Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Plus Four, Supersport & Plus Six (CX & CXV Generation Vehicles) Safety Recall - Brakes

My supplying dealer told me yesterday that the new master cylinder will provide improved braking feel and performance.

As the brakes almost feel as if there is no servo assistance (a little 'wooden' TBH), this will, in my opinion, be a good thing.

I must say though, Morgan's are hand built cars, far from mass production vehicles. As such, a certain degree of frustration and aggravation can be expected. Anyone who bought a Morgan without doing their research beforehand, will probably be annoyed and disappointed. However, when I looked into this before purchasing, I discovered there has rarely been model launched which wasn't beset by quality issues and aggravation. Talk to any MSCC member who has owned multiple Morgan's and they will tell you the same story.

If you want a soulless experience then buy one of the production line built sports cars. If you want charm, soul, history and heritage and real pride of ownership then Morgan delivers by the bucket load. Just accept they are an idiosyncratic hand-built marque.

I worked in Munich for some years and lived in a hotel opposite the BMW plant, as a result of which I got to know some of the BMW staff. I remember one guy who was their armrest and centre console specialist covering all models, which was probably just 3,5,6 and 7 series at that time. If I recall correctly the design and development budget for arm rest and centre consoles was in excess of the current Morgan turnover.

Against that perspective I think Morgan do pretty well.

+1

Before I retired, one of my clients was a manufacturer of specialist equipment used to shred metal (mostly cars). One of their products was a "block cracker". BMW's UK engine plant was one of their customers - they would destroy faulty blocks to ensure they never made it into the parts chain. This poses two questions:
1) What proportion of blocks are faulty that this investment was needed?
2) How many other investments are there in multinational car manufacturers that are linked to quality that are only affordable because of their scale?

I agree up to a point. Recent build quality has improved. However, there are certain systems that warrant a high level of quality. Brakes are safety critical so come under a must be good category. So, two requirements are suitable for the weight/ performance of the car and standard of manufacture. The first is fairly straight forward. The second a function of design, manufacture and quality management. Is the part an existing one with a proven history or a newly developed one being introduced?
A manufacturer can batch produce existing parts and introduce batch conformity tests. Hence the ability to isolate batches if needed. This allows the customer to identify cars with parts found to be dubious. Hence recalls of specific models with batch related components used in their manufacture.
If the Morgan master cylinders are already off the shelf then what supplier quality system is in place to prevent substandard items getting through? What is in the contract to cover a required quality standard and rectification?
If off the shelf then are there other manufacturers being affected and also needing recalls?
Add in the attitude of the car manufacturer. How diligent are they about faults and resolving them?
Morgan have recently improved in this area so a good sign.
As for costs to Morgan, the brake supplier must be under scrutiny and liable in some way. The big question is reputation. Two points for this, first the credibility of MMC in how they deal with it for existing customers. Secondly the dent in image and how it is dealt with. Showing serious concern for putting the brakes right and how they liaise and treat customers and dealers is critical.
Customer.....treated fairly and made to feel they have been helped. Incentives, offers, compensation etc..
Dealers.....reimbursement for costs and no undue pressure. It is not beyond creating closer ties between MMC, dealer and customer.

I'm awaiting my Plus Four from the factory, and this was estimated at the start of September.

Latest advice from Morgan is that the brakes issue has put 3 weeks on to this, now the end of September.

TBH, that is a better outcome than having just taken delivery and then waiting an unknown number of weeks until you can drive the car, having paid in full for it!

A good thing really as I read somewhere on here that they have also promised a "permanent" solution to the ongoing saga of the faulty radiator to be actioned at the same time that the brake master cylinder solution is, so you should be enjoying carefree motoring unlike the "testers".

Good luck and enjoy the car, they are lovely looking vehicles and I very nearly went for one but decided at the 11th hour that my V8 days still had some time to run.

I'm usually one of the 'first off the line' types of person...makes a change this time to have let other people do the testing

I did it for you.

Me too ,my car has been built in june 2020