The Mahle motor of my 2020 Turbo Vado SL 4.0 started making loud creaking noises a few days ago. I bought it 2 years and 2 months ago. Currently with just under 11,000 miles. My local bike shop checked it out and is talking with Specialized to see if they will still cover for a replacement motor since it is 2 months past warranty. They asked him to fill out a warranty request and to send a video with sound of the motor noise. I asked him if they do cover it would it be possible to get a discount on a new Turbo Vado SL 4.0 instead of them sending out a new motor. He said that might be a possibility. I’m thinking this would be the best outcome. Even with this problem I’m completely sold on the Turbo Vado SL. There is no other bike like it.
New motor or new Vado SL
- Thread starter David C
- Start date
I hope they are sympathetic! I've had good experience with Specialized and recently they replaced my motor. In August I got thinking about the noise of the SL motor as it was sounding harsh and had been for a while. Although performance seemed ok, I was aware the 2 year warranty was running out and so was afraid it might fail on me mid winter. I took it back to the bike shop in September to have a look. The mechanic rang me back, said he took it for a spin and compared it to a new Vado SL they had in the shop and he felt my motor was indeed a lot louder, indicating wear to the belt. He recommended to Specialized to replace it and a week ago the motor arrived & they put it in. Lovely. I was relieved as the warranty is now out, plus our muddy wet winter is fully here and it takes a bigger toil on the bike. I'm sure that all the steep hills here took it out of the motor over the last 2 years on the 1800 or so miles I've done on it.
Fingers crossed they help with your bike.
Fingers crossed they help with your bike.
GAJ
Active Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Santa Rosa, CA
Love my SL 5.0, bummed that the motor can start to fail under 2000 mile so will be monitoring carefully.
The SL is perfect for my needs and easier to pedal without assistance than the Kona Nunu with hybrid tires I've been using the last few years for exercise.
Now at age 66 hills are on the menu unlike before.
I wanted a bicycle first and assist second.
The SL is perfect for my needs and easier to pedal without assistance than the Kona Nunu with hybrid tires I've been using the last few years for exercise.
Now at age 66 hills are on the menu unlike before.
I wanted a bicycle first and assist second.
Specialized seems to be a really good company as well as my LBS. I’m thinking that 11,000 miles is close to replacing the battery also?(LBS did a battery test 2 months ago and came back with 92% efficiency). I was hoping to wait and see what the 2023 SL will be. But this maybe the best opportunity to reset the odometer. Thanks for your kind words.
GAJ
Active Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Santa Rosa, CA
My "guess" is that a "new" SL would be a carbon version at higher cost but with nearly identical running gear and identical motor.
GAJ
Active Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Santa Rosa, CA
I have that one my BMW F800ST motorcycle and it works great but makes no sense on a mid drive bicycle that needs gears.
They are used on hub drive e'bicycles though and single speed non e'bicycles to great effect.
My 2020 4.0 SL is about the same age and mileage. So far so good as far as the motor goes. I've been riding almost all the time with the range extender in parallel mode to theoretically help preserve the internal battery. At 137 recharge cycles my internal battery is at 94% health and at 180 recharge cycles the range extender is at 94% health also. So doesn't seem like using both did much for preserving the internal battery health 
.
.Where does 94% battery health fall on the scale for battery longevity. About 3 months ago I was up to 420 recharge cycles only using internal battery. With 92% battery health. My range in Sport is about 30 miles and 20 miles in Turbo. “In addition to our limited warranty, many Specialized and Roval-branded products are covered under our Assisted Replacement Policy. If you damage an eligible product while riding and it’s not covered under warranty, we’ll replace or repair it at a discounted price.” Under 3 years of ownership it’s a 35% discount for all eligible items, not sure if a new Vado SL qualifies for this.
Te. S
Active Member
- Region
- USA
that is awesome good for you and good on them
They really came through. My LBS said they were able to go back to my battery diagnosis from a few months ago and see the start of issues with the motor. He was able to explain it a lot better than I just did. But it sounds like every time you have your bike hooked up at a dealer for say a software update, etc. there is data available for Specialized to look at about the state of your bike.
GAJ
Active Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Santa Rosa, CA
It really is reassuring as I'm sure, like me, you get the, "you paid what for a bicycle" stuff, especially as I'm known to be quite frugal and careful in purchase decisions.
That's a big part of how I retired at age 51 almost 15 years ago.
You might be right. The mechanic talked about wear in the motor - I was paraphrasing/assuming.
LBS said that Specialized was able to look at the recent data that was collected a few months ago when the battery was checked and they could see a problem with the torque sensor on the motor. They wanted my LBS to ship the defective motor back to them so they could look at it more closely. A lot of times the LBS would just toss the old motor in the trash. It’s amazing that Specialized is able to access information about your bike from previous interactions with your LBS. Hopefully the new motor comes in this week.
Similar threads
