Our Cars : Is the MG6 honeymoon over?

Ant McGowan’s MG6 is piling on the miles, and it’s still going strong. However, one or two niggles are eroding his confidence in the car.

Is the honeymoon over?


MG6 collywobbles

Ant McGowan's MG6

Bought: July 2012
Miles: 7034
Fuel consumption: 36.7mpg

Well, it wouldn’t be an MG if there weren’t some niggling issues. And my ‘6 is certainly no exception. When I collected the car from Morrisons’ Garage in Stirling (remarkably, still the only MG sales dealership for the whole of Scotland), I noticed that the steering alignment wasn’t quite right with the car going to the left when the steering wheel was pointing straight ahead.

And when I got onto the M8 for the last leg of my journey home, there was a noticeable vibration in the steering around 70mph.  I contacted the dealership the next day and arranged for the car to go back the following week (work commitments wouldn’t allow any sooner, and it’s not as though Morrisons is round the corner from where I live).

That was back in July, and the car has been back to the dealership a total of four times to try and rectify whatever the problem is.  They’ve tried wheel balancing, swapping the wheels round, a four-way wheel alignment, and swapping the wheels with another ‘6 and still the problems persist.

In fact, after yesterday’s disappointing visit, the steering alignment is marginally worse, and the vibration at 70mph remains the same.

In addition, there’s been some other problems:

  • USB port not recognising my iPod Classic
  • Occasional satnav crash and reboot
  • Poor fit of rubber seal around interior driver-side window
  • Smelly aircon when first switched on
  • Coolant warning light coming on in error

And the latest is the tyre pressure warning light being triggered for no apparent reason. So far, the only issues Morrisons have managed to fix is the coolant warning light (but even here they have not replaced the coolant bottle with the redesigned version that MG Motor UK have introduced in the latest ‘6s) and the smelly aircon.

Obviously all of the above are relatively minor irritations, but the steering misalignment and vibration at motorway speeds are causing me to lose confidence in the car, and Morrisons’ ability to sort it. Apparently, the dealership is making contact with MG in Birmingham about the problems and I should hear back next week to arrange for the car to go back for a fifth time.

All-in-all, the sheen is starting to come off my new motor, and I’m hoping that Morrisons and MG Motor UK will be able to rectify whatever’s wrong with my misguided ‘6 sooner rather than later – otherwise my mates will be proved right about my ‘misguided’ purchase.

As a hardened MG fan though, I’m used to the ups & downs of ownership, and despite everything it’s still one of the best looking cars on the road.

Keith Adams

101 Comments

  1. My gut feeling is a faulty hub carrier. I’ve had his on a Scorpio and it drove me insane trying to track down the issue.

  2. Hmm… Not the first report I was hoping to read. Still, I can understand your frustration. Having to repeatedly return a new car to the dealer (and a distant one at that) to try and rectify the same fault would drive me insane!!

    Reminds me of corrosion issues on a new Saab 900 my dad had. If I remember correctly, rust marks on roof gutters. Went to have the problem cured and when the car came back the new paint finish was terrible.

  3. Sorry to hear the issues you are having, especially on a brand new car. You are correct it does take the shine off ownership and makes you doubt if you spent good money wisely. But as it’s under warranty make sure you get a full investigation and make sure MG UK are fully involved.

    They wont want negative publicity so should go the distance to make you satisfied. It’s only proper! Best of luck and hope to read better reports soon.

  4. I would hardly describe these faults as making the car a lemon (bit out of proportion), but I would be increasingly p’d off if it was mine. MG.uk need to sort this asap

  5. Bad news… At least it proves that the HERITAGE is safe in SAICs hands…
    If the car is on finance, you can tell the finance company that the car is faulty and the dealers can’t fix it. Since they own the car, not you, they are usually very good at getting it rejected back to the dealers. You can then get a new one, if you wanted.
    Its always a pain when the dealer is miles away too.

  6. [Quote Hilton D – ‘They wont want negative publicity so should go the distance to make you satisfied.’]

    They don’t understand publicity so you’d better formulate a Plan B.

  7. There is I believe a fix for the window seal.

    Have you checked to see exactly how old your tyres are? I’d suspect that the tyres are at fault if they car has been properly 4-wheel aligned with the castor, camber and tracking all checked and found to be within tolerences.

    I’m surprised to hear complaints about Morrison’s of Stirling – they have a very good reputation.

  8. Perhaps a tyre change would be the order of the day,it sounds like the dealer is doing its best-these niggles are nowhere in a million miles a reason for rejection.
    Maybe subframe alignment should be checked a la CDW27 Mondeos which suffered badly from steering pull due to misalignment of subframe at manufacture,which was also a subject covered by BBC’s Watchdog programme.

    I also amazed that there are not anymore negative comments posted with unbridled glee than is usual.

  9. “I’d suspect that the tyres are at fault if they car has been properly 4-wheel aligned with the castor, camber and tracking all checked and found to be within tolerences.”

    One of the steps mentioned was swapping the wheels with another MG6, so presumably that would change or eliminate the behaviour if it were tyre faults (otherwise that was my first instinct from the symptoms!).

  10. The dealer should be carrying out a PDI on a new car sale and this car should never have been realised in this state.

  11. I’m wondering if there is a balancer weight on the driveshaft that isn’t in the right place? I have that problem on my old motor, and it shakes like a bugger at between 65 & 75, but speeds above & below, it’s fine.

  12. @14, i dare say a PDIwas taken out on this vehicle,but technicians being human and driving styles different perhaps on roadtest the said tech did not feel that there was problem,therefore perhaps if the vehicle was QC’d maybe this fault would have emerged,its hardly been sold in a dangerous state.Sometimes you have to take the dealership out of the equation ond seek a specialist in the wheel alignment field and then seek reimbursement.

  13. If it is possible to ring Longbridge direct then that is probably your best bet….im sure they would want this cleared up quickly. tell your not so local agent you are going to do that first though. a faulty hub or an out of balance drive shaft is possible, but another possibility is that a brake disk could be off. sure this show up when braking, but I had a Honda accord that did this once, we spend money and money on wheel alignments and balancing, then another mechanic suggested machining the disks(and new pads). problem solved. note there was no other evidence they were a problem (ie during braking) which was odd. good luck. The sub frames are installed at Birmingham / LongBridge. wouldnt it be weird if it was the British Component of the assembly that was at fault and not the Chinese parts 😉 it could have fallen off its assembly jig or anything. alex

  14. Perhaps MG Motor are effectively keeping the 6 under wraps. Get the teething troubles out of the way before most are aware of the car’s existence. It’s one way to avoid negative publicity!

    And another thing. I had a Nissan Primera which prematurely wore a set of tyres out because the steering was so over-assisted that I didn’t notice that the wheels were maligned & before anybody’s wondering, I’m usually the first to notice such foibles to at least it says something good about the 6’s steering!

  15. back and forth to the dealer is an unfortunate part of new MG ownership I am afraid. Having bought a new MGTF135 (2010) I am sad to say probably the worse car I have ever owned. Gave up when I realised neither the dealer nor MG themselves were bothered and traded the car in for a MX5 with 1 year still left on the MG warranty. Car is still on the garage forecourt with a ever dropping price in the window – now there 5 months. – sorry would not touch another MG product – it was the NLA issue with parts and the factory not bothering to return my calls and e-mails that made it clear I was wasting my life bothering myself.

  16. Whilst the ICE issues are less of a worry the steering is a safety issue, its not unheard of for Garages and Mechanics to be prosecuted after any accident if their sloppiness was tantamount to causing the accident. I said it before MG need to up their game, there are plenty of marques out there all vying for our money (and other peoples money if its a business lease)and stories like this will not help. If MG want to salvage any reputation from this incident then I would expect Richard Bourton to be on the phone to this chap one day this week offering a replacement car (its not like they are short of them).

  17. The iPod/USB issue is probably because an iPod doesn’t appear as a USB disk drive to the stereo. If you copy some MP3s directly to a USB pen it will probably work.

    The mechanical issues however are a poor show. It’s a new car, and it should work straight out of the showroom.

  18. Your tyre vibrations at 70mph smell of faulty tyres – specifically flat spots from kept parked too long. These show up only when the tyres are loaded and that is why balancing the wheels do not have any effect!

  19. Rhyds, its not a new car. It was bought used with over 5,000 miles on the clock.

    As for Benny suggesting that Morrison’s mechanics efforts are “sloppy” is totally out of order.

  20. Well,you think this car has problems-a pal of mine against robust advice bought a 60 plate focus cc(why?)and it has not stopped leaking since he got it back in may,the dealers have had it in on twelve occasions,four of which was a sunroof specialist and it still leaks.The most disturbing aspect of this is that no ford dealer anywhere will take this car in part exchange at all-even being told by one dealer principal that the “car is total shit-a nightmare”.

    It sounds like morrisons are doing thier best to help,frustrating of course,but at least they are trying.All cars have thier problems even Toyotas!

  21. If it’s S/H then that does change things a bit, but a car that’s done 5-7k should still be pretty much spot on. You don’t expect wheel vibes at around 70 on a car of that age.

    As for benny’s comment, he didn’t accuse Morrisons of sloppiness, he only mentioned that there have been cases in the past of garages being held accountable for bad workmanship when it failed.

    It’s niggles like these that really kill a car’s repuation, as the owner will be mentioning them to many/all those asking about the car.

  22. @20 My MG6 Stereo recognises my iPod shuffle, not anything that uses the larger connector. Does yours not?

    These sound like simple faults which could be assiciated with any cars, also, if the vibration was evident ON THE DRIVE HOME, why on earth didn’t you just turn straight around instead of putting another 2000 miles on the car?

  23. @Benny – It wasn’t a new car, it was a 5500 mile ex demonstrator, so the garage should be accountable, not MGUK.

  24. Rhyds, the fact remains that anything could have happened in those 5,000 miles and potentially 18 months since the MG6 left Longbridge and travelled 350 miles via transporter to Stirling.

    As for swopping the tyres, they are potentially the same age as the ones that came off this MG6. A check needs to be made to see when they were manufactured.

    When diagnosing issues like this, you must assume nothing and start with the basics.

  25. @29

    It sounds like the dealer’s bloody long way away and as the vibes didn’t show up until the last run along the M8 I can understand how someone might not be up for spinning around and heading straight back.

  26. @32

    Thanks Rhydian – yes, on the way back from the dealer I had other commitments (plus it was after 6pm) so I was unable to get the car back to them for over a week.

    My biggest concern is the fact that after four separate visits back to the dealer, the problems still exist. The staff at Morrisons are very courteous & friendly, but the inconvenience to me in having to keep coming back with the car is significant, and I think as a customer I should not have to expect to return a car with the same faults 4 or 5 times.

    There’s been an update – I received a call yesterday from Keith Harris at MG Motor who has undertaken to determine an appropriate plan of action in conjunction with Morrisons to get the car sorted. This followed a message I posted on MG’s Facebook page on Saturday.

  27. Steven, that is true (hence why I said the car not being new does change things) but it’s still not right that the dealer sent a car out with a pretty basic fault and haven’t managed to sort it since. An MG6 suspension/steering setup isn’t exactly rocket science.

    That said, I did once have a Rover 100 that developed an alarming pull to the left one weekend. I’d been checking if some alloy wheels fitted, and it seems that the steel wheel’s (non-directional) tyres had worn unevenly, and fitting them to the wrong side of the car meant the thing had major steering issues.

  28. I’m quite sure that if any MG garage can sort these issues, it’ll be Morrison’s. Telephone them and ask to speak to Andrew and point him in the direct of this blog.

  29. Rhydian Darling, if the issue was a pretty basic fault, I’m quite sure it’d have been sorted by now. Its also a large and potentially liable assumption to suggest that Morrison’s sent it out knowingly with this fault?

  30. My ‘local’ dealer is 40-odd miles away so if ever mine developed anything worrying, I’d be in a similarly inconvenient position I suppose.

    It does seem that saying the TPMS is faulty by going off, when the vibration problem also points to a problem with the tyres or indeed the pressures, is slightly puzzling.

    You say it’s been back 4-5 times, what exactly has been done on these visits to the dealer?

    I’ve put 2300 miles on mine so far in 5 weeks and, touch faux carbon fibre, all seems to be well.

  31. I think you mean libellous rather than liable Steven.

    Thing is if the steering is misaligned and wobbling then it should have been picked up while they had it in as used stock (it’s on Scottish plates so I assume they supplied it new).

    If they didn’t realise the car had this fault when they sent it out then they can’t have had any test drives of the thing or checked it out, and I’m sure with having had it as used stock they’d have wanted it “ready to go” or near enough.

    Would you, as a dealer proud of your standards, have top line, barely used, low miles stock sitting there with outstanding faults?

  32. The problem is described as a slight vibration though, the car isn’t on the crab or pulling under braking , so i’d be more inclined to think it was tyres at fault or as has been suggested elsewhere, warped discs.

  33. It’ll be wireless if its an old fashioned system Rhyds. I believe more modern tyre pressure sensors use wheel speed rotation to determine pressures in conjunction with ABS, traction control and brake assist. I could be wrong though.

  34. On several occasions I’ve had vibration problems with newly fitted tyres and it was due to the technician not doing the balancing properly. My money is on it being a tyre problem.

  35. To clear up any confusion about the car’s history, it’s an 11-reg Morrisons Garage demonstrator (one of the first batch of I believe), which I bought with 5500 miles on the clock.

    The car had been loaned for a period to a professional golfer in the Forth Valley area who, I was assured, had treated the car very well. The car then came back to Morrisons who had used it for demos for a couple of months before putting it up for sale.

    My issue with Morrisons relates purely to the number of times they’ve had the car back to rectify the situation, all to no avail. In terms of the buying experience I have no fault with them.

  36. @ 48 / 49

    Hello Mark. First time it went back was primarily for its 12 month service and to diagnose the steering issues. They checked the tracking and the wheel balancing. When I took the car I noticed a marginal improvement in the steering alignment (still going to the left when pointing straight ahead), but the vibration was still there at motorway speeds (in fact it was slightly more noticeable).

    Car went back a fortnight later for visit number 2. This time it was swapping the wheels around. Took the car home, and the steering alignment was still off, and the vibration also the same as before.

    Car went back three weeks later for visit number 3. On this occasion, the garage did a 4-wheel alignment and advised that they’d noticed an improvement. I took the car home and the steering alignment had not improved, and the vibration was even more noticeable at 70mph.

    Car was back last Thursday & Friday for visit number 4. The service manager swapped the wheels with another MG6 and noted that it didn’t seem to make any difference. Pictures were taken of underneath the car (mention was made of a bearing that was not lubricating properly?) and these were going to be sent to MG Motor for an opinion. I made it clear that I was very disappointed that I was having to take the car back home for a fourth time and it had not been remedied.

    Decided on Saturday to try and speed up the resolution by posting a brief message on MG’s Facebook page. It got noticed with Keith Harris (MG Customer Relations) getting in touch to ask for further info which I sent by email, and he followed this yesterday afternoon with a phone call to advise they would be linking in with Morrisons to get a ‘plan of action’ which would be communicated to me tomorrow.

  37. Thanks for that Ant, gives a bit more of apicture of events. Why didn’t they do the wheel rotation at service I wonder? (It’s part of the 12mth service to change front to back).

    It does sound a strange issue.

  38. Although it still sounds like the dealer is trying thier best,perhaps the service manager should have fired you in a loan car and used the car a couple of days to replicate the customer concern,whereupon a better diagnosis could be reached,maybe another used model to swap over steering knuckles etc to see if it improves.Substitution can be very handy indeed.

  39. Given how few of these things have been sold I cant imagine the after sales department is rushed off its feet. You should be getting absolute gold plated, red carpet treatment, not having to put up with this. They will have a yard packed full of unsold vehicles so I cant imagine it will be too difficult to just give you another.

  40. @53 Try peugeot dealers-they may as well shit in your fridge.No one is trying to swerve this guy,they just need to sort the problem out.

  41. It could even be a buckled wheel, or one that has been poorly cast, and not quite ‘true’. Sadly none of this actually surprises me, and there is no point blaming Longbridge, because they didn’t make the car, some blokes in China did.

  42. @56 The wheels have been swapppeed from one car to another,suggesting a fault with reciprocating components on the car and not the wheels,its easy to bang into a kerb and result in the knuckle being bent ever so slightly or a drive flange.

  43. The ipod problem is easy to fix. Get rid of it…

    The iPod does not function as a mass storage device accessed from just any USB port (including in car entertainment systems), iPod is locked into a proprietry system which means you can only access the music by USB through iTunes or through a licensed in-car entertainment system (with attached proprietry connector). The only way you can hear your ipod music is to use the AUX IN port on the dash/stereo.

    The alternative is to buy yourself a USB memory stick (£8, go to Kingston for their compact types) and move the tunes you want onto it – like transferring files onto another disk drive. Remember that any tunes that require license keys won’t work – very, very few ICE systems are geared for that anyway.

    If you use the USB memory stick method, you will find that you will have direct control over your music from the ICE controls.

    As for the software problems, make sure you try and get the latest software upgrade for your car. Most dealers should do this as part of your service routine but doesn’t hurt to ask.

    As for the vibration, have they changed the hubs or the bearings? Could also be a braking issue although that should have shown up on diagnostics.

  44. Reading some of the comments As mentioned by a few it could be the hub or even subframe alignment, as for pulling to one side both my Golfs pull to the left, our mk4 the most though it has never scrubbed a tyre off (tracking ok), the mk6 less so but you still need a firm grip to the right, Dealer said its because its a left hand drive designed car with a right hand drive bolt on conversion kit… which pretty much sums it up.

    Is nice to see that customer relations are listening (provided you rant about it on Facebook, shame it wasnt via the Dealer ) You wouldnt get that response from the Germans, Too Arrogant for that.

  45. @ 58

    Thanks for that Ross – will give it a go.

    @ 59

    Agreed Francis. I should have checked it out prior to purchase, but I also don’t necessarily think it was a wrong assumption to make that the iPod would work…

  46. Most people who have ‘free’ cars, often thrash the crap out of them & generally abuse them too. I hope you got a bloody good discount on new price

  47. @ 62

    Hello Marty

    Yes I did get a very good discount. Given Morrisons’ reputation for fair dealing, I’ve got no reason to doubt their word about the professional golfer who had use of the car.

  48. @59 Francis, there is nothing wrong with the ICE system. You can plug your iPod in using the headphone socket and the AUX IN at the dashboard. Control of the iPod is done ON the iPod though.

    The USB system is geared up so that it reads your USB device like a disk drive and can access the songs directly from there. Personally I prefer it because I have a greater control over what files I want to put on it- Apple doesn’t allow you this..

    I’ve got a few keys with different tracks on so when I get bored of one, I plug another one in and play the tunes off of that… much better than carrying a single media player. – Kinda like the old days when you could make a mix CD (or mixtape if you remember them! – lol!)

    Control over which MP3’s to play is done using the ICE system controls.

  49. iPod

    As others have said, it wont simply be plug-and-playable with any USB interface that isn’t iPod enabled.

    An alternative is the Belkin iTrip.

    I used one which has the built in stand in the Honda. It broadcasts over FM, choose a lesser used frequency and tune your radio in. Sadly not RDS, but surprisingly good sound quality.

    I replaced mine with an adaptor for the Kenwood radio in the car which has a full XMedia interface adaptor.

    Could send you the iTrip if you wanted it.

  50. @64 i bought a ipod kit from VW (a dedicated behind the scenes interface,approx £130)and it just gets on my tits,unable to make playlists for whatever mood im in,i wish it was USB’d up,i dont want to go aftermarket as the decks are for Saxo freaks etc.Mine being a ’05 MY golf and not having the later Mp3 set(although i could source one)soi suppose i will have to stick with it!

  51. @Francis you’re missing out by dismissing aftermarket HUs, Alpine kit sounds miles better than factory units and the iPod / iPhone control is spot on. I have mine set up with a customised iPhone that does music and Tomtom better than any OEM entertainment system I’ve seen so far.

    Don’t think it’ll help in this case though as it looks like you can’t swap out the MG unit? MG need to get iPod link sorted out as part of a general interior update as it’s something people want these days as standard, this thread is good evidence!

  52. Even some of the cheapest cars on sale feature Ifail connectivity as standard. I prefer the USB stick method though. Just plug & play with no faff, and you don’t have to use any of Apple’s software. What I use is a 4gb micro SD and a Sandisk adaptor which just plugs into the USB slot on my elcheapo Helfrauds special which cost all of £50!

  53. I see the usual Barton Lickers on .cult are already calling the OP a liar, the very same Barton Lickers who never actually put their hand in their OWN pocket and put their OWN money where their mouth is.

    Shabby………..

  54. Had a very encouraging phone call last night from Keith Harris at MG Motor UK and I’m now confident that all the issues with my ‘6 will be rectified within the next fortnight or so.

    Can I say for the record that I remain impressed with the ‘6 – it offers fantastic value for money and is one of the best looking cars on the road. However, the prolonged issues with the steering have caused me a significant amount of inconvenience, and despite me having an excellent buying experience with the dealer, their inability to resolve the faults after four attempts has been very disappointing.

    Fingers crossed the issues get addressed properly, and I can get back to fully enjoying my car. Will keep you posted.

  55. Quite frankly, I think the OP has given them too many chances to sort the car out. After the second attempt, the car should have been dumped on their forecourt, with a large sticker on the windscreen stating ‘not of merchantable quality’, and a solicitors letter demanding a full refund. That is the only way to get problems sorted nowadays. He should not have had to contact MG UK in the first place!

  56. You mention a TPMS system, if something on that was flapping around a little that might be enough to cause a vibration. Other things to look at is check the torque-loading on all the suspension bolts and fittings, check too for damaged bushes and the like.
    As to changing the wheels/tires over did they do that with brand new tires or off another car, because if was the latter then it might be that car has the same problem.
    Also check the brakes, if one is binding or has overheated in the past – then the disc might have warped, which would be enough to put things out of true and cause a vibration..

    With the joys of Apple hardware – a reboot might solve the connection issue, also look to see if there is a setting regarding itunes connection or use as a ‘mass storage’ – the latter would be your friend with car stereos.

  57. Just a thought, is the MG6 based on a better known 6 of the Mazda variety as it looks very similar? Sorry to hear about the OPs problems with the car as while these aren’t major problems that would cause the car to break down, they are very annoying and could persuade him to go elsewhere.

  58. Any mechanic should be able to align a steering wheel in 10 min .You would be amazed how many people do not know how to balance wheels correctley.

  59. I could have told you that car is a pile of Shite , and you would not have had to have me drive thousands of miles to know it. I may drive a Hyundai ix35, purchased new in Feb 2012, but I have done 20,000 trouble free miles in it, and whats more I can do unlimited miles for 5 years and still be under G’TEE. MG6 – MG stonker more like. No wonder the South Koreans are taking over the motoring world !

  60. @81 – That Hyundai ix35 sounds a tremendous vehicle covering a colossal mileage in a short space of time. Do you live in it or get a chance to sleep in your own bed?

    You’re right though, Korean cars are now a force to be reckoned with. My brother has had 2 Chevvy Lacetti Estates for his work use and they have done huge mileages with very little bother apart from replacing usual service items (tyres, brake pads etc)

  61. I had a Hyundai Getz and once the warranty is up, the cars are a waste of space. Mine fried its clutch a month after the warranty ended and then the ECU died a month later. Also the alloys were rusting and it seemed to like petrol as much as a two litre. I would say this, if you are buying one, get rid before the warranty ends.

  62. @82. Its a company car opt out. The G’TEE sold the car, (its even better than the kia 7 year (but 100,000) mile limit, and as The legend that is Mike Humble will tell you, Hyundai is the ‘thinking mans’ Kia, just like Wimpy is the ‘Thinking mans’ Mcdonalds.

    @83 The Getz was very much last generation Hyundai, the current Generation or New Generation as they call it, I think would last well beyond the 5 Year GTEE, but I intend to get rid after 4 simply as I like a sub 4 year old car as my main ‘smoker.

    I think we all have to stop looking at the MG6 thru rose tinted specs, as its nothing more than a sales and engineering disaster.

  63. @83 amen to that,and the parts are pricey too,the new hyundais have come a really long way,but getz and the like do show thier intolorance to neglect easy.

  64. At the end of the day MG are trying to build a new customer base from zero. That means not being just average, it means being better than average. Things do go wrong, it’s how they chose to deal with problems that means they will live or die. In your case, and mine they fall below even basic expectations. Car should not have been given back to you with same problem, you should have been given a temp replacement (with full tank and preferably of higher spec for your trouble) and even offered for the car to be dropped back to your house properly fixed – then you would be on this website raving (in a good way!) – on current trajectory with your experience and mine, MG are just going backwards

  65. These stories just seem to add proof to my theory, that SAIC just do not care about any of their customers, or their dealers. I really would love to hear from one of the poor sods who actually works at Longbridge. Dump this 6 back on the dealer ASAP, get your cash back, and go elsewhere, because you clearly are on the road to yet more heartache and stress.

  66. I remember buying a used Skoda years ago, and it was a bit of a lemon, and it was due to go back in for yet more warranty work (the car was an approved used Skoda with AA backed warranty from a main dealer), and they had double booked the courtesy car. They apologised, and offered to collect the car slightly later in the day from my workplace. When they collected it, they left a brand new car with only 7 miles on the clock, and a full tank of fuel, and it wasn’t a base model either. Funny how that me, my boss, and my dad, and my brother’s girlfriend all bought brand new cars from that dealer. Sadly VW killed that dealer, demanding a stupid franchise fee, and they switched to Kia

  67. Exactly Marty, they can turn a problem around with just a little thought and create a win win situation. If your trying to build a customer base that’s exactly what you need to do and the customer will talk about it for years afterwards in a positive way!

  68. Reading the other thread, it does look like MG aren’t serious about Europe at all, and Keith certainly feels severely disgruntled with the company as a whole. They can’t even be bothered to have stands at international motor shows. Even the old MG before they when whoops spent shedloads on PR, even though they could barely afford it. And as the 3 will be fully made in China, what actual future does the Longbridge plant actually have?

  69. I at the Moment I own a late 56 reg ZT 160 Turbo , and I am looking at replacing it with a 62 plate MG6 GT TSE . The car looks to be great VFM, but after reading a lot of the reviews, makes me think twice. The car to me looks great the quality of the build also looks, good, not cheap as some have reported . But I need to know more , how hard are puts to come by. Are many parts similar to my ZT brakes etc. I need some advise please

  70. I have just brought the ‘MG6 turbo and exactly the same wind coming through the passenger side window. Also not recognising the iPod and sat nav crashes. I have taken mine back but said they couldn’t hear the wind and they tried USB port and it fine…. What a load of lies!!!! What did you do and how can I sort this as well. Mine only been a month.

  71. I’m interested to know if any owners of the MG6 GT have had problems with any or all of the windows going down when locking the car with the key fob either immediately or delayed so when you return to the car the windows are down.

    I’ve experienced this 4 times now since I bought the car new and both the garage and MG are saying there is no problem.

  72. That’s an interesting comment about electric windows opening on their own ! My two Golfs have done the same, mainly after heavy rain, my mk4 has done it twice in 13 years (windows open half way) and our Mk6 about 4-5 times in 4 years (it has had a full re program from the dealers…?) However My neighbour has also experienced the same with his old Mondeo which was traced to the actual key fob remote. (now has a Passat, which also did the same but has since been ok once the dealers sorted it).

    Could the fault be traced to the fact that the electronics probably come from the same manufacturer ? As for smelly air con have only experienced such luxury’s since buying my VW’s, both bought new and both quickly started to smell of foist. Those aerosol cans don’t work much. But is this a standard issue with Air Con ?

  73. My uncle recently bought an Insignia and has had issues with the windows going down.

    The dealer fobbed him off with some story that he put too much pressure on the unlock button, which has a feature that does this if you hold it down (?)…

  74. Thank you for your comments on the variety of cars which experience the problems with windows going down. Its worth investigating if possible to find the fault could be traced to a common electronics manufacturer.

    The part that is foxing me at present is that when I return to the car and find the windows have gone down the doors are still locked which eliminates me accidentally holding down the open button on the key fob which activate the “windows down action”.

    Interesting!!

    What’s further interesting even though the car is still under warranty and on this occasion the windows came down overnight in a storm and flooded the car, MG at Longbridge say they cannot find a fault and have returned the car to the dealer. End of subject as far as they are concerned.

  75. Carl it is sad to hear the problems you are having, especially when the Stealers consider these faults Characteristics of that vehicle (WTF?) However for a newly re launched brand trying to make the right impressions to doubtful buyers, this is not encouraging (Try Facebooking them? )

    As mentioned I think all the electrical bits are from one manufacturer now as even the key fobs look the same, Our mk6 has the same pointless feature of opening the windows if you hold the open button a few seconds.

    Of further note our mk4 does not have this feature (but it still did it) and in damp weather the on touch window down switch fails to operate meaning you have to hold the switch manually, this all indicates dampness (difficult to cure) or water ingress is causing the symptoms.

  76. There have been water ingress related issues on the 6 and other SAIC-MG products. It has lead to parking sensors issues on the TF and 3 and alarm box issues on the 6 GT. So it could be that indeed.

    My experiences with VAG products is that they only tend to put the windows down when unlocking the car. Maybe I’m misreading the situation but if the windows are opening themselves whilst the vehicle is locked and unattended it is worrying in terms of security so MG’s laissez faire attitude to the situation is not something that I’d stand for.

  77. Like you I have a 2012 MG6 with all the gizmos and incredibly still finding new ones. I can truthfully say that this is the most fun car and certainly the most reliable I have owned in over fifty years of motoring. (My last car was a Toyota Camry 3 litre, a beautiful car and quite reliable but not half as much fun and definitely voted second to the MG6 by me).
    I originally found the engine quite an angry beast and easy to stall but after a free ecu software update that issue was cleared up. Steering and road holding are a joy to experience and no vibrations from 0 to 100mph that you complain about. Actually its probably the only car I can recall where I havent experience vibration at some stage of its life. Suspension is on the stiff side but then a small price to pay for such good road hugging performance. The niggles for me are the sheer number of button type controls which become impossible to cope with at night time. Its like having 2 dashboards worth of controls crammed into one and a lot of them partially obscured by an ill positioned gear lever. I imagine they may have changed the shape of the gear lever by now but my solution is to memorise where the top 4 useful buttons are and live with those. I have also had the phantom ‘low coolant’ warning which appeared just out of the 3 years warantee. My own unofficial explanation for this is that the float is like an inverted cup filled with air in a tube of liquid. Little by little (over 3 years in my case) the air gets absorbed in the liquid and float sinks causing the warning. Explanation sounds good to me anyway. The 2 minute fix : lift out the float, shake it free of liquid and replace it – good for another 3 years – I hope.
    Phantom window opening I first put down to a very sensitive key fob which sometimes goes off in my trouser pocket but then I then made a point of always checking my windows after locking the car and hey presto once or twice they were open. I then found that I sometimes brushed against the equally sensitive buttons on the drivers door as I alighted. Now that I am aware of these niggles I don’t seem to suffer from them any more, touch wood.
    By the way the tyre pressure monitoring system works by comparing the rotational speed of each wheel and alerts you when one steps out of line. If you have dissimilar amounts of wear on tyres on the same axle then you can experience alarms – so perhaps your car is trying to tell you something.
    I am now looking forward to seeing the SUV model due later this year but I just hope this doesn’t cause me a real problem. You see I love my MG6.

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