Drivers of popular car urged to complete safety recall amid 'significant safety flaw'

Independent testing carried out by Euro NCAP discovered a front seat rail failure during a frontal crash test.

The safety issue allowed the driver's seat to become unlatched during the impact, potentially resulting in an injury to the occupants.

A detailed technical review found that the issue could also occur in real life, prompting the urgent intervention from the safety testing organisation.

MG agreed with Euro NCAP that it would "address the root cause with an improved design", which has since been verified by the programme.

The manufacturer said this would eliminate any risk of the seat unlatching, with changes being implemented "swiftly" to production vehicles.

MG has developed a repair for existing cars and has worked quickly to arrange a recall and repair campaign for impacted customers.

The repair is available for drivers through authorised MG dealerships, and will be completed for free.

MG stated that it had sent owner notification letters to motorists of MG3s built before August 2025.

Euro NCAP said owners are "strongly advised" not to ignore or delay the repair, and to contact their local MG dealer.

Dealers will be able to provide guidance on whether the vehicle is affected, and can perform the necessary recall work.

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."

He emphasised calls for owners of the MG3 and MG3 Hybrid+ to take action and contact their local MG dealer.

"They will confirm whether their car is one of the affected models, and arrange repairs, if necessary, at no cost to the owner," Dr Williams noted.

Euro NCAP explained that its testing programme exists to independently verify safety performance and identify potential risks.

It stated: "The recall demonstrates the importance of collaboration between independent safety testing organisations, vehicle manufacturers and regulators."

The MG3 received a four-star rating from the organisation, citing the "rare and serious" seat failure identified during testing.

Dr Williams added: "This is an almost unheard-of occurrence, but one that Euro NCAP will address through changes to our protocols and scoring so we can reflect any failure - even if the car's overall performance is good - in our ratings.

"Our role is to help make roads safer for all, and we will continue to strive for the improvement of vehicle safety to help achieve this goal."