Hi everyone, just test drove the MG4 Urban, a very nice EV but with a potentially dangerous issue.
The right hand stalk is the gear shifter. For those used to indicating with the right hand stalk, this could be a big problem as if you accidentally "indicate" left with that stalk, you could put the car into reverse.
Curious if anyone else has noted this issue, in this car or any others with gear selector stalks?
Thanks
lol OP has not driven many cars
lol Op has not driven a car full stop
I am used to driving European cars where signals is left stalk so I did not have any issues adjusting
This. It aint gonna let you shift unless your foot is on the brake and the speed is zero - or whatever very low speed its programmed to.
Most car is 5kmh or below or else it will just beep a warning sound
next thing you hear and feel is BANG!
Should be safely parked before you & Pam hop in the back seat 🤔
The car won't let you change gear while driving - you would need to stop in order to go from D to R.
Plus, this arrangement isn't exclusive to the MG4. Pretty much every car that comes from Europe will have this arrangement along with many other brands/regions.
Even a few Holden vehicles (being an Australian company, now gone) had opposite stalks for their vehicles they imported from overseas (Vauxhall).
That’s nothing. Back in my day we rode the bus with no seatbelts and every time the driver hit the clutch the toilet flushed.
The windows also go down and your kid could fall out.
FFS - a member for 16 years and your first post is about this?
playing the long game
.
Wow. Thanks for raising this dangerous issue. Mercedes Benz has just issued a recall of every single one of it's cars ever sold to rectify, thanks to your insight. You have saved many lives today OP.
the battery is also dangerous, it may catch fire
driving is also dangerous, you may crash
the brakes are also dangerous, they may fail
the sun is also dangerous, it may blind you
Member Since
07/05/2009
Seeking validation of naivety as opposed researching to become informed. Sadly, this is much of the flavour for posts these days.
OP hasnt driven a merc from the last 15 years which is the same.
Didn’t know mercs used column shift.
Yeah - my wife's GLC250 has a drive stalk on the right. I actually find it convenient. Hers is from 2018 so definitely OP hasn't driven very many cars.
Lol, I really enjoyed this response!
Ludicrous ness well highlighted
Clap clap 👏
Column shift manuals entered the chat
I went tp go from 2nd to third, but the wipers came on.
First world problems,
Cars have had these for years…
You get used to it.
Just wait till you find out that VW's, Audis etc all have their indicator on the OPPOSITE SIDE!
TIL, why my wiper blades wear out so quickly.
Didn't BMW with astute German engineering solve the problem by removing the indicator stalk completely?
I have 2 fords with indicators on the left side.
God, you actually bought a Mondeo and a Focus?
Fiesta ST (made in Germany)
@S Baldrick: MK7. I prefer my go carts with 2 doors 😉. Pumaspeed tune and supporting mods. Best bang for buck drivers car in the last 20 years.
@MS Paint: Mine is stock, aside from a Cobb RMM and Vibratechnics transmission and passenger side motor mount. Been thinking of getting a beefier intercooler and remap, but maybe not with these fuel prices haha
New wheels and lowered suspension will probably be the next mod. Might bite the bullet and get Compomotive's (if they're not ludicrously expensive) and Mountune or Swift springs (don't want to get defected with coilovers).
Hello Stupid Police?
Yes I'd like to report a stupid
I had no idea we had cars here that had gear shifting on the stalks.
Very familiar with cars having the indicators and wipers (mostly european cars) on opposite sides the majority but not once in my life have I gotten in a car that had a gear shift on a stalk.
Nothing happens when the car is moving. There is no mechanical gear. It only works when the car is stationary.
It smells like burning
Go banana
Here’s hoping his next post is about cat food
For anyone who GAF… you can see how it is mounted here
Wait till OP works out that the indicators are on the "WrOnG SiDe!1!!"
They already found out, that's why they haven't replied, currently having a panic attack.
you can see how it is mounted here
That is even more offensive than imagined.
I’m literally shaking right now…
Where are the wipers?
on the windscreen
Newer BYD (Atto 2) have the same feature.
During test drive, I accidentally used the right stalk to indicate left after coming to a stop, and it put the car into reverse. When I pressed the accelerator, it started moving backwards. Luckily I'm used to hitting accelerator slowly at the start, I quickly realised it was moving backwards so I stopped and reverse it back to D.
I realised I wouldn't normally indicate after stopping, but I did it because I was unfamiliar with the road and the car.
I used to switch between a European and Japanese car so I'm very conscious about this. However, even with time and muscle memory, I would find myself sometimes use the wrong stalk to indicate. When that mistake just triggers the wipers, it’s harmless, but putting the car to reverse could cause an accident.
There are many situations where you might instinctively use the right stalk to signal, especially when stopping, and unintentionally engage reverse instead. That experience really put me off, and I decided not to buy the car. Allowing reverse to be engaged without clear tactile feedback feels like a poor and potentially unsafe design choice.
The atto 2 has one too. Amusingly my dad just msgd today to say he changed his order from one to a sealion 7 due to this.
Test drove the Byd Atto2 as another reply stated earlier, has the same issue/feature.
The dealer was there for the drive and when he was driving the car back to the dealership, he did the exact same thing (changed gears while at an intersection instead of indicating), half way through telling me how good the car was.
No, you can't change gears while driving, I worked that bit out early on. But it is susceptible to accidentally changing gears while at an intersection or at a stop when making a wrong indication and then driving.
GAC Aion UT, Jaecoo J5, and Leapmotor B10 have left side indicator, right side gears as well. (And judging by the cars you've tried out so far, you should consider these ones in your search).
When I was doing the test drive I tried drastically changing my hand positions, had my left hand at 9:00 and right hand at 12:00. It helped somewhat in remembering to keep well away from the right stalk.
If you're driving it should ignore the reverse request and go into a neutral state. It should not engage the electric motor in the opposite direction until you're going extremely slow or even have stopped. These are controls by wire, through a computer, the switch isn't mechanically connected to the motor. The computer sin automatic cars haven't allowed this for a long time now, though it would be cool if you could be driving down the highway and flick it into reverse and your car suddenly flips forward Blues Brothers style or just totally comes off the axles.
This - in my wife's Merc if you're in drive cruising merrily along, tapping the stalk into reverse DOES NOT WORK.
The computer stops stupidity in that case. Same as I can't use the flappy pedals too quickly on my Alfa when gearing down it just beeps (otherwise it would over-rev the engine and do damage)
Lots of cars have this 'feature'. It will prevent you from shifting unless your speed is super low.
Eg A lot of auto cars won't let you turn the car off unless park or neutral is engaged.
"speed is super low"
Many new cars won't let you change gear until the brake applied.
Reminds me of my sister going from her 68 Corona with 4 on the tree to the parents 71 Falcon with 3 on the tree.
Reverse in the Falcon is in the same place as 1st in the Corona.
I remember going backwards very fast.
Apologies to anyone under 60 who does not follow!
LMFT
Apologies to any idiot who does not follow!
You get used to it.
I jump from LH indicator to RH indicator all the time although it wouldn't surprise me to see an MG going down the road in reverse and the owner oblivious to what was going on.
Banging an auto into reverse at 60kph is one of lifes little joys
Next the old Tesla had no indicator stalk, how can I indicated when exiting a round about when the wheel is upside down
Same way bmw drivers been using their indicator stalk.
All the EVs I've checked have indicators on the left, gear change on the right. It is an issue, but I figure the muscle memory will rewire as long as all the cars in our household are the same. Our current car is right side indicator but it's on its last legs.
Muscle memory is funny. I occasionally go for the clutch pedal in our auto that i drive regularly, but ususally drive manual. Both cars are same brand.
My partner used to always get her parents euro car correct, indicators on left, but frequently turned the wipers on instead of indicating in my falcon (indicators 'normal') This coming from never having previously driven a reversed stalks car in more than a decade of driving.
But yes, you quickly learn which way to do things and just occasionally make a mistake depending on what else is happening to distract you.
I think it depends on they market more to Europe and whether they are copying Tesla. I'm not a fan though, BYD cars have the indicator on right side which I prefer. Don't know about other Chinese brands.
many cars have right hand gear selectors, including my last merc. it is relatively common and tends to be brand specific and no you can't just accidentally put it into reverse unless MG's are really badly designed.
Wait until you see how you cancel autopilot on older Tesla with stalk. Do it wrongly and it could go into neutral.
@ralwig88
Bit quiet..did you go for another test drive ?¿
A few comments about Atto 2 here, but I have to question how much people are actually paying attention to the car they're driving.
I have been driving my Atto 2 for about three months now and never have I actually drove in reverse instead of indicating. Have I hit the wrong stalk and gone into reverse while stopped? Maybe…twice when I first bought it. Did I actually reverse? No, because I listened to the car and heard no indicator sound. So I checked before I did anything, corrected instantly and went on my way. Seems simple, no?
Otherwise, the few times I hit the reverse while at any sort of speed, the car did nothing at all as I would expect. If anything, I find the fact that the speed warning sounds (both over speed and speed change) have a higher priority than the indicator sound is a bigger problem than anything to do with the gear selecting.
What a brutal read. I agree with all of you.
Column shifter in my old ML250 would put the car into neutral and my current Chery also puts it into neutral. But it's never put it into reverse. Neutral is just as dangerous but you quickly work out your error and put it back into gear.
Imagine the OP trying to drive manual with a clutch and shifter AT THE SAME TIME AS STEERING!!
Everybody knows EVs are dangerous …
Get a manual transmission. They're simpler.
many cars have that setup still. just remember to top up your tranny fluid on the stalk before you drive.
Driving is not easy!
Yeah that kind of happens when you crash the car during a test drive. You break it you bought it
Don't press it twice, will send you to the moon. Consider this as a Final warning.
Don't laugh too hard, in Tesla's its possible to launch the car into limited self driving when trying to indicate, ie. hit the right hand stalk thinking you are indicating and cruise kicks in rapidly accelerating… ask me how I know ;-(
Just go out and buy a proper car. Don't compromise on bad control design if it is important to you just because the car is cheap.
You're absolutely right. The MG4 uses a right-hand stalk for gear selection (pull for Reverse, push for Drive, button for Park). For drivers coming from many European or Asian cars where the right stalk is for turn signals, the muscle memory could genuinely cause a dangerous situation — especially if someone tries to signal left at a roundabout or intersection and accidentally knocks the car into Reverse.
not sure why the negs, muscle memory is real, well at least for me. I make mistake sometimes when renting car whose configuration is different than my usual car.. though not as bad as from forward to reverse, but still annoying when activating wiper instead of turn signal..
My old classic Mercedes (1972) has the indicator stalk on the right.
Every other car we have:
Alfa Romeo (2016)
Mercedes (2018)
Renault (2018)
Ford (2014)
All have it on the left.
The 2018 Mercedes has a gear selection stalk on the right, like the MG.
No-one in the family (even on L and P plates) has ever gotten it wrong and accidentally knocked it into reverse.
You never rely on muscle memory when driving a car. You concentrate on everything.
Plenty of things do this, my work transit is like it. Not sure how you think it's dangerous, it's all electronic, it doesn't actually let you shift into reverse at 100kmh.