Bosch's War on Self Repair

Frankly I'm burnt out by all the crusaders and causes. This is America so more power to them all if that is what floats their boat or anyone else's. They're just not going to move me emotionally, enlist me, or tap me financially in support of their crusade.

I'm happy in life. I don't feel like I'm getting a raw deal. I know life is not fair. I understand Caveat Emptor. The sky is not falling, really.

Thanks for your contribution however!
 
Bosch isn't alone. It's about keeping systems within specs, and a lot about the absurd costs of consumer tort.
 
Bosch override dongles exist if you don’t mind voiding your warranty.
 
Means nothing to a brand loyal customer who's idea of repair is to bring the bike to a certified mechanic, hopefully under warranty. This applies to all major brands other than open source ones that you can mess with to your heart's content.
 
Non issue for me. I can't fix my simple Bafang gear hub motor either, no confidence about troubleshooting hall sensors even after watching videos. As soon as they put computers in my vehicles, working under the hood dropped off dramatically for me.
 
What about not being able to hire someone to fix your motor if they're not an authorized Bosch repair person. I suppose this isn't nearly the problem it is for the farmers with John Deere equipment. I read the above link and I can see if you live 40 miles from the nearest John Deere dealer that it's a real problem.

I guess this isn't nearly the same issue. But I have a friend who is an electrical engineer and he's fixed a lot of my electronics problems for me.
 
Captain Slow said:
What about not being able to hire someone to fix your motor if they're not an authorized Bosch repair person. I suppose this isn't nearly the problem it is for the farmers with John Deere equipment. I read the above link and I can see if you live 40 miles from the nearest John Deere dealer that it's a real problem.

I guess this isn't nearly the same issue. But I have a friend who is an electrical engineer and he's fixed a lot of my electronics problems for me.
Click to expand...
Not nearly the same as having a guy come out to work on your $500,000 combine. A machine that only needs an operator to turn on the auger to empty the bin. ALL other functions, including the steering, are now done with the on-board computers.
 
I tried to sign up for a Bosch ebike seminar a couple years ago, but it's only open to verified dealers and their employees.

Has anyone reading this tried LEVA's Ebike Technician Training & Certification? I'm curious how much the delve into diagnostics and repair of the different brands' motors.
 
Nova Haibike said:
This does not really bother me, any more than it bothers me that I cannot repair the electronics in my car, phone, laptop, or even my washing machine.
Click to expand...

The difference is that local, nearby repair shops or services exist near me for all those things. The nearest e-bike mechanic is over fifty miles away, and for a lot of people in the US I think that's the norm. And with proprietary systems like what Bosch is doing, you not only need an e-bike specialist, you need one that knows Bosch specifically.

As someone who doesn't own a car, that's an outright deal breaker.
 
Last edited:
There's always been proprietary parts and systems. At one time Ford had his good buddy Firestone making proprietary tires. Talk about locking everyone out of a major drive component! How many of us would be happy buying tires for much higher cost at the OEM?

Don't get me wrong I hate the idea. I remember the agony of owning an IBM computer!
 
J Miller said:
....And with proprietary systems like what Bosch is doing, you not only need an e-bike specialist, you need one that knows Bosch specifically....
Click to expand...

It is my understanding that bike shops selling Bosch [and Shimano Steps] equipped bikes do not service the motor units. They are apparently required to send it to a company authorized repair center.
 
Dewey said:
Bosch override dongles exist if you don’t mind voiding your warranty.
Click to expand...

Beginning next year, new European Union regulations require e-bike manufactures to detect and prevent tuning/override dongles.

Bosch already said at Eurobike 2018 that they will have new firmware that does exactly this.
This will probably render most current derestriction dongles unusable, if not the whole bike, when updating to new software.

This is not Boschs fault though, it affects all manufacturers, all will follow. I cannot imagine they have different firmware for EU and US market in this case, once they release it it will go worldwide.

Reports already surfaced of Bafang motors (OEM) that are impossible to derestrict like the previous generations, by using hidden menus et.c.
 
Last edited:
Yes Limbo jim, Levas tech. School is good. I went. to Ft.Myers. Vast amount to learn.when your on the quest of ebike knowledge.. Been traveling it for awhile. Every bit of learning helps. B.B.I. in Colorado Springs just had their 1st Ebike training class. I think November is their next class.
 
J.R. said:
There's always been proprietary parts and systems. At one time Ford had his good buddy Firestone making proprietary tires. Talk about locking everyone out of a major drive component! How many of us would be happy buying tires for much higher cost at the OEM?

Don't get me wrong I hate the idea. I remember the agony of owning an IBM computer!
Click to expand...
I didn't know Ford had a tire thing with Firestone, must have been when Henry and Harvey were going on those "camping" trips. I had a '79 Turbo Mustang with a Michelin TRX wheel/tire combo. It was metric sized and only available at Michelin. Dunlop latter made an alternative though, especially a winter tire.
My LBS does have a Bosch trained tech. The majority of his certification was related to hooking up a laptop and how to push updates to the bike, and upload fault data from the bike. That data goes to Bosch. If it's much of an issue, he said all he does is pull the mid drive and send it away. When we talked, he had not pulled a mid drive yet. They sell Giant and Specialized bikes. I'll have to ask him if he's ever cracked open a case yet.
 
rich c said:
I didn't know Ford had a tire thing with Firestone, must have been when Henry and Harvey were going on those "camping" trips. I had a '79 Turbo Mustang with a Michelin TRX wheel/tire combo. It was metric sized and only available at Michelin. Dunlop latter made an alternative though, especially a winter tire.
My LBS does have a Bosch trained tech. The majority of his certification was related to hooking up a laptop and how to push updates to the bike, and upload fault data from the bike. That data goes to Bosch. If it's much of an issue, he said all he does is pull the mid drive and send it away. When we talked, he had not pulled a mid drive yet. They sell Giant and Specialized bikes. I'll have to ask him if he's ever cracked open a case yet.
Click to expand...
Firestone supplied Ford with tires for 95 years up until 2001, when Ford was forced to recall millions of faulty tires due to tread separation (exploding tires), that killed many drivers. Henry Ford always tried to control everything. He even started his own rubber plantation, complete with two towns in South America, named Fordlandia. That was a failure.

These actions by Bosch are nothing new for them or the transportation industry.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Asher
Bosch: “We Don’t Support Self Service”- refuses to provide appliance service manuals, necessitating unnecessary, expensive service calls.
Replies
1
Views
613
Roamers
R
Back