Known Issues & Problems with Specialized Products + Help, Solutions & Fixes

Brose doesn't have direct customer service in Europe as well. As a customer the LBS is your "service point" to be addressed. That's the system. Especially with a Specialized software setup what sense would it make to address Brose directly?

Ask the Brose owners who had to deal with it- they won't do anything in the Us !

In the Meantime there's a far bigger problem for this "special" 🤮ebike:


Try not to have your battery deleted by some random person with a plastic card or just sell it b/c there won't be any recall anytime soon. That would require a re-design and engineering for both the battery and the frame , impossible 2 do...
The good thing is that you won't need a key any longer.
 
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Ask the Brose owners who had to deal with it- they won't do anything in the Us !

In the Meantime there's a far bigger problem for this "special" 🤮ebike:


Try not to have your battery deleted by some random person with a plastic card or just sell it b/c there won't be any recall anytime soon. That would require a re-design and engineering for both the battery and the frame , impossible 2 do...
The good thing is that you won't need a key any longer.
Can't assume from text but you seem pleased with others possible misfortune. I can confirm that this so called defect credit card hack doesn't work with my Turbo Vado 5.0. I damn near wrecked my credit card trying to Jimmy the locking mechanism. If it is in fact a design flaw on older models then I empathize with those who are affected by it. It may be that the design flaw is with his Turbo Vado 5.0 specifically. From what I read he got it used. Maybe the battery was affected somehow where it would not sit flush anymore allowing this to happen. Seems like there is always one. Never ceases to amaze me. Anyone else with a Turbo Vado 5.0 able to confirm this? I saw this performance on his Vado but no others.
 
I agree. My Vado 5.0 is the same model/year as his but the gap in mine is too tight to push the credit card in.
Maybe it's just my perception but it seems there is always a Vado hater lurking looking to pounce on anything to bash our bikes. I've never had problems with my motor or cracked frame. Battery is holding up well. Approaching 3000 miles no flats or punctures and no broken spokes. Mine came with the BLOKS display too that was upgraded to TCD-w for free by my LBS. I admit, putting the battery back in can be difficult. So, I prefer to leave mine on there when I charge it. No big issue. Haters will hate. That's what they do.
 
You can break into any home without a deadbolt using a credit card to slip between the striker and bolt. Known for decades. Have yet to experience anyone breaking into my home.

Like above, the gap between my battery and frame is minimal. Don't think you'll get a credit card in there.
 
Brose doesn't have direct customer service in Europe as well. As a customer the LBS is your "service point" to be addressed. That's the system. Especially with a Specialized software setup what sense would it make to address Brose directly?
My problem began when the week after I bought my Turbo Vado sl 5.00 eq.
It required a batt firmware upgrade so I took it back to the place I bought it.
the presented me with the bike saying the screw holding the control unit in the top tube kept spinning and would not undo.
anyone else has this issue.l??
 
My problem began when the week after I bought my Turbo Vado sl 5.00 eq.
It required a batt firmware upgrade so I took it back to the place I bought it.
the presented me with the bike saying the screw holding the control unit in the top tube kept spinning and would not undo.
anyone else has this issue.l??
I am a little confused. Why is a stripped screw in the display Your problem? It's the LBS's problem to work out a repair with Specialized. The LBS (local bike shop) is the critical component in support from Specialized warranty.
 
I am a little confused. Why is a stripped screw in the display Your problem? It's the LBS's problem to work out a repair with Specialized. The LBS (local bike shop) is the critical component in support from Specialized warranty.
Specialized will deal with it.
I was wondering if anyone else has had the problem.
 
My problem began when the week after I bought my Turbo Vado sl 5.00 eq.
It required a batt firmware upgrade so I took it back to the place I bought it.
the presented me with the bike saying the screw holding the control unit in the top tube kept spinning and would not undo.
anyone else has this issue.l??
I have not tried to unscrew my display IF that is the 'control unit' you are talking about but the display should not unscrew anymore. IF you mean the motor controller then yes, Specialized will take care of it.
 
I have a 2021 Turbo Vado SL 5 EQ. Distance reading is always more generous than my Garmin bike computer and speed reading is as well. Any advice on increasing accuracy?
 
I have a 2021 Turbo Vado SL 5 EQ. Distance reading is always more generous than my Garmin bike computer and speed reading is as well. Any advice on increasing accuracy?
How many % of discrepancy? If that is a little, it is not worthwhile to fight it. If you want to go the hard way, measure your wheel circumference, and if that's very different from 2180 mm, ask your Specialized LBS to update that figure in your e-bike's firmware. If you want to go the easy way, buy the BLEvo app, in which you can set the wheel circumference (that will neither affect the SL nor the display) but BLEvo will register correct values for you.
 
How many % of discrepancy? If that is a little, it is not worthwhile to fight it. If you want to go the hard way, measure your wheel circumference, and if that's very different from 2180 mm, ask your Specialized LBS to update that figure in your e-bike's firmware. If you want to go the easy way, buy the BLEvo app, in which you can set the wheel circumference (that will neither affect the SL nor the display) but BLEvo will register correct values for you.
The discrepancy is about 5%. It isn't a big deal as I have my Garmin Edge 130+ mounted on my handlebars and can read the correct values on it. I appreciate the BLEvo suggestion. I wasn't aware of it and will check it out. Thanks!
 
The discrepancy is about 5%. It isn't a big deal as I have my Garmin Edge 130+ mounted on my handlebars and can read the correct values on it. I appreciate the BLEvo suggestion. I wasn't aware of it and will check it out. Thanks!
Technically speaking, if you use Garmin 130 Plus and have installed either Ebike Field or E-Bike Edge Multifield, you even don't need BLEvo!
(The Multifield offers calculating the Wheel Diameter or Circumference in Auto mode, based on GPS).
 
Technically speaking, if you use Garmin 130 Plus and have installed either Ebike Field or E-Bike Edge Multifield, you even don't need BLEvo!
(The Multifield offers calculating the Wheel Diameter or Circumference in Auto mode, based on GPS).
Just installed E-bike Edge Multifield - thank you, it's great! I wish it had a manual. Any other usage hints?
 
Just installed E-bike Edge Multifield - thank you, it's great! I wish it had a manual. Any other usage hints?
Nothing I could share right now. My brother bought the Edge 530 several days ago, and based on the EBR Forum tips I told him about these Data Fields. He's happy but I have left him to his own devices, and own no Edge myself :) Besides, he rides a Giant e-bike.
 
Hello,

I have a Specialized Como 3.0 2021, purchased in September of last year. It was marketed and sold to me by an LBS as class 3 (28mph) bike and it worked as such until that very same LBS performed a firmware upgrade last week which locked it down to 20mph. This is a completely different bike now and I'm supper unhappy. LBS washes their hands off and claims they can't do anything (no firmware downgrades possible). The original motor firmware was 7.1.1 and it was upgraded to 7.4.4. Opened a ticket with Specialized and still waiting on their input, not sure what else to do, I love everything about the bike but Specialized needs to get their act together, local dealers are clueless, feels like a severe lack of training and knowledge of the various product models, parts and capabilities - called a few and half claims 20/21 Comos 3.0 are class 3 bikes not class 1 (assuming, this is because they have them set up on the old firmware). Have I known, this was going to turn up as a class 1 bike down the road i would have gone for the 4.0 version. Anyone else with the similar issue ?

Also, my MC is still showing this as Vado post upgrade - shouldn't it say Como , WTF ??


Screenshot_20210806-181413.jpg
 
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Got my firmware upgrade at the dealers today, everything works good, can't really tell the difference.

Got the motor/frame squeak started couple hundred miles ago (1300 miles now) and it's getting louder. Anybody point the direction to a good video on getting to the I believe three mounting fasteners? I've got the bottom cover off, seems the top cover doesn't want to come off as easy, does it come off also to get to the fasteners?

That tiny wires remind me of the VW I had, the wires that ran to the door controls only lasted so long until they frayed and no longer worked. Make sure you zip tie them so they are not moving.
 
Okay here's what I did. Had the creaker thing going and it was annoying, getting louder anyway. There are three fasteners that hold the motor in. Mine were pretty much just hand tight when I checked them.

The plastic covers are.....just plastic covers. Decades ago they'd made them of metal. How many times can you remove and replace them. They're like throwaways. Should be a future in covers. I didn't remove the top cover but you can peel it back to get to the top bolt.

To work right the fasteners should be perpendicular to the pedaling motion, but they're not designed that way so it's a make do situation. The designers use serrations under the bolt head or nut to keep them from backing out. On aluminum that is not a good idea. The aluminum deforms of course and cannot hold the deformation so eventually the nuts will loosen. I would expect this creaking motor thing to be a continual bother. There was not any thread locker used. So I had some 7/16" AN washers that fit perfectly the nuts with shoulders and used them along with some blue thread locker, the stud uses a 3/8" washer. That should fix that and if it doesn't I'll report back. Test ride proved me correct. Couldn't tell if the studs were a press fit with no head or what was on the other side so used 10 ft. lbs. torque on the fastener.

And use plenty of zip ties on the wires, you don't want them moving and you don't want any sharp bends on those separate little wires where they exit the sheathing.

Also had the lbs change the tire circumference to 2180 in the quest for perfect distance. Checking on the measured mile was short about 20 ft one distance, the opposite direction showed perfect.

So I believe the Como was 2123, and the Vado is 2180 in my small world if you're looking for correct distance which should equate to correct mph.

Good luck and good will.
 
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Hello,

I have a Specialized Como 3.0 2021, purchased in September of last year. It was marketed and sold to me by an LBS as class 3 (28mph) bike and it worked as such until that very same LBS performed a firmware upgrade last week which locked it down to 20mph. This is a completely different bike now and I'm supper unhappy. LBS washes their hands off and claims they can't do anything (no firmware downgrades possible). The original motor firmware was 7.1.1 and it was upgraded to 7.4.4. Opened a ticket with Specialized and still waiting on their input, not sure what else to do, I love everything about the bike but Specialized needs to get their act together, local dealers are clueless, feels like a severe lack of training and knowledge of the various product models, parts and capabilities - called a few and half claims 20/21 Comos 3.0 are class 3 bikes not class 1 (assuming, this is because they have them set up on the old firmware). Have I known, this was going to turn up as a class 1 bike down the road i would have gone for the 4.0 version. Anyone else with the similar issue ?

Also, my MC is still showing this as Vado post upgrade - shouldn't it say Como , WTF ??


View attachment 96430
My recent Vado 3 firmware update message is 15.12.2020 for my June 6, 2019 purchase. Battery 3.3.4---3.3.4 Motor 5.4.0---7.1.1 Display F.4.0---16.4.0. Now, paranoid to get this update.
 
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