Just so everyone knows I have written to the DVSA and to Which see post I placed on Friday 15th to thank them for coming on board the case of the roof rail issue so here’s what I have said if you would like to read just to keep things up to date.
Les
To DVSA and Adrian Porter at Which
Thank you for your mail and I am so pleased you are looking into this issue, I have also spoken to a gentleman by the name of Adrian Porter from the consumer association ( Which Magazine ) he has been very helpful in this matter l am sorry I had to fill out your online form the way I did, but until I had filled in almost all of the boxes on the form it would not send, I did send an email to you at an address which must have been the wrong one because I got a reply saying that department dealt with MOT enquiries, so I checked again and then found your online form I’m sorry if this caused any confusion due to having to input wrong information in the form but obviously it got to the right department in the end so thank you for your reponse
I have most of the emails and copies of letters between myself and MG if you need any more information, this has also been forwarded to Adrian Porter at Which.
On Friday 15/01/21 I believe MG sent out an engineering update
around 13:30 hrs, to say the roof rails on the MG5 could now hold 35kg but then later the same day I was told that update had been withdrawn again, I had already emailed MG motors to say that 35kg was not the 50kg as stated in the brochures, and I asked that they contact in writing all owners of the vehicles already on to the road to make sure that they knew about this capacity change but l am sorry to say, the withdrawn again message only got to me just after I sent that request to MG.
Even so 35kg I consider to be totally inappropriate on this kind of car, my car a Skoda Superb estate has a roof load limit of 100kg as do many others, but just looking at both cars someone might think for example well that Skoda has got 3 bikes on its roof so I think this MG would also be ok with 3 bikes, I would estimate that being 45-50 kg In total but the cars look very similar and not thinking about or checking for weight limits I know you could say that they should. BUT !
I did say to MG motors please fix or remove these rails from this model but was told no they where not going to change or remove them.
If I may I would like to take this opportunity to express an opinion on this. I think on all vehicles fitted with rails of this type, that the rails should be stamped with their maximum weight bearing capacity, so that anyone placing a load on them know without question what the maximum load limit is, I have seen these kind of stamps on towing equipment and on tyres sometimes, along with maximum pressures that are allowed.
I have said previously in my letters to everyone I’ve written to, when these cars are obtained secondhand or if hired or on loan, you my never see a handbook and might never be told what the limits are.
I know it would be a massive task to stamp all vehicles already out there on the road, but I do think it would not be that difficult to get manufacturers to stamp it on new vehicles of the present day and those in future production, and thinking more into it now how difficult would it be to have the load limit printed on to a MOT certificate when next tested, or the Registration document V5 when the vehicle changes ownership for them already on the road, it would at least be a way to make owners aware.
I thank you once again for your time, and hope my comments might help in perhaps avoiding accidents that could arise from misuse or ignorance due to lack of knowledge.
Les burrows
mol.im
