EXCLUSIVE
A woman has recounted a “frightening” experience with her brand new Chinese-made hybrid SUV that saw her electronic brakes and steering fail metres from a busy intersection shortly after driving the car off the lot.
But the dealer and the manufacturer have refused to refund the car, even after a second battery failure nine days later, insisting tests could find “no fault” with the MG HS+ Essence and that it “should be safe to drive”.
“More people need to be aware that these issues do occur,” said Sarah, who asked not to use her real name. “It’s incredibly unsafe, especially if considering purchasing a car and living in a regional location.”
MG, a venerable British brand now owned by Chinese giant SAIC Motor, has quickly emerged as one of the most popular names in Australia with its range of affordable petrol, EV and hybrid models.
Sarah, who lives with her wife in regional northern NSW, purchased the $49,300 MG HS+ EV plug-in hybrid mid-size SUV through a novated lease from Tynan Motors in Sutherland last month.
But immediately after driving it out of the dealership she “experienced a catastrophic power failure whereby I couldn’t even engage the electronic brake let alone acceleration or steering”.
“Thankfully, I stopped metres short of a major intersection in Sydney,” she said.
“I did, however, have to keep my foot on the brake for 90 minutes until a tow truck arrived. Police and TMC [Transport Management Centre] also had to attend due to the traffic hazard.”
Sarah said it was only by “sheer luck that I was not involved in a major collision”.
A Tynan Motors representative apologised for the “unfortunate events that happened on day of delivery with your new car” in a May 23 email and said MG had agreed to cover the cost of towing, servicing and delivering the car to Sarah’s home.
Sarah was told that the problem was “unheard of and incredibly unlucky”, she recalled.
“They replaced the 12V battery and against my better judgment, I accepted their explanation and took the vehicle back,” she said.
But nine days later, she was parked in Ballina when she experienced a second battery failure.
“The car simply failed to start,” she said.
“It turned on but I couldn’t put it in gear or accelerate. I also couldn’t turn it off. Warning lights flashed including ‘high power battery shutdown’.”
“This is absolutely ridiculous,” she said in an email to Tynan Motors on June 10. “We simply cannot rely on this car. It’s clearly not a ‘battery’ issue.”
The dealer again offered “our sincere apologies that you have experienced another issue in your new MG”, and said the manufacturer would take the car in for more testing.
But two days later, they assured her that MG technicians were “unable to find a fault with your car”.
Sarah informed Tynan and MG on June 14 that she was seeking a full refund on the basis that the car had “two major issues since purchase, both of which have been unsafe”.
“The first issue created a situation that was incredibly unsafe to both myself personally as well as other road users,” she wrote.
“The fact that there has been a second major issue seemingly without explanation and within nine days of it being ‘cleared’ of the first issue is unacceptable. It was only luck that on this occasion … we were not in a more remote location.”
She argued there was “simply no ability to rely on this vehicle” or even “guarantee that it will even start”.
“It creates a major safety issue in that it cannot be guaranteed that this vehicle won’t fail at speed on a highway, in a remote location or in traffic,” she said.
“Had I been aware that these serious problems could occur, I simply would not have purchased the vehicle. That the cause for the second issue cannot be identified is alarming. There can be no other conclusion other than the vehicle is defective and incredibly unsafe.”
Under Australian Consumer Law, the definition of a major failure includes a situation where “if, as a reasonable consumer who was fully aware of the nature and extent of the failure, you would not have bought the car”, for example if “your car suddenly and unexpectedly loses power due to a manufacturing defect”, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
“Unfortunately at this time neither Tynan Motors or MG will consider a buyback option,” a Tynan Motors rep informed her on June 20, reiterating that “MG cannot find any fault with your vehicle”.
“They have requested that you collect your vehicle without delay,” he wrote. “I understand this is not the response you are hoping for.”
Another Tynan rep followed up, “All reports say there are no faults with your vehicle, so the car should be safe to drive. Unfortunately we are not in a position to take a return of your vehicle.”
Sarah requested a copy of the mechanical reports, saying the assurance the car “should be safe” to drive “doesn’t instil any confidence at all”.
“Will Tynan’s accept liability if there is indeed another safety issue?” she asked.
“Especially if it does cause a collision or injury? Unless you can warrant that there will not be another safety issue as has already occurred, I do not feel safe driving the vehicle.”
Sarah has also lodged a complaint with NSW Fair Trading.
A spokesman for MG Motor Australia said the carmaker had been in touch with the customer and was “launching a technical investigation and working with the dealer to proactively address the concerns raised by the customer”.
“We have to handle any and all customer claims on a case-by-case basis and are proud to honour our warranty coverage,” he said.
“The dealer mentioned has done their best to ensure the customer’s concerns have been addressed and we have been reassured they’ll continue to do so, they’ve also gone the extra mile to cover transport and out of pocket costs as well as provide a loan vehicle to compensate for inconvenience while the issues are resolved and addressed.”
Sales of hybrids saw the largest growth in May with 16,218 models sold, a 113.4 per cent increase compared with May 2023, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI).
EV sales also grew by 10.5 per cent to 8974, representing a turnaround from April when EV sales fell for the first time in more than two years.
A boom in Chinese brands including BYD and MG has helped power the electric renaissance, with almost one in four of the record 111,099 new cars sold in May either EVs or hybrids.
Hybrid and plug-in hybrids comprised 15.8 per cent of all sales, double the share recorded in the same month last year, while EVs made up 8.1 per cent.
Some 66,000 hybrid vehicles have been sold in the first five months of 2024.
It comes after MG recalled nearly 5200 MG HS hybrid models due to fire risk last May.
The recall notice said improperly placed carpet could lead to a fire hazard.
“Due to a manufacturing defect, the carpet underlay may be positioned between the nut and the electrical ground stud,” it said.
“If the nut detaches over time due to vibrations whilst driving, it could cause the wiring beneath the floor to overheat and it may result in a fire inside the vehicle. A vehicle fire could increase the risk of injury or death to vehicle occupants, other road users or bystanders.”
The MG HS plug-in hybrid variants have not been rated by the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) — although this does not necessarily mean they are unsafe to drive.
MG Australia chief executive Peter Ciao told CarsGuide last year the manufacturer was willing to forgo the five-star ANCAP rating on some models in order to keep the cars affordable for consumers.
Mr Ciao cited the high cost of keeping up to date with the modern safety features required under ANCAP’s standards, which are updated every three years.
“From our side, if we want to catch-up to the standard, the development cost, the factory cost, the material cost, the technical cost, everything will go up,” he said. “This is why 10 years ago under $30,000 you could very easily get five stars and now it’s very difficult.”
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Aussie mum’s 100km/h Chinese EV horrorFrank Chung
China’s dirty EV move in Australia exposedShannon Molloy
Last week, a Canberra family who were one of the early adopters of BYD said they had been “completely turned off” the brand after the battery on their Atto 3 failed while driving.
BYD described the battery failure as an “isolated incident”.
frank.chung@news.com.au
