The replacement steering column on my ZS EV MK1 was ordered on the 13th of September and I'm still waiting. At the time there were no parts available anywhere in the world apparently due to semi conductor shortages/Ukraine war. I personally don't believe that and it's probably down to the fact that lots of the cars have this issue and all the spares stock has been exhausted.
Have a MK2 on order and I'm worried I'll get the same issue from reading this thread and others. It's all very well having a 7 year warranty but what happens if you have an MOT fail and no parts!
It a strange one alright ?.
Some owners are waiting months, while others are only waiting a couple of weeks for a replacement steering column assembly to arrive ?.
The replacements must be shipped in from China and each steering column taken from the baulk build stock, which effectively means another ZS EV is not getting built !.
I do fail to understand why the semi conductor shortage issue ( which is a real thing OBTW ) should impact on supplying a replacement steering column though ??????.
There is no chips in the inner and outer steering column, that I am aware of.
We had the ZS EV Gen 1 for two years and 20,000 mile, before updating to the ZS EV Gen 2 in mid March of 2022.
Our Gen 1 had the steering column click / knock / rattle from about the first 1,000 miles covered.
It started off with a very light clicking, while going from lock to lock, with the steering wheel.
As time moved on, it became louder and the column would rattle if you crossed over a broken section of a tarmac road.
I am not 100% sure here, but I am willing to place a safe bet that the steering column assemblies on BOTH models are indeed the very same part numbers.
Why - because the Gen 2 is only a "facelifted" version of the original Gen 1 model.
Both versions therefore have a lot in common in sharing the same generic parts and I believe that is why this issue has migrated across now.
Same column, same problem !.
If they DID intend to investigate and solve the quality problems 100% on the Gen 1 model, that had been reported by some owners, then just maybe it would NOT of been an issue now on the newer Gen 2 models ?.
Instead, what we have is a "one by one" fix being carried out on customer cars who take the time to complain to their dealers.
MG have likely not reached the tipping point of just how many steering columns they are willing to replace under warranty, before they decide to carry out a full and extensive investigation, into WHY these UJ joints are clearly failing prematurely.
It's a "crap shoot" really, you present your car with the issue, the dealer has the car for a day, checks the UJ joint ( 10 minutes ) and then reports their findings back to MG for a course of action.
They authorise the dealer to place an order for a complete steering column assembly.
You then sit back and wait for an undisclosed time scale, until the replacement part arrives.
At this point, you cross your fingers very tightly that you have a column that does not have the same fault as the first one !.
The dealer books in the car again for a second time and replaces the column.
A warranty claims for the labour costs are submitted under the terms of warranty agreement.
Chances of a 100% fix long term ( IMO ) is about 50/50 in really.
Because the origin of the fault in the steering column, has never been discovered / rectified.
............ although I never used "MG Pilot or Lane Assist" on my previous Gen 1 ZS EV and the steering column still developed a click / knock / rattle within the first 1,000 miles and steadily got worse as time moved on.
