MG4 Reduction Gearbox Oil Leak

[Harry 17]

What concerns me, is when owners are reporting that the oil has changed colour from its normal straw colour, to that light grey colour in such a short time scale ?.
Mmmmmm ……… Not good !.

It could be that road grime etc is discolouring, although I could be ’clutching at straws here‘

did you see what I did there?

 

[FiferMG4]

It was really the unknowns coming from MG Perth who have it just now. It's been in for two weeks and they said the parts that 'might fix it' would be at least two ~ four weeks away.
We just felt that we were left with little choice. Reject it, possibly wish we didn't if a fix come along or keep it and wish we had rejected it when we had the chance. The safe bet was to get rid of it when we could.
It should have been so much better, first new car in years too ;(

I think you’ve probably done the right thing in your circumstances. Hearing the words “might fix it” isn’t confidence inspiring.

 

[Samoyed]

Macklin Motors in Edinburgh. They were not too responsive at first but the letter to their CEO seems to have solved the issue!

Macklin Motors Edinburgh, at first they tell me they don't have the white Trophy we ordered, then after promising me they would refund my £100 deposit, the lovely Louise refused to answer two emails asking for my deposit refund.
Eventually got the £100 refunded by raising a dispute with the credit card company, at least Dickinsons in Inverness refunded our £500 deposit instantly after we decided cancel the order. (see my post)

 

[the briggie]

Macklin - bargepole - touch...I think not even with a big stick

 

[ippy1]

As @siteguru said above, waiting for communication from MG which should be today or Monday based on the timeline they set. My dealer emails me at least once daily and I’ll post here as soon as I hear anything

That’s amazing, I can’t get my dealer to even return my calls and emails. It took them 3 days to sort me a courtesy car after they impounded my trophy.

 

[4ND]

Macklin Motors Edinburgh, at first they tell me they don't have the white Trophy we ordered, then after promising me they would refund my £100 deposit, the lovely Louise refused to answer two emails asking for my deposit refund.
Eventually got the £100 refunded by raising a dispute with the credit card company,

Frustrating. It don't really need to be that hard. I wonder how 'hard' if was for them to take your £100 in the first place

 

[Deleted member 9692]

That’s amazing, I can’t get my dealer to even return my calls and emails. It took them 3 days to sort me a courtesy car after they impounded my trophy.

Communication with my dealer was not great initially during the buying process but it improved rapidly when I found the Managing Director on linkedin and messaged him.

 

[siteguru]

Macklin Motors are part of the Vertu Motors group ... they're very financial-targets-orientated rather than customer service. (I know - my brother used to work in their Service Plans sales group).

 

[Fogey]

Hi - this is my first post here. I ordered an SE LR last Friday, and was somewhat alarmed when I subsequently started to read - in this forum - about the oil leak problem.

At first, I wasn't unduly worried, but then it became apparent that this fault was present in (probably) all MG4s (or at least all LR versions).

It seems to me that the motor and reduction/transfer/diff gearing are integrated within the same housing. That must offer plenty of scope for heating issues. And then there is the fact that the oil becomes progressively discoloured - that hints at possible deterioration of oil seals and/or electrical insulation (the oil itself being synthetic and presumably highly heat resistant).

On top of that, the very fact that oil is lost may ultimately lead to complete loss of lubrication and possible seizing - which would be potentially very dangerous indeed. How on Earth can MG UK not treat that prospect with the utmost seriousness?

I'm now debating with myself as to whether I should cancel, which would be a crying shame, as my test drive was a revelation - plus I haven't changed car for 17 years.

Feeling somewhat despondent...

 

[Diggsy]

Hi - this is my first post here. I ordered an SE LR last Friday, and was somewhat alarmed when I subsequently started to read - in this forum - about the oil leak problem.

At first, I wasn't unduly worried, but then it became apparent that this fault was present in (probably) all MG4s (or at least all LR versions).

It seems to me that the motor and reduction/transfer/diff gearing are integrated within the same housing. That must offer plenty of scope for heating issues. And then there is the fact that the oil becomes progressively discoloured - that hints at possible deterioration of oil seals and/or electrical insulation (the oil itself being synthetic and presumably highly heat resistant).

On top of that, the very fact that oil is lost may ultimately lead to complete loss of lubrication and possible seizing - which would be potentially very dangerous indeed. How on Earth can MG UK not treat that prospect with the utmost seriousness?

I'm now debating with myself as to whether I should cancel, which would be a crying shame, as my test drive was a revelation - plus I haven't changed car for 17 years.

Feeling somewhat despondent...

I believe the current lead time is at least 12 weeks. That being the case, along with the fact MG are aware and investigating as per the advice from a forum member, I would suggest you sit tight for a little while and see what develops. I don’t see much point cancelling until the initial investigation results are out, which they should be imminently…possibly next Monday.
If those results aren’t what you want to hear, then by all means, pull the plug…

 

[Fogey]

I believe the current lead time is at least 12 weeks. That being the case, along with the fact MG are aware and investigating as per the advice from a forum member, I would suggest you sit tight for a little while and see what develops. I don’t see much point cancelling until the initial investigation results are out, which they should be imminently…possibly next Monday.
If those results aren’t what you want to hear, then by all means, pull the plug…

Yes, you're absolutely right - let's hope we can get some convincing answers in the very near future.

 

[tsedge]

Hi - this is my first post here. I ordered an SE LR last Friday, and was somewhat alarmed when I subsequently started to read - in this forum - about the oil leak problem.

At first, I wasn't unduly worried, but then it became apparent that this fault was present in (probably) all MG4s (or at least all LR versions).

It seems to me that the motor and reduction/transfer/diff gearing are integrated within the same housing. That must offer plenty of scope for heating issues. And then there is the fact that the oil becomes progressively discoloured - that hints at possible deterioration of oil seals and/or electrical insulation (the oil itself being synthetic and presumably highly heat resistant).

On top of that, the very fact that oil is lost may ultimately lead to complete loss of lubrication and possible seizing - which would be potentially very dangerous indeed. How on Earth can MG UK not treat that prospect with the utmost seriousness?

I'm now debating with myself as to whether I should cancel, which would be a crying shame, as my test drive was a revelation - plus I haven't changed car for 17 years.

Feeling somewhat despondent...

Understand how you are feeling. I would counsel waiting to see what comes out from MGs explorations. They have said they will have an answer for us all early next week and that will tell you how serious it is and what the remedy is.

Leaking oil is always alarming but we don’t really know how serious it is. It remains possible that this is (in most cases) excess oil being forced out which is not that serious.

Integrated motor/drive units are common these days and the MG4 is not fundamentally different to the solutions in earlier MG EVs which have not had this problem. It is surprising they’ve had this problem and most likely this is a manufacturing or assembly problem that can be addressed. It may affect early batch cars only, we don’t yet know.

 

[Goldie007]

We ordered ours 3 weeks ago and now seriously doubting it. I have tried the dealer twice and getting no return call. Looks like a trip this weekend to get face to face with them. Get your order and dont want to communicate after.

 

[Tig170]

We ordered ours 3 weeks ago and now seriously doubting it. I have tried the dealer twice and getting no return call. Looks like a trip this weekend to get face to face with them. Get your order and dont want to communicate after.

Dont worry too much - although I only buy new a car every 10-14 years, this is the best one todate (it has a 7 year warranty - so i dont see any risk)

.. as long as you've got a drive way to charge overnight - then its almost free to run?

 

[Lovemyev]

It could be that road grime etc is discolouring, although I could be ’clutching at straws here‘

did you see what I did there?

"Clutch Away" @Harry 17 : .
Sorry, but I doubt it's road grime to be honest.
If it was summer time and the roads where completely dry, then maybe ?.
But given its not and the underside of the car is covered with under trays then no, I don't think it's road smut's.
Oil discolouring that quickly, could suggest the oil has become contaminated / overheated for some reason.
Oil this new should be almost transparent.
It has been suggested that the oil leaking on some MG4's has a grey colour tone to it.
Which has me a bit puzzled and concerned ?.
Surely if the Tech's draining / replacing the oil had spotted this strange situation, they would have reported this straight back to MG Tech.
Did it get the correct type of oil in the first place ?.
Not related - But when automatic transmission fluid / power steering fluid is new, it is usually a very light red in colour.
After a long time in use, it can start to turn a dark maroon colour, this usually indicates a lack of transmission servicing or can indicate excess heat / breakdown of the wet clutch plates.
Slipping clutch plates, cause excess heat, in turn this then darkens the colour of the oil.
NOTE :- This is no way connected to the issue on the MG4 of course, but I am just making the point that its NOT normal for new oil to change colour that quickly, IF this is indeed the case.
Testing the oil would help identify what ( if any ) foreign bodies are present in that oil of course.
Offering some guidance to the source of the problem ?.
All could become very clear in very near future.

 

[Smendon]

I believe the current lead time is at least 12 weeks. That being the case, along with the fact MG are aware and investigating as per the advice from a forum member, I would suggest you sit tight for a little while and see what develops. I don’t see much point cancelling until the initial investigation results are out, which they should be imminently…possibly next Monday.
If those results aren’t what you want to hear, then by all means, pull the plug…

This is what I’m doing. Ordered mine at the beginning of the month and was told it would be 16 weeks, so looking at Mid Jan delivery.

If by December there isn’t a fix, then I’ll consider cancelling, but until then I’ll have faith that MG will get it sorted.

I am interested in seeing whether this was just a bad batch of cars, or if this is a bigger manufacturing issue…

 

[4ND]

We ordered ours 3 weeks ago and now seriously doubting it. I have tried the dealer twice and getting no return call. Looks like a trip this weekend to get face to face with them. Get your order and dont want to communicate after.

Really shows how some dealers are better than others, and that how they can either add to, or take away, from the whole experience.

 

[Goldie007]

Thinking of taking my business somewhere else. Don't like all the nice talk to get the order then total silence after. Asked two questions and two weeks later no response yet.

 

[Jester27]

Thinking of taking my business somewhere else. Don't like all the nice talk to get the order then total silence after. Asked two questions and two weeks later no response yet.

Which Dealer @Goldie007
I'm from Wakefield and have visited both Wakefield MG and Barnsley MG
Both run by Cars 2
Only viewed MG4 at Barnsley so cant really comment.
I think @Taq had experience with both Leeds and Barnsley for his 2 cars

MG Wakefield looked after my previous ZS EV and were ok to be fair to them.
Any issues were sorted no problem
Software updates took a couple of goes though.
Luscombes Leeds have a great reputation as does Chorley
I bought my MG4 from Charles Warner Lincoln as they had one in Stock and they have been great so far.
Good comms as mine has the oil leak, but they're keeping in good contact with me pretty much daily.

 

[Tig170]

These days localism is completly out of the window - its like buying a washing machine - it doesn't matter if its from amazon or your local dealership / your best mate!, dont take anything persoanlly (its hard from me also), its just the sign of the times that you just need to forget the customer expericence at your local dealer, (in most cases)!!!, I must admit thought - that I did experience a rather good experieice from my local one - who devlivered the car to my home, as requested!)