- Euro NCAP is publicly urging MG3 owners to act on a recall they ignored.
- The MG3’s driver seat slid forward during a 2025 frontal impact crash test.
- Safety agency says no car has shown this exact seat failure since 1997.
Safety regulators don’t usually go on the public record to chase down owners, but Euro NCAP is doing exactly that with the MG3, eight months after a crash test exposed a failure the organization had never seen before in nearly three decades of running cars into walls.
During a frontal crash test in September 2025, the MG3 suffered a rare defect. A failed latch allowed one side of the driver’s seat to slide forward by 111.5 cm (4.4 inches) mid-impact, increasing the risk of injury. Notably, this was the first instance of such a malfunction since Euro NCAP started its testing program back in 1997.
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Following a “detailed technical review”, MG pinpointed the root cause and developed a design fix that has been verified by Euro NCAP. The repair involves reinforced latching components in the seat rail, keeping everything in place during a collision.
The SAIC-owned brand started building the reinforced hardware into every MG3 from August 2025 onward. The problem is the thousands of earlier cars already in customers’ hands, still wearing the original latch.
Euro NCAP
In the months that followed, MG issued official recalls across Europe, the UK, Australia, and South Africa, addressing the issue. Dealers handle the repair free of charge, and no real-world incidents tied to the defect have been reported.
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Euro NCAP claims all owners of affected vehicles have been notified. Even so, the safety organization took the unusual step of publicly urging them to get their cars checked at a dealer, just in case someone missed the memo.
Dr. Aled Williams, Programme Director at Euro NCAP, said: “This was a significant safety flaw that Euro NCAP uncovered, and we were pleased with MG Motor’s robust response. Owners of the MG3 and MG3 Hybrid+ who haven’t heard about the vehicle recall or are still to take action should contact their local MG dealer, and they will confirm whether their car is one of the affected models, and arrange repairs, if necessary, at no cost to the owner.”
