Undertray/wheel arch plastic damage

[suzi2]

Hi everyone,

Yesterday we went partially through some standing water at the side of the road. A puddle a couple of inches deep at most, not fast and not particularly splashy or anything! It's a puddle that we wouldn't have thought twice about before. I heard a cracking sound under the passenger side. A piece of the wheel arch plastic liner had snapped off along with a small chunk out the rear part of the plastic undertray.

My Dad has done a spot of hole drilling, cable tying and duct taping to stop anything flapping while we get it fixed. However we were both a bit taken aback at the flimsiness of the plastic and one of the bolts into the metal was barely in and won't fully tighten. Also the front part of the undertray has a bulge which I now see is quite common.

I'm waiting on the garage to call me back about this repair. I was originally thinking we were just really unlucky, but having seen the quality, the loose screw and bulge I'm wondering if this was just waiting to happen. Is it worth getting the garage to replace the bulging front part on warranty I wonder.

Anyway, posted mostly for information... The undertray and plastic arch are flimsy so don't touch any puddles! And if you haven't looked under your car, check it's actually all in tight as I suspect mine wasn't right in the first place.

 

[Alb]

The undertray is a known problem but not really the arch liners.
Two inches of water is unlikely to have an effect but then again you don't know what state the liners were in before you went through. They could have been just hanging on and it was the straw that broke the camel's back.

 

[suzi2]

Yeah I do wonder if there was damage. There certainly wasn't at the wheel arch when I washed it the other week, but I've never actually looked under the car and if things weren't bolted tight I can see it might be more likely to happen.

 

[Rolfe]

I've been waiting for stories like this to start surfacing, now that we're into wetter weather. These undertray bulges are a menace. I'm slightly surprised there were so few occurrences last winter.

 

[suzi2]

I think if we'd been hammering it through puddles, or going through floods I could accept it more easily. It does seem very delicate.

 

[Martinonline]

I think you have a badly-manufactured car. I drove to Sheffield from Ipswich in the pouring rain in heavy traffic at speeds up to 70 with no ill-effects in July . Recently I had to drive through a semi-flood (water on either side of the road with dry section in the middle; the fields either side were flooded) and that must have been about 3/4 inches on the nearside. Slowly but surely having seen all the ford videos.

 

[Rolfe]

There's no sign of bits falling off the MG4 that went for a swim at Buttsbury Wash, or at least not immediately. I wonder if Suzi's faulty undertray failed and splintered, and then that débris then damaged the wheel arch?

This is why I made sure my dealer knew my undertray was warped and that I considered it to be a risk if driving through flood water. They haven't fixed it yet, but at least my report is in their hands.

 

[suzi2]

There's no sign of bits falling off the MG4 that went for a swim at Buttsbury Wash, or at least not immediately. I wonder if Suzi's faulty undertray failed and splintered, and then that débris then damaged the wheel arch?

It's been absolutely torn off, which does suggest some prior issue. I just wish I had looked at it when I first got it.

I'm waiting to hear back from the dealer for a price and timescale. I've also sent a pic of the front undertray warp and asked if it's a warranty issue. Like you, I'd rather they know. Especially if I'm paying them to unclip the rest and replace it, it almost makes sense to do it

 

[Martinonline]

See also the MG ZS Forum thread on 'What depth of water ... ', particularly #18.

 

[Rolfe]

Someone asked about the MG4 and got an answer which more or less resolved to 11 inches. Just under half way up the wheel, and level with the door sill. (I think they don't certify that the door seals will keep standing water out.)

It's been absolutely torn off, which does suggest some prior issue. I just wish I had looked at it when I first got it.

I'm waiting to hear back from the dealer for a price and timescale. I've also sent a pic of the front undertray warp and asked if it's a warranty issue. Like you, I'd rather they know. Especially if I'm paying them to unclip the rest and replace it, it almost makes sense to do it

Have you seen the video of that car that went into three feet of water and actually floated for a bit before making it out? 2 minutes 7 seconds on here. The driver was mad - just barrelled into the water as if he hadn't even seen it.

 

[welshwizard]

There's no sign of bits falling off the MG4 that went for a swim at Buttsbury Wash, or at least not immediately. I wonder if Suzi's faulty undertray failed and splintered, and then that débris then damaged the wheel arch?

This is why I made sure my dealer knew my undertray was warped and that I considered it to be a risk if driving through flood water. They haven't fixed it yet, but at least my report is in their hands.

Hi all 2 weeks ago we had some floods. I drove through some big puddles and had no issues.That said today i checked my undertray and i have a big ass bulge in the middle. Now this must of collected an awful lot of water and i dont know where the water came out of.But even tho it's not caused an issue now. Im sure in time this will be a massive problem. I dont know whats inside the car. But im sure its not built to hold water. So i rang them today and told them this needs to be fixed now. Its cheaper to replace a cover than replaceing the car.

 

[Rolfe]

Absolutely true. Let us know how you get on.

 

[welshwizard]

Jus thad a phone call and a bill for the health check for 140 pounds and them saying its not under warrenty. Im bloody fuming. Now i rang MG and they just handed me an email to complain to . [email protected] and thats my next place to go. Not happy at all.

 

[Torryhun]

Good luck with customer services

 

[Rolfe]

Jus thad a phone call and a bill for the health check for 140 pounds and them saying its not under warrenty. Im bloody fuming. Now i rang MG and they just handed me an email to complain to . [email protected] and thats my next place to go. Not happy at all.

Oh, good luck with that. I'd be fuming too. This is why I made sure to tell my dealer I was aware of the undertray issue and believed it could break if driven through water.

 

[welshwizard]

just complained to MG Drive Leicester online chat and quoted the warranty to them.
Warranty Cover• Guarantees repair replacement or adjustment, free of charge, by an Authorised Repairer, of any part which fails during the warranty period, as a result of a manufacturing or material defect.• Guarantees paintwork repairs to defects such as blistering, peeling, cracking, discoloration or staining of the visible painted surface of the vehicle body panels occurring as a result of manufacturing or material defect.• Guarantees all ‘wear and tear’ items, (excluding tyres) that are subject to failure as a result of a manufacturing or material defect during the first 12 months of the Warranty period or prior to the first scheduled chargeable main service, whichever is sooner.• Guarantees any parts replaced under the terms of the warranty for the balance of the warranty period only .
Then this part is important

Warranty Terms and Conditions

• When a defect becomes apparent you must report it to an Authorised MG Repairer. Your warranty may be invalidated if you continue to drive with a fault.

So now im waiting for a phone call from there service manager tomorrow. I did say do i need to read out my warranty to him to . Can anyone else share there response when reported this dip

Also, i might go through these if i don't get my way.

Resolve a dispute

You can submit a complaint to The Motor Ombudsman by clicking here and completing our Consumer Enquiry Form. We can help to resolve your dispute

www.themotorombudsman.org

And i can take them to court. Don't worry cos i will if this doesn't get sorted.

 

[welshwizard]

Ok had my answer back from MG Drive . They just checked one of their new cars and found a bulge and checked my car. It's firmly fixed to the car and it seems the unit on top on the cover is what's stopping the cover from being flush. The cover has got holes for rain to fall out and wind to come out the back. So if later on I do get an issue my MG drive will know its been flagged. But no this won't effect my warranty and it's deemed safe to drive. I have driven through water and I know for a fact water has gotten inside. But they are telling me the cover is for aerodynamics and nothing else. Now I'm going to get my car and tell him if you you had known about this bulge then you could have told me this is ok. I shouldn't need to come down and pay £140 for this check.

 

[NLMGSAN]

So the bulge is for aero purposes as well...

 

[welshwizard]

So had an email back from MG customer services. So my understanding is if the undertray is in a poor condition it should be replaced as its causing a drag . So im guessing a yes.

Dear William

Thank you for your email.

If the dealership confirm that there is an issue, they will be able to claim for a replacement tray under warranty.

However, this occurs due to the design and fit of the tray compared to the car, and a replacement tray may not fully resolve this.

I am only stating this to set your expectations, and it does not have a detrimental effect on drive or performance.

Please take a copy of this email as evidence of our conversation, enabling the dealership to replace using warranty.

Yours sincerely
_______________________________________________________________________________

Gary Smart

 

[Chequers]

So had an email back from MG customer services. So my understanding is if the undertray is in a poor condition it should be replaced as its causing a drag . So im guessing a yes.

Dear William

Thank you for your email.

If the dealership confirm that there is an issue, they will be able to claim for a replacement tray under warranty.

However, this occurs due to the design and fit of the tray compared to the car, and a replacement tray may not fully resolve this.

I am only stating this to set your expectations, and it does not have a detrimental effect on drive or performance.

Please take a copy of this email as evidence of our conversation, enabling the dealership to replace using warranty.

Yours sincerely
_______________________________________________________________________________

Gary Smart

So Gary just admitted to a design fault in writing.