MG4 Restricted speed - weird

[jon0881]

Ive had this issue quite a few times in the colder weather and when the car was just started. I even video'd it to prove it later on. Limit on power, no errors and a ~1m/kwh efficeny. i reported it with my other stuff and they did nowt. a few balance charges and an increase in temp and its not happened in recent months

 

[Rolfe]

Is yours an SR or LR battery?

It's actually a bit worrying, because your experience suggests the problem could still be lurking waiting for us when the cold weather returns.

 

[siteguru]

I've had my SE SR since the end of November 2022, so all through last winter. Even going down to 6% SoC I didn't notice any power limitation. (Although I didn't try hoofing it when SoC was that low).

 

[Rolfe]

That's reassuring. (I still think it's a software glitch.)

 

[jon0881]

Yes mine is an SR, i was posting about it in this thread when it was happening. It was the same as Bowfer but i guess less frequent. My 1st service is due December so if it returns then i'll be fetching it back. I would guess its a SW bug also on the LFP managment, if the SOC is lower and a cold pack it seems the highest probability coupled with maybe not having a balance charge done recently. The power restriction is dangerous when entering a motorway or trying to overtake, even moreso when there is no error to say why.

 

[bowfer]

Just a quick update to this. I've been waiting for the SOC to get lower to give it a proper test. Unfortunately, the issue is still there. Not really sure where to go from here.

Am I the only person with this issue on here now? Guessing this doesn't apply to all SRs, which makes me wonder if it's a hardware issue, not software.

Well if you want to reject and move onto another car, get the ball rolling.

I've had my SE SR since the end of November 2022, so all through last winter. Even going down to 6% SoC I didn't notice any power limitation. (Although I didn't try hoofing it when SoC was that low).

Temperature wasn’t a factor in my car, nor was SOC.

 

[Rolfe]

Ive had this issue quite a few times in the colder weather and when the car was just started. I even video'd it to prove it later on. Limit on power, no errors and a ~1m/kwh efficeny. i reported it with my other stuff and they did nowt. a few balance charges and an increase in temp and its not happened in recent months

Something just struck me about this. People with the fault have spoken about efficiency being reduced to 1 mile/KWh, but how do you know this? Is the driver's screen reading 1 mile/KWh? Because the lowest it reads normally is 2, so if you're seeing a lower number than this, something exceedingly weird is going on.

 

[jon0881]

I worked out the real miles per kWh using a calculator based on the miles driven and how much % I’d used given the known pack size

 

[Rolfe]

Ah, I see.

 

[richlove]

Sooooo, another update, another chapter...

Car is in with MG Beaconsfield for the 3rd time to be looked at. All software updates have been applied. They just called to say they've discovered an additional fault code in the 'Intelligent Motor Control' unit. The software for that is up to date, their current suggestion is to replace this part (suggested by MG UK technical department)

Apparently, the part costs something like £2,000 (under warranty) and will take 2-3 months (!) to arrive from China, IF there is approval to order the part from MG UK.

Their suggestion is to keep my MG4, and put me in a medium-term Enterprise rental car for the entire duration, which requires a £250 deposit, may not be like for like, and also incurs a fee if you happen to be out when they deliver it. I can also take my car back and use it while they wait for the part to arrive.

I've asked for a day to mull it all over before proceeding. I don't have much confidence in this being resolved with this latest suggestion. Tempted to go back to my employer/Tusker to discuss returning. The only problem is that the lease prices have gone up significantly since I ordered this car, not sure if they would replace like for like at the original monthly cost (and even if I would want to). Then there may also be a long wait for a replacement vehicle.

Not really sure what to do now, getting pretty fed up with the whole situation, plus it's a 2-3 hour round trip to Beaconsfield each time.

 

[M101]

Sooooo, another update, another chapter...

Car is in with MG Beaconsfield for the 3rd time to be looked at. All software updates have been applied. They just called to say they've discovered an additional fault code in the 'Intelligent Motor Control' unit. The software for that is up to date, their current suggestion for that is to replace this part (this has been suggested by MG UK technical department)

Apparently, the part costs something like £2,000 and will take 2-3 months (!) to arrive from China, IF there is approval to order the part from MG UK.

Their suggestion is to keep my MG4, and put me in a medium-term Enterprise rental car for the entire duration, which requires a £250 deposit, may not be like for like, and also incurs a fee if you happen to be out when they deliver it. I can also take my car back and use it while they wait for the part to arrive.

If asked for a day to mull it all over before proceeding. I don't have much confidence in this being resolved with this latest suggestion. Tempted to go back to my employer/Tusker to discuss returning. The only problem is that the lease prices have gone up significantly since I ordered this car, not sure if they would replace like for like at the original price (and even if I would want to). Then there may be a long wait etc.

Not really sure what to do now, getting pretty fed up with the whole situation, plus it's a 2-3 hour round trip to Beaconsfield each time also.

one could only hope for the car to burst in to flames at MG, and then a replacement is covered on their insurance
But given the choice of £26000 in cash or a brand new MG4, which would you be leaving with?

 

[Rolfe]

This car is not of merchantable quality. Given everything Bowfer went through, I'd be rejecting it by now. Will you ever be able to trust that it's not going to do it again? They don't seem to have a clue what's wrong or how to fix it.

If they were offering you a brand new replacement car (which is what they should be doing) then it would be worth the risk given that most people are extremely happy with their cars and not suffering this fault. But they're not offering you that, are they?

It's causing you significant personal hassle and there is no end in sight. You risk letting it drag on so long that you lose the opportunity to reject the car, possibly.

 

[Deleted member 10041]

Sooooo, another update, another chapter...

Car is in with MG Beaconsfield for the 3rd time to be looked at. All software updates have been applied. They just called to say they've discovered an additional fault code in the 'Intelligent Motor Control' unit. The software for that is up to date, their current suggestion for that is to replace this part (this has been suggested by MG UK technical department)

Apparently, the part costs something like £2,000 and will take 2-3 months (!) to arrive from China, IF there is approval to order the part from MG UK.

Their suggestion is to keep my MG4, and put me in a medium-term Enterprise rental car for the entire duration, which requires a £250 deposit, may not be like for like, and also incurs a fee if you happen to be out when they deliver it. I can also take my car back and use it while they wait for the part to arrive.

If asked for a day to mull it all over before proceeding. I don't have much confidence in this being resolved with this latest suggestion. Tempted to go back to my employer/Tusker to discuss returning. The only problem is that the lease prices have gone up significantly since I ordered this car, not sure if they would replace like for like at the original price (and even if I would want to). Then there may be a long wait etc.

Not really sure what to do now, getting pretty fed up with the whole situation, plus it's a 2-3 hour round trip to Beaconsfield each time also.

I would be pushing tusker/ your employer for a like for like replacement on the exact same terms. The car is not "fit for purpose" and they have had more than one opportunity to fix it.
I would document everything and pushing your employer to put pressure on tusker

 

[Rolfe]

I agree. You'll magnanimously and graciously agree to a like-for-like replacement (an identical brand new car), but if for some unfathomable reason they won't meet this eminently reasonable request, money back.

 

[Deleted member 10041]

As much as the consumer goods act is meant to give us little people rights against the big multi nationals it is sometimes easier said than done getting a result, they often do everything they can to annoy, inconvenience, wear you down, into basically accepting there suggested course of action.

My advice, for what it's worth, stick to your guns, decide the outcome you want and don't change your mind

 

[Robf]

After going through the rejection process (not for a car), best to check with citizens advice. You can call them, they know what they are talking about and have all the letter templates you will need (you can send by e-mail). It makes sure you start the correct legal proccess and wording from the off, which can save you loads of time and effort.

 

[bowfer]

After going through the rejection process (not for a car), best to check with citizens advice. You can call them, they know what they are talking about and have all the letter templates you will need (you can send by e-mail). It makes sure you start the correct legal proccess and wording from the off, which can save you loads of time and effort.

I didn’t bother with any of this, I didn’t find there was any need for templates or quoting legal regulation numbers etc
I just emailed the finance company, copying in the dealer, stating I wished to reject the vehicle and laying out why.
The finance company agreed with my decision and once you have that it’s just a matter of time (several weeks) before you get the money back.
I’m simplifying ‘a bit’ of course, in that there was chasing and calls and videos of the fault being sent in between, but it actually ended up easier than I expected given you hear all sorts of horror stories about rejection.
Don’t be scared.

 

[Rolfe]

As I have the same model of car as Bowfer had, I've been alert to any suggstion of this behaviour, and I have to say I've found none.

Last night I drove home at a very low SoC, getting to my home charger at 4%. A couple of miles from home I was on a dead straight stretch of road, following a slowcoach doing about 50. I guess I was on about 5% charge at the time. I moved to overtake, didn't actually floor it because I didn't have to - the car accelerated to 80 mph immediately and left the slowcoach in my rear view mirror.

About 20 miles further back I had also given it a bit of a boost and got normal acceleration to about 75 very quickly by almost flooring it. This was after I'd had the "do you want to go into economy mode" screen and said no.

Admittedly it was a warm evening, outside temperature about 15C, but I'd have thought if I had any problem it would be showing at such a low SoC, and it isn't.

 

[Eber]

Last night I drove home at a very low SoC, getting to my home charger at 4%. A couple of miles from home I was on a dead straight stretch of road, following a slowcoach doing about 50. I guess I was on about 5% charge at the time. I moved to overtake, didn't actually floor it because I didn't have to - the car accelerated to 80 mph immediately and left the slowcoach in my rear view mirror.

That's interesting. Didn't you get turtle mode below 5% SoC?

 

[bowfer]

As I have the same model of car as Bowfer had, I've been alert to any suggstion of this behaviour, and I have to say I've found none.

Last night I drove home at a very low SoC, getting to my home charger at 4%. A couple of miles from home I was on a dead straight stretch of road, following a slowcoach doing about 50. I guess I was on about 5% charge at the time. I moved to overtake, didn't actually floor it because I didn't have to - the car accelerated to 80 mph immediately and left the slowcoach in my rear view mirror.

About 20 miles further back I had also given it a bit of a boost and got normal acceleration to about 75 very quickly by almost flooring it. This was after I'd had the "do you want to go into economy mode" screen and said no.

Admittedly it was a warm evening, outside temperature about 15C, but I'd have thought if I had any problem it would be showing at such a low SoC, and it isn't.

Odd that your car still allowed those speeds at such a low SOC.
Maybe a fault in itself.