9 month old car with recurring issue
Discussion
My mother in law bought a new MG hybrid (not PHEV) SUV thingy from a local dealer in March.
Around July it died on her. Dealer took it in then returned after a few days saying no fault.
Around August it throws up a battery warning. She goes back to the dealer and they say "you're not driving it enough".
October the thing dies again. Totally dead, can't even get in to the thing. I tell her to call MG. They send the AA (this is who they use for their assist service). They take it to the local dealer who say "needs a new 12v battery" and proceed to take 3 weeks to fit it.
By this time my mother in law has pretty much lost faith in the car and told the dealer she wasn't happy with it.
FFWD to this week, the car has died again. She is now, understandably sick of this car.
The car was bought outright so no finance involved.
Being the family car guy I now have to go speak to the dealer. My suspicion is that there is something not right with the charging system. I know in a lot hybrids there is no traditional alternator and the 12v is charged from the HV battery.
Has anyone had a similar situation with a car? Where you are beyond the window to reject, have given the dealer the opportunity to fix and are stuck with a lemon? What was your outcome?
Thanks
Around July it died on her. Dealer took it in then returned after a few days saying no fault.
Around August it throws up a battery warning. She goes back to the dealer and they say "you're not driving it enough".
October the thing dies again. Totally dead, can't even get in to the thing. I tell her to call MG. They send the AA (this is who they use for their assist service). They take it to the local dealer who say "needs a new 12v battery" and proceed to take 3 weeks to fit it.
By this time my mother in law has pretty much lost faith in the car and told the dealer she wasn't happy with it.
FFWD to this week, the car has died again. She is now, understandably sick of this car.
The car was bought outright so no finance involved.
Being the family car guy I now have to go speak to the dealer. My suspicion is that there is something not right with the charging system. I know in a lot hybrids there is no traditional alternator and the 12v is charged from the HV battery.
Has anyone had a similar situation with a car? Where you are beyond the window to reject, have given the dealer the opportunity to fix and are stuck with a lemon? What was your outcome?
Thanks
nunpuncher said:
She goes back to the dealer and they say "you're not driving it enough".
The car isn't fit for purpose, unless they warned her that it would need a certain type of use and she accepted that.I think it's common on hybrids - there's a recent thread on Lexus LBX (Toyota Yaris Cross) having the same issue and that was being used quite a bit. I was in a Hyundai dealer the other day and the service manager said they were having a bit of a nightmare with older customers who only did a few miles per week.
If you've given them multiple chances to fix the same fault and it's still failing, you should look into the Consumer Rights Act. Even past the initial six months, you can still argue for a partial refund or a replacement if the car isn't fit for purpose. Don't let the dealer just keep swapping batteries while ignoring the actual charging issue
Sheepshanks said:
nunpuncher said:
She goes back to the dealer and they say "you're not driving it enough".
The car isn't fit for purpose, unless they warned her that it would need a certain type of use and she accepted that.I think it's common on hybrids - there's a recent thread on Lexus LBX (Toyota Yaris Cross) having the same issue and that was being used quite a bit. I was in a Hyundai dealer the other day and the service manager said they were having a bit of a nightmare with older customers who only did a few miles per week.
When it failed in October she'd done 6000 miles so far. I'm not sure what miles they expect to keep the battery topped up but she'll easily do over the current UK average of 7k in less than a year. She lives in the middle of nowhere, nearest shop is 4 miles away so it's used near enough every day.
Call Citizens advice before you speak to the dealer, then you'll be fully informed.
She had the fault after four months of ownership, and reported it.
The car's still suffering the same fault, and the dealer's had two attempts to fix it?
I'd be rejecting it, and buy another car that works.
She had the fault after four months of ownership, and reported it.
The car's still suffering the same fault, and the dealer's had two attempts to fix it?
I'd be rejecting it, and buy another car that works.
Trevor555 said:
Call Citizens advice before you speak to the dealer, then you'll be fully informed.
She had the fault after four months of ownership, and reported it.
The car's still suffering the same fault, and the dealer's had two attempts to fix it?
I'd be rejecting it, and buy another car that works.
Yes there's probably a process to follow like writing to dealer first, so if you can, reject.She had the fault after four months of ownership, and reported it.
The car's still suffering the same fault, and the dealer's had two attempts to fix it?
I'd be rejecting it, and buy another car that works.
I'd be pretty angry about the not driving enough remark, that's plenty use by any measure for a new car.
My old dears 2025 Yaris Hybrid is showing early signs of doing this. She barely does any long journeys and the cars app notified her that the 12v battery was low. I measured it at 11.8v and after a drive it had charged back up to 12.7v. I'm guessing the dealer will want to just charge it which wont fix the issue long term.
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff