Infotainment system - annoyances or just me?

[DB Go Rex]

If you think that there should be no bugs in a system at all for cars then you'd be wrong, there are always bugs, you just hope that they are all minor things which in my case they are. I worked at a large power station which was controlled by computers and we found bugs in the software there too and yes it was nuclear. If a bug causes a problem the that's what you are there for, to take over and prevent disaster.

That's not my expectation.

I've been a software developer for over 20 years.

I've worked on everything from mission critical/safety stuff to business automation.

There are levels to this stuff.

You move slower and, test more thoroughly and to more rigid processes, in more critical applications.

They've missed the mark compared to other manufacturers.

Hyundai for example, do all of this much better.

 

[fred12345]

Hyundai for example, do all of this much better.

even they suffer... the reality is that no car is perfect; look at this for example

https://www.reuters.com/business/au...over-software-problem-south-korea-2024-03-14/

Errors have been found in software of the integrated charging control units used in 170,000 Hyundai and Kia EVs, which could make it difficult to power a low-voltage battery and lead to the possibility that the vehicles could stop while driving, the ministry said.

Only had the MG ZS EV LR Trophy connect for just over a week and the one thing that is annoying me is the infotainment system.
I have tried radio, amazon music, usb stick and android auto (spotify, amazon, and my on phone music) but each time I switch off the car and then return for the next journey I have to select some music source again. It won't just allow me to carry on listening to what I was listening to last time.

I'm not keen on the way it keeps playing after I switch off until I exit and lock it but I can live with that. I can hold the home button to switch it off or press the mute if I'm that bothered.

Is this normal or am I missing a setting somewhere?

Thanks for any help.

Mine is 2022 SR and whenever I start the car, music starts; starts with radio and if my spotify is open on my phone, it will switch to spotify as soon as the phone connects ..
what I don't like is that radio volume seems to be double the phone Bluetooth music volume ... so if I switch between phone music and radio, it's quite a difference in volume ...

radio staying on after I turn the car off is fine with me, better than having to turn the radio on if I'm staying in the car for a bit longer. guess it comes down to personal preferences

 

[DB Go Rex]

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even they suffer... the reality is that no car is perfect; look at this for example

https://www.reuters.com/business/au...over-software-problem-south-korea-2024-03-14/

Errors have been found in software of the integrated charging control units used in 170,000 Hyundai and Kia EVs, which could make it difficult to power a low-voltage battery and lead to the possibility that the vehicles could stop while driving, the ministry said.

Of course.

A recall for a bug, doesn't tell the whole story.

If you drove and used a Hyundai EV Vs an MG it doesn't take an expert to work out which one is the more sorted car.

 

[peterseddon]

That's not my expectation.

I've been a software developer for over 20 years.

I've worked on everything from mission critical/safety stuff to business automation.

There are levels to this stuff.

You move slower and, test more thoroughly and to more rigid processes, in more critical applications.

They've missed the mark compared to other manufacturers.

Hyundai for example, do all of this much better.

I'm going off personal experience of 40 years working in the nuclear industry, the bugs were only minor and had no nuclear significance but never the less the software is written by humans and we make mistakes. The one phrase that gets my goat is "it's a computer error" it usually means that someone has put some garbage in the machine and it's spit garbage out. The horizon scandal only prove my point, if a company as big as Fugitsu can get it so tragically wrong with such horrendous consequences then errors con and do occur.

 

[Gadget Geek]

it usually means that someone has put some garbage in the machine and it's spit garbage out

I suppose that applies to typo errors as well. (No offence intended)

 

[DB Go Rex]

I'm going off personal experience of 40 years working in the nuclear industry, the bugs were only minor and had no nuclear significance but never the less the software is written by humans and we make mistakes. The one phrase that gets my goat is "it's a computer error" it usually means that someone has put some garbage in the machine and it's spit garbage out. The horizon scandal only prove my point, if a company as big as Fugitsu can get it so tragically wrong with such horrendous consequences then errors con and do occur.

I'm not sure of the point you are making regards the quality of the software in the MG ZS...

Are you saying it is acceptable or unacceptable for an automotive application?

 

[peterseddon]

I'm not sure of the point you are making regards the quality of the software in the MG ZS...

Are you saying it is acceptable or unacceptable for an automotive application?

I'm saying that it's inevitable that bugs will happen no mater how rigorous the testing is, and as long as when found they are fixed in a timely manner then that is acceptable. I've had both blind spot mirror indicators stuck on at the same time, this is probably a bug in the software, it's not happened for some time now so a fix may have been applied at service. The lane keep assist sometimes can't tell the difference between a seam in the road surface with a white line but I can. do you class that as unacceptable.

 

[DB Go Rex]

The lane keep assist sometimes can't tell the difference between a seam in the road surface with a white line but I can. do you class that as unacceptable.

Yes. This is exactly what I am saying.

 

[WhyQueue]

MG ZS EV is a great car. But the "Infotainment System" User Interface is hot garbage.

MG needs to get the involvement of a competent Human Computer Interface Analyst IMMEDIATELY, redesign the system, and update the whole system. The design decisions apparent in the user interface as it exists are completely incomprehensible.

AND they need to provide a human readable Infotainment System User Manual faster than immediately. The lack of such a manual is simply unacceptable.

Yes, I have found that it exists buried in the Infotainment system - it is absolutely unreadable: the font is microscopic and I can't peruse it in my living room.

I am preparing a list of the stupid design decisions as I come across them.

 

[JohnV6]

Yes not the greatest.
Try here for the manual

User manuals

By entering the 17-digit Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) below, you can access and view all your manuals more conveniently online.

www.mgmotor.eu

 

[WhyQueue]

Yes not the greatest.
Try here for the manual

User manuals

By entering the 17-digit Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) below, you can access and view all your manuals more conveniently online.

www.mgmotor.eu

WHY? I mean really! WHY?

That is almost as stupid as supplying it buried in the Infotainment Help system in a microscopic font.

 

[WhyQueue]

WHY? I mean really! WHY?

That is almost as stupid as supplying it buried in the Infotainment Help system in a microscopic font.

Not only but also, where is that DOCUMENTED for the owner?

 

[WhyQueue]

WHY? I mean really! WHY?

That is almost as stupid as supplying it buried in the Infotainment Help system in a microscopic font

I have done as you suggested. There is no such thing as an Infotainment Center Manual. There is something called a Navigation system manual. It does NOT resemble ANYTHING that is on my car's Infotainment system., I'll add this to my list of annoyances.

The iSmart app also contains an unreadable infotainment manual. Maybe I can get that to show up on my Windows link big enough that I can read it. Still impossibly useless for many owners.

This seems almost perversely difficult on purpose. What is the point of this crap?

 

[BOB353]

My ZS came with 5 years free map updates but after 6 months I still can't get them, and MG Australia can't tell me how to get them.

Getting updated maps will make me happy as I find the unit quite good otherwise.

 

[WhyQueue]

My ZS came with 5 years free map updates but after 6 months I still can't get the and MG Australia can't tell me how to get the.

Getting updated map will make me happy as I find the unit quite good otherwise.

The link reported by JohnV6 seems to have map update downloads for some cars. You might try that. I assume you would have to download it onto a USB stick and run it into the car somehow.

 

[BOB353]

They are not the maps for Australia.

I have tried them but it did not work. I have a service booking for tomorrow morning where they think they can do it so will follow up if it works.

Have you managed to update yours?

 

[Susanna]

@WhyQueue - I have both the main manual and the infotainment/navigation manual on the kindle app on my iPad, which makes it perfectly readable for me. I also downloaded the pdf to a company on eBay that prints them in A5 format with a spiral binding. It’s not particularly cheap though. Not many car manufacturers seem to supply hard copy manuals these days, in the UK at least.

 

[fred12345]

Yes, I have found that it exists buried in the Infotainment system - it is absolutely unreadable: the font is microscopic and I can't peruse it in my living room.

 

[fred12345]

Everyone's got different preferences with infotainment systems and it subjective. Yes, I would certainly change some things too but overall, it does not bother me. Any car, any infotainment will have some things better and some things worse than MG.

Until we get displays that can be customised same as laptop desktops, that's how it is with any car - check other car forums and you'll hear the same stories ...