2024 Heckler E914 recall?

[Almazing]

Hey all. I just ordered a 24 Heckler XO 29 build in red. I wouldn’t say it’s a bargain, but the price to component quality ratio kind of trumps most bikes in this price range. 6 months ago, this bike would have been $14k, but SC got wise and they knew they weren’t going to keep selling $14k bikes for long. Still a little overpriced, but I don’t think pricing will get much lower.

Anyway, I came across 3 threads in this forum about the 24 Hecklers having the E914 error. After I had already placed the order. Go figure. No wonder SC pulled the 2024 Hecklers from their website.

Needless to say, I emailed the retailer right away. Told them about my concerns:

Thanks for the update M. However, it seems like I found out just why Santa Cruz pulled the 2024 Hecklers from their own website:

(Links to threads in these forums.)

If you read through these posts, it seems like 2024 Hecklers with the newer EP801 motors are throwing random E914 errors on brand new bikes. I’m not quite sure how widespread this is, but SC removing 2024 Hecklers kits from their website is actually worrying me. What if MY Heckler gets this error and I can’t ride my $11,500 bike indefinitely. You guys sell these bikes regularly. How may 2024 Hecklers with the EP801 motors have you sold? And have you come across this issue yet? I’m gonna tell you this now, that if this Heckler being sent to me pops a the E914 error, I will demand a refund, and go as far as initiating a chargeback if the issue can’t be resolved. I’m not spending 5 figures on a bike I can’t ride.

Are you able to provide any insight on this? Maybe contact Santa Cruz and see what they say? I’m sure neither of us wants to deal with a potential headache, so at this point, I need reassurance, or I will just cancel my order.

Thanks!

And they responded with this:

We've been in constant communication with Santa Cruz and Shimano/Darfon regarding these issues and have all the required parts to deal with the recall. The bike will have gone through the necessary replacements and quality control practices before it arrives to you.

If you'd like a refund, we definitely understand and are willing to issue that for you. However, all the recall work is already going to be done on this bike.

Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Seems like SC kind of has things under control maybe? The response made it seem like there are some hardware changes that need to be installed to alleviate the problem.

In any case, I decided to go through with the order. I have an email string as ammo in the event I need to refund or chargeback.

I hope I don’t regret this decision.

 

[JP-NZ]

Your a brave man, best of luck.

 

[Jorgeferrari]

Hello everyone, I have a Heckler 2024 with the E914 error (although it hasn't appeared for about a month now). Shimano fixed the problem and SC contacted me to send a new battery. Apparently, that's the definitive solution to the EP801 E914 error.

SC has now re-listed the Heckler 2024 on their website!

 

[Almazing]

Hello everyone, I have a Heckler 2024 with the E914 error (although it hasn't appeared for about a month now). Shimano fixed the problem and SC contacted me to send a new battery. Apparently, that's the definitive solution to the EP801 E914 error.

SC has now re-listed the Heckler 2024 on their website!

View attachment 117962

That’s good to know. I just canceled my order from an online official SC dealer since they weren’t very forthcoming with shipping dates. They only ship bikes on Friday and for the last 2 weeks, I’ve been told that it was going to ship that Friday. Come to find out that they don’t even have the batteries yet and don’t even know when they’re arriving. Needless to say, I was very pissed off since the bike was listed as in stock on their site and I was under the rightful assumption that the bike was ready to ship within a week. In addition, the email listed above made it seem like that actually had the parts to fix this issue on hand. But today and last Friday, I was met with rather huge disappointment. The shop owner reached out and said they’d offer me a $1500 discount for waiting another week, but I think I’ll sleep on it. Emotions are high and I want to make sure I’m still making the right decision.

Perhaps this is the universe’s way of saying I should wait longer for e-bikes to be more reliable. Or maybe the universe’s way of hooking a brother up with a discount? Who knows.

In any case, I’m glad SC and Shimano got this fixed.

 

[leroy]

That’s good to know. I just canceled my order from an online official SC dealer since they weren’t very forthcoming with shipping dates. They only ship bikes on Friday and for the last 2 weeks, I’ve been told that it was going to ship that Friday. Come to find out that they don’t even have the batteries yet and don’t even know when they’re arriving. Needless to say, I was very pissed off since the bike was listed as in stock on their site and I was under the rightful assumption that the bike was ready to ship within a week. In addition, the email listed above made it seem like that actually had the parts to fix this issue on hand. But today and last Friday, I was met with rather huge disappointment. The shop owner reached out and said they’d offer me a $1500 discount for waiting another week, but I think I’ll sleep on it. Emotions are high and I want to make sure I’m still making the right decision.

Perhaps this is the universe’s way of saying I should wait longer for e-bikes to be more reliable. Or maybe the universe’s way of hooking a brother up with a discount? Who knows.

In any case, I’m glad SC and Shimano got this fixed.

e bikes will always be less reliable than non e bikes I'm afraid, it's an unfortunate consequence of the technology involved.

however they will always be great fun.

i would say this is the universe's way of hooking you up with a discount!

get the bike,ride it and enjoy it because you never know how many rides you have left.......

 

[Expidia]

I would say the universe is telling you to forego the $1,500 discount and buy a more reliable brand! E-bikes are finicky enough. IMO them throwing a big discount at you is already a bad sign. They probably don’t want to get stuck with this bike into “their own” inventory.

E-bike sales are slowing down and unsold inventories are building fast. . . .So the more reliable major brands are already giving steep discounts.

I think your whole debacle so far, is a bad omen.

 

[Almazing]

I would say the universe is telling you to forego the $1,500 discount and buy a more reliable brand! E-bikes are finicky enough. IMO them throwing a big discount at you is already a bad sign. They probably don’t want to get stuck with this bike into “their own” inventory.

E-bike sales are slowing down and unsold inventories are building fast. . . .So the more reliable major brands are already giving steep discounts.

I think your whole debacle so far, is a bad omen.

Yea I’m no longer stoked buying an ebike. I thought the tech was ‘there’ already but clearly not. Lifetime warranty on the frame but 2 year warranty on the motor? A little odd if you ask me. Maybe when SRAM releases their ebike motor, it’ll be more reliable and have at least a 5 year warranty. They’re good at one upping the industry. I suppose I’ll just ride regular bikes for the next couple of years. I’m paying $10000 cash for this. That’s quite a bit of money. Money I could for many, many, many other things. Had there been no issues with this order, I would have been content. But I was given a chance to change my mind. And I did.

Also, what are the reliable brands when it comes to e-bikes?

 

[Expidia]

Yea I’m no longer stoked buying an ebike. I thought the tech was ‘there’ already but clearly not. Lifetime warranty on the frame but 2 year warranty on the motor? A little odd if you ask me. Maybe when SRAM releases their ebike motor, it’ll be more reliable and have at least a 5 year warranty. They’re good at one upping the industry. I suppose I’ll just ride regular bikes for the next couple of years. I’m paying $10000 cash for this. That’s quite a bit of money. Money I could for many, many, many other things. Had there been no issues with this order, I would have been content. But I was given a chance to change my mind. And I did.

Also, what are the reliable brands when it comes to e-bikes?

The 3 largest are Giant, Trek and Specialized. This forum leans heavily towards Specialized. Maybe because it's a European forum.
There is a lot of overstocked dealers right now and that should increase forcing the manufacturers to cut their prices even more. This also means the used ebike market will drop in price too.

I just picked up a 2022 Trek Powerfly FS4 as a spare used with 135 miles on it for $2700 which is 1/2 of what it was selling for new with tax last year. Why spend $10,000 right now when there are 1 or 2 year old used bargains available. Staying with models only a year or two old gives you a better chance of getting a good battery and motor too.

As an example I was just looking at a 2022 Specialized Levo Comp on Craigslist for $3900 and new they are in the $7,000 range.
I'm not a Specialized fan as for me they are over priced and had too frequent motor issues from the threads I read here. Giant's are nice, but their warranty at least in the states is not transferrable to the next owner so screw Giant. I stay with Trek as I feel the Bosch motors are the most reliable and torquiest. 85 Nm is fine for me. The top 3 brands have better dealer networks. I do the maintenance myself, but if a motor goes they only ship the new or rebuilt motor to a dealer for their installation. So you may need the services of a reliable nearby dealer in the future.

So rather than wait years for newer tech, I'd personally rather buy a used bike at a decent price as soon as you can locate one and enjoy riding it over the next 2 years . . . and down the road you will be in a better position to know which brand and model better suits you. To not ride an ebike for two more years and use an analog bike is crazy IMO when the used prices are dropping! I'm on my 4th Ebike in 11 months. If you buy a used one at a good price, you can sometimes even make a few bucks re-selling them. True, my last 3 were mid level not $10,000 carbon framed ones, but this is all my riding style requires. Sure the new light weight ebikes are great, but I feel the latest smallest motors are under powered and untested for longevity. I'm not a fan of their low power batteries either. I bet two years down the road their will be better battery technolgy too. But those too will be untested for longevity.

As I mentioned above that $1500 discount they offered you sounded sweet, but still sounded fishy to me as to why they were so quick to offer that big of a discount. Sounded to me like they did not want to get stuck with having to sell that bike which is currently getting bad press with their recall. Like I said, best that you could and did walk away.

Buying a bike for $10,000, I'd prefer to first buy a similar model used for $5,000 to $7,000. I bought a brand new Giant Demo hardtail with 17 miles on it with no tax for $2900 when the new ones were selling for $3800 with tax. I made a few bucks selling my first one and the same for 2nd one. Paid MSRP with tax $6,750 for the 3rd one because I knew it was the exact model I wanted. Now I just paid 1/2 for the FS4 as a spare in case my FS9 goes down for service.

Don't blame E-bikes for your experience, just go out and buy a used one.

Here is just another example of used. Beautiful looking top of the line Giant that is probably around $8500 new with tax selling for $4,250 and the longer they are listed the less they will accept to sell it:

 

[JStrube]

I would never buy a Giant. My wife bought a barely used Giant E-Road bike, with 150 miles on it that is now having battery issues. Giant wouldn't touch it, since she was the 2nd owner. With Covid, they pulled the computer system out of my local dealer, preferring to supply a large retailer with bikes, rather than small dealers who supported them for years. With the loss of product, came the loss of support. Also, we rented Giant e-MTBs recently on a tour. Motor is notchy feeling, doesn't have the smooth power delivery of my Shimano. As many people that are having new Shimano issues, I'd still take mine, for now... Haven't ridden the Bosch.

 

[Kirk P Brosius]

I would never buy a Giant. My wife bought a barely used Giant E-Road bike, with 150 miles on it that is now having battery issues. Giant wouldn't touch it, since she was the 2nd owner. With Covid, they pulled the computer system out of my local dealer, preferring to supply a large retailer with bikes, rather than small dealers who supported them for years. With the loss of product, came the loss of support. Also, we rented Giant e-MTBs recently on a tour. Motor is notchy feeling, doesn't have the smooth power delivery of my Shimano. As many people that are having new Shimano issues, I'd still take mine, for now... Haven't ridden the Bosch.

Good morning all,
I work at a small bike shop in Western Colorado and placed an order for a 2024 Heckler as soon as I saw it on the SC website.
I sold my 2020 Heckler to a friend and sat back watching to see that my credit card was charged and the Matte Pewter bike had shipped.
Two days later, the new Hecklers were missing from the website.
Long story shortened, there may have been a communication issue between the new EP801 and the battery and this has been resolved!
My 2024 Heckler MX XO AXS Reserve (Gloss Heirloom Red) is Ride Wrapped and charged in the garage!
The temps are over 100deg for a few days so, early rides are in order.
As often happens, the dropper (Fox Transfer 175) was too long so I installed my PNW 150 from the old bike. Perfect fit.
I also replaced the ti-rail saddle with an ErgonSM Pro.
Anyone out there want to purchase a never used post with lever for a great price? And a very nice WTB ti saddle?
REgards, Kirk

 

[bikerider]

Hey all. I just ordered a 24 Heckler XO 29 build in red. I wouldn’t say it’s a bargain, but the price to component quality ratio kind of trumps most bikes in this price range. 6 months ago, this bike would have been $14k, but SC got wise and they knew they weren’t going to keep selling $14k bikes for long. Still a little overpriced, but I don’t think pricing will get much lower.

Anyway, I came across 3 threads in this forum about the 24 Hecklers having the E914 error. After I had already placed the order. Go figure. No wonder SC pulled the 2024 Hecklers from their website.

Needless to say, I emailed the retailer right away. Told them about my concerns:

Thanks for the update M. However, it seems like I found out just why Santa Cruz pulled the 2024 Hecklers from their own website:

(Links to threads in these forums.)

If you read through these posts, it seems like 2024 Hecklers with the newer EP801 motors are throwing random E914 errors on brand new bikes. I’m not quite sure how widespread this is, but SC removing 2024 Hecklers kits from their website is actually worrying me. What if MY Heckler gets this error and I can’t ride my $11,500 bike indefinitely. You guys sell these bikes regularly. How may 2024 Hecklers with the EP801 motors have you sold? And have you come across this issue yet? I’m gonna tell you this now, that if this Heckler being sent to me pops a the E914 error, I will demand a refund, and go as far as initiating a chargeback if the issue can’t be resolved. I’m not spending 5 figures on a bike I can’t ride.

Are you able to provide any insight on this? Maybe contact Santa Cruz and see what they say? I’m sure neither of us wants to deal with a potential headache, so at this point, I need reassurance, or I will just cancel my order.

Thanks!

And they responded with this:

We've been in constant communication with Santa Cruz and Shimano/Darfon regarding these issues and have all the required parts to deal with the recall. The bike will have gone through the necessary replacements and quality control practices before it arrives to you.

If you'd like a refund, we definitely understand and are willing to issue that for you. However, all the recall work is already going to be done on this bike.

Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Seems like SC kind of has things under control maybe? The response made it seem like there are some hardware changes that need to be installed to alleviate the problem.

In any case, I decided to go through with the order. I have an email string as ammo in the event I need to refund or chargeback.

I hope I don’t regret this decision.

I experienced this issue too last May when I purchased my Heckler EMTB. After working with my bike shop and SC for a few weeks and trying different things, the issue was finally resolved. Long story short, a new battery with tighter female connections was sent to me and has performed nearly flawlessly. When I first started charging the original battery, I was taking the battery out and using the adaptor plug. The first thing I noticed was how loose the plug felt when plugging it into the battery. If I didn't support the plug with a piece of cardboard, the plug would actually move and fall at a slant so the that it wasn't seated straight at the battery connection. When I first got the "updated battery" the first thing I notice was the connections on the battery were gold, not silver like the original battery. I then tried the adaptor plug and connected it to the battery. It was a nice tight friction fit. I believe the connectors in the battery were reworked/replaced with different connectors with different specs. At any rate, this worked like a charm until just recently. The problem started again - power shut off and E914. After looking it over I tried cleaning the connections with electric contact cleaner. Visually I couldn't really see anything wrong with the connectors and didn't really see any noticeable dirt, but when I started using some cotton swabs and contact cleaner, I was able to see dirt come off on the cotton. Q-tips were too large to fit into the connectors so I used strong toothpicks with cotton swabs and contact cleaner. I was also able to squirt the aerosol contact cleaner directly into the connection to flush it out and then lightly hit the connection with compressed air to dry the connectors. Of course, the male connectors were much easier to clean. The connectors were dirty though as evidenced from the dirt coming off on the cotton. Like I said before, when I first looked at the connectors, they looked OK and the dirt was not conspicuous. This cured the problem. Not sure if the o-ring seal is failing and dirt is getting though somehow. I took the seal out of the battery where it lays in the groove at the connection point and it looked fine - no tears or sign of wear. When I reinstalled the o-ring, it did look a little "flat" and not protruding from the the groove very much. I think a new o-ring is in order though and I've asked SC if I could get a new one and then I can compare the thickness. If you look at the connector on the bike, you will see a small ridge at the connector which engages the o-ring on the battery. This might be the weak link if the o-ring is not thick enough or is unable to make good contact with the ridge. At any rate, after cleaning the connection thoroughly I have not had any problems for two rides at about 15 miles each. I will report back with anything new.

 

[bikerider]

Hello everyone, I have a Heckler 2024 with the E914 error (although it hasn't appeared for about a month now). Shimano fixed the problem and SC contacted me to send a new battery. Apparently, that's the definitive solution to the EP801 E914 error.

SC has now re-listed the Heckler 2024 on their website!

View attachment 117962

I see a high pressure type nozzle on that hose. I would suggest that you not use high pressure. The water will invade the bearings and destroy them. When I first started riding, it was hard to resist hitting the bike with high pressure water to clean my bike. I'm over this now after seeing the results on a few bearings I replaced. I now just use a light sprays and a very soft brush with long bristles. I do notice grease with a dirt coating at the pivot points on my Heckler, but I resist the urge to blast it off with high pressure water. I actually leave it there and figure it makes a good barrier to keep out water and dirt. If it really starts to bug me, I take the rear wheel off and use a rag to lace it through the areas at the pivot points in order to wipe as much grease/dirt away.