Interesting/worrying story from Scotland - ZS with no brakes.

Tim Green said:
AND if no pressure in the brake system, there is no way to cancel the ACC, so the car keeps running at set speed.
Click to expand...
There are several ways to switch it off
1000027078.png
 
You are correct that it may be a much slower speed event than reported, but on the rest I do not agree, johnb80. If there is a system to "increase a little or decrease a little" the hydraulic pressure, if that system fails then virtually anything can happen, it has failed and is out of control. The brake pedal sensor could well be a pressure switch, certainly in older cars it would be very likely, or it could be that the car was "dribbling" as they do at low speed with no accelerator input. And what does "they don't design brake systems that way" mean? The only way to avoid this scenario is to design a "fail-safe" brake system which would mean the brakes failing in "fully on" mode, as with lorries and buses. There is no evidence that such a design has been incorporated.
 
Wait and see until we learn more. I've learned to be sceptical of such stories as many times they have turned out to not be what they first look like.

People have been known to fake, make up, exaggerate and distort their experiences consciously or unconsciously. From accident research witnesses can have quite different and conflicting memories of what actually occurred - wildly different to the actual facts.

Let's not speculate, let's wait for the investigation and true facts to emerge. None of us know what is real and not real about this story.
 
There's no evidence of anything yet, there's just someone making big claims which are at odds with how we all know the car operates.

Feel free to point at a circuit diagram that illustrates how the ACC could become uninterruptable. Or even a firmware dump. I'm capable of understanding both.

Until then, as the story has been adjusted several times, includes many moving parts that seem unlikely, and there's absolutely no damage I'm inclined to apply occams razor and say there's no ghost in the machine, but there is a human piloting it and there's plenty of evidence of humans panicking and fibbing when caught out.

If MG or a credible third party explain how such a counter intuitive event can take place after examining the vehicle then I'll believe it. Until then feel free to be surprised and disappointed by people using their critical faculties. That's perfectly OK to have feelings and share them. It just won't silence scepticism.
 
Certainly I am not saying such a failure is likely or common, I am saying it is possible, that's all. And the human factor is always there - the driver may not have thought of using the stalk to cancel the ACC, for instance, due to panic. Also, brake failure is possible due to mechanical things such as flexible hoses leaking, and then if there is a pressure switch it would be poor design. It happens. (I have to say the ZS EV software does not fill me with confidence).
 
MidGev said:
I think you all should take a good look at yourselves, this is shameless behaviour from you all. This DID happen to this poor man... or does the BBC website lie as well? I'm sure MG will be on the case and a factual investigation will take place ASAP.
Click to expand...

I couldn't disagree more. This story is EXTREMELY dubious and it's right to treat it with scepticism. People lie all the time, and lies get reported in the media, including by the BBC.
 
JimD said:
I couldn't disagree more. This story is EXTREMELY dubious and it's right to treat it with scepticism. People lie all the time, and lies get reported in the media, including by the BBC.
Click to expand...
This.

Until proven otherwise, my hypothesis is : man drives through red light/speed camera; man panics and makes up story without thinking through consequences.

I'd also believe someone setting up a story to get mg to buy a car back because depreciation/insurance is hitting hard.

A number of simultaneous failures in safety critical systems as described in this story? No, I don't believe that.
 
MidGev said:
I think you all should take a good look at yourselves, this is shameless behaviour from you all. This DID happen to this poor man... or does the BBC website lie as well? I'm sure MG will be on the case and a factual investigation will take place ASAP.
Click to expand...
It's on the BBC it must be true. After all BBC journalists have already pulled apart the ECU and found the root cause of the problem! That's how highly trained BBC journalists are, and fast.

Never doubt the BBC! In fact they always do my servicing.

Priceless.
 
Whilst I'm not saying this story is as reported, there are lots of assumptions here about cancelling ACC etc that assume the car is operating normally. If the software has completely screwed up then it is not operating normally and the controls may not respond as they should.

Also, I have found when trying to get the digital key working on my 4, that at times the car can "lock" the brake pedal and it is impossible to press it down. Again in a fault condition this may have activated.

So I'm still a little sceptical, but we need more evidence to reach a conclusion.
 
mg4mc said:
...................Also, I have found when trying to get the digital key working on my 4, that at times the car can "lock" the brake pedal and it is impossible to press it down. Again in a fault condition this may have activated.
..
Click to expand...
Really? There's a mechanical lock of some kind on the brake pedal that can be applied by the car's operating system?

Are you sure that's not just the effect of the lack of servo power making the brake pedal seem harder to press?
 
I'm sceptical of such stories but we all have experience of computers. Have you never had the experience of the computer 'locking' and refusing to accept any input?
 
Grriff said:
I'm sceptical of such stories but we all have experience of computers. Have you never had the experience of the computer 'locking' and refusing to accept any input?
Click to expand...
That's different though - there's a physical (hydraulic) linkage between the brake pedal and the brake pads.
 
Just read it this morning but I reckon the old guy in my work will be waving the story in my face soon.

It looks like a cruise control fault. I wonder if he tried opening the door? My engine switched off while parking as I opened the door to see how close I was to the raised driveway edge. This was at a low speed though.
 
Until proven otherwise, no point trying to guess what's happened here. Likely scenario is "USER ERROR" here, but it needs checking to be 100% sure. In my experience with dealing with end users, it's usually their fault, but there can be exceptions.

Meanwhile, I'll be driving my 72 plate MG ZS EV as It's had NO issues. If a major fault is found, I will not be driving it.
 
Grriff said:
I'm sceptical of such stories but we all have experience of computers. Have you never had the experience of the computer 'locking' and refusing to accept any input?
Click to expand...

JimD said:
That's different though - there's a physical (hydraulic) linkage between the brake pedal and the brake pads.
Click to expand...
Then there must have been a failure of the hydraulic braking system?
 
I have the exact colour, exact long range delivered in March 2023, mine is not a Connect model which I am searching hard to get round, but I know they need to be fitted by factory and not after sale. I also live in Scotland, so lets see if my car behaves, but I am loving it more everyday.

Very sorry if it happens to the guy with problems, but I do believe cars are not design simple, even bigger vehicles design are more sophisticated then you think, like someone mentioned about lorries and truck brakes fail, as far as I know, those big vehicles has brakes naturally applied when not in used, and each morning driver goes to work with it, they have to wait some time before the gas tank built up enough pressure to "release" the brakes so you can drive off, hence you hear loud "cheee cheee" noise, gas pressure is released so the brakepads can move back to the drum by the springs engage brake, so if you drive a truck, you are releasing pressure to stop and not like cars, pushing oil to force the brake pads to discs or drums.

Going to back to the MG ZS EV, I think if there are problems with 9 flashing errors, the car should not be drivable and after the incident happens, a courtesy car should have given by MG or insurance company, as I would think the police / insurance company / MG will not let you drive the same vehicle?
 
Support us by becoming a Premium Member

Latest MG EVs video

MG3 Hybrid+ & Cyberster Configurator News + hot topics from the MG EVs forums
Published
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom