Hundreds of MG4 owners say their £27k EVs have flawed safety tech putting them at risk - what is the Chinese brand doing about it?
- Which? identified a dangerous flaw with its lane assist feature during tests
- We've received emails from 120 MG4 owners describing the same problem
- Own this EV and experienced this issue? Email: [email protected]
Owners of MG4 electric cars have been contacting This is Money in their droves detailing the dangerous scenarios they've been put in by their £27,000 Chinese EVs due a flawed safety feature.
Earlier this month, we reported Which?'s findings that highlighted a major problem with the MG4's lane keep and lane departure warning system.
During assessments, its test team identified two occasions where the car's safety feature pulled the vehicle onto the wrong side of the road. On another occasion, it veered towards an oncoming motor on a country lane.
Since reporting the findings, the consumer watchdog and This is Money has received hundreds of emails from MG4 owners reporting similar issues with their cars.
So, what is MG going to do about it?
This is Money has received over 120 emails from disgruntled MG4 EV owners who have all described experiencing the same dangerous flaw with the car's lane assistance feature
What Which? found when testing the MG4 EV
During tests of the MG4 EV - Britain's second best-selling electric car last year - Which? found it could have a major tech flaw.
During the course of testing, lab testers noticed 'unusual behaviour' with the vehicle's lane-departure warning and lane-keep assistance systems, which it warns could be a 'potentially significant issue'.
'On one occasion where the tester drove on a narrow country road and had to pass another car travelling in the opposite direction, the MG4's lane-keep assistance system steered away from the nearside edge of the road and towards the centre – and the other vehicle,' Which? said.
The tester was forced to manually intervene to prevent the MG4 veering too close to the car travelling in the opposite direction, it claimed.
'On another occasion, this time on a wider road with a clearly defined centre line, the lane-keep assistance technology twice decided that the car had left its intended lane and pulled it onto the wrong side of the road.
'Using a sufficient amount of force, our tester had to manually steer the car back,' Which? says.
All three incidents were noticed during the course of testing that it carries out on around 100 of the latest new cars coming to market.
Testers said they had not seen behaviour before like they had experienced with the MG4 EV, which it says were 'significant enough for us to investigate further'.
What MG4 owners have experienced
The vast majority of MG4 drivers who contacted us and Which? highlighted the car's lane assist technology being a significant issue, though also referenced a recurring problem with another safety feature that we'll get to shortly.
Although many owners commented they are otherwise very happy with the MG4, this issue has led to some handing cars back to dealers.
One MG4 owner, Hayden Westfield-Bell, told Which?: 'Driving along a rural road, the car issued an audio warning, locked the steering, and began pulling the vehicle towards the ditch on the left side of the road.
'Naturally, I lifted my foot off the accelerator until I could regain control of the vehicle, and no real damage was done - other than being pulled into the weeds and potholes.'
Consumer watchdog Which? identified the potential safety issue with the £27k MG4 - Britain's second best-selling electric car of 2023 - earlier this month
Another MG4 owner, who wished to remain anonymous, said: 'On delivery, the lane keep assist triggered on multiple occasions on a clear B-road and tried to place the vehicle in the opposite lane.
'More seriously the emergency lane keep assist activated in lane two on a dual carriageway while passing traffic in lane one and violently attempted to steer into a vehicle in lane one. The vehicle has been returned to MG, which is 'conducting tests' to determine if there is an issue.'
Another MG4 owner, who also chose to remain anonymous, explained to Which?: 'On one occasion on a roundabout with multiple crossover lanes it tried to wrench me into a car beside me. In the wet and in the dark it has tried to throw me into a ditch.'
This is Money has so far received over 120 complaints from MG4 owners describing similar tales of glitching tech and near crashes. We've even heard from keepers in other parts of Europe experiencing similar woes.
Which? found that while driving on a narrow country road with another car travelling in the opposite direction, the MG4's lane-keep assistance system steered away from the nearside edge of the road and towards the centre – and the other vehicle
One owner, who has remained anonymous, wrote to us saying: 'On a number of occasions on narrow roads, I have found myself fighting with the car to keep closer to the left than the car likes. Often it dramatically steers right to move more central. Luckily this has never been when another car is around.'
Jan Bathelmes, an MG4 EV owner in Germany, contacted us via email, saying: 'The interventions are so abrupt and surprising that I cannot let any of my friends and family drive the car fearing they might get scared and react dangerously.'
MG4 driver Gavin Milward explained that the car's feature had almost steered him into hedges and cyclists when driving on narrow lanes: 'I've nicknamed it "automated cyclist murdering mode".'
Another MG4 owner said the abruptness of the system had even triggered an old injury.
'The force required to correct it is significant and sudden, in the last instance this occurred it agitated an old right shoulder and wrist injury with the sudden jerk of the wheel and torque applied by the system,' he told us.
Owners of the MG4 have contacted us to say the flawed lane assistance feature has almost caused them to veer onto the wrong side of the road, steer onto grass verges and almost collide with cyclists
One owner said the force required to correct the lane assistance system steering them into danger had agitated an old shoulder and wrist injury due to the sudden jerk of the wheel and torque applied by the system
A female owner, who requested to remain anonymous, said she has owned her MG4 for a year but noticed the flaw on the first day of ownership.
'On driving it home from the garage on day one, it misunderstood white arrow lines which went diagonally across the road, demarking two lanes at a junction, and the car lurched sideways. I have turned this feature off ever since as it is dangerous.'
Tino Todino from Liverpool said he's noticed the feature having problems in one particular scenario: 'The most common issue we have is when pulling out of a lane to overtake parked cars. On occasion it will try to correct the lane departure aggressively and veer you towards the parked cars. As routine now my wife who is the main driver turns it off.'
Because the system makes up part of the Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) package, the default setting requires the lane assistance features to be activated each time the driver starts the engine.
This means it needs to be manually deactivated before every journey if drivers want to turn it off, which owners tell us isn't the simplest process.
Ian Brown explained: 'It is true it can be turned off, but not easily as there are several stages on the touch screen to go through to do this, it's certainly not something you could do while driving if you forget before setting off.'
While most complaints about the lane keep assistance and lane departure warning referenced it failing on narrow B-roads, others told us about it also causing issues on motorways.
John Elliott told us: 'One place it is lethally dangerous in my opinion is on a motorway in the rain. Now I know this system was probably tested on a nice new circuit track in China or on the gloriously smooth autobahns and motorways in Europe. But on our patchwork, potholed motorways the system often seems to pick up on road repair marks, the faded lines of old cat's eyes from a past contraflow, this is worse in the rain when these features shine from the lights on the wet road.
'At 20 or 30 mph on a small lane it is frustrating; at 60 to 70 on a motorway, it is very concerning.'
Because the system makes up part of the ADAS package, the default setting requires the lane assistance features to be activated each time the driver starts the engine. This means it needs to be manually deactivated before every journey, though owners say this isn't a simple process
Many of the accounts arriving into This is Money's inbox also commented on a secondary issue with the Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) system, which is a safety feature designed to automatically apply the brakes when the car thinks it is on course for a collision.
Owners said that, like the lane assist features, this is overly sensitive and resulted in 'phantom braking' where the system activates when there is no potential risk ahead.
Which? contacted MG to ask when the problem will be resolved with a software update. However, the Chinese brand declined to comment
When will MG rectify the problem?
When This is Money contacted MG about the issue earlier this month, a spokesperson told us that it was aware of owners experiencing problems with the car's lane departure warning system and that a software update would soon be announced.
MG also stressed that it hadn't received any safety-related reports of issues with the system from customers.
Which? has since put some of the concerns of MG4 owners to the brand, asking why it had previously said it hadn't received any reports of safety-related issues despite the fact that several owners have told it about the problem.
The watchdog also asked when and how the software update would be issued, and whether any updates to rectify the problem have been issued previously.
MG declined to answer.
Instead, a spokesperson said: 'As previously communicated, MG Motor UK is finalising a software enhancement for customers which will be approved by the relevant authorities who we have been cooperating with closely.
'As stated before this upgrade has not been classed as safety related and is designed to improve the driver experience. MG Motor UK will be making no further comment in the meantime.'
Natalie Hitchins, Which? head of home products and services, said the consumer group has been 'alarmed' by how many MG4 owners have reported lane assist issues and concerns.
'Motorists need to know what is happening with the software update that will supposedly address the problem.
'Which? will continue to push MG for clear information about precisely how and when this will be released.'
The DVSA said the issue with the lane assistance 'does not meet the criteria for a safety recall'
Why hasn't the MG4 been recalled on safety grounds?
Several MG4 owners who got in touch with us said they had contacted Euro NCAP, the vehicle safety body, to raise their concerns with the feature, given the car was awarded a five-star safety rating when it was crash tested back in 2022.
In a response sent to one reader, the body said: 'Euro NCAP is liaising with MG, who have indicated that they already have updated software available. Please visit your dealer to get the vehicle updated.'
As MG has admitted to both This is Money and Which? in the last month, this is not the case.
Some owners have also contacted the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, which is responsible for overseeing vehicle safety recalls, calling for the issue to be resolved.
Which? also spoke to the agency and received the following response: 'DVSA investigations show this issue does not meet the criteria for a safety recall. Drivers who experience this are able to maintain control of the vehicle at all times, and they can switch off the system to allow the vehicle to be used.
'However, we are aware that the manufacturer is improving the system free of charge.
'This issue will be kept under review and owners are encouraged to report the matter to the manufacturer should they be concerned.'
The MG4 EV has been widely regarded as one of the best electric cars on the market currently. Last year, 21,715 were registered in Britain and there are over 30,000 on our roads to date
How many MG4 EVs are on the road in the UK?
Launched in 2022, the MG4 is a five-door medium-sized hatchback that providing very popular in the UK, not least because of its relatively low price compared with other electric cars.
Prices start from £26,995 for the most basic version with the smallest battery, which offers up to 218 miles of range. The priciest is the MG4 EV Trophy Extended Range starting from £36,495, which provides up to 323 miles driving between battery charges.
It was Britain's second-bestselling electric car in 2023 with 21,715 registrations, according to data from industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Back in May, MG Motor UK said it has sold over 30,000 MG4s in the UK since it launched.
Do you own an MG4 EV and have experienced the same problem? Then get in touch by emailing [email protected]
