Software Updates ZS EV 2023 under Warranty?

[Chris Law]

Hi All, Software Updates ZS EV 2023 under Warranty? I took my Portuguese ZS EV Lux / LR to the (Portuguese) dealer for the first service today - cost €106 BTW. When I asked about software updates the rep stated that only 'safety recall' (my interpretation of his words) updates would be performed - there were none of these. Any and all other updates must be requested and paid for by me. I am confused (often!). I thought that, under warranty, ALL updates would be applied cost-free. I do not know what the current versions of software are (Infotainment is the exception with R22) nor can I know which could potentially be updated. I have posed the question to MG/PT but am not holding my breath. Does anyone have knowledge or experience on this one? Thanks

 

[fred12345]

Hi All, Software Updates ZS EV 2023 under Warranty? I took my Portuguese ZS EV Lux / LR to the (Portuguese) dealer for the first service today - cost €106 BTW. When I asked about software updates the rep stated that only 'safety recall' (my interpretation of his words) updates would be performed - there were none of these. Any and all other updates must be requested and paid for by me. I am confused (often!). I thought that, under warranty, ALL updates would be applied cost-free. I do not know what the current versions of software are (Infotainment is the exception with R22) nor can I know which could potentially be updated. I have posed the question to MG/PT but am not holding my breath. Does anyone have knowledge or experience on this one? Thanks

If everything works, forget about updates. Mine is 2022 and I couldn't care less about updating anything as everything works just fine. Few small glitches from time to time but much less than my laptop that is always updated ...

If something doesn't work on the car and needs software update, that should certainly be under the warranty but remember that not all parts have the same cover / warranty length

If your ZS is 2023 and you had first service now, have you missed 2024 service? That could affect warranty?

 

[Chris Law]

If everything works, forget about updates. Mine is 2022 and I couldn't care less about updating anything as everything works just fine. Few small glitches from time to time but much less than my laptop that is always updated ...

If something doesn't work on the car and needs software update, that should certainly be under the warranty but remember that not all parts have the same cover / warranty length

If your ZS is 2023 and you had first service now, have you missed 2024 service? That could affect warranty?

Service not missed - made '23 but bought March 24, serviced within the year.

 

[hmadsen]

To be honest you should just forget this unless there is a specific update you know fixes a specific problem. (Enable ability to charge at Tesla chargers for example).

 

[fred12345]

To be honest you should just forget this unless there is a specific update you know fixes a specific problem. (Enable ability to charge at Tesla chargers for example).

Yes, I forgot about Tesla! Find open Tesla charger near you (download their app) and try to charge your car. If it doesn't work, that should be fixed under warranty.

 

[Chris Law]

Yes, I forgot about Tesla! Find open Tesla charger near you (download their app) and try to charge your car. If it doesn't work, that should be fixed under warranty.

Good advice and this is one of my examples. Unfortunately, in Portugal, Tesla chargers are only open to Tesla cars (due to some sort of government restriction). I want the functionality for journeys outside the country but can't test it locally.

 

[fred12345]

Good advice and this is one of my examples. Unfortunately, in Portugal, Tesla chargers are only open to Tesla cars (due to some sort of government restriction). I want the functionality for journeys outside the country but can't test it locally.

Well, since you have long range ZS, drive to the nearest red Tesla dot

 

[Chris Law]

Well, since you have long range ZS, drive to the nearest red Tesla dot

Yes, that seems to be the only solution.

 

[hmadsen]

Yes, that seems to be the only solution.

And remember to stop the charge as soon as you confirm it is working.

Don't want to put money into the pocket of Tessla and their awful armstretching CEO

 

[Gadget Geek]

To be honest you should just forget this unless there is a specific update you know fixes a specific problem. (Enable ability to charge at Tesla chargers for example).

Unfortunately, MG say the Tesla software fix is an "enhancement" rather than a fix. The software is free, but most dealers charge you for the technician's time to install it.

 

[hmadsen]

Unfortunately, MG say the Tesla software fix is an "enhancement" rather than a fix. The software is free, but most dealers charge you for the technician's time to install it.

To be honest, that's a load of bleeeep, you should not have to pay for bugfixes.

But i do know the auto industry is doing this, i had a Vauxhall Astra with a bug in the infotainment, that prevented me from using the Android auto feature they advertised it as having and they still wanted to charge me £100 for the upgrade.

That is one of the big advantages of those cars that nowadays have OTA capability for all of the car. (And those that in contrast to MG, actually use this feature )

 

[Chris H]

Since it's a bug and there are no OTA updates (which were promised by MG but never delivered) and there is no way for customer updates it seems reprehensible that they can make a charge to do this. Even my £20 radio gets free firmware updates.

 

[Data]

As mentioned elsewhere on the forum...the Tesla fix isn't a "bug fix". It's an enhancement. When MG released our cars charging at a Tesla charger was simply not allowed. The chargers were closed to non Teslas. Now many of the chargers have been opened up to all EV's we need some new software to allow us to use them. That's why dealers charge for the installation of that software. The actual "fix" like all other updates, is free.

 

[Rutsy]

As mentioned elsewhere on the forum...the Tesla fix isn't a "bug fix". It's an enhancement. When MG released our cars charging at a Tesla charger was simply not allowed. The chargers were closed to non Teslas. Now many of the chargers have been opened up to all EV's we need some new software to allow us to use them. That's why dealers charge for the installation of that software. The actual "fix" like all other updates, is free.

This would be a mitigating argument for MG if it were true. Actually Tesla chargers became available for other vehicles in the UK in May 2022. So if you car was purchased after this, and was sold to you as CCS compatible, you were misled.

 

[Data]

This would be a mitigating argument for MG if it were true. Actually Tesla chargers became available for other vehicles in the UK in May 2022. So if you car was purchased after this, and was sold to you as CCS compatible, you were misled.

Rutsy, it's completely true! When it became known to MG that Tesla chargers were being PERMANENTLY opened up in substantial numbers (& it was just a very small number of 15 to start with in '22') MG started development of the free enhancement & when ready started loading it onto production cars. This process didn't happen quickly as it wasn't clear to anyone, inspite of legislation, whether the whole charging network would be opened up or even if this open Tesla charging would be permanent. So there was a delay which was completely justified. No good wasting money doing something if it's not going to be needed! However, as with all software updates, there's a heavy program of development & testing & tweaking even on an apparently small software program. It would appear that from early '24' production cars seem to have the charging enhancement but folks need to check. It's a free enhancement but the labour to load it & the computer time involved can be chargeable. My own car came with the enhancement already loaded. You may not be charged if the enhancement is loaded with other software updates at service time.

PS. Other manufacturers also had to develop the software enhancement for their cars too. Some might have been quicker than others. Although pretty much everyone it seems was in the same situation regarding this. Tesla were partly to blame as little information, it appears, seemed to have been released at the time regarding the number of charging sites being opened & permanency of what was happening.

 

[Gadget Geek]

It's a free enhancement but the labour to load it & the computer time involved can be chargeable. My own car came with the enhancement already loaded. You may not be charged if the enhancement is loaded with other software updates at service time.

I waited for my second service before I asked for the Tesla update as I would already be paying for a technician and computer time.

However, the dealership wanted me to pay for a second technician to install the Tesla update, even though any other updates would have been loaded by the technician doing the service. Needless to say, I declined.

This year, I have booked in with a dealership 30 miles away who will do the service for £50 less and install the Tesla update for free. It pays to shop around.

 

[Rutsy]

Rutsy, it's completely true! When it became known to MG that Tesla chargers were being PERMANENTLY opened up in substantial numbers (& it was just a very small number of 15 to start with in '22') MG started development of the free enhancement & when ready started loading it onto production cars. This process didn't happen quickly as it wasn't clear to anyone whether the whole charging network would be opened up or even if this open Tesla charging would be permanent. So there was a delay which was completely justified. No good wasting money doing something if it's not going to be needed! However, as with all software updates, there's a heavy program of development & testing & tweaking even on an apparently small software program. It would appear that from early '24' production cars seem to have the charging enhancement but folks need to check. It's a free enhancement but the labour to load it & the computer time involved can be chargeable. My own car came with the enhancement already loaded. You may not be charged if the enhancement is loaded with other software updates at service time.

PS. Other manufacturers also had to develop the software enhancement for their cars too. Some might have been quicker than others. Although pretty much everyone it seems was in the same situation regarding this. Tesla were partly to blame as little information, it appears, seemed to have been released at the time regarding the number of charging sites being opened & permanency of what was happening.

All no doubt correct, but unfortunately not really relevant. If some cars had to be modified to meet their description when sold to customers, then MG should have borne the full cost. The same would apply to other manufacturers if they
charged for this repair.

 

[Data]

Rutsy, I think you've misunderstood the situation by quite some way. Where did it say the cars were Tesla charging compatible? Answer: no where. No one has been mis-sold their car. The cars of course were sold as CCS compatible because they were & are. Are you not sure what CCS charging is?

Yes, most manufacturers are charging for the enhancement & the installation too. At least the enhancement is free with MG & the install too if done with a service. Any dealer not doing it for free is to be avoided.

 

[Gadget Geek]

At least the enhancement is free with MG & the install too if done with a service.

Name and shame; Drive MG dealerships chage for the Tesla update even if done at a service.

 

[hmadsen]

Since it's a bug and there are no OTA updates (which were promised by MG but never delivered) and there is no way for customer updates it seems reprehensible that they can make a charge to do this. Even my £20 radio gets free firmware updates.

Just to clear up a misunderstanding here.

Yes it's not looking good for MG, them touting the OTA update feature and then never doing a single OTA update.

But...They never actually said they would be able to do OTA on the whole car, only the infotainment and since the update to be able to use Tesla chargers is probably going to be in the OnBoardCharger (OBC) MG actually never promised to do OTA for stuff like the tesla charger update.

To be honest, the reason is probably, that updating these cars is quite complicated and if done you risk bricking a costumers car in the driveway, which does not look good on your reputation.

Tesla and a few others have mastered it, but MG is probably not investing nearly as much money into making this work, and as a result they have poor software update capabilities.

OR...They dont do it, because they know it's a revenue stream. Car manufacturers have been struggeling to adapt, traditionally a part of the business was maintenance and repairs of their cars after they sold them, they knew there would be oil changes, tune ups, exhausts and timing chains needing to be changed and whatnot.

With electric cars the maintenance is a LOT less, so the brand garages that once earned some of their money on selling a car and then servicing it, now find that they have a hard time keeping the maintenance and service income.

That is probably also why for example MG does a brake fluid change every 2 years....Simply because they have to find something to do, when there is no oil, sparkplugs, timing belts and chains and exhausts to change.