Service price for second service at only 14,000 miles

[Tuareg]

Disagree about the brake fluid. It's relatively cheap to have changed and virtually all sources recommend 2 year intervals. Cheap insurance. You don't even have to go to an MG dealer for this work, won't affect any warranty as long as it's from a reputable garage with a proper receipt.

 

[tsedge]

Disagree about the brake fluid. It's relatively cheap to have changed and virtually all sources recommend 2 year intervals. Cheap insurance. You don't even have to go to an MG dealer for this work, won't affect any warranty as long as it's from a reputable garage with a proper receipt.

There's absolutely no need to change it that regularly. There never was until the industry decided to make money out of it. I have been quoted over £100 before, which I don't consider cheap.

 

[Tuareg]

Even small amounts of moisture absorbed by brake fluid (which is hygroscopic) can corrode ABS pumps, items that were rare or never found on cars decades ago. Brake systems are much more complex now and require clean, moisture free fluid to operate optimally.

 

[tsedge]

Even small amounts of moisture absorbed by brake fluid (which is hydroscopic) can corrode ABS pumps, items that were rare or never found on cars decades ago. Brake systems are much more complex now and require clean, moisture free fluid to operate optimally.

Well, ABS has been around for 50+ years, in common use for 35+ years and mandatory for the last 21 years, so it is hardly new technology. And yet even into the early 2000s, nobody changed it regularly. Then - whenever it was - late 2000s, early 2010s - suddenly every dealer started recommending it be done every 2 years EVEN THOUGH it is not required by the manufacturer's service schedule. Hmmm.... somewhat strange that, don't you think...?

In the very long term, yes you might get corrosion in the braking system, after 10-15 years, although split rubbers/seals are also a contributor here, so how much is down to the fluid is debatable. Then again, the lifespan of your ABS pump is probably no more than that anyway, with modern low standards of engineering.

Boiling brake fluid, which people used to fear, is a complete thing of the past. The most common effect of not changing the fluid for a long time is poor brake feel.

Few people keep their cars that long, many people who bought a new MG EV will replace it after 3-5 years anyway, some sooner. Yes, some may be going for 10 years plus, so perhaps it is worth it for those?

No, there's no harm in changing it sooner. But where does that end? Why not change your coolant every year in case it fails? Why not change brake pads after only 50% wear or change your tyres at 5mm, etc... etc...

If you've endless amounts of money, feel free to change everything as often as you like, but I still think this one is a scam. I respect that you don't agree.

 

[Everest]

@tsedge - what's your view on reduction gear oil changes? Ironically when I was looking at Kia's that seemed to be a big thing worth doing (if you're going to keep the vehicle a while), yet wasn't on the manufacturer's schedule.

 

[tsedge]

@tsedge - what's your view on reduction gear oil changes? Ironically when I was looking at Kia's that seemed to be a big thing worth doing (if you're going to keep the vehicle a while), yet wasn't on the manufacturer's schedule.

They seem to be necessary but not regular. I believe the MG4 say every 60,000 miles. I'm not hearing about high mileage MG4s with transmission problems, suggesting that wear isn't a big issue.

If you want to keep everything tip-top, probably worth changing more often. If I recall from the oil leak conversation years ago, an early change some recommended just to clean out the swarf anyway.

It isn't something I will be doing myself although it is pretty easy to do. I will be changing the car before it is due.

 

[securespark]

I prefer to spend decent money on the stuff that is the only contact between me and the road. I'd rather do that and buy Value label food and not buy takeaways for the next year if I had to.

I swear by Michelin Cross Climate 2, although, I have just had notification from Michelin that they have released Michelin Cross Climate 3.

 

[salty]

I prefer to spend decent money on the stuff that is the only contact between me and the road. I'd rather do that and buy Value label food and not buy takeaways for the next year if I had to.

I swear by Michelin Cross Climate 2, although, I have just had notification from Michelin that they have released Michelin Cross Climate 3.

Can't argue with that. But I've had a few "fast" motors, over the years. (None as fast as the X Power, mind you) And I like to drive, shall we say "spirited" and never had any problems. Think we get Brainwashed about tyres, aswell as a lot of other things, and believe all the hype.
But, as always, each to their own.

 

[Tuareg]

So, I assume you perform engine oil analysis at the manufacturers recimmended periodic oil change interval to check for metal, mineral content and shearing level in case it can be continued to be used fir another few thousand or more miles? Or do you change as oer service schedule or even sooner as some do?

They seem to be necessary but not regular. I believe the MG4 say every 60,000 miles. I'm not hearing about high mileage MG4s with transmission problems, suggesting that wear isn't a big issue.

If you want to keep everything tip-top, probably worth changing more often. If I recall from the oil leak conversation years ago, an early change some recommended just to clean out the swarf anyway.

It isn't something I will be doing myself although it is pretty easy to do. I will be changing the car before it is due.

Why would you change transmission oil more frequently than the manufacturers service schedule and not change brake fluid at the manufacturers (and nearly every other qualified source's recommendation) service schedule? Waste of money changing before the schedule.

 

[Rolfe]

- Brake pads and discs in an EV shouldn't need doing until 100,000 miles, unless discs are damaged through lack of use (regularly do a long hard brake from high speed to clean them up).

- Undertrays and wheel arch liners are incredibly cheap bits of plastic that should be a minimal cost to replace and should not fall off in the first place.

The tale was that the brakes were corroded but the low-resolution video they showed me didn't convince me, and at 20,000 miles? Really? I asked my local garage to take a look (the car was in to have its summer tyres put back on so they had the wheels off anyway) and he said, well, since we have the wheels off it's worth stripping the brakes down and cleaning them up. Total cost for the tyre change and the brake clean-up was £300.

The almost-parting shot from the service office manager at the dealership was that my brakes were almost 100% worn down. Which gave me the idea she knew nothing about EVs. At least the technician hadn't tried to take that line, the original report had said corrosion.

The front undertrays had three small defects and a wheel arch liner one (literally an inch square said my local garage), almost certainly as a result of my adventures on the Hardknott pass. The problem was that although they showed me a detailed breakdown of all these costings when they were trying to upsell me the work they didn't let me keep that document when I demurred. All I was told when I queried this was that the total came to almost £2,000. So I had no way to decide that the undertrays and wheel arch replacements were so cheap I might as well have it done. I had no chance to take in that detail when they showed me the two-page breakdown of costings.

My local garage said the defects were small and the trays were secure. The arrangement is that they will check it again when the tyres are changed again in the autumn, and see if anything has got any worse. If replacements are needed I'll get the local garage to do it anyway. Of course the dealer tried to tell me that only a dealer could get the proper MG parts, but I knew that was bullshit anyway.

They really are a complete shower and I will not be back.

 

[securespark]

Our previous car before the MG4 was a 2009 Honda FRV Diesel which we had from new.

We did 175,000 miles in it and it never had a brake fluid change.

 

[melvinolotus]

Hi, my second service on Trophy LR 2023 model is due. It's done slightly under 14,000 miles. I've been quoted £195 by Eden Motor Group in Newton Abbot, where I bought. Is that reasonable compared to what others have paid?

Seems reasonable

 

[Tig170]

... the 1st service is at 15k miles (2 years), I dip in & out, so did do 2nd (~£214), and am just booking 3rd (36k +MOT)? at 3 years. To be honest servicing is not really needed, as all they do is change the air filter / maybe the oil in the gearbox at 4 years / brake fluid? (never needed, as brakes are not used)

 

[Archev]

I prefer to spend decent money on the stuff that is the only contact between me and the road. I'd rather do that and buy Value label food and not buy takeaways for the next year if I had to.

I swear by Michelin Cross Climate 2, although, I have just had notification from Michelin that they have released Michelin Cross Climate 3.

I’ll look forward to seeing about them come winter perhaps.

 

[gary333]

... the 1st service is at 15k miles (2 years), I dip in & out, so did do 2nd (~£214), and am just booking 3rd (36k +MOT)? at 3 years. To be honest servicing is not really needed, as all they do is change the air filter / maybe the oil in the gearbox at 4 years / brake fluid? (never needed, as brakes are not used)

MG website says the first service is at 1 year.

“STANDARD MILEAGE SERVICE PLAN - 15,000 MILE/12 MONTH”

 

[tsedge]

Why would you change transmission oil more frequently than the manufacturers service schedule and not change brake fluid at the manufacturers (and nearly every other qualified source's recommendation) service schedule? Waste of money changing before the schedule.

I quite agree - as I made clear: I am not doing this, I won't be doing my transmission oil before it is due.

The front undertrays had three small defects and a wheel arch liner one (literally an inch square said my local garage), almost certainly as a result of my adventures on the Hardknott pass. The problem was that although they showed me a detailed breakdown of all these costings when they were trying to upsell me the work they didn't let me keep that document when I demurred. All I was told when I queried this was that the total came to almost £2,000. So I had no way to decide that the undertrays and wheel arch replacements were so cheap I might as well have it done. I had no chance to take in that detail when they showed me the two-page breakdown of costings..

I rather suspect if the bill was as much £2000 then had you been able to take it in you would have seen them charging an arm and a leg for plastics. It seems they saw you as a money-making opportunity and I detest organisations like that.

They really are a complete shower and I will not be back.

Good for you.

 

[Superflan]

Well, ABS has been around for 50+ years, in common use for 35+ years and mandatory for the last 21 years, so it is hardly new technology. And yet even into the early 2000s, nobody changed it regularly. Then - whenever it was - late 2000s, early 2010s - suddenly every dealer started recommending it be done every 2 years EVEN THOUGH it is not required by the manufacturer's service schedule. Hmmm.... somewhat strange that, don't you think...?

In the very long term, yes you might get corrosion in the braking system, after 10-15 years, although split rubbers/seals are also a contributor here, so how much is down to the fluid is debatable. Then again, the lifespan of your ABS pump is probably no more than that anyway, with modern low standards of engineering.

Boiling brake fluid, which people used to fear, is a complete thing of the past. The most common effect of not changing the fluid for a long time is poor brake feel.

Few people keep their cars that long, many people who bought a new MG EV will replace it after 3-5 years anyway, some sooner. Yes, some may be going for 10 years plus, so perhaps it is worth it for those?

No, there's no harm in changing it sooner. But where does that end? Why not change your coolant every year in case it fails? Why not change brake pads after only 50% wear or change your tyres at 5mm, etc... etc...

If you've endless amounts of money, feel free to change everything as often as you like, but I still think this one is a scam. I respect that you don't agree.

I have to chime in and disagree. I live in a tropical country and I see master cylinder and ABS pump failures regularly, exclusively on cars where brake fluid is black.

You might say there’s so much cars with brake fluid never changed that correlation doesn’t mean causation, but there’s a lot of people doing brake fluid changes every 2 years here as a religion and I never seen those cars having an ABS pump or a master cylinder fail.

On the other side, I drive a lot of different cars and I experienced boiling brake fluid multiple times on cars that had brake fluid ranging from 3 to 20 years old. And it’s quite scary even for a calm and composed person like me.

A driver with a Kia Sorento had the same problem and when I then changed brake fluid, it wasn’t even dirty, just a mid light brown color. Checking receipts, it was changed 3 years before.

It’s been decades since the recommendation has been to replace brake fluid every two years. Manufacturers started to specify it as an optional item when calipers started to be designed to minimize heat transfer to brake fluid.

I changed brake fluid last week on a 2016 Renault Clio and it was probably the factory brake fluid. It went out blue greenish and since I flush using the pedal method I think it cleans out more crap around the master cylinder components, and the pedal feeling was better after that.

Change brake fluid every two years if you don’t plan to scrap the car at 8 years.

 

[Caramaddy]

The tale was that the brakes were corroded but the low-resolution video they showed me didn't convince me, and at 20,000 miles? Really? I asked my local garage to take a look (the car was in to have its summer tyres put back on so they had the wheels off anyway) and he said, well, since we have the wheels off it's worth stripping the brakes down and cleaning them up. Total cost for the tyre change and the brake clean-up was £300.

The almost-parting shot from the service office manager at the dealership was that my brakes were almost 100% worn down. Which gave me the idea she knew nothing about EVs. At least the technician hadn't tried to take that line, the original report had said corrosion.

The front undertrays had three small defects and a wheel arch liner one (literally an inch square said my local garage), almost certainly as a result of my adventures on the Hardknott pass. The problem was that although they showed me a detailed breakdown of all these costings when they were trying to upsell me the work they didn't let me keep that document when I demurred. All I was told when I queried this was that the total came to almost £2,000. So I had no way to decide that the undertrays and wheel arch replacements were so cheap I might as well have it done. I had no chance to take in that detail when they showed me the two-page breakdown of costings.

My local garage said the defects were small and the trays were secure. The arrangement is that they will check it again when the tyres are changed again in the autumn, and see if anything has got any worse. If replacements are needed I'll get the local garage to do it anyway. Of course the dealer tried to tell me that only a dealer could get the proper MG parts, but I knew that was bullshit anyway.

They really are a complete shower and I will not be back.

Will you take your MG4 to a different MG dealer for a service next time?

I was just thinking about the warranty - for what it might be worth?

 

[salty]

Will you take your MG4 to a different MG dealer for a service next time?

I was just thinking about the warranty - for what it might be worth?

Warranty, like you say, for what it's worth, won't be affected.

 

[Caramaddy]

Warranty, like you say, for what it's worth, won't be affected.

I was under the impression the warranty is only valid if it is MG serviced?
Is this not correct?