[theguardian]

While car(s) in question catching fire is not a pleasant situation for both the owner(s) & the manufacturer, what troubles me are the responses from the OEM & the customer.

There was an aftermarket accessory which could be the reason?
Or
The presence of foreign material (cleaning cloth) found in the engine bay?
And
The customer is fully satisfied with the MG's customer service and quick response?

How come a foreign material may be left inside the engine bay by a cleaner/driver? I don't even allow my cleaner to access the engine bay, why is it required? The only time I open the bonnet is to check the coolant level, that's it.

Is the investigation done? If not, then why 2 different explanations are doing the rounds? I also learned that the customer got a new MG Hector post this incidence; why?

Imagine a situation wherein I installed an accessory from a vendor other than the dealer and my car catches fire, will the OEM give me a new car? Not at all!

So many questions but not even a single convincing answer as of now, and we should not hope to get one, IMHO.

[Roadster17]

Originally Posted by neil.jericho

Of course, this is just my interpretation of the turn of events, I too do not know what exactly has transpired. And hence I do not pass judgement on the same. Let us not be the judge, jury and executioner without having facts on the table.

Overall, I really liked the response by MG.

So, you decided to give the benefit of doubt to MG and really liked the response from MG.

Not at all amused at the rate MG is growing in India.

[nishsingh]

My take on this is:

1. A cleaning cloth left in the engine bay can indeed cause a fire - The posts on the Team_BHP " How to clean the Engine Bay?" thread (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...ngine-bay.html (How to Clean the Engine Bay?)) seem to suggest that there are several service stations who clean the engine bay with engine oil, Kerosene and Diesel. A rag soaked in these liquids and left in the engine bay can indeed be disastrous.
2. MG needs a better PR team for sure - The donkey pulling and these fire incidents show MG in a poor light and show how poor MG's PR is. The PRs on both occasions made it look like someone at MG said to another: " Arre, Ramu Ji, zara media waalon ko woh PR type kar ke bhej dijiye!"

[COMMUTER]

It might be the amount of plastics used used to unnecessarily deck up the engine bay or their poor flame retardant quality that might have fuelled the flame. Had it been a simple cloth left in the engine bay leading to fire we would have tackled a similar issue in detail by now in this forum.

[veyron_head]

We have heard of customers fighting OEMs about lemons but these guys come across as an angel. They will simply give you a new car even though its not their fault in anyway. Customer delight is important you see. But equally important is you weren't caught in the fire and are alive to receive the replacement car.

[Hemicuda]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

However, rather than being transparent (long term positives to be gained), aggressive information squashing is what pissed people off. Customers will do foolish things and make unrealistic demands because they have spent close to 20 lacs on a car - that is to be expected, especially in a country like ours. But that doesn't mean the company should show the same lack of maturity.

And yes the most irritating part is MG thinks people are really stupid enough to believe this.I would like to imagine what would have happened in one of those daily meetings which MG marketing team must be having when this issue came up. And a special slow cap for the person who would have thought that this is the best response to deal with it.
Jokes apart I guess this issue just tells us not to get too carried away with the Chinese brands and the gizmos available with them.
One may say that in the mobile phone arena they may have proved their mettle so I guess they will do the same in the automotive arena someday, but they are not there yet.
In this whole episode there is one very disappointing thing that is happening, and that is the hogwash that few of the automotive sites are putting up on their websites about the investigation and results clearing the Hector of all issues.Hope this thread on T-BHP can help MG take notice that not everyone is a fool and they soon get their act together.

[UB_007]

Has MG shared a detailed investigation report that caused fire on both cars?
There is no more any media noise on this. Thanks to MG's efforts.

It was a hot thread here last week and am sticking to it for more updates.

Surprisingly the traffic on this thread has also been significantly reduced like other media. The thread has stumbled to 3rd page and was wondering if MG had something to do with this

[saket77]

Originally Posted by UB_007

Surprisingly the traffic on this thread has also been significantly reduced like other media. The thread has stumbled to 3rd page and was wondering if MG had something to do with this

I see that this is the first thread on the first page that comes up now. After your post. I found your argument this amusing!

Probably there isn't much news in the mainstream media now (MG's role?) after the initial flare up, so there's not much discussion around it. In fact, the thread garnered 14 pages of discussion in a span of 5 days; so you can rest assured that it has nothing to do with MG!

Regards,
Saket

[ashishy]

Discussing without data points would be running like headless chicken. SAIC was not transparent, media was paid off.

Summary:
1. Don't trust media
2. Don't trust new products

All in all similar to mainstream news.

P.S. There were XUV500 and ecosport fires as well but had no discussion, so it might be a case of trobling the new kid, I don't know. If the kid doesn't react everyone goes their own way

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by UB_007

Surprisingly the traffic on this thread has also been significantly reduced like other media. The thread has stumbled to 3rd page and was wondering if MG had something to do with this

without any technical info being released after MG's 'investigation' (other than a vague statement mentioning foreign object/cleaning cloth) , how can any discussion continue ? BHP-ians have already spoken loud, about the sinister media muzzling. I don't understand what more you are expecting.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by UB_007

Has MG shared a detailed investigation report that caused fire on both cars?
There is no more any media noise on this. Thanks to MG's efforts.

It was a hot thread here last week and am sticking to it for more updates.

Surprisingly the traffic on this thread has also been significantly reduced like other media. The thread has stumbled to 3rd page and was wondering if MG had something to do with this

14 pages and well over 300 posts. What more were you expecting?

It is not a story that has a constant flow of additional data that will keep it alive. If it is a matter of serious concern to you then you can make the effort to gather more data, analysis, news and post it.

As a member each of us has the right, nay responsibility, to be an active participant for everyone's benefit and not just a passive reader. The story has moved to page 4 now of the Hot Threads list because newer hot topics have come in and the topics are listed chronologically.

[pandabear]

Thanks for highlighting this issue here. I am a news junkie and I am surprised how I missed it. I was only aware of the donkey pulled hector but had dismissed it as a one off clutch burn issue. This is however very serious.

[di1in]

My brother's 2-year-old Hector Plus got taken to the service centre a few days back after his family discovered that they were standing in a pool of diesel when they entered the garage just before a family trip. He had a full tank of fuel, and the tank was just above half when they found it.

This happened in Thrissur, and MG's "Coastline Garages" fixed the issue after some delays. They initially said it was a simple o-ring issue and that they would have the vehicle back the same day. But it got delayed to two days later.

He asked them for detailed documentation of the issue, and they said that the part had a manufacturing defect, and the repair order had "O Ring(for diesel filter) replaced for the fuel leakage concern".

His wife and kids were really shaken after the incident.

Is there something he needs to do to escalate this issue and get a thorough checkup of the car for any other issues, (not sure if this is too much of an ask) maybe extend the warranty and compensate him for the 25L of diesel lost. Thanks in advance for any advice.

We had asked the service center to give us the contact to which we can escalate the issue, and they gave us the Kochi CRMs contact saying there is nothing else available. I found another email ID on their website, so planning to write to them too.