POLL - Allant 9.9S Grinding Noise from Motor, are you affected?

[GuruUno]

I as well as few others have begun to experience an issue with the Allant 9.9S making odd noises from the motor.

Just to keep all of out common interest and goals in 1 spot, and to have a further understanding of what is, what will and remains to be regarding this new problem, let's all chime in here.

Date you took delivery of the bike:
/ /

Are you affected by the grinding noise on your Generation 4 Bosch motor on the new Trek Allant 9.9S?
[ ] YES
[ ] NO

Approximate miles when discovered
[ ] mi or km

Has Bosch/Trek been notified of the problem?
[ ] YES
[ ] NO

Has the problem been fixed?
[ ] YES
[ ] NO

Drive Unit Speed (Motor)
Type [ ]
Part Number [ ]
Serial Number [ ]
Software Version [ ]
Power On Time. [ ] <---at time of acknowledgement of problem (how many hours has motor been run)

What was the fix?

If/when resolved (fixed), please revisit this Poll to add any comments or discussion relevant to if the problem never came back or has recurred.

 

[GuruUno]

Date you took delivery of the bike:
12/12 /2019

Are you affected by the grinding noise on your Generation 4 Bosch motor on the new Trek Allant 9.9S?
[X] YES
[ ] NO

Approximate miles when discovered
[632] mi or km

Has Bosch/Trek been notified of the problem?
[X] YES
[ ] NO

Has the problem been fixed?
[ ] YES
[x] NO

Drive Unit Speed (Motor)
Type [BDU490]
Part Number [0275007072]
Serial Number [95506062741]
Software Version [1.0.2.0]
Power-on-Time. [212 hrs]

What was the fix?
None yet
MOTOR WAS REPLACED LAST WEEK (around 4/30/20) AND I WAS INFORMED THAT THE NOISE STILL EXISTS AND NOW THE LBS ORDERED HUB REPLACEMENT PARTS--as it is being reported here on this forum also, others are experiencing similar problems

 

[Rob NJ]

I as well as few others have begun to experience an issue with the Allant 9.9S making odd noises from the motor.

Just to keep all of out common interest and goals in 1 spot, and to have a further understanding of what is, what will and remains to be regarding this new problem, let's all chime in here.

Date you took delivery of the bike:
2 /12 /19

Are you affected by the grinding noise on your Generation 4 Bosch motor on the new Trek Allant 9.9S?

[ ] YES
[ X ] NO

Approximate miles when discovered

[ 350 ] miles on bike with no issue yet

 

[JonVonGod]

Date you took delivery of the bike:
2/20/2020
Are you affected by the grinding noise on your Generation 4 Bosch motor on the new Trek Allant 9.9S?
[X] YES
[ ] NO

Approximate miles when discovered
300 miles
Has Bosch/Trek been notified of the problem?
[X] YES
[ ] NO

Has the problem been fixed?
[ ] YES
[x] NO

What was the fix?
UPDATE: I was just notified by my LBS that a new Bosch motor has been ordered for my bike. Should take another week or so to receive and install.

 

[Alaskan]

Date you took delivery of the bike:
March 6. 2020

Are you affected by the grinding noise on your Generation 4 Bosch motor on the new Trek Allant 9.9S?

[X] YES
[ ] NO

Approximate miles when discovered

[300 ] mi or km

Has Bosch/Trek been notified of the problem? Noise started on April 14 - Local Trek Shop in Bellingham, WA sent their van and picked it up at my house on April 15
[X] YES
[ ] NO

Drive Unit Speed (Motor)
Part Number [0275007072]
Serial Number [9503081341]
Software Version [1.0.3.0]

Has the problem been fixed?
[X] NO Warranty approved by Bosch on April 20
[ ] YES

What was the fix? Warranty replacement motor is being shipped directly to my Trek shop.

Shop manager expects the bike to be repaired and returned early next week.

 

[Mulezen]

Late March
60 miles
No problem...yet

 

[Over50]

Late 2019
350 miles
No problems yet ... touching wood and saying nice things to the bike each day
Listening very intently with each ride
Will update if status changes

 

[GuruUno]

My dealer has informed me that they have been authorized by Bosch/Trek to replace the motor. 4/24/2020

 

[Over50]

With the motor replacements I'm wondering if we'll ever find out about a root cause. Will Bosch inspect and report back to Trek and dealer? I doubt it.

@GuruUno - I'm wondering, if there is a defect, if certain conditions could have caused it to manifest earlier. So was thinking maybe additional poll questions of :

Riding big hills? Y/N
Riding upper assist levels mostly? Y/N

Another 21 miles for me today maybe 90/10 Eco to Tour. No issues.

Bike shops are allowed to reopen in MI for repairs (not sure about sales). I might more seriously explore that SRAM AXS electronic setup that @Alaskan clued us in to. Throw some business to the LBS on a vanity project perhaps. But this motor stuff is making me nervous about putting more money into the bike.

 

[GuruUno]

I an doing the 'SRAM AXS electronic setup', regardless. IF the motor/noise issue recurs, then we all are getting new bikes or something anyway, right?

 

[Alaskan]

I am hoping that it is a flawed batch issue and replacement from a different batch solves the problem. I doubt we will ever learn what was the root cause. I suspect we are not seen as being on a needle to know basis.

It is such a refined, strong and fun bike to ride, I'd probably tolerate another failure/replacement. Of course I have other bikes so I'd likely have a different take if this were my only ebike.

 

[GuruUno]

After a lengthy, in depth conversation yesterday with the Bosch representative specifically attempting to address the very issue of replacement motors being supplied from inventory that are on the shelves of suppliers to distribute in a situation exactly like this one, he said that there are always ongoing improvements, revisions, changes, etc. as the product begins to mature and be produced, so the only way I would assume to know is to have some sort of reference to the existing serial number/batch/run of what we have vs. what our replacements are.

The existing Drive Unit Speed part number for MY unit is 0275007072, serial number 95506062741, software version 1.0.2.0 as indicated on the delivery eBike diagnostic report the day I got the bike 12/12/2019.

The reality of all this is that yes, this may be the only way that WE AS THE OWNERS HAVE A WAY TO DETERMINE IF INDEED THERE IS A BAD RUN OR BATCH BY GETTING OUR PART AND SERIAL NUMER INFORMATION. I am sure that Bosch does (or should?) be doing the very same thing.

It will be interesting moving forward to see if the replacement motors solve the problem if they are of the same vintage, or if there is a known deficiency and the replacement units are of a 'revision2, or revision 3, etc.'

Those of you who are having similar or exact issues, I'll modify my POLL in the other thread to include the Part #, Serial # and Software version to annex to your acknowledgement of the problem if it is affecting your bike, so at least WE have a path of knowledge to understand if indeed it is or is not a manufacturing defect or something else, moving forward.

Finally, kudos to Trek/Bosch for having the professional capacity to deal with this, as it is a little scary to wonder if any other manufacturer would be as receptive to assisting the consumer in a similar situation.

 

[Alaskan]

Drive unit info added to my post above.

Trek Tech says replacement motor was shipped from Minnesota to Bellingham yesterday. Expected to arrive on Wednesday. ETA for return of bike with new motor on Thursday afternoon. Will have added Range Boost mount as well.

 

[GuruUno]

BTW, just looking around on these forums, and about Jan 2019 the thread about replacement bearings for previous generation motors was discussed (5 pages deep) and its rather interesting conversation (the bottom of the 1st page) as to the problems. One might have thought that Bosch would have improved something or possibly tested a bit more before blessing the release of the new Generation 4 motor. Just sayin'.
Anyway, the thread is: Bosch selling kit w/ gears to fix the Performance CX at (I know it's not our Generation motor and the older models, but it's a reference as to the issues that are known)

Bosch selling kit w/ gears to fix the Performance CX

The Bosch Performance CX Service Repair kit is now available. This had been announced last year. I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical but it seems that they're going to deliver on their promise. It looks easy too. I think even I could manage that. All things being considered, it's not...

electricbikereview.com

I'm still waiting for any word about where things are at (a replacement motor was ordered last week). I'm also having them install the Sram Axs electronic derailleur and controller. Compliments of my Trump Stimulus.

Bottom line is I plan to easily put well over 2,000 miles or more before the end of the year and if I'm going to enjoy the bike before it craps out again, I want the best possible experience. I sure hope the replacement motor solves the problem for good. We shall see.

 

[Alaskan]

@GuruUno The issues that gave rise to offering the replacement bearings were related to water ingress, mostly on hard ridden Bosch CX powered mountain bikes in wet, muddy conditions causing rust and corrosion on motor bearings. For the most part, bikes ridden on roads have not experienced the same level of issues. How do you know that these problems have not been addressed in the gen 4 motors with better seals or more water tight enclosures? Seems like you are making an assumption that they haven't been.

I have no reason to believe that the problems we are having with the grinding noise are at all related. My bike was not exposed to any possibility of water ingress into the motor. Heck, I never even rode it in the rain or through a puddle.

I am very curious to learn just what is wrong with our new Bosch motors. I spoke with the mechanic, who is working on the motor replacement on my Allant, about if and how we might learn about just what the problem was. I asked if Bosch would be sharing any of that info with him after they get my original motor back. He said he doubted it but that he was planning to take some time to open up and examine my motor before he ships it back to determine what the source of the offending scratchy sound while pedaling was. If he figures it out I will share what he learns here.

 

[Alaskan]

I took a closer look at the bottom of the new gen 4 motor and it appears to be far better enclosed and sealed than the previous motors with their two part clamshell design with drain holes on the bottom. This should protect the bearings from water ingress through the bottom of the the motor case. I am wondering though about the crank bearings and whether they have better, more water resistant seals on each side than what was used in prior generation Bosch motors.

 

[GuruUno]

My LBS received parts yesterday and tell me my bike may be ready by tomorrow!

 

[Alaskan]

My noise is not normal and showed up after riding the bike for at least 400 miles. It was not there before that. It turned out to not be a motor noise. My mechanic has been in close communication with the tech people at Trek. His name is Joseph and he works at the Trek store in Bellingham, WA.

The noise can best be described as a rhythmic scratch, scratch sound that coincides with each down stroke of the pedals (two times per full, 360 rotation of the cranks) and only is there when pedaling with enough torque. It does not do it with easy, low pressure pedalling. It is always present climbing a hill or going fast. Although it seems to be coming from the bottom bracket, noises are infamous for traveling on bikes and seeming to come from places other than where they originate. They were able to reproduce the noise in the shop with the motor turned off as the needed torque to move the bike without the motor was enough to make the noise plainly evident.

Initially Joseph went the direction of motor and got a replacement motor from Trek corporate. The noise was the same with after installing the new motor.

He worked hard to isolate the noise, which is not easy on a carbon frame. Now he is ALMOST sure it is the Shimano microspline freehub that is the problem. He is off till Thursday but will be getting in touch. I will update here when I have more positive info.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Now he is ALMOST sure it is the Shimano microspline freehub that is the problem.

Very interesting. One of the reason I let the LBS service my Lovelec was exactly the noise you reported, and it is a hub-drive e-bike. Heard nothing from the store since last Monday.