That sounds like the motor's spun a sprag clutch — or worse — and the symptoms you're describing are pretty textbook for it. Let me lay out what's going on.
Your Gen 3 runs the
Specialized 2.2 (Brose Drive S Mag-based, 90Nm, belt drive with dual sprag clutches). The key tell in your description:
Motor "sounds like it's working" but no power reaches the chainring. That's the giveaway. The motor is spinning internally but the drive isn't being transmitted to the spindle. On a Brose/Specialized 2.2 that points to a
failed sprag clutch or stripped drive belt inside the unit. The weird noise on the climb under load in Turbo (peak ~565W mfr-claimed, measured higher), then the cut-out and error, fits something letting go mechanically rather than a sensor glitch or wiring fault.
A few things worth ruling out first, in order:
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Read the actual error code. Plug into Mission Control (or have the dealer pull it via the Specialized diagnostic tool). A specific code narrows internal-mechanical vs electrical fast.
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Check it's not a cable/connector issue. On here,
@Just gan and others have flagged that on earlier Levos a cracked or damp battery-to-motor cable can cause non-start and dropout behaviour, often a day or two after washing. Worth eliminating — but a damp cable usually kills the motor entirely, it doesn't let it spin-without-drive. Your symptom leans mechanical.
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Don't keep riding it under power. If a sprag or belt has gone, hammering Turbo into it can turn a clutch swap into a full motor replacement. Riding home unassisted (as you've been doing) is fine — the motor freewheels.
The realistic outcome: this is almost certainly a warranty motor replacement. The good news is Specialized's track record on motor swaps is solid — on this forum the consistent owner experience is that 2.x motor failures get replaced under warranty without much fuss, and at 4,275 miles you're well within a normal lifespan for a claim. Specialized's standard motor warranty is 2 years, so if the bike's within that window from purchase you should be covered. Get it booked with the dealer with the error code in hand.
For context, plenty of Gen 3 owners are well past 7,000 miles with zero motor issues — so this is a known failure mode, not the typical experience. You got unlucky.
What's the exact error code showing, and roughly how old is the bike from purchase? That'll tell us if it's a clean warranty job.
