Over-revving MG3 Hybrid+ engine

[Daryl]

Had a drive up to Windermere today, had no problem with hills, cruise control coped well at both motorway speeds and A roads

 

[Mark Torre]

Having just returned from a trip to Gibraltar from Alicante. I encountered many issues with hill climbing. Lack of power, the more throttle I gave it the slower it got with the auto gearbox going up and down the gears. The car revving it's nuts off. Very much like a slipping clutch on a manual car. It somewhat rectified itself when I switched all of the MG Pilot. That was on the way there. The return journey was marred by the same problems although not as frequently.

Have you been to the dealer? Mine says there’s nothing wrong!

 

[Mark Torre]

Had a drive up to Windermere today, had no problem with hills, cruise control coped well at both motorway speeds and A roads

You’re lucky, on a motorway up into the mountains this week mine slowed from 110 on cruise control to 80 with revs at 4.8 and sounding like a 20 year old diesel! I don’t get though, if it’s software, why only some cars affected?

 

[FromParis]

Both MG3 and ZS Hybrid+ can have that issue

As admin of the French group on Facebook we've seen many people complaining about a sudden loss of power and like 60hp on a hill and that can be very dangerous if you are passing another car at 130 kph (speed limit on French highways)

The MG ZS is more sensible to that loss of power because it's heavier, wider tyres and lower efficiency ... and maybe some tune on the ECU creates even more power issues.

So MG3 owners can sometimes face that problem.. but less often that ZS owners.

An update released for MG ZS Hybrid+ in December seems to improve the situation but things are not totally fixed at all.

Seems the design of the engine / power train / energy management are still perfectible today and no real solution seems to come.

 

[Mark Torre]

Thanks - do you have a name or reference for the update? The dealer here is denying one exists…

 

[FromParis]

PD050 and PD033 are the code names of the updates people have on the papers provided by MG.

Here is one proof saying the update exists :

MG ZS HYBRID+ Gets Fix After Acceleration Issue Exposed by CarSauce

MG Australia announces a software fix for the ZS HYBRID+ to address acceleration issues reported by CarSauce. Update available early decembe

www.carsauce.com

 

[viptr]

My experience is really bad. While going uphill for 2 minutes and trying to maintain 120kph the battery drained and the engine reved like crazy. The electric power was 40kW for 5 seconds and dropped to 20kW for another 5. And this continues the whole time until you reach a level road. The expirience was very unpleasant and very jerky because of the instant changing of thrusting power from the electic motor.

Also when battery drained the engine couldnt maintain the speed "120kph is reasonable speed.." and the speed was dropping.. I really hated it. I hope for an update but from my experience i think that they can't fix it. The engine is really bad and with no significant power and it's just for charging. It really sucks that the engine alone cant maintain our country's speed limit. Even a car with 80hp can maintain that in an uphill. Im not saying that it has to reach that speed.. Just to maintain it.. Its crazy bad. You can also see how bad the engine is if you drain your battery in city. With a very normal driving the consumption skyrockets and the engine revs are just 2.500rpm..

 

[FromParis]

What you described is what few french owners of MG ZS Hybrid and Mg3 hybrid had while going uphill for a long time with the battery at 1/10 and the degraded mode activated.. giving like 50 60hp and enging reving high for trying to recharge as fast as possible but abandoning the power train by 50%

So that could be dangerous for real in some situations.
I'd suggest you to write a mail to mg Europe so they can have more and more people witnessing about that issue

 

[Mark Torre]

With my first message to MG they replied to say that I should go and see the dealer, my subsequent message has been ignored :-(

 

[FromParis]

Extracted from an internal document leaked from the social networks (on Facebook).
The document explains how technology works and what problems can happen for some situations.
This is a bit annoying but MG Motor admits the powertrain has some defects and that fixes are already applied for the ZS Hybrid+ and that the MG3 (which is lighter and less impacted by power losses) will have an update soon, and that the update from September 24 already improved things a bit.. So let's continue the updates and we gotta follow what's coming next ! So our MG3s can improve again.

___________________________________________________

Reminder of how Hybrid+ technology works

Thanks to its generous 1.83kWh battery and the adoption of a powerful electric motor, directly connected to the wheels, Hybrid+ technology stands out in 4 major aspects:

1. A driving experience close to an electric vehicle

2. Excellent soundproofing

3. Excellent level of performance

4. Remarkable efficiency

As a reminder, a training course dedicated to Hybrid+ technology is available on your MG Academy training platform.

The architecture of the Hybrid+ technology is designed in such a way that the main traction motor is the electric motor. The combustion engine, for its part, acts as a generator to recharge the battery and supports the electric motor at medium/high speed (parallel hybrid/direct propulsion). Thus, between 0 and approximately 40 km/h: it is only the electric motor that is responsible for driving the wheels.

Power loss phenomenon

During heavy use or intensive driving on roads with steep and long gradients, a loss of power may occur, since the combustion engine must come into action to recharge the battery and/or drive the wheels.


When the battery is discharged - at low speed (between 0 and approximately 40 km/h):

The electric motor is the only traction motor between 0 and 40 km/h. When the battery is discharged, the thermal engine must recharge it through the generator. The power transmitted to the electric motor is therefore that of the generator, i.e. 45kW (approximately 60hp).

When the battery is discharged - at medium/high speed:

The combustion engine is now engaged with the wheels, but the electric motor is no longer engaged or only very little if the battery is discharged. Thus, the power of the combustion engine (75kW or 102hp) is therefore shared between the propulsion of the vehicle and the recharging of the battery via the generator (45kW or 61hp). As a result, the available power may temporarily drop.

As soon as the battery reaches a sufficient charge level (more than 2 bars), this phenomenon disappears and the vehicle regains its initial performance.

Customer case management

First of all, it is imperative to clearly present the benefits and operation of Hybrid+ technology to your customers, explaining the phenomenon of temporary power loss that can be felt in the driving conditions explained above. All this with the aim of giving precise answers to your customers who may be regularly confronted with this phenomenon (daily mountain driving for example), and reassure those who experience it little or not at all (urban driving, or on roads with few hills).

In addition, we are pleased to announce that an update is already available for the ZS Hybrid+ on the After-Sales side. This update must be carried out as part of your new vehicle deliveries under the code PD052. If the vehicle has already been delivered, a standard update of the calculators must be carried out.

This update will significantly reduce this phenomenon during medium/high speed phases, by optimizing the battery recharge phases. In short, it will increase everyday comfort, especially during driving phases with long differences in altitude.


The MG3 Hybrid+, less affected by this phenomenon, has also benefited from an update since September 2024 (No. SI-TB2024110101). Our Research and Development center regularly develops new updates and we will keep you informed as soon as new updates are available.

Please share all of this information with your Sales and After-Sales teams.

 

[Mark Torre]

Took mine back to dealer, armed with this and they still deny there’s a problem. I still think there’s a second issue that causes confusion, some of this issue is “normal” for hybrids but mine is also incredibly noisy, and always feels like it’s in the wrong gear - while this happens. Of course, the dealer never gets to experience a prolonged drive! I wish MG would just reach out to owners and admit the issue! I’m really close to selling up as there really is no pleasure in driving now!

 

[FromParis]

For my car will have to call them on monday and have an appointment so they can apply the latest update for the power modules etc

I had to make them know about the french document that all the dealers received so they had to take me seriously.

 

[DMeine]

They don't do anything on their own, otherwise you'll definitely get the update at the next service if you don't say that you have a problem and even then the customer won't be told that they've done one and if they have, what the update is for. They certainly won't make a big deal about it because that wouldn't put the vehicle in a good light

 

[KeithS]

Took mine back to dealer, armed with this and they still deny there’s a problem. I still think there’s a second issue that causes confusion, some of this issue is “normal” for hybrids but mine is also incredibly noisy, and always feels like it’s in the wrong gear - while this happens. Of course, the dealer never gets to experience a prolonged drive! I wish MG would just reach out to owners and admit the issue! I’m really close to selling up as there really is no pleasure in driving now!

I live on a hill so every journey is accompanied by high engine revs as the car goes uphill.
I have a feeling when my car went in for a Emmision failure (detailed elsewhere) in September, they updated the engine software, as when I got the car back I noticed the engine rev characteristic, which I'm sure I never noticed before.

 

[viptr]

Just saw some articles MG3 Hybrid+ software update. They say that the problem is fixed. I have mine in the workshop after an accident I had. I will request the update after it gets fixed and I will get back to you after testing it.

 

[FromParis]

@viptr where did you take that screenshot from ?

 

[Porthole4]

@viptr where did you take that screenshot from ?

Review: MG3 Hybrid tested, big change for top-selling small car

This is the first new MG3 hatchback in more than a decade – and it’s available with the option of hybrid power. It replaces the previous MG3 which has been the top-selling city-car in Australia for the past four years in a row – and the biggest-selling car from China in this class.

eftm.com

 

[viptr]

Review: MG3 Hybrid tested, big change for top-selling small car

This is the first new MG3 hatchback in more than a decade – and it’s available with the option of hybrid power. It replaces the previous MG3 which has been the top-selling city-car in Australia for the past four years in a row – and the biggest-selling car from China in this class.

eftm.com

Yes. From this one

 

[salty]

I live on a hill so every journey is accompanied by high engine revs as the car goes uphill.

Good job, you don't live at the top of this road, then.

 

[Bober]

Hello everyone hope everyone good.Fast 2 questions.

1.So anyone from UK here ? Is this update already live ?.

2.Notice in my MG when you put foot all the way to the ground on acceleration pedal the gearbox is getting confused with gear change,it goes to max revs and you have to take the foot off so he can change the gear.

3.Anyone got a problem with handbrake? When you get in into the car in the morning when you put Drive or Reverse u got that weird noise like the brakes are stuck and then the clunky sound when brake is released.

Thanks.