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

This is an issue we hear a lot of people ask about. We have repaired several motors with this issue and managed to get rid of it. I am working on a modification that should help ensure the noise never returns.
I have a scraping/grinding noise coming from my 2019 PW-SE in my Wabash that is most noticeable in a low gear, with low load on the motor, and at low speed. The dealer sent Yamaha a sound video and I am waiting to hear their recommendations. I'd be very interested to hear what, if anything, you found and how you got rid of it.

Dave
 
I have a scraping/grinding noise coming from my 2019 PW-SE in my Wabash that is most noticeable in a low gear, with low load on the motor, and at low speed. The dealer sent Yamaha a sound video and I am waiting to hear their recommendations. I'd be very interested to hear what, if anything, you found and how you got rid of it.

Dave
The most common reason for a "scrapping grinding sound" I have found, is when the spider meets the motor cover. It only happens with a few spiders but when it does it can sound and feel bad.
The only other time is when the right-hand crankshaft bearing collapses completely and all the balls fall out!
 

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The most common reason for a "scrapping grinding sound" I have found, is when the spider meets the motor cover. It only happens with a few spiders but when it does it can sound and feel bad.
The only other time is when the right-hand crankshaft bearing collapses completely and all the balls fall out!
Thank you for the reply & suggestions. The scraping sound does indeed sound like something rubbing on a cover but if it were the spider, it would occur all the time. My situation is the sound only appears when the motor begins working. If I'm pedaling with no boost it is perfectly quiet.

Dave
 
Thank you for the reply & suggestions. The scraping sound does indeed sound like something rubbing on a cover but if it were the spider, it would occur all the time. My situation is the sound only appears when the motor begins working. If I'm pedaling with no boost it is perfectly quiet.

Dave
In that case it's obviously internal. The problem is, there are a lot of moving parts in there and several of them can give the symptoms you have described. Some may be bearing failure, some may be as simple as a lack of grease. In your case, your motor is too new to be running out of grease so I would suspect bearings.
All I can say is, if Yamaha don't want to help, I am sure we can fix, or help you fix what ever the issue is.
If you are still riding, I would strongly recommend you stop until this issue is resolved.
 
Problem with PW-SE motor/PWX display that I haven't found any info with a web search.
I have only rarely used the high setting and for short periods of time (like a minute or two, or less, at a time) on very steep hills. Formerly it provided what I felt was very high support, much higher than the standard setting. Over the past month or so it seems to provide less boost than in the past. I'm not certain that it is much, if any, more than the STD setting. Additionally the DIST (range) function in the high setting is always zero while the other three settings provide a range estimate as expected - I don't use the distance estimate function much but I think it used to work on the high setting. A fully charged battery makes no difference. There are no error messages. No odd sounds from the motor. I got into the diagnostic settings by pressing the power button on the display, releasing it then pressing it again for 10-15 seconds. There are only a few settings in diagnostic mode and it indicates that there is no error. I can live with it as it is but I am missing the Superman boost that I used to get in the high setting even if it was used only occasionally.
 
Problem with PW-SE motor/PWX display that I haven't found any info with a web search.
I have only rarely used the high setting and for short periods of time (like a minute or two, or less, at a time) on very steep hills. Formerly it provided what I felt was very high support, much higher than the standard setting. Over the past month or so it seems to provide less boost than in the past. I'm not certain that it is much, if any, more than the STD setting. Additionally the DIST (range) function in the high setting is always zero while the other three settings provide a range estimate as expected - I don't use the distance estimate function much but I think it used to work on the high setting. A fully charged battery makes no difference. There are no error messages. No odd sounds from the motor. I got into the diagnostic settings by pressing the power button on the display, releasing it then pressing it again for 10-15 seconds. There are only a few settings in diagnostic mode and it indicates that there is no error. I can live with it as it is but I am missing the Superman boost that I used to get in the high setting even if it was used only occasionally.

The display is normal... the Highest assist mode does not indicate the current range.

Regarding the power levels, Standard is 190% and High is 280% for the PW-SE motor.

Yamaha PW SE .jpg
 
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The display is normal... the Highest assist mode does not indicate the current range.

Regarding the power levels, Standard is 190% and High is 280% for the PW-SE motor.

View attachment 60553

Thanks for the reply. Do you have one of these? Court did a review of the PWX display and that showed range estimates for all levels

Also when Court did a review of the older version Emotion Gravel X with the PW motor and larger display that also showed range estimates in all levels.

I'm also not feeling the extreme boost that I used to feel I had in the high setting, now it is hard to tell if it offers any more boost than the STD setting. It would seem strange that it doesn't show any error message if there is something wrong. I'll just live with it, no warranty from BH and the Yamaha info on warranty indicates that is up to the bike manufacturer.
 
I think the perception of lower power has been since I started using Tannus armour tire inserts. They seem to add significant rolling resistance and that is most likely what took the edge off of the feeling of boost in high setting. Eventually when the stock Schwalbe G-one 40c tires wear out I'll probably go with a higher pressure 35c tire that has some flat protection and ditch the Tannus inserts. Maybe the lack of range estimate in high has to do with how BH asked Yamaha to program the firmware. I never paid any attention to the range estimates when I first got the bike so it could have been that way all along for the high setting.
 
HI
The most common reason for a "scrapping grinding sound" I have found, is when the spider meets the motor cover. It only happens with a few spiders but when it does it can sound and feel bad.
The only other time is when the right-hand crankshaft bearing collapses completely and all the balls fall out!
Hi Haibike Rider,

I am also a Haibike rider (Sduro Full Suss LT 4?) and have just had the same fault happen to me as the one you have shown above. For a couple of weeks I was feeling a slight looseness/wobble in the pedals and assumed that the bearings needed looking at. I tried to get into a shop but couldn't get an appointment and had to keep on using the bike to commute. Later when i was riding the pedal jammed and wouldn't rotate forward. I managed to get it moving again and put it down to the something else. A couple of days ago I went to ride and started hearing the grating/ grinding noise and again, the pedals jammed (I could back pedal but not forward). After inspection I noticed that there seemed to be something metal stuck behind the chain ring and between the motor. Against all of my better judgement I tried to ride the bike home but eventually had to stop when I realised that the rim of the motor casing was starting to break up! 😬😳 As you can see from the photo it's pretty ugly and much like the one you posted. Unfortunately the bike is now out of warranty so I'm concerned if and for how much it is likely going to cost to resolve this issue. Do you have any advice? The bike is currently with a mechanic but the parts haven't been removed and the damage is yet to be assessed (the mechanic plans to contact Haibike on Monday).

Any help would be greatly appreciated 🙏
 

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PedallingHope: Ouch, I'm sorry to see your Haibike is out of commission. The good news is that you have Haibike Rider/Performance Line Bearings there in your home country who might be able to assist you; should Haibike not be of help.

Aside from what @Haibike Rider offers for us Yamaha folks, I still don't believe parts for the PW series motor to make repairs, are offered for sale. I predict this will end up being an outright motor replacement with a brand new unit. I will be curious to find what Haibike says. Now, the question of the day will be; are there spare PW motors still stocked? Or will the motor replacement revolve around the PW-ST motor; which will then require change out of the LCD unit, control unit and all related wire harnesses. I see used PW motors are popping up on ebay quite often nowadays. Even complete new ones.

As a Full FatSix-PW drive motor, I'd like to know what caused this failure and the course of action to get you back on the road again. Please keep us informed.

If I may, looking at your pictures; you mention commuting. Was your H-Bike "put away wet" after each ride? Was there some kind of routine of clean and inspect during your time owning your H-Bike? Frequency of cleaning and inspecting? Did you go through water up to the motor driveshaft at any time? In the UK, did you have a chance of commuting in snow? Does the UK road departments treat their roadways with corrosive salt and calcium chloride in order to melt the snow and ice as they do here in the northeastern US? Reason I ask, is that it looks like long term water and/or dirt and other contaminants got inside, around the drive shaft and bearings, causing motor failure; judging by the internal rust I see from the areas of the broken motor housing.
 
My Yamaha motor starting to make some sort of grinding noise when I pedal.
My motor is due for bearing overhaul service?
 
Hi. I have Batavus stream with Yamaha PW ( hello from Netherlands). I like it! Did 24k km in last 4 years. The biggest problems for me are errors and problems with display unit assembly. It’s second time in 2 years I have Change display holder with gear controller. Now it’s error 12. I don’t know if it’s just me or any other users have problems with displays and holders, controllers?
 
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