Software update woes broke my car

[SimonM]

Hello all,

I thought I share my tale of woe with you, and you possibly may have some pearls of wisdom for me.

I took delivery of my MG4 Trophy (Phase 2) at the start of September. Its a lease on the works EV scheme. I was pleased with it, drives well and looks great in black! A week in discovered that the heaters didn't work at all. Not the usual "not hot enough" issues, but literally no heat whatsoever. Annoying, but obviously a fault covered by warranty so I thought, hey-ho, get it fixed in a day at the local dealership in Derby, how hard can it be.....

It went in on the 28th September due to how busy the garage is. They attempted to update the HVAC(?) software to the latest version and it COMPLETELY BRICKED the climate control system so the fans no longer function. This means the demisters don't work either - which makes the car unsafe to drive. They couldn't revert the software either so it was stuck like it. A call is now in with MG regarding how to fix this.

Move on 5 days later to now, I still don't have my car, the garage still has no clue on how to fix it, and MG seem to be (according to the garage) on radio silence. My lease company are about as much use as a chocolate teapot, and it's impossible to get in touch with MG themselves to get a technical update (unsurprisingly I guess).

And to add insult to injury, the garage loaner car is a Fiat ****ing 500, possibly the worst car I have ever driven! (Although, at least the heaters work?)

I've been in the software industry for over 20 years now, as a developer and a manager, and what this indicates to me is three things:

1, MG's software QA and testing is abysmal/non existent.
2, They have no backup or recovery processes to at least revert vehicles to a previous state, which is pretty shocking
3, They are massively under-resourced or don't have the talent to deal with bugs and faults in a timely manner.

So I'm open to suggestions and advice, or even your own stories of woe, so I know I'm not alone. Misery loves company!

 

[ukslim]

My wife is currently nagging me to ask for a software update, because of DAB radio issues, mostly...

I'm having doubts.

 

[SimonM]

My wife is currently nagging me to ask for a software update, because of DAB radio issues, mostly...

I'm having doubts.

I can understand your wife's grievances, the software does have some annoyances.

But in this instance I would lean towards the old adage - if it ain't broke, don't fix it...

 

[DarrenG]

I can understand your wife's grievances, the software does have some annoyances.

But in this instance I would lean towards the old adage - if it ain't broke, don't fix it...

Trouble is, it is broke. I'm in software and the quality of it on the MG is absolutely dire. Radio will randomly just refuse to function. If you don't wait sufficiently long before driving away the system will decide not to allow steering wheel control of volume or a programmed function. The touch targets are so small that you have to madly stab at buttons to get them to work and the digitiser delay can be measured with a calendar. And I'm not even going to bother moaning about LKA, the horrid cruise system etc etc. I love much of the car but the daily irritations mean I am very unlikely to be buying another.

 

[GameZone]

I've seen a few threads here regarding bricking the car completely due to a failed software installation. I don't think is was the HVAC system, but it was possible to solve.

 

[DarrenG]

Little wonder they haven't implemented OTA updates! It'd be carnage.

 

[GameZone]

Little wonder they haven't implemented OTA updates! It'd be carnage.

Have MG implemented OTA in any of their cars, like ever?

 

[Kithmo]

I reckon the software is a chinese copy of some other vehicle's systems which they copied or legitimately bought cheap before it was fully developed and had in mind to finish the development themselves but don't have the knowhow because they didn't write the original code.

 

[tsedge]

Hello all,

I thought I share my tale of woe with you, and you possibly may have some pearls of wisdom for me.

I took delivery of my MG4 Trophy (Phase 2) at the start of September. Its a lease on the works EV scheme. I was pleased with it, drives well and looks great in black! A week in discovered that the heaters didn't work at all. Not the usual "not hot enough" issues, but literally no heat whatsoever. Annoying, but obviously a fault covered by warranty so I thought, hey-ho, get it fixed in a day at the local dealership in Derby, how hard can it be.....

It went in on the 28th September due to how busy the garage is. They attempted to update the HVAC(?) software to the latest version and it COMPLETELY BRICKED the climate control system so the fans no longer function. This means the demisters don't work either - which makes the car unsafe to drive. They couldn't revert the software either so it was stuck like it. A call is now in with MG regarding how to fix this.

Move on 5 days later to now, I still don't have my car, the garage still has no clue on how to fix it, and MG seem to be (according to the garage) on radio silence. My lease company are about as much use as a chocolate teapot, and it's impossible to get in touch with MG themselves to get a technical update (unsurprisingly I guess).

And to add insult to injury, the garage loaner car is a Fiat ****ing 500, possibly the worst car I have ever driven! (Although, at least the heaters work?)

I've been in the software industry for over 20 years now, as a developer and a manager, and what this indicates to me is three things:

1, MG's software QA and testing is abysmal/none existent.
2, They have no backup or recovery processes to at least revert vehicles to a previous state, which is pretty shocking
3, They are massively under-resourced or don't have the talent to deal with bugs and faults in a timely manner.

So I'm open to suggestions and advice, or even your own stories of woe, so I know I'm not alone. Misery loves company!

Bad luck that this happened to you, it does seem to happen occasionally with software updates.

MG China should be able to help your dealer restore the systems. The trouble is that they are either under-resourced or overloaded so this can take quite a while before you get a reply. Your dealer doesn't have anything they can do independently.

The software update system is a weak point with MG and - apart from their lack of communication - one of the biggest issues.

I hope it is resolved quickly.

 

[PristDean]

Hello all,

I thought I share my tale of woe with you, and you possibly may have some pearls of wisdom for me.

I took delivery of my MG4 Trophy (Phase 2) at the start of September. Its a lease on the works EV scheme. I was pleased with it, drives well and looks great in black! A week in discovered that the heaters didn't work at all. Not the usual "not hot enough" issues, but literally no heat whatsoever. Annoying, but obviously a fault covered by warranty so I thought, hey-ho, get it fixed in a day at the local dealership in Derby, how hard can it be.....

It went in on the 28th September due to how busy the garage is. They attempted to update the HVAC(?) software to the latest version and it COMPLETELY BRICKED the climate control system so the fans no longer function. This means the demisters don't work either - which makes the car unsafe to drive. They couldn't revert the software either so it was stuck like it. A call is now in with MG regarding how to fix this.

Move on 5 days later to now, I still don't have my car, the garage still has no clue on how to fix it, and MG seem to be (according to the garage) on radio silence. My lease company are about as much use as a chocolate teapot, and it's impossible to get in touch with MG themselves to get a technical update (unsurprisingly I guess).

And to add insult to injury, the garage loaner car is a Fiat ****ing 500, possibly the worst car I have ever driven! (Although, at least the heaters work?)

I've been in the software industry for over 20 years now, as a developer and a manager, and what this indicates to me is three things:

1, MG's software QA and testing is abysmal/none existent.
2, They have no backup or recovery processes to at least revert vehicles to a previous state, which is pretty shocking
3, They are massively under-resourced or don't have the talent to deal with bugs and faults in a timely manner.

So I'm open to suggestions and advice, or even your own stories of woe, so I know I'm not alone. Misery loves company!

Well... your points 1 to 3 completely echo my experience and opinion too.

My advice, although a similar drive time away to me, it would be well worth visiting MG Baylis in Gloucester. They are well staffed with good technical people who are customer service focused too.

 

[Tyranuus]

I reckon the software is a chinese copy of some other vehicle's systems which they copied or legitimately bought cheap before it was fully developed and had in mind to finish the development themselves but don't have the knowhow because they didn't write the original code.

That is actually one of the most believable versions of why the software in this car is so unfinished I've heard yet.

I got mine in January, and whilst I love the hardware of the car (although I wish I had the back wiper some of the newer ones have!!), the software is so hit and miss the Hyundai I had before makes it looks non functional. The LKA worked really nicely on the Hyundais I had two and steered far more gracefully than the yank that this car offers.

 

[Tycho]

Hello all,

I thought I share my tale of woe with you, and you possibly may have some pearls of wisdom for me.

I took delivery of my MG4 Trophy (Phase 2) at the start of September. Its a lease on the works EV scheme. I was pleased with it, drives well and looks great in black! A week in discovered that the heaters didn't work at all. Not the usual "not hot enough" issues, but literally no heat whatsoever. Annoying, but obviously a fault covered by warranty so I thought, hey-ho, get it fixed in a day at the local dealership in Derby, how hard can it be.....

It went in on the 28th September due to how busy the garage is. They attempted to update the HVAC(?) software to the latest version and it COMPLETELY BRICKED the climate control system so the fans no longer function. This means the demisters don't work either - which makes the car unsafe to drive. They couldn't revert the software either so it was stuck like it. A call is now in with MG regarding how to fix this.

Move on 5 days later to now, I still don't have my car, the garage still has no clue on how to fix it, and MG seem to be (according to the garage) on radio silence. My lease company are about as much use as a chocolate teapot, and it's impossible to get in touch with MG themselves to get a technical update (unsurprisingly I guess).

And to add insult to injury, the garage loaner car is a Fiat ****ing 500, possibly the worst car I have ever driven! (Although, at least the heaters work?)

I've been in the software industry for over 20 years now, as a developer and a manager, and what this indicates to me is three things:

1, MG's software QA and testing is abysmal/none existent.
2, They have no backup or recovery processes to at least revert vehicles to a previous state, which is pretty shocking
3, They are massively under-resourced or don't have the talent to deal with bugs and faults in a timely manner.

So I'm open to suggestions and advice, or even your own stories of woe, so I know I'm not alone. Misery loves company!

I'm in software testing and we should go into business for MG as a UK based team. Couldn't be much worse than what they have at the moment.

 

[spud693]

My order has been in for a while, and the car arrived at the dealership nearly a month ago, during PDI, they appear to have encountered an issue updating the software, bricked something, and it's been stuck there ever since, same situation - waiting on MG in China to advise, and getting little beyond radio silence... Trying to make a fuss about it on Twitter to 'push it up the chain' but who knows how that will go.

 

[Rolfe]

That's awful! Best of luck and let us know how you get on.

 

[Deleted member 14300]

Hello all,

I thought I share my tale of woe with you, and you possibly may have some pearls of wisdom for me.

I took delivery of my MG4 Trophy (Phase 2) at the start of September. Its a lease on the works EV scheme. I was pleased with it, drives well and looks great in black! A week in discovered that the heaters didn't work at all. Not the usual "not hot enough" issues, but literally no heat whatsoever. Annoying, but obviously a fault covered by warranty so I thought, hey-ho, get it fixed in a day at the local dealership in Derby, how hard can it be.....

It went in on the 28th September due to how busy the garage is. They attempted to update the HVAC(?) software to the latest version and it COMPLETELY BRICKED the climate control system so the fans no longer function. This means the demisters don't work either - which makes the car unsafe to drive. They couldn't revert the software either so it was stuck like it. A call is now in with MG regarding how to fix this.

Move on 5 days later to now, I still don't have my car, the garage still has no clue on how to fix it, and MG seem to be (according to the garage) on radio silence. My lease company are about as much use as a chocolate teapot, and it's impossible to get in touch with MG themselves to get a technical update (unsurprisingly I guess).

And to add insult to injury, the garage loaner car is a Fiat ****ing 500, possibly the worst car I have ever driven! (Although, at least the heaters work?)

I've been in the software industry for over 20 years now, as a developer and a manager, and what this indicates to me is three things:

1, MG's software QA and testing is abysmal/none existent.
2, They have no backup or recovery processes to at least revert vehicles to a previous state, which is pretty shocking
3, They are massively under-resourced or don't have the talent to deal with bugs and faults in a timely manner.

So I'm open to suggestions and advice, or even your own stories of woe, so I know I'm not alone. Misery loves company!

I used to tinker with a program called VAG com when I had a VW via the OBD2 port. You could extend the length of the rear heated window, but extending the front screen took off auto air con and also the front screen. You could switch things on but it would do something else akin to having a minimum amount of working ability. So I'd reset the settings and voila, car was fine. My odb2 reader won't even chat to the MG and it's supposedly universal. Makes me wonder if the car is clever enough to do all these things it fails at.

 

[spud693]

I rang the dealer this afternoon and they told me that apparently when they updated it, it had caused issues with an o2 sensor apparently - wonder if it's the same issue? Mine is Also a Phase 2 Trophy... can't image they have much cause for air monitoring besides the HVAC (or maybe battery cooling?).

Either way, I'm due to hear more on Monday, so fingers crossed!

Wouldn't mind, I loved the test drive, was so excited to get it!

 

[les]

Trouble is, it is broke. I'm in software and the quality of it on the MG is absolutely dire. Radio will randomly just refuse to function. If you don't wait sufficiently long before driving away the system will decide not to allow steering wheel control of volume or a programmed function. The touch targets are so small that you have to madly stab at buttons to get them to work and the digitiser delay can be measured with a calendar. And I'm not even going to bother moaning about LKA, the horrid cruise system etc etc. I love much of the car but the daily irritations mean I am very unlikely to be buying another.

I had infotainment R46 installed yesterday and LKA seemed a bit less aggressive on my 20 mile drive home last night.
Just drove into our small village about 5 miles away and it still took control more often than I was comfortable with. It really doesn’t like country roads. I’ve played around with the sensitivity to see how that goes. However, if that needs adjusted every drive it will just be quicker to switch off completely On each trip.
I was also advised that EVCC module wouldn’t update and will need replaced.
I was at garage re keyless locking not working on drivers side. MG gave approval to order replacement. That comes unpainted so needs send off for spraying. No idea on timescale!
Good news is car still recognised my phone this morning

 

[Quidgebo]

I had infotainment R46 installed yesterday and LKA seemed a bit less aggressive on my 20 mile drive home last night.
Just drove into our small village about 5 miles away and it still took control more often than I was comfortable with. It really doesn’t like country roads. I’ve played around with the sensitivity to see how that goes. However, if that needs adjusted every drive it will just be quicker to switch off completely On each trip.
I was also advised that EVCC module wouldn’t update and will need replaced.
I was at garage re keyless locking not working on drivers side. MG gave approval to order replacement. That comes unpainted so needs send off for spraying. No idea on timescale!
Good news is car still recognised my phone this morning

Out of interest, do you have a phase one or two and Trophy or SE? (i.e phase with or without a rear wiper)

 

[les]

Out of interest, do you have a phase one or two and Trophy or SE? (i.e phase with or without a rear wiper)

Phase1 Trophy. Purchased Dec 22

 

[Quidgebo]

Phase1 Trophy. Purchased Dec 22

Ooooo thank you.
What I wanted to hear to match mine. A hope of getting off R30. Broken consumption graph and no Bluetooth/carplay mic (yet works for MG voice) to name a few of my bugs.