I have written several articles about Australian MG4 electric car software updates so readers often ask me if there’s any more recent news about this topic. I’ve written below about everything I know so far including a detailed quote from an MG Motor Australia media spokesperson.
I had a conversation with an MG Motor Australia media spokesperson and this is what they said in an email sent to me:
“We are continually looking for ways we can enhance the driving experience of our cars through updates based off customer feedback. In addition to what you already know, I can confirm the following”:
- “1/9/2023 OPM campaign released for 51kw variants to add OPD function”.
- “29/9/2023 R11 software released to refine iSmart connectivity. Improved adaptive cruise control. Persistent touchscreen status bar. Added new settings. Driving start-up delay addressed
- “7/2/2024 Software released for all MG4 variants to improve AEB operation”.
“There have been other minor improvements released for the MG4 however none that have required a specific bulletin or release to be issued such as software updates to amend the braking on cornering when using the cruise control function”.
“Due to these ongoing updates, we have instructed our dealer network to update the whole vehicle for all available improvements when the customer comes in for their scheduled service”.
Quotes from MG Motor Australia media spokesperson in an email sent to me
Since that email was sent to me there has been another software update for MG4 Essence 64, Long Range 77 and X-Power (all these have built-in sat nav).
The update adds a basic EV trip planner and charging stop suggestion feature to the built-in sat nav. Watch my video to see how it works.
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Besides these bigger updates readers who have had software updates applied to their MG4 at an Australian dealer have reported several smaller changes that improve the MG4 driving experience (if you have noticed other changes please let me know in the comments area):
- If you quickly press the left 4 way toggle on the steering wheel up or down the adaptive cruise control now changes by 1 KM per press and holding it down changes it by 5km steps
- The car originally slowed down when driving around bends using adaptive cruise control, now it sticks to your set ACC speed
- Apple Carplay and Android Auto don’t take over the whole centre screen, instead there is a thin bar at the top which shows info like current radio station, internal and external temperature, the car 4G ESIM signal and some air con settings
- Some people report less aggressive LKA
- The car now remembers your preferred distance to car in front of you when using adaptive cruise control instead of resetting to Level 3 max distance each time you start
- Traffic Jam Assist isn’t as jerky, personally I don’t use TJA
- Speed sign recognition seems to have improved
I want to also point out some important things.
The more polite specific feedback about issues with the car is sent to MG Australia HQ by owners, the more likely that they can incentivise the dev team to work on a free software update to improve issues like a better CUSTOM mode that remembers OPD being ON as well as improving lane keeping assist .
MG Dealers are not owned by MG Motor Australia. They are independent businesses who buy MG cars from MG Motor Australia and then sell them to people like you.
So since car updates are time consuming and require monitoring you can expect a per hour cost if you ask an MG dealer to apply all available MG4 updates to your car outside a scheduled service visit.
A recent post on MGEVS forum by a person saying they’re an Australian MG4 owner said they were quoted $196/hour for an on demand software update to their car. If your local MG dealer has quoted a per/hour cost for software updates please share it here as a comment.
On the other hand another Australian MG4 owner pointed out some good points about manual software updates:
“At least they also can’t force changes with regressions that we don’t want onto us like other manufacturers can. If there’s a reason for the update then they will do it for free, they pretty much have to if it’s the only solution to what would be a warranty repair job. For example this week I got an upgrade from R04 to R11 (Essence 64) by saying carplay was playing up (which it was occasionally)”.
From memory there around 80 MG dealers across Australia. Like any large group of human beings there will be a mixture of great, average and mediocre people you’ll deal with and the service quality will vary a lot.
If you don’t like the service at your local MG dealer try another one instead after checking the MG4 Owners Australia facebook group to find out which nearby MG dealerships have a reputation for offering better customer service.
You can choose to do servicing for your MG4 at a 3rd party which can handle EV’s but I don’t recommend that as they won’t have be able to apply any MG software updates to your car.
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