Chain Reaction Warranty help

[tonyker]

So sent my Vitus off with the dreaded E010 code. It has been with them now for 2 months! and took them 3 weeks to arrange to pick it up they have recently said that they have got the motor back and the problem was that,
"The electric ports were clogged with two much dirt that was not allowing the wire to sit properly in the port. This can cause the drive unit not to power up."

This is even though I checked and cleaned the ports before sending it off (maybe I cleaned it wrong wrong)

so I am wondering is 2 months to long? have asked numerous times for updates and ignored. How long have other people have had to wait?

 

[Zimmerframe]

I think @R120 has/is going through similar time scales ..

So if it makes you feel any better.... which it won't .. this seems about normal...

 

[Ian]

I’m in a similar boat CRC picked my esommet up over 5 weeks ago after messing about with the pick up.Despite me contacting them every few days there was no information forth coming until yesterday the motor is now off to Madison. It’s a step in the right direction but absolutely disgusting customer service from Chain Reaction.

 

[benny.c]

I had to take them to court to get a refund for a Vitus they never delivered. Good luck!!

 

[Gary]

2 months is absolutely ridiculous. But that's just how CRC/Wiggle work. Impossible to contact other than email/online chat and hellishly slow to respond (other than infuriating standard automated replys).
cheap tho aren't they
Do any of you have a good relationship with your LBS? It really is the way to go and then have CRiggle compensate you for any work done. parts sent off etc. by the shop.

 

[And1971mel]

2 months is absolutely ridiculous. But that's just how CRC/Wiggle work. Impossible to contact other than email/online chat and hellishly slow to respond (other than infuriating standard automated replys).
cheap tho aren't they
Do any of you have a good relationship with your LBS? It really is the way to go and then have CRiggle compensate you for any work done. parts sent off etc. by the shop.[/QUOTE

 

[And1971mel]

I'm in the same position, my vitus had the code happen at the beginning of July, chain reaction collected the bike 5 weeks later and I still can't get a answer to whats happening. 3 months now and still waiting it makes me angry that they can get away with this and I just want to warn others not to buy these bikes and to go to a LBS where they can actually get some customer service.

 

[R120]

I got my LBS to send the faulty motor to Madison, and they sent out a replacement motor just under 3 weeks later.

I started the warranty process with CRC, but got no response from them for 4 weeks, so decided on @Gary 's advice to get my LBS, who I am on good terms with, to do the warranty.

CRC eventually got back to me to say send the bike to them, but I had already sent the motor off via LBS.

You cant apply for a warranty directly with Madison, you have to get a shop who has an account with them (this is needed to create job reference) to do it for you.

 

[And1971mel]

I did take the bike to a shimano service centre and they did a diagnostic check that cost £30, crc have refunded this. The report said that there was nothing wrong with the motor or battery. They said it was most probably the speed sensor cable and that they could look into things further at a cost of £60hr and that it would be 3 hrs to remove the motor etc, crc wouldnt cover this and said it had to go back to them. I replaced the speed sensor cable but this made no difference.
The problem is the time crc take to do anything and they just don't care, if I had realised it would take so long I would have paid the the money myself to get it sorted, 3 months is a joke when there can't be that many things that can go wrong with an e-e-bike.

 

[Gary]

They said it was most probably the speed sensor cable and that they could look into things further at a cost of £60hr and that it would be 3 hrs to remove the motor etc

I guess this was just your LBS' subtle way of saying they weren't really interested in "looking into things further". Gotta admit I've done similar when quoting fault finding on a horrible cheap imported chinese Ebike. The E-sommet is pretty nice to work on in comparison. and the E8000 is disposible unit so even your LBS can't open it up for repair.

For Ref:
tools required: 3 & 4mm Allen keys, chainring spanner, cross head screwdriver and a T40 torx whench
it takes roughly 10-15 minutes to drop the E8000 motor from an E-sommet at home. You don't even need to remove the cranks/pedals/spider from the motor

1. loosen 3x 3mm chainguide back plate bolts and rotate to locate the motor mounting bolt behind (remove chainring from spider if your particular chainring fouls that motor mounting bolt behind it the 4x chainring bolts are 4mm allen head bolts)
2. remove connector bay cover (3 crosshead screws) and disconnect wiring connectors inside (all pushfit) then push each loose wire through the space to the top rear of the motor
3. loosen and remove the 6x T40 mounting bolts
4. Et voila! Your motor is out.

It does take a little longer to fit the motor back in place because of the wiring, cables and hose routing and dealing with the subsequent nest/mess that sits above the motor.
Chasing wiring and checking connectors and function is the time consuming part (internal routing is actually fairly straightforward in the E-sommet for an experienced mechanic).

But simply changing the speed sensor is about as difficult as LEGO and doesn't actually need the motor removed.
a new speed sensor is around £20. The job should take less than an hour in a workshop with a mechanic familiar with the E8000 motor. a bit longer if you're inexperienced and have never worked on E bikes before.
None of the above will void your warranty so can be performed at home by the owner.


hope this helps someone the joy of dealing with CRfuckingC

 

[Mikerb]

Reading all of the various electrical fault reports across all brands on here I suspect the vast majority are due to bad electrical connections caused by ingress of dust mud or water. I think wrong impressions are formed by the types of fixes that the lbs apply simple because their fault remedy process is to merely change components. All of the bikes have essentially 2 electrical circuits. One carries a large current as it connects the motor to the battery, the other is low voltage carrying switching and sensor signals. Contacts for the latter are much smaller and more sensitive to contamination. Unless a cable is pulled or rubbing against something....or has been subject to damp for an extended period of time it is unlikely to be faulty.....changing it may fix a fault but 99% of the time it would be the connector at fault not the cable. The exception may be the speed sensor circuit because the magnet/sensor are exposed and subject to damage.
Normal cleaning methods are not enough to deal with low voltage contacts that have become tarnished or have oxydised.....and all will if not regularly cleaned.
The main battery to motor connector can also cause problems despite carrying a large current because it is regularly disconnected...at which point both ends of that connection are open to the elements. The charger connector is often not protected when not in use and then any dirt or contaminants are transferred to the battery port. The Levo uses manetised battery tobmotor connector ehich makes it even more likely to pick up metallic particles when open.
A good example of how important cleanliness of contacts on the bike can be is a supposed issue early 2019 Levos had with a battery cable. LBS fixed a numer of faults by changing them. According to Specialized none of those cables returned to them were faulty when tested! (they come of course complete with the terminal connectors.)

 

[Gary]

Adding to the above. The E-sommet's connection bay is absolutely terribly sealed from dirt/water ingress.
first port of call should always be to open it and inspect/clean it out.
mine's motofoamed, mudguarded and sealed.
Unsealed/protected it would throw up connection errors every few (wet) weeks riding.

 

[Mikerb]

...what is motofoam?

 

[Mikerb]

.....on the Levo the seal for that connection only really consists of an O ring. If that is not treated it can harden and stretch.....dirt can also prevent it seating properly. I treat it with the same stuff I use for drysuit seals and zips (silicone lube) and put a smear of grease on the sloping face behind it. For a particularly wet ride I would probably gaffer tape it.

 

[khorn]

I simply cannot understand why you guys dealing with CRC are not claiming a full refund and then buy another bike from someone else who actually know the term “Customer service”. At least here in Denmark the company have to fix the issue within “reasonable time” and the common period is accepted as around 14 days. If they won’t comply we have governmental authorities that will step in and usually the company comply immediately as they know they loose the case. If they do it multiple times, the same authorities will take them to court and they will be heavily fined or even forced closed.

Karsten

 

[Gary]

...what is motofoam?

1 x ALLOY FUEL TANK OPEN CELL FOAM BAFFLE (400mm x 300mm x 50mm) 16"x12" | eBay

Basically non absorbant foam.
Petrol Tank Baffle foam is placed inside fuel tanks to reduce fuel slosh. It also helps in fuel pick up and more importantly suppresses an explosion in the case of an accident.

but also makes a perfect solution for plugging areas prone to mud/water collection on mtbs. Particularly useful/popular to be used on DH frames in severe conditions.

 

[And1971mel]

I wish I could get my money back, I have asked but get no response. I'm going abroad for 2 months soon and wanted to take the bike with me. Im not sure what rights we have in the uk and i dont think crc would care anyway.

 

[khorn]

I wish I could get my money back, I have asked but get no response. I'm going abroad for 2 months soon and wanted to take the bike with me. Im not sure what rights we have in the uk and i dont think crc would care anyway.

Don’t you guys have a “buyers protection authority” that will help you out when big companies are assholes?

Karsten

 

[Gary]

Don’t you guys have a “buyers protection authority” that will help you out when big companies are assholes?

If by "you guys" you mean UK consumers. Yes. We do. consumer legislation is in place as is Free consumer legal advice. With good communication skills it rarely needs to be taken that far.

 

[khorn]

If by "you guys" you mean UK consumers. Yes. We do. consumer legislation is in place as is Free consumer legal advice. With good communication skills it rarely needs to be taken that far.

Gary; do you believe it’s acceptable that it takes months to fix an issue?

Karsten

 

[Gary]

PM'in you dude

 

[Mikerb]

In the Uk the quickest and simplest way is to use the small claims court. A solicitors letter warning of the intention is usually enough since a small claims suit if won would cost CRC court and legal fees plus compensation

 

[Mikerb]

1 x ALLOY FUEL TANK OPEN CELL FOAM BAFFLE (400mm x 300mm x 50mm) 16"x12" | eBay

Basically non absorbant foam.
Petrol Tank Baffle foam is placed inside fuel tanks to reduce fuel slosh. It also helps in fuel pick up and more importantly suppresses an explosion in the case of an accident.

but also makes a perfect solution for plugging areas prone to mud/water collection on mtbs. Particularly useful/popular to be used on DH frames in severe conditions.

Ah ok I guessed it was something of that sort but cannot see an application on my Levo for example

 

[Gary]

Ah ok I guessed it was something of that sort but cannot see an application on my Levo for example

You can use it to keep mud out of any area it builds up in, linkages, next to chain devices and around shocks/mounts being the most common applications.
It was first used over a decade ago by savy mechanics to keep DH race bikes cleaner and lighter during wet races/practice. Certain designs of DH bike can end up weighing 10lb more on just one muddy run. Using moto foam to keep mud out of collection zones helps to stop this.

most of the tech/mods you see on modern trail/E mtbs came from DH racing

 

[Mikerb]

Ah ok I guessed it was something of that sort but cannot see an application on my Levo for example

Looking at the product in the link that stuff is what Specialised have used as part of the upgrade kit to help prevent mud getting into the motor casing below the chain stay cross member. Maybe you could show where you have used it.

 

[Craig27]

So sent my Vitus off with the dreaded E010 code. It has been with them now for 2 months! and took them 3 weeks to arrange to pick it up they have recently said that they have got the motor back and the problem was that,
"The electric ports were clogged with two much dirt that was not allowing the wire to sit properly in the port. This can cause the drive unit not to power up."

This is even though I checked and cleaned the ports before sending it off (maybe I cleaned it wrong wrong)

so I am wondering is 2 months to long? have asked numerous times for updates and ignored. How long have other people have had to wait?

Hi...mine took about ten weeks so hopefully you won't have too much longer to wait...they(CRC) have my bike at the moment,the motor is being repaired or replaced for the second time! They said it wouldn't take as long this time but i'll believe that when I see it! Yours may arrive with no warning...that happens too.

 

[N1ck]

Well I bought mine through wiggle. Motor currently with Shimano, removed by my lbs at Wiggles request. Bike was only about 3 months old when it failed. If it fails again I'll be requesting refund via not fit for purpose. Bought on credit card so if wiggle refuse, first port of call will be credit card. If they refuse then small claims court for me. I don't want to be stuck without a bike again for months and more importantly, one that will fail again in the future. Once out of warranty, we're fucked basically.

 

[benny.c]

Don’t you guys have a “buyers protection authority” that will help you out when big companies are assholes?

Karsten

In the UK we have the Consumer Contracts Regulations which protect the rights of the purchaser. In my own dealings with CRC I had lengthy discussions with them with regards how they were blatantly not complying with the regulations. I never got shirty or abusive with them and they continued to fob me off. In the end I took them to court and they paid up (plus court fees) about 12hrs before a CCJ was due to be issued. They don’t give a crap about the consumer or the regulations until they absolutely have to.

 

[tonyker]

I have a Update!

"Hey Tony,

I'm sorry about the delay.

Our workshop were having trouble setting up the bike with the returned motor. Speaking with the service centre, they have agreed to accept back your motor again and they are now sending a replacement out. This was sent out to us today and this should arrive with us within 48 hours.

We will then have this built up as a priority for this to be dispatched back to you."



so fingers crossed not to much longer......

 

[And1971mel]

I have a update as well, yesterday I sent a email saying that I have had enough of waiting and that I was going to take crc to the small claims court. Today I get a email saying the bike has been repaired and ready to send back.?
I wonder how long that will take??