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MG ZR ZS ZT Technical - MG ZS suspension creaking

My ZS creaks when I set off and slow down. Its is coming from the Near Side Front - cant tell if its inside or out. Also the bloody seatbelt buckle rubs against the seat and squeaks too. And finally the rear seat squeaks! Its gonna have a trip to the dealers soon!

Last point the standard Kenwood radio is sh*te. Its so hard to use you need a Masters degree - Ive only got two bachelors! I had to read the bloody manual front cover to cover just to change the clock - first time ive read a manual since a bought a BBC B in 1984. Also the signal is sh*t so I took off the Autoscan thingy.

Final point (honest) I still cannot obtain official MG branded rear rubber floormats. Got the front - wow what a design - looks like MG Rover thought about it long and hard and then decided just to cover the Rover badge up with an MG badge - the rest of the mat is the sam - i.e. little rover logos
Rob

Rob
I had a "Modid" Ford RS1800 that had nylon bushes instead of rubber ones. These used to make alsorts of odd sounds, i was wondering if MGR used hard Nylon bushers on the ZS/ZR?
Mega.
Mega

God knows but when I had a R400 it didnt creak or squeak and they call this progress?
Rob

I currently have the same problem in the same place on my 6 month-old ZS180. I took it to my dealers and they said that it was the weld on the under-side of the floor and went to work on it while I went away for the afternoon in a R414!

After that it was fine for a few days and came back. I don't think that welds creak like that though. To me, it seems to be part of the footwell. It has been very dry lately, I am wondering if this stops creaking in the wet?

This is starting to irritate me, if I wanted creaking I would have bought a 15 year old Fiesta. My R420 never had this problem either.

Radio: I briefly improved my Kenwood reception by putting my hand on the aerial when the sunroof was open. The aerials on the Zs are a lot shorter than those on the R200/400. I might try swapping mine with a longer one and see if it makes any difference.
Alex

No creaking, radio fine!!
9.8k miles, car built July 01

Kelv.
Kelvin

seems to be a bit of a prob with the creaking suspension on the zr+zs, all it takes though is some grease on the strut tops to cure it.

i changed my kenwood head unit for an alpine which is supposed to be one of the best and the signal is just as bad, does seem to be the aerial at fault. would swap it for a longer one but they don't look quite as good.

rob
rob

Mine appears to creak from under the drivers seat?
Climber

Rob, Leeds.

I've got a Masters and it doesn't help! The Kenwood CD Radio is officially crap!

The only thing it does well is sound bad! It sounded crap whatever I adjusted. Very fiddly and awkward to set up. Whipped it out of my TF and fitted my Pioneer Radio/Cass/6CD autochanger from my F. Bliss, Perfect!

Anyway put the Kenwood in my wife's Focus and it sounds really great? How strange, I think it must be the Focus acoustics/speaker match or their locations.

She's happy, I'm happy!


Ian Walker

Oh, I forgot to say - She's a midwife with a Masters Degree, small hands, used to fiddly buttons and working in confined spaces... Must be Kenwood's target customer!
Ian Walker

>>>>fiddly buttons

How does that come in to midwifery?!? ;-O
David Bainbridge

belly BUTTONS!!!
Ian Walker

Ah. I see.
David Bainbridge

I think the poor kenwood system and the creaking problems are goverment based requirements, because, and as with anything that is british, we allways seem to create something that is only 90% decent!!!

(Still not canceling my blue 180 due 1st june!!! WEHEY!!!)
K Heaton

K Heaton, I was very tempted to get a ZS180 but finally went for a TF160. The ZS180 was(is) awesome to drive but the loud pedal, fuel costs and my wallet are incompatible! Another government based reqirement.

Anyway K' a good choice and for me a close run thing!
Ian Walker

Ian, when I first started looking at MGs I tested, along with others, the TF160. I would never buy one as I need a large car due to company requirements, however would LOVE!!!! a british racing green one for the weekends. I think those cars were designed purely for burning around the dales B roads in mid July.

I am not a huge fan of the MGFs looks (my opinion only!), however would totaly agree with that lancastrian top gear presenter the other month in respect to the more aggresive looking TF and general all round overhall....

K Heaton

ZS Front suspension creak cured!

I can't get used to a quiet ZS180 now, with no creaks..

See http://forums.mg-rover.org/viewtopic.php?TopicID=649

Photo of offending area will be onsite later today
Dave

Creaking sounds easily cured.. turn the radio up!! :-)

Kelvin

Kelvin - turning the radio up in the end didn't drown out that goddamn awful creak (from both sides in the end).....that's why things got so desperate and I gave up driving it for a week util it got fixed..then they sold the thing!
Dave

I am putting up with a Mitsubitshi Magna (Aussie Only) until I can buy a MG and it had a simalar problem. It was the engine mount at the front which had let go and the side one was creaking as the engine was moving. I did think it was the suspension at first.

It seems to me that MGRover has been spending money getting the pretty radio in MG's but not spending on speakers. They are the first thing you should look at when upgrading in a new car.
Adam

Booked it in at last (lazy me + dont want to lose the car for anything!) at Clemo. Told them I wanted it fixed first time no pissing about with taking it back etc.

I see Appleyard MG Rover in Leeds has shutdown after 30 odd years and that another dealer in Salisbury has closed. Come on MG get some more dealers recruited.
Rob

Any luck, Rob??
Dave

Hasnt been in although, after reading a post from you on the other site (mg-rover.org) and using that piccy, I fixed it myself. Still gona send the car in as their is a slight rattle from the B pillar on the Near side. Fized the squeeky seat too my putting a smear of oil on the side of the seat - the squeek came from the plastic seatbelt housing rubbing against the vinal on the seat bolster.

Thanx Dr. Dave - shame richardsons dont buy some more MG Rover dealers up countrywide.
Rob

What you guys saying? That the ZS has a suspension fault? If so, tell MGR, rather doing a self "recall". This is not the way MGR would like to do business.
Rock & A Hardpace

MGR do infact know about this fault..

I would imagine a TSB will be issued to the network pretty soon to highlight the problem area

Dave

I did it myself cos I was so pissed off with the bloody creak and cudnt trust the stupid dealer to fix the problem for me.
Rob

I suggest "Dave" that you stop telling people they have problem cars. You will put people off from buying ZS's. Yes, tell MGR and they can implement the recall notice.
Rock & A Hardplace

My ZS has been fine BTW!
Fred

Really?
Dave

It seems to me that this Dr Dave character jumps to a lot of conclusions with out knowing the full facts!
He deduced that MG were going to have a imminent return to the USA and now is scare mongering that the ZS has a fawlty suspension.

Peter hitchens,creak free ZS180 owner :)
Peter Hitchens

Peter

I know "talk is dangerous." I just can't believe he does this on the public domain! Surely, the way to do any work like this is through the CORRECT channels?
Rock & A Hardplace

What he has posted on the internet is sensitive imformation.If MG Rover were a listed company a scare story like this could have a distablizing effect on the stock value.even in this situation he could of had a detrimentle effect on sales.
He is a loose canon and kevin howe should bring him under control!

Peter Hitchens
Peter Hitchens

Hey! Ease up on Dr Dave. He has the experience to suggest the common reason for some of the common faults exhibited by MGR cars. It's not a "scare story", it's just an easily remedied tolerances issue (I think). As an owner of a ZS180, I hope that the on-line MG community will provide me with the opportunity to learn from the experiences of others - and Dr Dave has more experience of these cars than anyone else that I've come across on-line. If the BBS did nothing but praise the cars, it would put me OFF buying the cars as no cars are faultless and denying the fact deprives the owners of an easy and effective way of getting their problems fixed.

S.
Steve H

I agree with your comments Steve. But fixes should be reported to MGR, not bandied about on the public domain!
Rock & A Hardplace

I agree with Steve on this one. Dr Dave has been more helful with suggestions for problems I have had with my car then my dealer or MG-R Customer services. As I have stated on previous posts on this and other boards MG-R need to look seriously at how their dealers respond to customer requests and issues. At present it would appear that too many dealers are concerned with just selling cars and not keeping customers and providing them with good after sales service and information. Many could do worse than take a leaf out of Dr Daves book and use some initiative. Keeping customers informed of issues and explaining why things are as they are is much better than fobbing them off with statements like " its characteristic of this car" as I have had from my dealer. If customers get problems resolved quickly then they are more likely to stay and spend more money. I know for a fact that Dr Dave has provided MG-R with information on this particular issue, and my own dealer has praised the details passed on by him, helping them to resolve problems on two other cars to customers satisfaction, including mine!

Climber

Had very squeeky suspension on my Rover 75 shortly after it was delivered, it turned out to be faulty rear dampers and front struts. They were replaced under warrently and 50000 miles later no problems at all with the suspension. I've got Poly suspension bushes on my 1975 BGTV8 and 1977 Truimph Stag, and I get no squeeks and groans at all - just more road noise transmitted into the cars structure because of the firmer bushes.
A Menzies

A. Menzies

These were caused by faulty French supplied dampers. I never had a problem, but brothers 75 had all 4 dampers replaced at around 10k. They now have a kit to fix the problem - only evident on early build Cowley cars.
Jerry Flint

The sort of Forum, Dr Dave runs might be beneficial to those with problems. But, as a punter looking at buying a new ZS I now feel rather put off in continuing with my purchase.

I feel his Forum is destructive rather than constructive and can be very misleading - it should be stopped. The danger is he could be suggesting a fix that is incorrect and could inavlidate your 3-year warranty. He has already proved his knowledge is not always accurate.
A Punter

A Punter

It's entirely your choice which car you choose to buy, but freedom of speach dictates what people can say and where. As a ZS owner I can say I am not afflicted by a suspension creak, but if I was I'd like to know why. The forums at various enthusiat sites are an invaluable source of information to owners, and even to buyers, although there is a danger of ones opinions being skewed by problems reports. You find very few threads that start "my car is absolutly fine and has no problems" simply because there is not much point in a thread of that type.

It is great that there are people out there in the community that put their time and effort into solving problems and make that advice available. The site is, after all, an enthusiasts site and would no doubt be encouraging you to go ahead with an MG purchase. I myself can completly endorse the ZS's handling and drivability.

Ultimately the person responsible for servicing and maintainance of any vehicle is the owner, sometimes it can be helpful if you can go to a garage forarmed with some knowledge regarding a problem as I myself have had experiences with garages that have been less than satisfactory. If you don't like Dr Dave's advice, ignore it...in much the same way I do with hoax email virus warnings.

Richard

Im with Dr Dave - he does work at an MG Rover dealer and a good one so I hear. If you dont accept that cars have faults and they ALL do - my mates Merc and his dad BMW 7 series (new one) all have minor faults and Mg are no exception. If you dont want to buy one then fine p*ss off. Im quite happy with mine so there :P
Rob

I think some of you have missed the point.
David does have a right to freedom of speech but with that right comes responsibilities to MG Rover,customers and potential customers.
I believe he should of posted that he had discovered a cure to "creaking" but not to of published the photo untill Mg-R had verified his findings.
As a direct result of this photo someone who had so little faith in the dealer network decided to do a DIY cure with a hammer(i guess) on a car with a surposidly 3 year warranty.
This has created two issues that i feel need to be addressed.
1. That this can only give a bad impression to potential MG buyers browsing this BBS.
2. That if Rob was to have a RTA due to suspension failure it would leave DR Dave & MG Rover in a very dubious legal postion.
Just my thoughts
Peter Hitchens
Peter Hitchens

> As a direct result of this photo someone who had so
> little faith in the dealer network decided to do a
> DIY cure with a hammer(i guess) on a car with a
> surposidly 3 year warranty.

I don't see how you can blame that on Dr Dave - it sounds like a problem with the MGR dealer network to me. I certainly don't recall Dr Dave advocating anyone taking a hammer to their ZS to fix this problem. If I had this problem with mine - though mine is currently creak free - I would take it back to the dealer and tell them what Dr Dave has discovered. This may well save them time and increases the chance of them fixing the problem with minimum disruption to me. If I had a cr*p dealer - and, again, thankfully I don't - I would print out the photo in the hope of getting them to do their job... and do MGR a favour by informing them of their under-performing dealer.

Others my disagree, but I feel that saying 'letting people have information only encourages them to take hammers to their cars' is utter rubbish. If someone is of the inclination to beat their car, they will do it anyway. Dr Dave's information is just increasing the likelihood of them hitting the correct bit first time - and is a great help to those of us without such destructive tendencies.

S.
Steve H

Steve

You are missing the point entirely. I agree that his postings CAN be of benefit to all owners. However, I don't think the legal boys from MGR will be very pleased to see his posts, especially as he works for the company!

AP

A Punter

As a soon-to-be-ZS owner, I have to say 'well done' to Dr Dave for sorting this one out.

With a dealer network as notoriously patchy as that of MGR, any information that owners can have can only be a good thing. What problems 'Dr Dave' may have with MGR about his postings is up to him to worry about.

And by pointing out that the problem can be solved simply, he is not *forcing* anyone to invalidate their warranty. Just as all the people on the MGF board telling us how good the K&N filter is are not forcing us to invalidate our warranty by fixing one on.

As far as damaging the image of MGR - better that a Rover car has a known fault that can be easily remedied than a trail of dissatisfied owners with creaky cars warning others off buying MGR!
David Bainbridge

Who gives a flying f*ck. I'm happy that the squeek has gone and yes I dont have much faith in car dealers as a whole not just MG Rover dealers. Dr Dave is a star end of discussion. If the suspension breaks then they will bloody fix it ive only moved a bit of metal for christs sake.

Peter and friends give this thread a rest and get real
Rob

This thread was discussed between 08/04/2002 and 14/05/2002

MG ZR ZS ZT Technical index

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