2014 Battery Failure?

[OldGuy]

After a short ride today, when I plugged in the charger all four battery LEDs started blinking, and will not stop when plugged in to a charger. I tried it out of the bike, in the bike again, different charger, and etcetera.

Took the bike to the dealer, who messed around with the battery for a while, and tried (failed) t0 install a firmware update (which had no apparent applicability to the issue).

Now waiting for them to contact Specialized tomorrow to (almost certainly IMHO) replace the battery, which they do not have in stock. Oh well, I guess I can't be too unhappy if I get a new battery...
6^)

While on the topic, I was able to view the diagnostic screens to which they have access with the dealer software: interesting that the maximum acceleration is apparently settable (default is 600% of something), just like the Eco-mode percentage.

 

[Brambor]

Gotta love Specialized support. Hasn't failed me yet.

 

[OldGuy]

BTW, there have been firmware updates for both battery and bike in the last six months. It's probably worth bugging your dealer to install them all before warrantees expire.

I'd be real interested to know if anyone has tweaked Max Acceleration to maybe 750% ?
Preferably after the warrantee expires.

 

[OldGuy]

Well, Specialized proposed that the dealer ship the bad battery back, so they can diagnose it and fix or send me a new one.
I requested a new battery shipped at the same time as the old battery, so I'm not off the road for two or three weeks.

 

[OldGuy]

So far I'm Not impressed: it has now been eight days, and the dealer still does not even have a Return Authorization from Specialized to ship the busted battery back, much less anything about getting a replacement.

 

[Marko]

This is not meant for consumers but maybe it is useful when problem solving Turbo issues.

 

[OldGuy]

Now that really annoys me, because the symptom "all four LEDs blinking = Yes" leads to REPLACE BATTERY.

 

[OldGuy]

Now over three weeks since the battery failure, and nothing from Specialized on this warrantee issue.

 

[Marko]

Quite slow when it appears to be a clear case of replacement battery. Maybe your case has got stuck at some lower levels in hierarchy.

 

[OldGuy]

Or possibly they are simply out of batteries.

 

[Marko]

Then that's just bad communication.

 

[OldGuy]

Just spoke with the dealer - he admitted that they screwed up in not getting the battery to Specialized promptly, and that Specialized screwed up in not getting a round toit.
Bottom line is maybe next week.
Sigh.

 

[OldGuy]

And now we're at four weeks with no battery, and it hasn't been shipped yet, supposedly because "they can't figure out how to ship it, because it is toxic material". Biggest bunch of BS I've heard for a while, and I'm completely disillusioned that Specialized service is any better than the rest of them. I certainly won't be buying anything from them again.

 

[Pastabatman]

That totally sucks. Specialized and their dealer ought to make this up to you, somehow.

 

[OldGuy]

The dealer has had the bike sitting there for a month now. I'd guess that the excuse was bs.

 

[Pastabatman]

Time to find a new dealer. Until you do, I'd try working directly with Specialized.

 

[OldGuy]

The problem seems to be at the Specialized end. The dealer has been very conciliatory, offering to try to make me whole.

 

[Lenny]

The problem seems to be at the Specialized end. The dealer has been very conciliatory, offering to try to make me whole.

Where are you located?
We have some contacts with Specialized personnel and we might be able to connect you with them.

 

[OldGuy]

Today it has been five weeks. I'm told that a new battery was shipped last Friday, at the four-week mark.
Needless to say it hasn't arrived, but that light at the end of the tunnel might not be a train...

 

[Deleted member 803]

IMHO, bicycle warranty policies are in the dark ages and reflect a poor state of the financial health of many vendors. Most bike vendors will handle warranty claims for parts that they manufacture. They do not cover labor at all and refer the dealer to the 3rd party maker of such items as brakes, groupsets, wheels, et.al for warranty replacement.

Can you imagine buying an Iphone, having a problem with the display in the first 90 days, and having Apple say to you, "You will have to pay for labor to cover the repair and will also need to contact Samsung since they make the screen." You get the idea.

I'm not sure where this legacy came from. The trouble is that the poor dealer, in order to keep the customer happy, has to jump through all these costly hoops to make things happen. BTW, one of the reasons to buy from a dealer who does tonnage is that they have much more influence with the vendor.