Is MG ZS EV timed charging now working 100%? And are Andersen chargers ok?

[Redpiratepete]

This is my first post so Hi to everyone. I have just ordered an MG ZS EV which the dealer is getting in March as he already had that particular car/colour on order without a sale. I am changing to Octopus Go electricity tariff for the low tariff between 12.30 - 4.30am. After looking online I realised there was a problem with charging the car on a timer. MG now promote Rolec Wallpod charge points so I phoned them and they said MG were working on a fix but until then you could trickle charge to keep the car "awake" and fully charge when the cheap tariff started (they didn't explain how you did this though and although it sounds good I'm not sure how you achieve this in practice).

Then I phone MG and they said there had been a software fix and to make sure the dealer installed all updates before delivery (I'll check but I would have thought they would anyway).

I noticed from previous posts that after the fix there were still problems - does anyone else currently charge on a delayed timer and after the fix find it now works OK?

Also I'm thinking of getting an Andersen charge point, they're expensive but tidy. Has anyone any experience of the charge point or company?

Hello
My dealers updated the software on my EV after I complained I couldn't time my charges. I have had no problem with my Zappi charger on Octopus Go tariff?
I don't do a big mileage 2200 since Dec and charged at 98 mls left.
It took 16kWh in a 5hr time slot at 5.4p per kWh.
100% reliable so far.
Hope this helps.
Redpiratepete

 

[auris]

Hi all, anyone have OpenEVSE variable charger with ZS EV? I have just come off a frency of email exchanges with MG support where they basically started refering me to "previous correspondence" even though they never answered the queries in the first place. My problem is, timed charging (well, anything beyond 15 secs of locking the car) will not work, dealer have advised there are "no applicable updates" to the car when they serviced it and gave me a print out of MG July '20 patch where MG state I should be paying for the update. It's ~£100 to do and while it is not going to break my bank my argument is the car does not do what it's meant to. I.e. I do not get told when and where I fill up when buying a Petrol/Diesel vehicle from them, why am I with an EV then. I am seriously considering getting advice and taking legal action against MG.

Needless to say on that basis, for anyone here planning to purchase MG EV and use Agile or Go tarriffs, please for your own benefit - LOOK AWAY. It's a lottery as to whether this will work or not and the last thing we want is for new EV owners to get disappointed and go back to ICE.

 

[Kithmo]

Hi all, anyone have OpenEVSE variable charger with ZS EV? I have just come off a frency of email exchanges with MG support where they basically started refering me to "previous correspondence" even though they never answered the queries in the first place. My problem is, timed charging (well, anything beyond 15 secs of locking the car) will not work, dealer have advised there are "no applicable updates" to the car when they serviced it and gave me a print out of MG July '20 patch where MG state I should be paying for the update. It's ~£100 to do and while it is not going to break my bank my argument is the car does not do what it's meant to. I.e. I do not get told when and where I fill up when buying a Petrol/Diesel vehicle from them, why am I with an EV then. I am seriously considering getting advice and taking legal action against MG.

Needless to say on that basis, for anyone here planning to purchase MG EV and use Agile or Go tarriffs, please for your own benefit - LOOK AWAY. It's a lottery as to whether this will work or not and the last thing we want is for new EV owners to get disappointed and go back to ICE.

Do MG quote that you can do timed charging anywhere in the literature ?
They certainly don't in the brochure.
If not, there's no legal action you can take.

 

[auris]

Do MG quote that you can do timed charging anywhere in the literature ?
They certainly don't in the brochure.
If not, there's no legal action you can take.

I completely take your point Kithmo, and I agree it may be a long shot... However it also does not say in the literature that power windows have open all the way down without having to pay for an "enhancement" (as they called it), but I'm sure most of us here would agree it is expected. Both sides are right & wrong at the same time. For me though - it is a massive disappointment in MG EV. Especially that they won't guarantee any "enhancement" updates since it is customer choice to have those installed effectively if it doesn't work after I paid the garage to update it that's my loss. Simple things... I was choosing between the two when I bought my MG, possibly should have gone the more expensive route. The grass is always greener though, hindsight is a wonderful thing

 

[Kithmo]

I completely take your point Kithmo, and I agree it may be a long shot... However it also does not say in the literature that power windows have open all the way down without having to pay for an "enhancement" (as they called it), but I'm sure most of us here would agree it is expected. Both sides are right & wrong at the same time. For me though - it is a massive disappointment in MG EV. Especially that they won't guarantee any "enhancement" updates since it is customer choice to have those installed effectively if it doesn't work after I paid the garage to update it that's my loss. Simple things... I was choosing between the two when I bought my MG, possibly should have gone the more expensive route. The grass is always greener though, hindsight is a wonderful thing

What I meant was, don't waste you time, effort and money on legal action when, as you say,"both sides are wrong", it may not turn out well.
I understand your frustrations at the car and the dealers but, the car is what it is and MG don't really go by what people expect of it, they just produce it as they describe it and hope customers will buy it. As some people say, "buy cheap, buy twice", although I'm perfectly happy with mine (except the steering click) so it doesn't apply to me.
If I personally was not happy with it then I would get rid, sell or trade it for something else and take a hit, just to restore my own peace of mind. I have done this in the past with at least two cars I've owned.

 

[auris]

What I meant was, don't waste you time, effort and money on legal action when, as you say,"both sides are wrong", it may not turn out well.
I understand your frustrations at the car and the dealers but, the car is what it is and MG don't really go by what people expect of it, they just produce it as they describe it and hope customers will buy it. As some people say, "buy cheap, buy twice", although I'm perfectly happy with mine (except the steering click) so it doesn't apply to me.
If I personally was not happy with it then I would get rid, sell or trade it for something else and take a hit, just to restore my own peace of mind. I have done this in the past with at least two cars I've owned.

I'm unlikely to pursue legal action, it's just big words from small mouth, lol. I know next to nothing about law and it is unlikely that this will be put right for me as well as others so not worth it. Just thought I'd share in case this is the decision point for anyone in the community. I did expect issues, given value for money, this is the key one that is actually a major problem for me. Steering click is annoying indeed , radio randomly rebooting and generally being slow, accumulated total mileage randomly decides to reset etc. Got used to those though.

 

[Kithmo]

I guess I've been lucky with the radio, no problems yet (touch wood), but mine had the Comfort 2 update applied when I bought it last July, which is reported to make the response from the infotainment screen better. It does take a minute, or slightly longer sometimes, to boot up when I start the car but is pretty responsive once it's booted up.

 

[JodyS21]

Hi all, anyone have OpenEVSE variable charger with ZS EV? I have just come off a frency of email exchanges with MG support where they basically started refering me to "previous correspondence" even though they never answered the queries in the first place. My problem is, timed charging (well, anything beyond 15 secs of locking the car) will not work, dealer have advised there are "no applicable updates" to the car when they serviced it and gave me a print out of MG July '20 patch where MG state I should be paying for the update. It's ~£100 to do and while it is not going to break my bank my argument is the car does not do what it's meant to. I.e. I do not get told when and where I fill up when buying a Petrol/Diesel vehicle from them, why am I with an EV then. I am seriously considering getting advice and taking legal action against MG.

Needless to say on that basis, for anyone here planning to purchase MG EV and use Agile or Go tarriffs, please for your own benefit - LOOK AWAY. It's a lottery as to whether this will work or not and the last thing we want is for new EV owners to get disappointed and go back to ICE.

If you haven't got the comfort pack update, then given what it "fixes" / "improves", for £100 I would get it if I were you.
Yes it is VERY annoying that most dealers charge for it.
Mine already had comfort pack updates so never experienced it first hand, but the bongs etc etc sound like they were awful and eve I'd pay to get rid of them lol.

If the horn sounds when you unlock etc - you could try saying to the dealer that the neighbours are complaining as you use the car at night and saying that you're breaking the law etc - the car wasn't technically fit for purpose as per the law....

 

[Coulomb]

dealer have advised there are "no applicable updates" to the car when they serviced it and gave me a print out of MG July '20 patch where MG state I should be paying for the update. It's ~£100 to do and while it is not going to break my bank my argument is the car does not do what it's meant to.

I wonder if this is how the manufacturers and/or dealers are trying to make up for the loss of servicing revenue from EVs. Provide poor/annoying firmware and charge the customer to get it fixed.

Then I wonder what happens if some brave people figure out how to apply firmware updates themselves, possibly even patching the firmware to fix bugs, modify behaviour, or even add features. Maybe they won't care as most people can't be bothered and will just pay.