Problems with non-MG EVs

[Bam Bam]

This came up on my Facebook feed and it got me thinking we should note that all brands seem to be having problems with quality and consistency lately.

The ID4 is one of the biggest selling EVs in the world, and the biggest selling that isn't a Tesla or Chinese.

 

[5teep]

Anecdotally, the company I work for has leased a couple of VW EVs in the past 3 years and had major software issues with both of them. To the extent that now they simply will not lease one again.

 

[salty]

Think most of us know MG isn't the only EV, that suffers from faults, on some cars.
But obviously being an MG EV forum we mostly only hear about MGs. And to be fair that's all the owners of those, faulty MGs are bothered about. Good to see the above posts or similar though. At least it shows that it's not only MGs, that suffer from faults, not by any means. Wonder how VW UK and the Dealers, deal with the problems, though.
Better than MG UK, i hope.

 

[Anon70]

Problems with cars are not limited to EVs or any one brand. Off the top of my head the issues I have read about are Kia and Hyundai CCU (charing unit ) failures across all models (mostly Ioniq 5 and EV6). Porsche Taycan (again first gen) numerous battery issues including Porsche sending letter to owners telling them not to park next to the house as there might be a fire hazard. VW numerous software issues with early ID3 and ID Buzz.

In fact if you can find any car manufacturer ICE or EV that has never had a production issue I would be amazed.

It is not so much the issues but how dealers and manufacturers treat customers once they are informed of the issue that differentiates a good or bad customer experience.

 

[Caramaddy]

Early VW EV's were a nightmare for owners. My cousin has a Merc EQC as a company car - he and a colleague have both had new motors fitted at around 100,000 miles. Fortunately under warranty, otherwise a £6000 plus job he reckons.

 

[Ian Key]

Mercs also suffer with front suspension problems just as they come out of warranty and they also suffered with a coolant problem. I looked at getting a used EQA 250+ but I'm glad I didn't.

There's a class action being taken against Jaguar at the moment due to the poor design and materials of the timing chain on certain diesel models that needs replacing before its design life but out of warranty due to cost cutting by the accountants.

 

[LenEV2016]

I think it's fair to say most brand new models can have issues, if you wait a year or two then models can be pretty sorted

As has also been discussed it's not the issues themselves but how a manufacturer deals with them that they will be judged on

 

[5teep]

Early Jaguar EVs had a habit of getting the CCS plug stuck/locked in the charge port, needing the breakdown services to come and release it.

 

[T1 Terry]

The son of the previous owner of our workshop, is a car buying and thrashing fanatic. He bought two of the last Holden supercharged cars to come off the assembly line ..... he thought they would be an investment, they turned into money pits because both of them snapped supercharger belts and both cases, the flying belt end cut through the wiring harness ..... they are static museum pieces at the moment, waiting for someone to make new wiring harnesses for each of them ...... GM, the parent company, won't even reply to legal contact attempt now .....

He then bought a Ford Rally spec 4 cyl around the same time, before Ford Aust closed their doors, it didn't last the day until the gearbox failed ...... he gave up and bought a Nissan Skyline Godzilla thing, that was more car than he could kill and I believe he hasn't managed to kill it in the last 2 yrs ... not for lack of trying
His father and mother have gone through 5 cars, not giving them a hard time, just totally unreliable and stuck in dealership workshops for mths at a time, anything from software issues to transmission failures to engine failures ..... so the ICE manufacturers are no better ....

I watch a few You Tube channels where the strip down ICE engines to see why they failed, both US based, but the engines are from all sorts of vehicles, spun brg lock ups with under 20,000 miles on the clock, snapped crankshafts with very low milage on diesel engines, roller cam followers shattering the little roller bearing, chain guides disintegrating and blocking the oil pick up, rubber oil pump belts eek disintegrating and blocking the oil pick up ......

These are tried and true ICE engines that have had a century of refinement, yet they still fail, I think it is more manufacturers being controlled by accountants than anything else ....... they have lost that sense that told them, "build something reliable and you will have a customer for life"

T1 Terry

 

[Ian Key]

It's strange how some drivers seem to always get a faulty car and others in comparison seem to have very few and it doesn't matter if they are acquired new or used.

I wonder what the common denominator is?

 

[NikLiverpool]

Based on my personal, family and friends experience I do believe that these days cars are made to last just enough to go through their warranty period. They are becoming more and more complicated machines due to a combination of customer requirements and regulatory ones and thus more prone to failure.
Nowadays I am hearing horror stories across all brands regardless of being ICE, hybrids or pure EVs.
One of the main reasons that I decided not to buy and keep a car outside it's warranty period. Happy to pay a bit more during ownership than having a massive bill landing outside warranty.

 

[salty]

It's strange how some drivers seem to always get a faulty car and others in comparison seem to have very few and it doesn't matter if they are acquired new or used.

I wonder what the common denominator is?

Pure, luck/bad luck, probably.

 

[Rolfe]

Based on my personal, family and friends experience I do believe that these days cars are made to last just enough to go through their warranty period. They are becoming more and more complicated machines due to a combination of customer requirements and regulatory ones and thus more prone to failure.
Nowadays I am hearing horror stories across all brands regardless of being ICE, hybrids or pure EVs.
One of the main reasons that I decided not to buy and keep a car outside it's warranty period. Happy to pay a bit more during ownership than having a massive bill landing outside warranty.

I feel the opposite. Each of my cars has lasted longer than the one before it. I remember a car my father had in the 1970s that pretty much rusted away in five years. My last car had a three-year warranty and lasted 14 years (although it did have an engine replacement under warranty), and was only written off due to accident damage that was deemed uneconomical to repair.

 

[tsedge]

I think it's fair to say most brand new models can have issues, if you wait a year or two then models can be pretty sorted

This ^^^

As has also been discussed it's not the issues themselves but how a manufacturer deals with them that they will be judged on

And this ^^^

I believe MG is already moving itself off the bottom of the reliability rankings (both dealer and customer). The newer models seem much better refined and with software updates to come (we hope this year as planned!) this will solve a lot of issues.

The biggest remaining change I am seeing that needs attention is to transform from a budget/value focus "pile 'em high and sell 'em' cheap" dealer chain to one which stands for "premium value" offering quality cars and good personal service for a lower price than the competition.

There are a bunch of European competitors who are ripe for disruption if MG can offer comparable or even better service and if they can get to grips with the highly-variable dealer quality.

It's the investment I am most looking for in 2026. Other new brands will do it if MG does not.

 

[5teep]

controlled by accountants than anything else ....... they have lost that sense that told them, "build something reliable and you will have a customer for life"

T1 Terry

The accountants told them that a customer for life is no good if the car lasts a lifetime. All products these days have an inbuilt obsolescence, parts made to last just long enough to get through the warranty period. This way they sell ten cars (or TVs or washing machines or..) in a lifetime instead of just one.

 

[salty]

Mmmm, a tad cynical. I'm not saying it's not true. I'd like to think not, though.

 

[LenEV2016]

This ^^^

And this ^^^

I believe MG is already moving itself off the bottom of the reliability rankings (both dealer and customer). The newer models seem much better refined and with software updates to come (we hope this year as planned!) this will solve a lot of issues.

The biggest remaining change I am seeing that needs attention is to transform from a budget/value focus "pile 'em high and sell 'em' cheap" dealer chain to one which stands for "premium value" offering quality cars and good personal service for a lower price than the competition.

There are a bunch of European competitors who are ripe for disruption if MG can offer comparable or even better service and if they can get to grips with the highly-variable dealer quality.

It's the investment I am most looking for in 2026. Other new brands will do it if MG does not.

I think MG needs to trust their dealers also, the whole fault diagnostic/repair process could be far more efficient if they just trusted their dealers to get on with it.
The do this report back do this, leading by the hand method slows repairs down unnecessarily

 

[Rolfe]

The accountants told them that a customer for life is no good if the car lasts a lifetime. All products these days have an inbuilt obsolescence, parts made to last just long enough to get through the warranty period. This way they sell ten cars (or TVs or washing machines or..) in a lifetime instead of just one.

My last car had a warranty period of 3 years. It lasted 14 years. (It did have a new engine within the warranty period, somebody obviously slipped up there.)

 

[Black estate]

My 74plt Enyaq has an SOS module problem , goes it to Richmond Skoda Portsmouth on the 12th
Car hasn’t even done 3k yet as it’s my weekend family car

 

[5teep]

Last week the Nissan Ariya I drive for work stopped charging on AC, means I can't charge at home.
One thing I've noticed is the charge port itself seems to be very rickety, in a 40 grand car that's not what you'd expect.
It's booked in under warranty but it's not inspiring confidence in the brand.