Updates at Service are charged extras

[Conradu]

I had my first years Service at the beginning of March. I made a not of the current BMS Version and once I got the car home I checked to see what the new version was. Unbelievably after paying £125 for the Service it seems all they did was walk round the car ticking boxes off a sheet and applying a bit of grease here and there. £10 of the service bill was for disposing of the grease container environmentally safely, as the update was the same. Update was from Nov 2019!! I asked why they hadn't updated the software and they said I hadn't asked them to! Surely it should be part of the service for EV's??!! I spoke to MG Head Office and they said the same that I have to ask for it and I also have to pay extra for any updates to be applied, not just the Comfort ones. Is this really normal practice?

 

[Dr Dave]

I thought dealerships were to update free as part of service. See attached

 

[ARealHuman]

Wow, another shocking example of MG 'customer care'

 

[stryker]

Are there 3rd party service organisations certified to do these annual inspections & updates?

 

[Lovemyev]

The “Comfort 2” update was seen as a customer option improvement request and was then was deemed a chargeable upgrade.
I know this is a very contentious issue.
The HV fuse protection update was called by MG after some cars had broken down due to the main fuse failing and causing a complete failure of the drive system.
My local dealer had two of these cars.
One was as the result of a breakdown and the car failed at the time of the PDI check.
Both cars where shipped out to another agent on a flat bed.
I would not consider this update to be a customer request or a luxury upgrade !.
I my opinion, any upgrade that threatens the normal running / safety side of the car should be covered under the warranty.
It appears that many dealers are only applying updates as and when the customer has requested them.
That indicates a lack of their confidence in their ability to apply the software updates correctly.
It stance seems to be this :-
“If the customer does not ask, then don’t offer”.
As the MG ZS EV is the first electric car that the U.K. dealers have seen, they have little to no experience in with dealing with this level of technology.
A few dealers are a multi brand agent and have gained knowledge by working on earlier Nissan electric cars in the past and tend to be a lot more confident in dealing / applying software updates correctly.

 

[Conradu]

I thought dealerships were to update free as part of service. See attached

Thats exactly what I thought too. Apparantly it's ony critical updates that are carried out but they wouldnt confirm which if any of the 5+ updates since mine are classed as critical

 

[Conradu]

Are there 3rd party service organisations certified to do these annual inspections & updates?

Possibly but you have to be very careful it won't effect the warranty. Dread to think what would happen if they update the software and it messes up

 

[Dr Dave]

For a basic service any vat registered service garage can carry out the service. It is only an inspection and check list. (See attached). The warranty is unaffected as manufacturers must allow third parties to carry out services.

 

[stryker]

Dread to think what would happen if they update the software and it messes up

Generally a device with firmware patches will roll back if an update fails, leaving you with the current version. This is commonplace on even household devices, so I don't expect there's any risk of bricking your car. We have had terrible service from our previous ICE dealer so have been using a 3rd party here - and we've asked them to put our Tesla on the hoist annually (there's no service book for Tesla, this is just precautionary)

I will have to ask if they have the ZS EV on their books because our initial sales appointment with a dealer on the weekend didn't fill me with confidence they're even interested to know enough about the the product to sell it successfully, let alone be trusted in the workshop with one.

 

[JodyS21]

Generally a device with firmware patches will roll back if an update fails, leaving you with the current version. This is commonplace on even household devices, so I don't expect there's any risk of bricking your car. We have had terrible service from our previous ICE dealer so have been using a 3rd party here - and we've asked them to put our Tesla on the hoist annually (there's no service book for Tesla, this is just precautionary)

I will have to ask if they have the ZS EV on their books because our initial sales appointment with a dealer on the weekend didn't fill me with confidence they're even interested to know enough about the the product to sell it successfully, let alone be trusted in the workshop with one.

Software updates don't seem to quite work like that on the MG ZS EV, quite a few people have had updates applied and been left with problems as it hasn't been done correctly. The system they use is clearly simply not very good.

 

[JodyS21]

Thats exactly what I thought too. Apparantly it's ony critical updates that are carried out but they wouldnt confirm which if any of the 5+ updates since mine are classed as critical

That probably is officially the company line, critical only/MG instructed etc.
If you say such and such isn't working then they're more likely to install updates to try to fix it.
As per that Service action bulletin Dr Dave showed, it's pretty clear from reading it that it should have been done on your car when they had it in their workshop.

 

[mystreet]

That probably is officially the company line, critical only/MG instructed etc.
If you say such and such isn't working then they're more likely to install updates to try to fix it.
As per that Service action bulletin Dr Dave showed, it's pretty clear from reading it that it should have been done on your car when they had it in their workshop.

Everyone knows that it is best practice to get all hardware (the car) running the same software as it is easier to find errors.

However the issue with the bulletin is point 1. Check if the vehicle is on the list.

Therefore at service, check VIN not on list don't install latest updates, unless customer pays

 

[Redpiratepete]

For a basic service any vat registered service garage can carry out the service. It is only an inspection and check list. (See attached). The warranty is unaffected as manufacturers must allow third parties to carry out services.

Hi All,
If you don't have the car serviced by an MG dealer, you will loose your Breakdown (AA) cover because it is renewed by the dealer, after. This info is in the book somewhere!

Regarding the updated BMS software, I had a call from Cambridge MG inviting me in for a BMS.
update after MG themselves had advised them based on my VIN number.
They carried this out, while I waited, and when finished, they presented me with a voucher for my next full / annual service to be done FOC.
As a bonus they had left a model of an MGB on my dashboard. Faultless customer care.
I love my MG ZS EV.
Redpiratepete

 

[Cocijo]

Hi All,
If you don't have the car serviced by an MG dealer, you will loose your Breakdown (AA) cover because it is renewed by the dealer, after. This info is in the book somewhere!

Regarding the updated BMS software, I had a call from Cambridge MG inviting me in for a BMS.
update after MG themselves had advised them based on my VIN number.
They carried this out, while I waited, and when finished, they presented me with a voucher for my next full / annual service to be done FOC.
As a bonus they had left a model of an MGB on my dashboard. Faultless customer care.
I love my MG ZS EV.
Redpiratepete

That’s how good it should be all the time.

 

[MG YB to ZS EV]

My Experience with Purbeck MG in Wareham Dorset has been excellent. I had my update at the same times as my 1st service and not charged for the Service/ software update, plus given a model MGB roadster. The charging is working perfectly, now showing 200 - 220 miles when selected ‘E’ and fully charged overnight. Since then I’ve received a MG Teddy Bear from MG Motors UK. Satisfaction.

 

[Cocijo]

200-220miles wow!

 

[Mark Holmes]

My Experience with Purbeck MG in Wareham Dorset has been excellent. I had my update at the same times as my 1st service and not charged for the Service/ software update, plus given a model MGB roadster. The charging is working perfectly, now showing 200 - 220 miles when selected ‘E’ and fully charged overnight. Since then I’ve received a MG Teddy Bear from MG Motors UK. Satisfaction.

What does your accumulated miles per KWh show as your average to date?

 

[Mark Holmes]

200-220miles wow!

This will be the accumulated totals as mine used to show the same until I reset the totals mine was on a average of 4.4 miles per KWh

 

[Conradu]

My Experience with Purbeck MG in Wareham Dorset has been excellent. I had my update at the same times as my 1st service and not charged for the Service/ software update, plus given a model MGB roadster. The charging is working perfectly, now showing 200 - 220 miles when selected ‘E’ and fully charged overnight. Since then I’ve received a MG Teddy Bear from MG Motors UK. Satisfaction.

Out of interest when did you have the Service as you probably had a critical update installed which are free of charge. I'm guessing you haven't had the Comfort Update to remove bongs etc as that is chargeable

 

[MG YB to ZS EV]

Out of interest when did you have the Service as you probably had a critical update installed which are free of charge. I'm guessing you haven't had the Comfort Update to remove bongs etc as that is chargeable

The critical update was carried out in 2020 (free of charge) and latest update put right the problem caused by the previous update. Which was carried out free of charge in February 2021, along with the 1st Years Service. My Garage implied that MG was covering the cost as compensation for the inconvenience it may of caused. Helps Customers relations. Other Garages are not the same.