MG4 Trophy/Luxury replacement active grille shutters

[theduffer]

Hello, so I drove into a wall and damaged the nose of the MG4. The headlights are chipped and the nose cracked in two places and the plastic scuffed up. However, I know a good bodyshop and they can repair everything for about 500-600 Euro instead of replacing everything.

However, I noticed the active grilles remained open at all times and upon further inspection, I noticed they were wonky. So when I tried to straighten them, they fell out of place. So I managed to remove 4 of them but 2 of them fell down inside the front part of the car and another piece is stuck somewhere there too. I didn't manage to pull them out but will try again this evening with some pliers.

My question is if it is safe to drive with the grilles always open, in case of heavy rain? Here where I live, everything is closed until September so can't get anything repaired until then. Going via the insurance would mean going via the official dealer for parts and they are a long way away and taking a huge hit on the premiums.

Also, would anybody have an idea how much it would cost to replace the active grilles - mainly the plastic rim which holds the individual grills is cracked at the bottom, therefore the grills don't stay in place.

Thanks in advance for any ideas or tips.

 

[mg4mc]

As they open all the time the AC is enabled it is weather safe - just like most cars that do not have closing grills. They are purely an aerodynamic feature. The rest of your questions, no idea.

 

[theduffer]

That is very good to know, so in theory, once I have removed the loose bits lying around inside the nose, I can remove the last grilles remaining and have the vents always open? and still be safe to drive around? My main worry was water getting inside and causing damage to the batteries.

 

[WilkoWanderer]

They don't auto close if it rains, they open and close based purely on temperature demands. So with that in mind they will be safe to have open when it is raining.

 

[theduffer]

They don't auto close if it rains, they open and close based purely on temperature demands. So with that in mind they will be safe to have open when it is raining.

That's great, thank you. I wonder how easy it would be to fix it.

 

[Richmorr]

the SE SR does have active grill so I’m sure you would be fine. I originally heard the grill was to improve aerodynamics when shut

 

[siteguru]

I assume you missed the word not from your reply?

It's partly aero, and partly to allow the battery heating to be more efficient in cold weather. (Close the grill and cold air won't flow through, so the battery heater doesn't have to work so hard).

 

[Richmorr]

I assume you missed the word not from your reply?

Haha yeah,

other than a cost saving im surprised SR doesn’t have the active grill, it would make more sense in winter with the LFP battery not liking the cold.

NMC tends to perform better in the cooler climate.

 

[Rolfe]

That's interesting, I wondered if it was something to do with the LFP battery, but you think it should be the other way round? I thought it was aerodynamic, to improve drag at times when the battery didn't need the cooling air, rather than the cooling air itself being a bad thing.

 

[Deleted member 10041]

Haha yeah,

other than a cost saving im surprised SR doesn’t have the active grill, it would make more sense in winter with the LFP battery not liking the cold.

NMC tends to perform better in the cooler climate.

Yeah the LFP battery really doesn't like proper cold temps much