MG4 brake alarms while being towed by recovery

[cjkelly83]

My MG4 Trophy Long Range has just been recovered by The AA to take to the dealer. They performed a "suspended" tow with the rear wheels on the towing mechanism.

Not long after they left my property I got two SMS messages with following:
The brake system of your vehicle (***444) has triggered an alarm on 07-07-2025 14:51:48 GMT+02:00.

We immediately contacted AA who spoke to driver and he was happy there were no issues.

Is this something we should be worried about?

 

[gary333]

My car did gave this error in the app after charging one day last week, the car hadn't moved. Maybe it's just another one of the apparently un-ending software gremlins these cars have. Quite annoying that this "warning" keeps the error on iSmart until you clear it.

 

[cjkelly83]

My concern is that it's being towed by the AA at I guess about 50mph. I'm worried brakes are engaging and being overpowered

 

[gary333]

Did they put the car in neutral?

If the brakes were on, you’d have skid marks down the road.

 

[cjkelly83]

Did they put the car in neutral?

If the brakes were on, you’d have skid marks down the road.

They certainly did to load it onto the truck as they pushed it manually.

Is there a risk that something changed? We did contact the AA who spoke to the driver and said there were no issues.

But I've had a total of 14 alarm messages for the brakes, at least two about tyre pressures and multiple about the electronic power steering.

Should I be concerned about them having caused damage or is it just MG software losing the plot

 

[ReintjeWA]

I think the car measures its speed (among other inputs) using GPS, so perhaps the car is confused, getting inputs that it is travelling at a certain speed, yet the wheels aren't turning? Just a thought.

 

[cjkelly83]

I think the car measures its speed (among other inputs) using GPS, so perhaps the car is confused, getting inputs that it is travelling at a certain speed, yet the wheels aren't turning? Just a thought.

That seems to make sense. Hopefully I'm just being paranoid. In the good old days before all these sensors and apps I'd have been oblivious to any issues and just trusted the guy to do his job.

Seems a case of too much information

 

[ReintjeWA]

I just checked the manual, but it only states that the drive wheels should be suspended, to prevent electric drive transmission damage, so it sounds like the AA have suspended the car properly.

 

[Kithmo]

I get all sorts of messages from mine when it's at the dealers being worked on, but only in the app, not SMS. I guess I must have turned that off somehow.

 

[Martinonline]

@cjkelly83, is there any chance that the fault that required the car be taken to the dealer is causing these alarms?

 

[Ferretusmaximus]

Did the AA: Ensure the forward collision system or vehicle power system is switched off when being towed. If the forward collision system is enabled when the vehicle is being towed, adverse effects may affect the safety of your vehicle, the towing vehicle and the people around? Not sure if this applies if the car is towed in reverse. Also, the manual shows the front wheels on a trolley when being towed with the rear wheel elevated. Other vehicles I have had needed the alarm system disabled when using elevated towing.

 

[tsedge]

It is common for cars to get confused when towed. Usually driving a mile or two resets everything automatically, so I would not be concerned unless there are any warnings that persist.

 

[mikgle]

When I had my MG4 windscreen replaced by Autoglass I had several alarm messages. They warned it may happen because they have to recalibrate the forward looking radar system.. its worked fine since.

 

[fnegroni]

Sorry: wasn’t the car switched off?
What was the reason for the car being towed in the first place?

 

[tsedge]

Sorry: wasn’t the car switched off?
What was the reason for the car being towed in the first place?

Maybe the car was put into Neutral?