Steering gone on my 2021 ZS EV

Well as you can see in that video it's easy to see ish wiggle wiggle the steering wheel and have a nose
 
Looks ok to me?
002D2E71-4643-45E9-9502-F8CF18AB8E66.jpeg
 
OJT23 said:
Has anyone had this on Gen2? My steering sounds like it’s “knocking” or “clicking” at times.
Click to expand...
I'd seriously get that checked out if I were you, especially after seeing the above. MG have used the same steering rack for both Gen1 and Gen2 so there is possibility of this happening on Gen2 as well.
It might just be something simple but better safe then sorry!
 
Interesting to note, that it’s the upper UJ joint on one car ( our good friend down under ) and the bottom UJ joint on the most recent car here in the U.K.,
Likely to be the same UJ joint at both ends of the column link though.
I am starting to think Bosch steering rack here OK, but NOT the UJ interlink coupling between the steering rack to the bottom of the steering column ??.
I would be very surprised if this UJ link assembly was in fact a Bosch component ??.
But you never know !.
It’s a serious very issue that could affect both Gen1 and Gen2 models, as it now appears.
When the OP said that a bracket had fallen down in his car ???.
I just had this horrible feeling it was a UJ failure for some strange reason ???.
I had this failure of the Aussie car stuck in the back of my mind for a while now, somehow ??.
 
Hi guys thanks for all your reply’s. The most common reply has been had I noticed any knocking or clicking. I can honestly say I have not had any concern. Saying that there must have been something as this did not just fail. RAC technician reported back to me that it will be months before replacement part will be available. As my car is with motobility they have supplied me with a replacement car. I am in Devon at the moment. I have spoken to my MG dealer in Bradford he has asked me to call in when I return home to give him a full report. I will be returning home at the weekend. Once I have spoken to the dealer I will give you an update. (I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH IF ANYONE HAS ANY KNOCKING OR CLICKING FROM YOUR STEERING PLEASE PLEASE CONTACT YOUR MG DEALER STRAIGHT AWAY. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR CAR.)
 
OJT23 said:
Has anyone had this on Gen2? My steering sounds like it’s “knocking” or “clicking” at times.
Click to expand...
Yes, started around 1000 kms, been in the garage for a fortnight waiting for 'information from MG' on how to fix it and now apparently 'waiting parts'.

As there is no indication of if/when the parts (read: Steering column) will arrive, we went and returned the loan Corsa they gave us and recovered our MG telling them to call us when the part comes in - little point in it sitting in the garage waiting for months on end while I'm putting expensive fuel into a small, poorly spec'd (albeit brand new - arrived with 33km on the clock) loan car.
 
Sketchjoe said:
Hi guys thanks for all your reply’s. The most common reply has been had I noticed any knocking or clicking. I can honestly say I have not had any concern. Saying that there must have been something as this did not just fail. RAC technician reported back to me that it will be months before replacement part will be available. As my car is with motobility they have supplied me with a replacement car. I am in Devon at the moment. I have spoken to my MG dealer in Bradford he has asked me to call in when I return home to give him a full report. I will be returning home at the weekend. Once I have spoken to the dealer I will give you an update. (I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH IF ANYONE HAS ANY KNOCKING OR CLICKING FROM YOUR STEERING PLEASE PLEASE CONTACT YOUR MG DEALER STRAIGHT AWAY. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR CAR.)
Click to expand...
Thanks for the feedback.
We all await what the dealer has to say on this subject with great interest !.
Oh…… as we know, this is NOT an isolated incident !.
Other owners have had their steering columns replaced, strongly suggesting there is a KNOWN historical defect in the quality of these universal joints, in the lower steering coupling.
I would strongly suggest that you record the conversation on your phone.
 
Sketchjoe said:
Hi will attach photos. RAC just been bearing sheared from knuckle joint
Not a good situation
Click to expand...
just seen your photo this is really bad for a modern day car this is what i would have expected when i started driving in the early 70's with cars built in the 1960's.universal joint have been around for decades so this would only indicate cheap rubbish been fitted thank god you weren't going round a corner.(reminds me of the morris minor going round a bend and the front wheel would just buckle under the car.)glad you are safe..
 
Slight play in the UJs on the steering column joint used to be a common MOT fail on the Mk3 Cortina in the 70s.
I would say it should be a safety recall even if it's only happened on a few cars.
 
Inspected mine and it looks ok, but I did notice that a lot of torque can be permanently applied if the steering lock is engaged. I wonder if those that are failing have had the steering lock engaged during transport causing excessive loads?
 
Kithmo said:
Slight play in the UJs on the steering column joint used to be a common MOT fail on the Mk3 Cortina in the 70s.
I would say it should be a safety recall even if it's only happened on a few cars.
Click to expand...
This would be unlikely to be a safety recall in the UK due to the criteria VOSA set, one of which is prior warning. Almost all problems with the steering start with a click or knock in the column, thus indicating prior warning. There would have to be anecdotal evidence of multiple immediate UJ failures for this to meet the mandatory recall criteria.
Of course, MG could choose to issue a recall themselves however that will open them up to huge costs, workloads and issues around parts availability so that's almost a 100% no there.
All the VOSA criteria is available on their website
www.gov.uk

Vehicle safety defects and recalls: code of practice

www.gov.uk www.gov.uk
Screenshot_20220624-204346.jpg
 
TonyP said:
Inspected mine and it looks ok, but I did notice that a lot of torque can be permanently applied if the steering lock is engaged. I wonder if those that are failing have had the steering lock engaged during transport causing excessive loads?
Click to expand...
Even if this was the case, and I don't think it is, then this would not cause a catastrophic failure of the UJ joint to this magnitude.
I totally agree with @micky .
UJ joints of different sizes, have been used by numerous manufacturers for decades now.
Do then become worn, yes like all components of course.
But to see a joint 100% completely fail, after such a very short times scale, is both very worrying and almost unheard of.
Either a bad design, poor quality materials, metal fatigue or the joints have been incorrectly assembled.
Or even a combination of any of the above.
Regardless, it needs getting to the bottom of ASAP before somebody is badly hurt or even worse.
 
TonyP said:
Inspected mine and it looks ok, but I did notice that a lot of torque can be permanently applied if the steering lock is engaged. I wonder if those that are failing have had the steering lock engaged during transport causing excessive loads?
Click to expand...
Does the steering have a physical lock (pin etc.) or is it the electric motor that locks it somehow ?
 
Lovemyev said:
Interesting to note, that it’s the upper UJ joint on one car ( our good friend down under ) and the bottom UJ joint on the most recent car here in the U.K.,
Likely to be the same UJ joint at both ends of the column link though.
I am starting to think Bosch steering rack here OK, but NOT the UJ interlink coupling between the steering rack to the bottom of the steering column ??.
I would be very surprised if this UJ link assembly was in fact a Bosch component ??.
But you never know !.
It’s a serious very issue that could affect both Gen1 and Gen2 models, as it now appears.
When the OP said that a bracket had fallen down in his car ???.
I just had this horrible feeling it was a UJ failure for some strange reason ???.
I had this failure of the Aussie car stuck in the back of my mind for a while now, somehow ??.
Click to expand...
Bosch make the control motor/servo/electronic control. They will certainly not be making the column metalwork or UJ's.

I've never, ever, seen a failure of this type, stiff, rusted, or loose worn joints over time, sure, but catastrophic failure like this is shocking.
 
JohnInFrance said:
This would be unlikely to be a safety recall in the UK due to the criteria VOSA set, one of which is prior warning. Almost all problems with the steering start with a click or knock in the column, thus indicating prior warning. There would have to be anecdotal evidence of multiple immediate UJ failures for this to meet the mandatory recall criteria.
Of course, MG could choose to issue a recall themselves however that will open them up to huge costs, workloads and issues around parts availability so that's almost a 100% no there.
All the VOSA criteria is available on their website
www.gov.uk

Vehicle safety defects and recalls: code of practice

www.gov.uk www.gov.uk
View attachment 9224
Click to expand...
Although I do agree with your train of thought on this subject John.
But in the example used ( which speaks of a power steering failure ) is not quite the same and a LOT less serious for this reason.
As we know, if a car is fitted with a power steering pump or electric power steering aid fails, it will make the steering extremely heavy and therefore hard to manoeuvre the car.
But, the car can still be controlled, but a lot more effort is required to steer the car.
I the case of a complete and sudden UJ failure, all control of the steering of that car has ended at the point when the UJ decides to fail.
At the very point of sudden failure, the drivers has now almost lost complete control of a object weighing almost 2 tons and travelling on the open road network.
Yes - It can be quickly brought to a stop by the use of the brakes, but with no ability to steer the car, it is extremely dangerous situation.
If anybody was to submit their own car for its annual MOT when it was a few years old and covered a few thousand miles in return, then excessive play was detected in a steering UJ joint, it would be straight MOT failure.
Here we have an almost brand new car which has only covered 6,000 miles and the steering has suffered a catastrophic and complete and utter failure.
We know at least one other owner who had an almost similar situation, when excess play in the upper UJ joint caused him to take the car off the road himself, while awaiting new parts fro MG.
I personally don't see how this type of serious failure would not justify MG taking urgent action to get this problem resolved very quickly.
 
Last edited:
Support us by becoming a Premium Member

Latest MG EVs video

New EVs from MG: MG S9 & MG9 plus hot topics from the forums
Published
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom