News: Over The Air (OTA) Updates for MG EVs

[Kenp1]

That's what the bum on seat does at the moment except the lights come on, if they could just not have the lights come on it would be the same.

 

[Evgen K]

@tsedge OTA will work in UK only or other counties (in Europe) will get it too?
I'm asking for Ukraine.

 

[tsedge]

This news was just about the UK, which is MG's second biggest market outside China.

I don't know about the EU and other European countries. I would assume it could follow, but I really don't have any information to share, sorry.

Slava Ukraini

 

[mg4mc]

Are they going to up the monthly data limit as well then? I can imagine lots of updates stopping when the current small limit is reached.

 

[siteguru]

Maybe they'll decide that OTA updates can only be done when the car is connected to WiFi? (Which would scupper SE updates, as they don't support connecting to a WiFi source. )

 

[Rolfe]

I wondered about that.

 

[Rolfe]

I wouldn't expect that, if I start a petrol car I can't turn off the DRLs. I just want it so if I sit in the car at night to get something it doesn't all light up, especially the headlights. It should be like a petrol car, bum on seat accessory mode and no lights, brake pedal ready to drive and lights.

An EV is not a petrol car. One of its great merits is that if you can sit in it with the heating and entertainment systems on, without idling an engine. In the MG4, when you operate the lights-off switch, everything goes off including the extraneous instrument lights in the cabin, but not the front lights. It seems to be a bug.

It's not the end of the world, it takes just a minute to pull the fuses, but it's silly.

 

[Kenp1]

An EV is not a petrol car. One of its great merits is that if you can sit in it with the heating and entertainment systems on, without idling an engine. In the MG4, when you operate the lights-off switch, everything goes off including the extraneous instrument lights in the cabin, but not the front lights. It seems to be a bug.

It's not the end of the world, it takes just a minute to pull the fuses, but it's silly.

Exactly, that's what my point was, you shouldn't have to turn them off because they shouldn't have come on in the first place. The heating, entertainment all work before you press the brake pedal.

 

[Rolfe]

If you've been driving, even an inch, they will be on, though.

 

[Kenp1]

To be honest if it was just the DRLs that came on when I sat down then that's not an issue for me, it's the headlights coming on as soon as I get in the car that annoys me.

 

[Rolfe]

Another issue is that when you set the car to pre-heat, all the lights come on. It's not something that particularly bothers me, but I know that people in different circumstances, for example a car parked on the street that may be facing into someone's window, really don't want it to do that.

For the issue I was talking about, it's not just sleeping in the car - if you're setting up to camp, a minute to pull the fuses isn't that big a deal. Drive-in cinema, sitting waiting for someone and not wanting to be conspicuous, and aurora-watching are other situations where you want to stay warm but you do not want to be lit up like a Christmas tree.

 

[Kenp1]

I really like that the lights come on with the pre heat.

 

[Rolfe]

I'm fine with it, but it should be optional. I can see why some people are hacked off with it.

 

[wandle MG4 trophy]

OTA will need to be very reliable before I try it. Imagine bricking the car on your drive and having to be recovered to a dealer who might not have availability for days / weeks. If the dealer bricks it they are better equipped to sort it and have an incentive to do it quickly to free up technicians and workshop space.

 

[Evgen K]

OTA will need to be very reliable before I try it. Imagine bricking the car on your drive and having to be recovered to a dealer who might not have availability for days / weeks. If the dealer bricks it they are better equipped to sort it and have an incentive to do it quickly to free up technicians and workshop space.

I think they have protection mechanism against it. MD5 hashcode for example

 

[tsedge]

Personally I don't have any interest in OTA updates. I would simply like the cars to arrive with complete working software.

Since my car got into a decent working state 18 months (via a bunch of dealer updates), I have no desire to change anything on it.

Yes there are still bugs and foibles, but they are minor and I can live with them.

I think some people want OTA because they expect free new features. I don't think that is part of the plan, there's always going to be an incentive to push people to switch to a newer model to get the new stuff.

 

[Evgen K]

decent working state 18 months (via a bunch of dealer updates)

"dealer updates" is very important! because many dealers don't want to update software of your car. it's always a problem to make them do it. OTA may solve this issue!

 

[Evgen K]

I think some people want OTA because they expect free new features.

Here in Ukraine i still drive the car with R40 firmware (and i don't know at all how old firmwares of car's blocks) because dealer don't want to update it, even at regular service.
The question is not to get new free feature but update the car to latest stable state.

 

[wandle MG4 trophy]

There’s an article in WhatCar about a failed OTA update for a BYD Sea Lion. Maybe an isolated incident……..but weren’t there lots of stories of dealers bricking MG4s shortly after launch?

BYD Sealion 7 long-term test

Our high-mileage video editor wants to go electric, but needs a car capable of covering big miles – can the long-legged BYD Sealion 7 fit the bill?

www.whatcar.com

 

[Kenp1]

Trouble is with manual updates is if you do things in the wrong order, or miss a step out.