeks, until it was sorted.
We had a hire car for the entire period.
Oh ……. I believe the inverter is under the bonnet, maybe a problem with the BMS module, which I think is inside of the HV case ?.

 

[Pauly]

I had a similar even worse situation
Car went on for repair (wouldn’t charge) and service while it was there, car was gone for a couple months then returned faulty and I serviced, car immediately broke and when I rang to get it recovered they refused as the car hadn’t been serviced within the 12 month schedule so it got abandoned on the side of a road for a few days until they eventually collected it and took it away for another couple months

Horrendous service from a terrible company who don’t really give a shit
Every individual I spoke to said was friendly and informative etc but unable to help, I spent loads of time with no car due to this and even ended up with a bill from a hire car company for the car MG arranged for me !!

 

[KevW]

I recently had my ZS EV break down on my drive with a control unit error code

I called MGAssistance who sent an AA engineer.
He was unable to fix the issue and said the car needed to be taken to a MG main dealer for repair.

But trying to find a MG dealer to accept a roadside breakdown was a big problem as main dealers just said no, including the dealer where I car the car serviced less that two weeks previous.

I asked MG Assistance to help who pointed out that they are just the AA and it was my responsibility to find a dealer and then they would take the car

MG customer services - who you can only chat via email - were worse than useless

When I finally did get my car to a garage the fault finding process was as follows:-

MG tech advise the garage via email to try x and y. MG dealer try’s the fix then emails the results back to MG Tech . This process goes on until it gets fixed. The big problem for me here is that NOBODY uses the telephone so the whole process just drags on and on

After 4 weeks it was found that the battery needs to come out of the car. So the car had to get shipped to Longbridge near Birmingham as local MG dealers do not have the facility to remove batteries from long range cars.

After 5 weeks I have my car back and the fix was a faulty HV component in the battery. I assume the inverter.

I love my ZS EV but the whole back up and support from MG has really left a bad taste in my mouth and I am very tempted to shift to a Kia Eniro

Hope this others try and avoid getting stressed out if you break down

It's ridiculous that an MG dealer won't accept a 'roadside' breakdown on what is obviously going to be a warranty claim. I would have insisted that the AA delivered it directly to your supplying dealer and left it for them to sort.

 

[QLeo]

That's an experience that must really leave a bad taste. A local anecdote may not make you feel any better, but it seems MG aren't the only ones with these definitions of customer service. A local Dacia owner had to have some warranty work done. Nine months later they were still going around in the hire car they had had to prise from the Dacia and the garage. And even that was only after a fight that, frankly, took its toll on our neighbours, as Dacia at first said "we can't fix it" even though it was an issue clearly covered by the warranty.
We were interested in their sorry experience, as Dacia was on our short list if we had gone for an ICE car before getting Goth Leo our MG4, but excluded them as a result, making the choice to go for the MG4 much easier.
Story told not to take a jot away from your sorry experience, but rather to suggest there may be a problem with the entire motor industry these days.

 

[kiwi]

@bigal Because of the lethal voltage, for safety EV high voltage (HV) batteries have contactors (a relay to cut off the power) built inside the battery casing. These must be powered from the vehicle's 12V battery before the 400V (or 800V depending on the EV design) is able to flow out out the HV battery. The service plug or disconnect switch interrupts the 12V to the HV battery, it's used by service techs and fire crews (if you have a crash) to safe the car. That's why with a flat 12V battery you can't power up your EV even if the HV battery is fully charged.

These contactors are partly mechanical and can fail, likely the original poster's problem.

 

[bigal]

Thanks Al

I thought I would be on my own here but seems lots of others have experienced the same problem

Fingers crossed it’s my last breakdown !

 

[1MGEVUSER]

I saw a video on a car that had an issue with the underside damage, not major to my eyes and because the owner did go through his insurance company instead of communicating with the car company first, it landed him with over 60000 dollar headache.

This post can make you aware of the correct procedure to think of following, glad I saw the video!

 

[Rolfe]

Seems to me his mistake was even looking under the car in the first place.

 

[1MGEVUSER]

You might be right, but as the car was under warranty, he might had thought better mentioning it to the dealer. That would have been spotted on the next service anyway.

It certainly makes you think what can happen down the years...

The car companies need to make such repairs/replacements affordable, otherwise EV won't be worth buying used.
Time will tell...

 

[Rolfe]

If the damage was that minimal, would anyone actually have bothered mentioning it at a service?

 

[Rex]

I recently had my ZS EV break down on my drive with a control unit error code

I called MGAssistance who sent an AA engineer.
He was unable to fix the issue and said the car needed to be taken to a MG main dealer for repair.

But trying to find a MG dealer to accept a roadside breakdown was a big problem as main dealers just said no, including the dealer where I car the car serviced less that two weeks previous.

I asked MG Assistance to help who pointed out that they are just the AA and it was my responsibility to find a dealer and then they would take the car

MG customer services - who you can only chat via email - were worse than useless

When I finally did get my car to a garage the fault finding process was as follows:-

MG tech advise the garage via email to try x and y. MG dealer try’s the fix then emails the results back to MG Tech . This process goes on until it gets fixed. The big problem for me here is that NOBODY uses the telephone so the whole process just drags on and on

After 4 weeks it was found that the battery needs to come out of the car. So the car had to get shipped to Longbridge near Birmingham as local MG dealers do not have the facility to remove batteries from long range cars.

After 5 weeks I have my car back and the fix was a faulty HV component in the battery. I assume the inverter.

I love my ZS EV but the whole back up and support from MG has really left a bad taste in my mouth and I am very tempted to shift to a Kia Eniro

Hope this others try and avoid getting stressed out if you break down

That's shocking, great cars can be brought down by crappy dealerships, they had better learn fast .
I'm in Australia, and my local dealer is amazing. I had the click noise in the steering, zs ev mark 1, they replaced the whole Steering column without any fuss, reversing sensor in the bumper bar went, replaced straight away .
That sort of service gives confidence in buying MG