Learning to drive my MG4: Reversing on tight ramp

[siteguru]

I think Sport mode will at least hold the car on that slope if not creep forward. So only a very gentle press on the accelerator would be needed.

PS - that lamppost won't be helping you get in and out. ?

 

[elias]

I think Sport mode will at least hold the car on that slope if not creep forward. So only a very gentle press on the accelerator would be needed.

I will definitely try it next time I take the car out.

PS - that lamppost won't be helping you get in and out. ?

No, it wont, and to make everything even worst, the street is not perpendicular to the garage entrance, so I have to back in an angle, turning right, stop, forward turning left to and repeat the operation until the car is aligned with the entrance, all while trying not to hit the lamppost ?

 

[Rolfe]

I wondered if it was something like that, I've seen a lot of these in southern Europe, and even some in the south of England. (You wouldn't try that here, see the snow picture above.)

It's not easy, but keep in mind all the hints and tips and especially line the car up properly, and you'll get it fairly soon. If I hadn't owned a car before and I had to tackle that access with my first car, I'd be nervous too!

Is reversing down relatively easy? You can just use the brake on the down ramp, I'd have thought. But that's the direction where lining up the car is absolutely critical. Coming up and out of the garage you'll need the throttle, but very gently. At least you shouldn't have to worry about the car not being straight on the way out.

I assume your car is a left hand drive? How do you get out?

No, it wont, and to make everything even worst, the street is not perpendicular to the garage entrance, so I have to back in an angle, turning right, stop, forward turning left to and repeat the operation until the car is aligned with the entrance, all while trying not to hit the lamppost ?

I thought that looked awkward. You've obviously managed to do it though, and not pranged the car. It will only get easier.

Lovely car, by the way. I do like the colour!

 

[elias]

Is reversing down relatively easy? You can just use the brake on the down ramp

It is for most of the path, the worst part is passing through the two door frames, where I can easy hit the door mirrors. I regulate both mirrors to look down, and use the door handles as my reference for distance to the walls.

I assume your car is a left hand drive? How do you get out?

My car is right hand drive, so the wheel is on the left side, which leaves me stuck inside, unable to open the driver side door, but I just crawl to the passenger side and get out that way ?

Lovely car, by the way. I do like the colour!

Thank you very much! TBH, I didn't like the colour when I saw it the first time, it looked a bit too bright an eye catching, I prefer to go unnoticed but the longer I look at, the more I'm liking it.

 

[Tonych]

Thanks for the feedback siteguru and Rolfe.

Here, in Spain, my model is called MG4 Luxury Edition, it has the 360 degrees cameras.

The car actually creeps while reversing, using just the break, the problem I'm having is that I'm not still managing to align it properly and I'm having to drive forward to correct the alignment and then keep creeping back the ramp.

The key clearly is, as Rolfe said, to align it properly before attempting to reverse down the ramp, that way I should not need to realign it and can go it all just using the brake.

I have the Trophy, i.e. have the reversing camera. I think I will continue to rely on side mirrors to judge gaps and the parking sensor and camera to tell me when a wall is coming! Mirrors are really much easier to navigate with.

 

[Rolfe]

It is for most of the path, the worst part is passing through the two door frames, where I can easy hit the door mirrors. I regulate both mirrors to look down, and use the door handles as my reference for distance to the walls.

View attachment 19199

My car is right hand drive, so the wheel is on the left side, which leaves me stuck inside, unable to open the driver side door, but I just crawl to the passenger side and get out that way ?

Thank you very much! TBH, I didn't like the colour when I saw it the first time, it looked a bit too bright an eye catching, I prefer to go unnoticed but the longer I look at, the more I'm liking it.

The door frame is certainly the worst part. It's made more difficult for you because while my approach drive is straight, you have an angle in yours which must make it harder to align the car straight. I use the widest part of the rear of the car to line up with the frame of the door as I approach it. From a distance the car looks wider than the door, but as I get closer that changes.

It is expensive if you damage a mirror on the garage door. I did it twice with my previous car, and I didn't like what it cost me! My error was not folding the windows as I passed through the frame of the door. My MG4 does not have electrically folding mirrors but there is enough space if I am careful. (I had new garage doors in January, and that made the door opening about 10 cm wider - very lucky!) However your car has the folding mirrors so that gives you a little more room. You can fold them just as they pass through the door opening and then open them again.

When I say "left hand drive" I mean that the steering wheel is on the left. (The cars in Britain are right hand drive because the steering wheel is on the right because we drive on the left, if that makes any sense.) For a garage like yours the easy thing would be to drive in forwards and reverse out, but I can see why you don't want to do that! Reversing up that ramp would be very difficult, and you'd be reversing into the road and that lamp post! Sack your architect!

I wanted the blue because I really liked the colour. Even though it was one that didn't cost any extra money it was the one I liked best and I would have waited to get one. But fortunately my dealer had one on the premises waiting to be sold! Since I got it lots of people have told me how much they like the colour. It seems to change the shade of blue depending on the sunlight.

 

[Buster72]

The car should creep on it's own in reverse if you lift off the brake. Are you reversing up an incline?

Which model do you have? SE or Trophy? (Trophy has a reversing camera).

Yes exactly right.

 

[Gabricolo]

in this situation try to disable Auto Hold. put car in reverse and then use only the brake to go at the desired speed while reversing down the ramp.
If you're reversing up, enable auto hold. In this way you have time to put the foot on the accelerator when you lift from the brake, the car will not go down.

 

[Diggsy]

in this situation try to disable Auto Hold. put car in reverse and then use only the brake to go at the desired speed while reversing down the ramp.
If you're reversing up, enable auto hold. In this way you have time to put the foot on the accelerator when you lift from the brake, the car will not go down.

I’m not sure auto hold works when the car is in reverse. Doesn’t seem to on mine anyway

 

[Mickser]

Thanks for the feedback siteguru and Rolfe.

Here, in Spain, my model is called MG4 Luxury Edition, it has the 360 degrees cameras.

The car actually creeps while reversing, using just the break, the problem I'm having is that I'm not still managing to align it properly and I'm having to drive forward to correct the alignment and then keep creeping back the ramp.

The key clearly is, as Rolfe said, to align it properly before attempting to reverse down the ramp, that way I should not need to realign it and can go it all just using the brake.

Funny enough when I line it up with the reversing camera it's never straight when I get out

Hello everyone,

I'm excited to share that I recently bought my new MG4! However, I'm currently facing some challenges while trying to get used to driving it, especially when manoeuvring in tight spaces. This is my very first car, and it's also the first time I'm driving an EV; my previous experience has been limited to manual transmission cars. As a result, I would love to seek some valuable advice from experienced drivers in this community.

One of the main difficulties I'm encountering is while trying to reverse and park the car in my garage. The garage entrance has a narrow ramp that only leaves a few centimeters of clearance on each side. Regrettably, every time I attempt to move forward slightly to adjust my position and avoid hitting the walls, the car tends to accelerate too quickly, despite my efforts to be gentle with the throttle.

I apologize if this question seems redundant or inexperienced, but I would greatly appreciate any advice or tips you may have for me. I'm curious if using the snow mode could be beneficial in this situation or if it might exacerbate the problem.

Thank you all in advance for your valuable responses!

Have you got the version with one pedal driving

 

[Rolfe]

Funny enough when I line it up with the reversing camera it's never straight when I get out

That's what you get for using a reversing camera! (Can't stand the bloody things.)

To the OP. This is maybe a mad idea, but I was thinking about it. That garage would be extremely easy to drive into in forward gear. You could see where you were going and be in no danger of hitting walls or anything. You'd also be at the right side to get out of the car without contortions.

How impossible is it, really, to reverse out? A lot depends on the street you're reversing into, and that lamp post, but there's more room on the ramp than in the garage, and you'd be starting straight because you ran in straight.

It might be something to try at a very quiet time, maybe early in the morning, to see how you get on.

 

[Rolfe]

Have you got the version with one pedal driving

I was wondering about that. The car won't creep with one pedal driving so it might need to be switched off.

 

[Mickser]

I was wondering about that. The car won't creep with one pedal driving so it might need to be switched off.

Or try with it on,it might give you more control

 

[Rolfe]

Maybe. But the creep is really useful for this job.

 

[siteguru]

That's why I suggested Sport mode - it might help the car to creep up that incline. (Normal might hold, Eco would just let the car fall back).

 

[tsedge]

I’m not sure auto hold works when the car is in reverse. Doesn’t seem to on mine anyway

Auto hold does not work in reverse.

 

[elias]

If you're reversing up, enable auto hold.

I've played with Auto Hold and, while it helps holding the car from falling back, it can be troublesome at the time of restarting the march, making the car to take off too fast. On the other hand, I don't think it works while reversing though.

Funny enough when I line it up with the reversing camera it's never straight when I get out

Same here, I find reversing cameras a good addition to get a better idea of what is behind me, but they are not great for precise alignment.

Have you got the version with one pedal driving

Yes, I haven't tested it yet, but the option is there.

To the OP. This is maybe a mad idea, but I was thinking about it. That garage would be extremely easy to drive into in forward gear. You could see where you were going and be in no danger of hitting walls or anything. You'd also be at the right side to get out of the car without contortions.

How impossible is it, really, to reverse out? A lot depends on the street you're reversing into, and that lamp post, but there's more room on the ramp than in the garage, and you'd be starting straight because you ran in straight.

It might be something to try at a very quiet time, maybe early in the morning, to see how you get on.

That is definitely a very interesting option but don't feel confident enough to reverse upwards ?, it is certainly promising, as it would guarantee that the car is always aligned before reversing ?

That's why I suggested Sport mode

Your suggestion actually seems to improve the situation, I tested yesterday to enable Sport mode and checked if the car creeps up the slope without using the throttle. Whenever the car reaches certain point in the ramp it stops creeping up but a slight touch on the throttle makes it to creep again, it doesn't fall back when I release the throttle, it stays in place without having to touch the break, nor it "jumps forward" when I touch the throttle, so it doesn't matter if Auto Hold is enabled or not.

I felt a lot more under control this way than with the car in Normal mode, but I'll have to test it few more times before being able to say for sure this is definitely the best (safest) option to get out forward.


P.S. Thank you very much everyone for all the support and healthy discussion, I'm enjoining and learning a lot. I'll keep updating on my discoveries, hopefully not involving looking for new parts ?. I have the feeling this thread is going to be very useful for more people having similar issues out there.

 

[Kithmo]

I’m not sure auto hold works when the car is in reverse. Doesn’t seem to on mine anyway

Hill start assist does, no need for auto hold, just press the brake pedal firmly and the brakes will hold for 2 seconds, enough time to transfer your foot from the brake to the accelerator.

 

[Diggsy]

Hill start assist does, no need for auto hold, just press the brake pedal firmly and the brakes will hold for 2 seconds, enough time to transfer your foot from the brake to the accelerator.

I haven’t noticed this in reverse and I pressed very hard on the pedal, with no effect that I found…maybe I needed to be reversing uphill

 

[dsimpkins]

The problem is that I need to be very careful not hitting the walls or the door frame with them.

For the garage walls, a trick my dad taught me was to stick some old carpet to the walls to avoid damaging the mirrors, or when opening the door to get in/out. If you have folding mirrors (think you have a trophy), then fold them when you reach the posts, move past them slightly, and open them up again.

I know this doesn't help with your original questioni about the car moving forward too fast when lining it up. Using the wing mirrors is defintely the best way to get it lined it, and you may find angling them down further so you get a view of the road would help with lining up. I always angle them down so I can see the rear wheels, which helps see kerbs to each side, which helps with lining up.

You're also very lucky to have the MG4 as your first car, enjoy!