shark_jumper
New Member
I have a 2019 Quick E+ that started making a horrible, loud creaking sound when putting significant torque through the pedals (pedaling uphill, pedaling hard into a headwind, and/or using eco+, normal, or sport modes). The noise is awful, and extremely loud, you can hear the bike from a block away. I took it back to the dealer a few times, and they tried re-torquing / re-greasing the motor mount bolts, going through every possible creak source on the bike (pedals, seatpost, cassette, headset, etc.), but none of that fixed it.
After the dealer went back and forth with Giant's (extremely unhelpful) warranty department, Giant shipped out a new motor and the motor was replaced under warranty. This was happening with other customers' Giant e-bikes in the shop (Quick E+'s, Tough Road, and Road E's) as well. Giant's theory at the time was that it was a bad batch of motors from Yamaha. However installing a new motor did not solve the problem, it continued to creak. It also started frequently dropping the chain off the chainring. I took it back to the shop and again, they verified the creaking was not coming from elsewhere. Giant told them to put shims between the motor and frame. The shop tried that and it didn't solve the problem.
After another back-and-forth process with Giant, they send another motor, and the shop just installed the SECOND new motor, this one with a different production date than my prior two motors. I just picked it up and haven't had time to test it out yet.
When I picked it up, the dealer had about half a dozen Giant e-bikes in the service department all with the same problem, in queue for motor replacements. Apparently Giant's new theory is that the holes for the motor mount bolts were not machined in the frames straight, or the welds on the frame where the motor mounts are out of spec, so when a lot of torque is put through the pedals, the motor unit flexes against the frame hence the horrible creaking sound under load. Apparently Giant is trying to come up with some fix that consists of putting a gasket between the motor and frame. However this sounds like a hokey band-aid solution, and whatever the gasket is made out of (rubber, plastic, etc.) will not solve the fundamental problem of the motor/frame interface being crooked, and once the gasket wears out the creaking will come back.
Also, with the motor not aligned properly with the frame, the chainring is not lined up straight with the cassette which is probably why the bikes are throwing chains. (Also this could have something to do with the fact that Giant's cheap chainring does not have a narrow-wide tooth profile to it, which is a key feature of any 1X drivetrain.) Constantly throwing the chain off the chainring is a dangerous situation, and if it comes off on the inner side, it gets wedged between the chainring and a plastic cover plate on the motor. My plastic cover plate is now cracked as a result. I got fed up with the chain-throwing situation and had to buy an aftermarket chainguide so the bike wouldn't be dangerous to ride.
I will see how the new motor works out, but but based on my experience to date, having the bike in the shop almost a dozen times, I'm not holding my breath that the new motor will fix the problem. I'm just about at the end of my rope, I've had the bike for about 8 months, have put 1,000 miles on it, and it's been in the shop for about a quarter of the time I've owned it. I noticed a few people reporting this issue in the Quick E+ thread here. How many others are having this problem? I think it's time to start escalating complaints to Giant and demanding a recall; this Mickey Mouse gasket fix is not acceptable.
After the dealer went back and forth with Giant's (extremely unhelpful) warranty department, Giant shipped out a new motor and the motor was replaced under warranty. This was happening with other customers' Giant e-bikes in the shop (Quick E+'s, Tough Road, and Road E's) as well. Giant's theory at the time was that it was a bad batch of motors from Yamaha. However installing a new motor did not solve the problem, it continued to creak. It also started frequently dropping the chain off the chainring. I took it back to the shop and again, they verified the creaking was not coming from elsewhere. Giant told them to put shims between the motor and frame. The shop tried that and it didn't solve the problem.
After another back-and-forth process with Giant, they send another motor, and the shop just installed the SECOND new motor, this one with a different production date than my prior two motors. I just picked it up and haven't had time to test it out yet.
When I picked it up, the dealer had about half a dozen Giant e-bikes in the service department all with the same problem, in queue for motor replacements. Apparently Giant's new theory is that the holes for the motor mount bolts were not machined in the frames straight, or the welds on the frame where the motor mounts are out of spec, so when a lot of torque is put through the pedals, the motor unit flexes against the frame hence the horrible creaking sound under load. Apparently Giant is trying to come up with some fix that consists of putting a gasket between the motor and frame. However this sounds like a hokey band-aid solution, and whatever the gasket is made out of (rubber, plastic, etc.) will not solve the fundamental problem of the motor/frame interface being crooked, and once the gasket wears out the creaking will come back.
Also, with the motor not aligned properly with the frame, the chainring is not lined up straight with the cassette which is probably why the bikes are throwing chains. (Also this could have something to do with the fact that Giant's cheap chainring does not have a narrow-wide tooth profile to it, which is a key feature of any 1X drivetrain.) Constantly throwing the chain off the chainring is a dangerous situation, and if it comes off on the inner side, it gets wedged between the chainring and a plastic cover plate on the motor. My plastic cover plate is now cracked as a result. I got fed up with the chain-throwing situation and had to buy an aftermarket chainguide so the bike wouldn't be dangerous to ride.
I will see how the new motor works out, but but based on my experience to date, having the bike in the shop almost a dozen times, I'm not holding my breath that the new motor will fix the problem. I'm just about at the end of my rope, I've had the bike for about 8 months, have put 1,000 miles on it, and it's been in the shop for about a quarter of the time I've owned it. I noticed a few people reporting this issue in the Quick E+ thread here. How many others are having this problem? I think it's time to start escalating complaints to Giant and demanding a recall; this Mickey Mouse gasket fix is not acceptable.
