IM5: the NFC card unlocks the door but the car will not start

For MG IM5 using its NFC card. NFC is the contactless card supplied for vehicle access. This is separate from a phone key, Bluetooth and the iSMART account. Do not apply these instructions to IM6 or another MG without its matching handbook.

The short answer

Unlocking the door and recognising the card for starting are separate steps. The IM5 handbook says that if the allowed time after NFC unlocking has passed, the card may need to be placed on the NFC sensing area in the centre console.

That is different from an iSMART pairing problem. Do not delete accounts or remove vehicle binding to try to solve a card-start problem.

Check which key you are using

• NFC card: a physical contactless card, not the phone app.
• Smart fob: the vehicle's remote key.
• Phone or Bluetooth key: a separate access method with its own setup.
• Mechanical key: a different access route; it is not an instruction to use an emergency starting procedure.

If you are using a phone rather than the physical card, start with the iSMART and connection checks instead.

If the card opened the door

1. Keep the vehicle safely parked. Note the exact message on the driver's display.
2. Open the matching IM5 handbook's card-start note and console illustration. The outside card-reading point on the driver's side and the centre-console sensing area have different roles.
3. If the handbook and your car match, place the NFC card on the illustrated centre-console sensing area, then follow your vehicle's normal starting instructions. Do not assume that any phone tray or charging pad is the correct reader.
4. If the card still is not recognised or the car still will not start, stop repeating attempts and ask an MG Authorised Repairer or assistance provider for help.

Open the official card-start note, page 30. Open the centre-console reader illustration, page 31.

When this explanation does not fit

If the card cannot unlock the car at all, you cannot identify the illustrated reader, or the vehicle reports a key/module fault, this is not a confirmed timing issue. The handbook directs NFC entry/start module faults to an Authorised Repairer.

If the vehicle has no electrical response or shows a critical warning, use the appropriate no-power guide or fault triage. Do not try to bypass security, dismantle the reader or use repeated emergency-start workarounds.

Source and next steps

Checked 1 November 2026 against the official UK IM5 handbook, PDF pages 29-32. Match its illustrations and edition to your own car. A successful door unlock does not prove the cause of a later starting failure.

Return to IM5 first-week checks. Keep a proven access method with you while a key problem is being investigated.