MG-Cars.net

Welcome to our resource for MG Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG ZR ZS ZT Technical - ZS180 Boot Lid

Our 2nd ZS180 is performing very well. 2800 miles and no oil consumed at all. It went back to the dealer last week for just four minor niggles but it seems that one of them is going to become major.
1, Water leaking into passenger footwell from a/c
Apparently our rubber mat had knocked a tube off.
2, Accelerator pedal sticking at times.
Sorted.
3, Front grill mesh falling off.
Blackbird still inside, fixed it and we should really charge you.
4, The boot lid will not stay up. Bend to get into boot, smack on head.
That's the way they are.

Now, do they really think that I will accept that?
Should MGR be selling cars with this stupid problem? At Silverstone I asked several other ZS owners about their bootlids and they all have the same problem, and it is pi**ing them all off aswell.
Nik & Anita

HI Nik
Hi Antia

Type "R" running fine, just over 2,000 miles. Used about one third of a litre of oil. No return to the deraship (Sorry, very tired, 97 in the workshop today, been weilding all afternoon).
Mike

A couple of no hopers tried to race it, only "Real" firefight" was with an TT.
Cheers.
Mike MEGA

N & A...

I have now forgotton how many times i have twatted my head on my 180s magic falling boot lid trick (slightly worried that i have forgoton, possibly starting to have an affect on me.)

Now parking it pointing down my drive, the reason i have as well been told is that the boot lid and mechanism is no differant to the R45, which of course doesnt have three and a half tonne spoiler...!!!

get use to the fact that we have bought british and as usual only half thought out.

I also have 6/7 other minor nicks which will hopefully be resolved next week at the dealers.

Still love every single driving moment though and would definately look a MGR when my company 180 is up for renewal.
K Heaton

I had heard from a friend that MGR are well aware of this problem and had agreed to fit stronger springs to his car. I too have this problem 'character?' with my car. Hope to get it sorted along with numerous other faults next week when car goes into dealers.

Pete

I have a ZS+120 saloon with the small spoiler and have no problem with the boot lid staying up until I park in the drive.

The drive is at an angle of around 20 degrees and censequently the boot lid will not stay open. We have a piece of wood in the boot to keep it open !!! I didn't think there was anything that could be done.

Do you think my dealer fix this ??

Thanks..
Alasdair

Nik&Anita

Funny you have had probs with your boot.

I have been talking to OUR dealer this week about a similar problem. But mine was that the spring had actually come out of its clips. I booked it in for next Wednesday, but tonight I've got fed up and sorted it myself.

What I did notice thou, was that at each end of the spring which travels horizontally from side to side under the rear shelf. It clips into a notched piece of steel.

Standard it fits into the nearest of the two notches, but I think with a bit of a push it may sit back in the rear one which would increase the tension on the spring and so help keep the rear cup holder in the air.

I will have a look tomorrow and post back if successful
mikeh

Mike H,
There is a technician from MGR going to 'our' dealer tomorrow (monday). He needs to sort out the problem because our boot lid split my mates head clean open last Wednesday. I was picking him up to travel to a squash match, flicked the boot open as he got to it, the next thing we knew was one of the boys said " Where's he gone" got out of the car and he was rolling about on the road bleeding and moaning. We thought that it was hilarious but of course there is a more serious side to it. It could have been my head!!!!
Nik & Anita

Ouch !!

Hope he's O.K. but glad it wasn't you :)

I've had a look at the afore mentioned bracket thingys, but the springs don't really want to go back into them.

The boot doesn't actually fall down, but is shall we say a bit limp. Dread to think what the second hand ones will be like in 5 years time ??

Still haven't spotted you yet...
mikeh

I find boot lid stays up as long as car is parked perfectly level, and no strong gusts of wind!!

Kelv
Kelvin

Surprise surprise, no MGR bloke, no call from the dealer, still no video camera. Just to cap it all, a nail in the rear tyre and no bl**dy key for the alloy wheel removal."Oh! it's in our locker still". What good was that to me.
Not at all happy
Nik
Nik & Anita

Nik
It's a bit extreme to resort to violence to ensure you win all your matches.
Neil
Neil Stothert

Neil,
He plays for my team.
On the bootlid front, MGR bloke said today that he has not come across this problem before and that they will investigate. What a load of bo**ocks. If they look at every ZS180 coming off the production line, every one will have a boot lid designed to damage people. They had best sort this out because I will not accept my squash team being damaged on a regular basis.
Nik & Anita

Hi Nik/Anita

I can't believe that there is a ZS with an extreme spoiler out there that would not benefit from increased tension in the boot lid.

To back you up mine doesn't stay up either, and I've lost track of how may times I've faced the guillotine only to come out with a sore head.

This is your second ZS as well if I'm not mistaken, and thats how your loyalty is repaid. It really is a shame that these issues are not identified quickly and dealers take the responsibility to call in the cars they have sold to have them fixed, rather than leaving the running up to us.

M
Mike

9:40 tonight just got back from a packed asda, been up since 6:10am nagging bird at my healm, pulls the car into the garage, starts pissing down....oh I have to unload the twatting shopping.

first, second, third load out ok, reaches to the back of the boot obviously slighlty shaking the car, pulls back ....

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

felt like burning the f%^king thing, punched my breaze blocks walls in fury and that bŁ$tard agonizing pain, cutting 2 knuckles in the process.

Whichever simple twat thought that uprated springs would not be required by doubling the weight of a bootlid deserves to be publicy hanged!!!

Kev
K Heaton

Whereabouts do you live?? Were you at the Pudsey ASDA-Walmart? If so I was about a mile away in the pub
Rob

Thanks for your support lads, I am going to have another go at the dealers tomorrow. I am printing this thread to show them. I think that as they are surely aware of the problem, they must hope that nobody gets seriously injured by one of these things. Maybe if some of MGR's people actually lived with one of thee vehicles, and went shopping in it, and emptied the boot themselves they would soon sort it out. This is the only thing spoiling the car for us.
Nik & Anita

Nik and Anita WROTE:

>>> Maybe if some of MGR's people actually lived with one of these vehicles, and went shopping in it, and emptied the boot themselves <<<

They probably did ... in one of the pre-production cars. Then when suppliers provided those springs for the actual production cars, perhaps a little variance in the springs was just enough to swing it .... onto the owners bonce .... DOH.

Out of our several Montegos, my turbo is prone to do exactly that with the bootlid if the front of the car is a degree or more above dead level. Just tips the scales as it were. The boot lid springs are on the rearmost of their four tension locations which provides maximum spring tension. But, on this car that is not always enough. Other cars do NOT have this problem, and their springs are NOT on maximum tension either. So I can only assume that there is a variation in strength with some springs. When time allows, I'll swop the springs for the known good ones from another car I'm breaking and will dispose of soon. Hope that does the trick.

The point about living with a car is very valid, and one I've often made when discussing cars with others. But, I wonder how many manufacturers actually do this with a genuine PRODUCTION car taken at random off the line. Not many if any at all I would not be surprised to learn. Some much more serious problems only become apparent once Joe Public gets his or her hands on them over a longer period. No two drivers subject their cars to exactly the same treatment and for that reason, some owners will discover some things others never get to experience.

JMcF
John McFeely

Some parts of the UK have streets that are very steep, do people just learn to adapt and make sure they park with the car facing down hill? I'm not just thinking of MGZS owners but any booted car!

Kelv
Kelvin

No Rob The new one in Bradford!!.. (Why she says we have to go there when we live in Halifax) glad to see you were having a tough time as well though??!

Kev
K Heaton

Just reading this so I thought I would check mine (ZS180) no prob at all.Seems to hold OK and mine is 12 mths old now.
S Forbes

Nik & Anita,

Any news.

Mine is a pain in backside.

Paul
Paul

Sorry for the weeks absense lads but we took the ZS to France for a week. Park it in a busy street at your peril - Swarms of people giving it the full inspection, young and old. The boot lid was a constant embarassment as the golf umbrella isn't colour coded. Back on the case now though. I think that I will deal with MGR direct as the poor old dealer is not getting any support off them.

Nik & Anita

Just been to see a new ZS with the small spoiler. Boot lid refused to stay up at all! Jeez, and this is a new car!!

Steve
Steve

Still no word from MGR. On the boot lid or video camera. They have sold us 4 cars in the last 3 years but they obviously don't care whether or not we buy a 5th next year.
Nik & Anita

This thread was discussed between 29/07/2002 and 07/09/2002

MG ZR ZS ZT Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG ZR ZS ZT Technical BBS is active now.