[TorqueyTechie]

Today on my way to the office I got the transmission fault error while making a U-turn very close to the office. This resulted in a loss of power as well. I slowly moved to the side of the road, parked, and stopped the car for a couple of minutes. After that when I started the car back, the error went away, and was able to drive to the office without any issues. I had driven the car for close to 1.5 hours until then.

I called up the service center and have booked time for tomorrow. Has anyone faced such issues? Mine is the 2021 sharp DCT model.

[Nonstop-driver]

Hi everyone, I bought a pre-worshipped 2021 Hector Plus Sharp CVT yesterday and upgraded from Creta TC Diesel. There are some things that I'm struggling with, hoping an existing owner could help me out.

1. In the Creta, there was a gear unlock button incase you need to lock the car but leave on neutral. I don't see that unlock button the Hector. Am I missing something?
2. The gear shift from D to N is very crude. The entire car shakes when I shift the car. Is it common? This was much smoother in the Creta
3. Does the EPB require brake pedal to be pressed? I feel the EPB is always fumbling, sometimes it doesn't disengage despite pressing the button.
4. How do you reset a trip in the MID?
5. I can see OE MG puddle lamps installed but I'm not sure how are these wired and how do they work exactly? Sometimes they illuminate and sometimes they don't. Is there a specific condition to illuminate them?
6. What is the "P" button for? One of them is EPB, what is the other P button?

[Sedate driver]

A concise review of my MG Hector Diesel Sharp after 1 year and 26000 kms.

Pros:

1. Best in terms of space in this segment. The rear seat space and boot space are too good. Gives a proper big SUV feeling. With big windows and sun-roof, the inside looks airy and spacious.
2. Though big in size, easy to drive in the city also.
3. The 2.0 L Fiat engine is powerful. Just tap the accelerator for quick overtakes even in 5th or 6th gears at the right RPM and the engine pulls along without any lag. At lower gears it pulls effortlessly.
4. The Diesel engine is fuel efficient for such a big and heavy car - got an average of 19.2 kmpl after driving 26000 kms in a year translating to cost per km of Rs. 4.50.
5. 60L fuel tank gives a range of 1000+ kms before fuel low warning, resulting in less re-fueling trips.
6. Audio - the Infinity audio system is excellent.
7. Things like sun roof, the ICE with big display, ventilated seats, powered driver and passenger seats, connected features, powered tail gate, TPMS, cruise control etc. add to the feel good and value for money features.
8. Absolutely no vibrations or rattles after 1 year.
9. Very good NVH levels and engine noise is almost nil when driven relaxed at 5th or 6th gears at 1800 RPM.
10. No DPF issues so far.
11. Solid build quality and no uneven panel gaps. Excellent fit and finish.
12. Commanding view from the driver seat resulting in good visibility.
13. Ride quality is good. The car just glides over rough roads at moderate speeds.

Cons:

1. No AT in Diesel.
2. Not so good in handling and driving dynamics.
3. Speeds above 100 kmph are not confidence inspiring.
4. Font size is very small in ICE as well as MID. Trip meter information is very basic.
5. Lack of physical buttons for AC is a major inconvenience.
6. The auto AC always works in re-circulation mode. Fresh air mode cannot be selected in auto AC.
7. No memory function for powered seats.
8. Headlights are just adequate.
9. Biege upholstery is difficult to maintain.
10. The rear becomes totally dirty when driving in rains. Not sure about similar cars.

All in all, the Hector is a very good VFM car with everything neatly put together. No complaints in general for me, as owning a car is not only for convenience but peace of mind too, without niggles and failures. Only gripe is MG have not bothered to release a Diesel AT which would have competed with Harrier and Compass.

[Nonstop-driver]

Hi All,

I purchased a used 2021 Sharp CVT recently. I am noticing a strong jerk when shifting from D to N. All other gear shifts are extremely smooth but the D to N jerk is so strong that the entire vehicle shakes for a mini second and even rear seat passengers feel the jerk. See the GIF to see what I'm talking about.

Is this normal or something that I need to report to the service centre? I have Creta and i20 ATs in family garage and all shifts are smooth in them.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by Nonstop-driver

Hi All,

I purchased a used 2021 Sharp CVT recently. I am noticing a strong jerk when shifting from D to N. All other gear shifts are extremely smooth but the D to N jerk is so strong that the entire vehicle shakes for a mini second and even rear seat passengers feel the jerk. See the GIF to see what I'm talking about.

Is this normal or something that I need to report to the service centre? I have Creta and i20 ATs in family garage and all shifts are smooth in them.

Attachment 2516778

You absolutely need to report and get this checked. I've driven a similar vintage cvt Hector, and there was no such reaction from the shift.

Your warranty and coverage is still valid, use it.

[car-dent]

Originally Posted by Sedate driver

A concise review of my MG Hector Diesel Sharp after 1 year and 26000 kms.

Pros:

1.
4. The Diesel engine is fuel efficient for such a big and heavy car - got an average of 19.2 kmpl after driving 26000 kms in a year translating to cost per km of Rs. 4.50.
5. 60L fuel tank gives a range of 1000+ kms before fuel low warning, resulting in less re-fueling trips.

3. Speeds above 100 kmph are not confidence inspiring.
4. Font size is very small in ICE as well as MID. Trip meter information is very basic.
5. Lack of physical buttons for AC is a major inconvenience.

I agree with your observations 100%. AC controls and Font on Infotainments screen and MID is a major incovenience. most of the times, i just avoid changing AC settings because of the effort and multiple touches on screen it takes.
Infact the large screen which is its biggest USP, is its biggest pain point as far as User Experience is concerned. The large real estate is hardly used efficiently. Anything useful is too small or not displayed readily, Like the outside temperature is not shown until you go into AC option. Its even difficult to read the time on the digital clock in a corner. and many not so useful features show up as full screen, like FM stations.


Regarding Fuel efficiency, i only get a range of approx 800kms before it shows low fuel and an overall mileage of 15-16.5 tank to tank.

[Nonstop-driver]

Originally Posted by car-dent

Like the outside temperature is not shown until you go into AC option

It shows on the dashboard/ home page next to the current time, no?
Agree with rest of your comment. Its very poorly implemented. All they had to do was plonk an Android software on the tab and integrate their AC controls into it. Currently it doesn't even have multi task capabilities.

I was wondering if its possible to upgrade to the 2023 Hector infotainment or maybe open the software of the existing HU and add more apps to it. Couldn't find anything on it so far.

[Nonstop-driver]

Hi, any users of the Hector with 10.8 infotainment could please confirm if they have managed to run Android Auto on full screen orientation?

1. I'm facing issues with connecting AA in the first place with my phone. I understand it could be a cable issue; I've tried 4-5 cables already but I'll try with the OEM cable this weekend. The device is Samsung S21 Ultra.

2. I'm considering investing in one of those Wireless Android dongles. There's a carlinkit device priced at INR 5000 with decent reviews. But it would be pointless if AA runs on wide screen mode instead of full screen portrait mode. The online search is sketchy about how does AA really orient for 10.8" units in Hector.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by Nonstop-driver

Hi, any users of the Hector with 10.8 infotainment could please confirm if they have managed to run Android Auto on full screen orientation?

1. I'm facing issues with connecting AA in the first place with my phone. I understand it could be a cable issue; I've tried 4-5 cables already but I'll try with the OEM cable this weekend. The device is Samsung S21 Ultra.

2. I'm considering investing in one of those Wireless Android dongles. There's a carlinkit device priced at INR 5000 with decent reviews. But it would be pointless if AA runs on wide screen mode instead of full screen portrait mode. The online search is sketchy about how does AA really orient for 10.8" units in Hector.

AA is not in full screen mode, unfortunately, with this version. So the dongle will not solve this.

And yes, the cable may be the issue for you.

[Nonstop-driver]

I went to the service centre last week to get the D to N jerk checked. At first the advisor tried to brush it off as normal but when we compared against other Hectors, it appeared that the jerk is present in all but is amplified in my vehicle. Then they spent almost entire day checking the CVT, transmission oil, mounts, spark plugs, error codes and what not. But nothing came out of it. Ultimately I was advised to keep driving and report back if there were any issues. Considering the complex vehicle that it is, I decided to close the chapter fearing they would break something else trying to fix this. Got headlights re-focused and they changed a brake pad (didn't even ask to). Bill was 0 as the elite maintenance package covered it. Got the ceramic coating touch up done (last service of the 3 year package).

In a separate update, purchased a Carlinkit t-box lite Android dongle and was surprised to see that it runs full screen Android OS , Android Auto and Apple carplay by default without any scaling or resolution issues. The dongle has 3 functions:

1. Runs an Android OS on the headunit. In the basic model, you need to give it hotspot, advanced models get a SIM slot. This means with just hotspot, the headunit can run Google maps, Spotify, etc.
2. Wireless Android Auto. Same thing as above but now your phone heats up more and drains faster.
3. Wireless Apple carplay. Didn't try this yet but the reviews say this is integrated even better.

Integrates very nicely with the existing infotainment functions. Retains the AC control bar at the bottom and 360 camera functions launch as expected.

Other than the pros, 2 cons:
1. Takes about 30-60 seconds to boot up after the MG boot up
2. Uses the USB port under the screen so the phone can't fit the wireless charger unless I remove the phone cover



I've a trip planned to Chandigarh and then to Kangra later this week. This will be the first long trip in Hector. Planning to write a full purchase and ownership experience post that and click some nice pics as well

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by Nonstop-driver

2. Wireless Android Auto. Same thing as above but now your phone heats up more and drains faster.

My thought process was also the same , if the phone has to provide video feed for a big screen which is high resolution outside of its own screen , it's going to work real hard. I think OEMs should limit Android Auto and Apple CarPlay screens to a meaningful size within the infotainment display, else we will have to equip our phones with a cooling fan.

[fabia_firstcar]

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

Today on my way to the office I got the transmission fault error while making a U-turn very close to the office. This resulted in a loss of power as well.

Any update on what the issue was? I hope it is not the DCT failure (which is what I dread as an owner of the same model)

[TorqueyTechie]

Originally Posted by fabia_firstcar

Any update on what the issue was? I hope it is not the DCT failure (which is what I dread as an owner of the same model)

The service center did a complete check and didn't find any red flags or alerts showing up. SA said maybe it was a blip as I had traveled in b2b traffic for some time and floored the accelerator a bit much making the software confused. They took it for a spin as well and said works fine which I had told them as well. In the end, I was told to keep a watch and if it were to happen again they would take the car in and look into it.

[Sufficient_shop]

Originally Posted by Nonstop-driver

In a separate update, purchased a Carlinkit t-box lite Android dongle and was surprised to see that it runs full screen Android OS , Android Auto and Apple carplay by default without any scaling or resolution issues.

Have you tried connecting the T-box to the 12V socket? My unit is detected only if I connect to the USB Type-A port directly and not to any other port.

[Nonstop-driver]

Originally Posted by Sufficient_shop

Have you tried connecting the T-box to the 12V socket? My unit is detected only if I connect to the USB Type-A port directly and not to any other port.

It won't work. In Hector, the USB that's connected to the infotainment screen is the only 1 under the screen. 12V socket doesn't interact with the infotainment.