MG / dealer not recognising BMS update as required

[ryanoneill1970]

We have an early BMS version (1125600R15) which has caused our car to fail to start after charging.
It's been to the original dealer for an update but they did not update the BMS and instead updated the infotainment system.
We've not been able to get a reason for this from the original dealer.

Having booked it into a new dealer today the service technician said it was not showing as any updates outstanding.
This could have been why the first dealer did not update the BMS.

Do we need to contact MG directly to prevent this from happening again and has anyone got a suggested contact at MG UK?
The service tech said it may take all day to update as MG can be slow to respond.

Thanks in advance

Ryan

 

[ryanoneill1970]

I've called MG, they said to email [email protected] who suggested I take it on a test drive with a technician to show the fault. The fault is related to the BMS and charging, it looks like a copy and paste response.

Pretty miffed that I can't get anyone to actually listen and investigate the issue with me. I just have to wait until I'm stuck on a public charger again.

My thinking is that they are holding the BMS updates back due to quality issues.

At this rate I'm going to have to knock up a website and do some search engine optimisation to get some interaction.

 

[Dodger]

I've called MG, they said to email [email protected] who suggested I take it on a test drive with a technician to show the fault. The fault is related to the BMS and charging, it looks like a copy and paste response.

Pretty miffed that I can't get anyone to actually listen and investigate the issue with me. I just have to wait until I'm stuck on a public charger again.

My thinking is that they are holding the BMS updates back due to quality issues.

At this rate I'm going to have to knock up website and do some search engine optimisation to get some interaction.

Who is the original dealer and the dealer you have now taken the car to?

 

[ryanoneill1970]

I'll tell you, but first I should state that I don't blame the dealers as they are just a conduit to MG who seem to be the ones mucking this all up. Brindley MG in Wolverhampton are who we purchased it from and had the first attempt with.

Clarkes in Kidderminster are booked in for next week but I may have to cancel unless I can get a video of the car failing after charging, which I'm hoping to try for tomorrow.

 

[Dodger]

I'll tell you, but first I should state that I don't blame the dealers as they are just a conduit to MG who seem to be the ones mucking this all up. Brindley MG in Wolverhampton are who we purchased it from and had the first attempt with.

Clarkes in Kidderminster are booked in for next week but I may have to cancel unless I can get a video of the car failing after chIf

I'll tell you, but first I should state that I don't blame the dealers as they are just a conduit to MG who seem to be the ones mucking this all up. Brindley MG in Wolverhampton are who we purchased it from and hadlegable the first attempt with.

Clarkes in Kidderminster are booked in for next week but I may have to cancel unless I can get a video of the car failing after charging, which I'm hoping to try for tomorrow.

If you have no luck with Clarkes give Summit Garage Dudley a try. A small family run business that I've found very helpful and knowledgeable about the ZS EV, nothings to much trouble for them!

 

[JCFlippen]

Surely there must be someone in MG HQ who is responsible for this BMS debacle. I cannot believe the treatment being dished out when the anxiety of going home on a flat truck is not from one’s thoughts.

 

[Cocijo]

We have an early BMS version (1125600R15) which has caused our car to fail to start after charging.
It's been to the original dealer for an update but they did not update the BMS and instead updated the infotainment system.
We've not been able to get a reason for this from the original dealer.

Having booked it into a new dealer today the service technician said it was not showing as any updates outstanding.
This could have been why the first dealer did not update the BMS.

Do we need to contact MG directly to prevent this from happening again and has anyone got a suggested contact at MG UK?
The service tech said it may take all day to update as MG can be slow to respond.

Thanks in advance

Ryan

Is your bms the 455v version? What voltage do you show after full charge and balance?
Although some earlier bms were buggy and caused issues some where ok (I have a 455v version but it’s fine).
Failing to start after charging is not necessarily the bad bms. You could have a good bms that doesn’t need updating. The failing to start issue is not uncommon and generally is solved after a 12v battery disconnect and reconnect.

 

[Vince31]

Mine was updated from the R15 BMS software to R17 when I took it in last year and told them I had an intermittent charging problem. They said the R15 software was known to do this occasionally. You don't need the latest E01 BMS software (450v version), just an upgrade to the R17 (456v) version.

 

[BarryH]

Is your bms the 455v version? What voltage do you show after full charge and balance?
Although some earlier bms were buggy and caused issues some where ok (I have a 455v version but it’s fine).
Failing to start after charging is not necessarily the bad bms. You could have a good bms that doesn’t need updating. The failing to start issue is not uncommon and generally is solved after a 12v battery disconnect and reconnect.

I agree, there was a bad BMS update tail end of 2020 early 2021 but MG jumped on that pretty quickly and stopped updating it for a couple of weeks. The BMS update that followed from end of January 2021 resulted in a lower voltage when fully charged which meant that KERS could regen much sooner after a full charge and allowed deeper discharge which had a net result in a very slight increase in the summertime range. I think the failure to start after a charge is an issue and something which I have had on occasions but isn't actually a function of the BMS - I maybe wrong of course, but there are many separate ECU's on the car and each manages different functions of the car but they also talk to each other. Sometimes they seem (to use a technical term) "get their knickers in a twist". Switching it off and on again as with many computer systems helps to get everything back into sync. BUT you do have to in my experience of the ZS EV really switch it off and get out of the car both driver and any passengers and lock the car with any and all charging cables disconnected and only then unlock and start the car. I have had a couple of times, before I had the Comfort update, have the Infotainment system lock up and only restart properly after leaving the car an hour or so. This was very frustrating as I was depending on the car's SatNav to get me somewhere.

 

[Gomev]

...... I have had a couple of times, before I had the Comfort update, have the Infotainment system lock up and only restart properly after leaving the car an hour or so. This was very frustrating as I was depending on the car's SatNav to get me somewhere.

Does this mean you don't have a smartphone, as there are far superior Satnavs for free available on them ?

 

[BarryH]

Does this mean you don't have a smartphone, as there are far superior Satnavs for free available on them ?

Yes I do have a smartphone but since the inbuilt SatNav is a decent and configurable integrated SatNav for 95% of the time once you take the trouble to familiarise yourself with idiosyncrasies of the interface and is more stable by far than AndroidAuto and Samsung combo I prefer to use the MG SatNav I've paid for unless there is a reason not to. Sure the response time on entering a Postcode is annoyingly slow but IMHO too many people have discounted it without giving it a go.

 

[Gomev]

Yes I do have a smartphone but since the inbuilt SatNav is a decent and configurable integrated SatNav for 95% of the time once you take the trouble to familiarise yourself with idiosyncrasies of the interface and is more stable by far than AndroidAuto and Samsung combo I prefer to use the MG SatNav I've paid for unless there is a reason not to. Sure the response time on entering a Postcode is annoyingly slow but IMHO too many people have discounted it without giving it a go.

That's fair enough, and agreed the AA can be dodgy at times which is why I just have my phone mounted in a holder on the windscreen.
I also prefer to use a satnav that gives live traffic updates and can divert you if there is a traffic jam up ahead.
Also as a personal preference I always have the audio directions muted as I prefer the to see the route ahead visually on the screen, which is easier for me at eye level. That is a reason I don't like having to take my eyes off the road to look down at the satnav. That goes for all cars with centre console satnav, not just the MG.

 

[ryanoneill1970]

Is your bms the 455v version? What voltage do you show after full charge and balance?
Although some earlier bms were buggy and caused issues some where ok (I have a 455v version but it’s fine).
Failing to start after charging is not necessarily the bad bms. You could have a good bms that doesn’t need updating. The failing to start issue is not uncommon and generally is solved after a 12v battery disconnect and reconnect.

It's the 2019 one (don't have it to hand at the moment). It does not charge when unlocked. Guess I'll have to keep my OBD device handy and wait until MG get their act together,