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MGF Steptronic gearbox problem - Help wanted

My wife's Y-reg MGF's Steptronic gearbox has played up twice since we acquired the car three weeks ago. On both occasions the car sounds like it has "slipped out of gear" with the engine revving wildly but not going anywhere when driving.

The lcd display in the dash doesn't display which gear the car is in nor do the lights alongside the gear selector light up. The engine bay smells hot although the engine temperature gauge appears normal.

On both occasions the car has returned to normal after being left to cool down overnight. The car is normally driven in "D" and isn't thrashed.

Does anyone have any ideas what this might be or has anyone else encountered the same problem?

The car is still covered by warranty from the independent dealers we bought it from but, as the car "fixes itself" and the problem is intermittent I'd like an idea of the fault so I can make sure they fix it when I take it back to them.

Thanks,

Mick

Reply to
Mick Nelson
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Bad news i'm afraid Mick, the steptronic gearbox on the MG is a crock of crap, it's well documented & you are advised to steer clear. browse the web & read for yourself. Not too helpful i know but i just have it in for these MGs, i have one & it's a bad car i should have known better but i bought on impulse as you do one sunny Saturday in May 04. Regards, K.

Reply to
Keith Langley

Thanks for the reply. I've read lots of bad reviews of the steptronic but mostly berating it for 'spoiling' the feel of the MG. My wife actually likes the auto box and if it was working as it does when it wasn't playing up it wouldn't be a problem.

I've done plenty of web (and Deja) searches but searching for MGF problems throws up plenty of matches, mostly HGF's, adding the word steptronic doesn't seem to narrow the search down much.

As we're now stuck with the car, which to be honest we both like, my main concern is getting this problem fixed at whatever cost as quickly as possible (while it's still within the 3 month warranty offered by the garage we bought it off).

As the problem goes away if the car is left overnight my concern is they'll keep it for a few days, give it us back saying it's fixed, then the problem re-occurs after the warranty period is up.

If it's a simple relay problem then that's fine, if the whole gearbox needs replacing again that's fine (while it's covered by the warranty). What I realy need is some hard evidence to show the garage that can back me up if it's something serious.

Cheers,

Mick

Reply to
Mick Nelson

Hmmm i know what i would do under the circumstances or at least consider......Why don't you "ensure" that the auto gearbox has a warranty replacing fault. Drain the transmission fluid then give it a pasting & abuse, fill it back up again & drive your rattly car back to the garage & point them to the gearbox. Trouble is i have had aggro with most garage warranties & they can be really funny about paying out for anything. I have had auto box motors many times & the modern ones are far superior to the ones of 15 years ago, crazy as it seems sometimes just draining & replacing the transmission fluid correctly sorts quite a few niggles. As for garages i must be their worst enemy, i am polite & firm if things are not fixed properly, lay it on the line & take no bullshit, even Ford managed to misplace a cam belt by a few degrees on my 16 valve Moldeo resulting in a top end mishmash...they did the works to repair it but not after denials etc. Regards, K. Regards, K.

Reply to
Keith Langley

Reply to
corringham1

Mick, My wife also has the Steptronic gearbox, and recently experienced a similar problem. The car would continue to drive but not change gear and limited itself to approx 3000 revs. We could park up for a while, leave the car and it would run normal for a period, until it happended again. One of the things I did notice was the light on Park, Reverse, Nuteral, Drive would not light up. I understand that this is a safety feature to protect the engine.

The result, the ECU had packed in and needed replacing, took about 3 weeks to find the fault, but eventually it was found and the problem has not gone away. Hope this helps

cheers Paul

Reply to
MorecambeStoney

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