Levo Gen 2 2021 Levo Comp Battery and Shop Failure

[Mitch1129]

Sorry this is a long thread but I hope you take time to read it and leave me your thoughts. So I just bought my first E bike a 21 Levo Comp and I loved it since the first time I rode it UNTIL I had some issues with it not turning on a couple times and then finally shutting off when I was 8 miles from my house and it never powered back up. So the shop tells me it’s a week wait till they can look at it. I take it to my buddies and we do an extensive check and finally put his Kenevo battery in my bike and it works perfect, and when we put my battery in his bike it wont power up. Plug it into the charger and get the third blinking light and won’t charge. Soooo off to the big name bike shop in Pittsburgh it goes and I explain to the guy at the front desk exactly what we did and how we proved the battery was bad. I was told they would call and update me in a day or two. After a week of hearing nothing and I talk to the mechanic and he said “he was still trouble shooting it“.
I asked if what I did to trouble shoot the battery was relayed to him. He told me he would call Specialized on Monday.....so after ANOTHER week of hearing nothing I stop back up and was told they were waiting to hear from Specialized to read the data from my bike and by this time batteries are out of stock and aren’t due till the end of June. He said “he plugged it into charger and it won’t charge” Two and a half weeks have gone by and I got NOWHERE and haven’t had a bike and sounds like WONT have one for a month. I totally feel like I’ve been jerked around and would like never expect that buying from a huge chain bike shop with plenty of help and resources. Worst part is there is brand new bikes sitting on the floor with the battery I need. I guess it’s once you buy the bike you aren’t a priority and that’s the shops and factories outlook toward me. I’m highly pissed off and feel like I was taken advantage of. 6500 for a bike I got to ride 5 times and not even quality rides.....I realize there is a worldwide pandemic but there is a few simple solutions to make the situation right and keep a paid customer happy..

 

[Squamish Sucks]

Sorry this is a long thread but I hope you take time to read it and leave me your thoughts. So I just bought my first E bike a 21 Levo Comp and I loved it since the first time I rode it UNTIL I had some issues with it not turning on a couple times and then finally shutting off when I was 8 miles from my house and it never powered back up. So the shop tells me it’s a week wait till they can look at it. I take it to my buddies and we do an extensive check and finally put his Kenevo battery in my bike and it works perfect, and when we put my battery in his bike it wont power up. Plug it into the charger and get the third blinking light and won’t charge. Soooo off to the big name bike shop in Pittsburgh it goes and I explain to the guy at the front desk exactly what we did and how we proved the battery was bad. I was told they would call and update me in a day or two. After a week of hearing nothing and I talk to the mechanic and he said “he was still trouble shooting it“.
I asked if what I did to trouble shoot the battery was relayed to him. He told me he would call Specialized on Monday.....so after ANOTHER week of hearing nothing I stop back up and was told they were waiting to hear from Specialized to read the data from my bike and by this time batteries are out of stock and aren’t due till the end of June. He said “he plugged it into charger and it won’t charge” Two and a half weeks have gone by and I got NOWHERE and haven’t had a bike and sounds like WONT have one for a month. I totally feel like I’ve been jerked around and would like never expect that buying from a huge chain bike shop with plenty of help and resources. Worst part is there is brand new bikes sitting on the floor with the battery I need. I guess it’s once you buy the bike you aren’t a priority and that’s the shops and factories outlook toward me. I’m highly pissed off and feel like I was taken advantage of. 6500 for a bike I got to ride 5 times and not even quality rides.....I realize there is a worldwide pandemic but there is a few simple solutions to make the situation right and keep a paid customer happy..

Contact specialized rider care. They’ve been very helpful to myself and many others on here.

They are on here but I don’t want to tag them as I dont think whoever it is is North America based.

The USA number is 877-808-8154

IMO the shop should try a battery off the floor and if it works, give you that battery and then handle the warranty, but that’s just my opinion as a consumer.

 

[Mitch1129]

Contact specialized rider care. They’ve been very helpful to myself and many others on here.

They are on here but I don’t want to tag them as I dont think whoever it is is North America based.

The USA number is 877-808-8154

IMO the shop should try a battery off the floor and if it works, give you that battery and then handle the warranty, but that’s just my opinion as a consumer.

My thoughts exactly....once I did the battery swap and his worked in mine and mine doesn’t power up in his that’s enough proof for me honestly. That’s the fool proof way to prove it’s the battery and I realize things break but that’s A LOT of money sitting there on the shop floor for possibly 6-7 weeks when there is a solution five feet away.

 

[Squamish Sucks]

My thoughts exactly....once I did the battery swap and his worked in mine and mine doesn’t power up in his that’s enough proof for me honestly. That’s the fool proof way to prove it’s the battery and I realize things break but that’s A LOT of money sitting there on the shop floor for possibly 6-7 weeks when there is a solution five feet away.

Yes but you need to explain to specialized the issue and solution and get them to tell the shop to take care of you... as they have thousands of dollars of other repairs in line ahead of you before they can look at your issue which you have already solved.

 

[Squamish Sucks]

Yes but you need to explain to specialized the issue and solution and get them to tell the shop to take care of you... as they have thousands of dollars of other repairs in line ahead of you before they can look at your issue which you have already solved.

What I mean by my last post is the shop has to go through a process to show specialized what the problem is before they can offer you a solution, and if they have a two week wait to start that process... then that sucks.

if you can show specialized directly what the issue is and that you found a solution, maybe they can just tell the shop to give you a new battery and not have to inspect it and send it in etc etc. Jump the queue essentially.

 

[AdmChr]

@Squamish Sucks @Mitch1129
So I'm the friend that helped Mitch troubleshoot his battery issue. As he mentioned, after just a few rides, he was having intermittent issues where his new Levo would just power off. The first few times it would power back on and be fine, the last time it powered off and would not come back on. Told home to bring it over with some beers and I'd help him troubleshoot it. I checked the TCU connections and connections at the motor, even swapped out his main (motor to battery) wiring harness with mine to see if that helped, it didn't. After plugging in the charger, we seen that the 3rd green LED on the battery was flashing. So I swapped my battery from my Kenevo and his, and his bike powered up with no issues. Tried his battery in my Kenevo and it did not power up.

So I suggested that he take it into his LBS and explain what we did, hoping the LBS would take care of him. Unlike my LBS, they seem to be dicking him around... as much as I hoped they would have taken all of the troubleshooting steps that I did into consideration, they ignored them, sat on it for more than a week and when he stopped by to ask for an update, they were like "yeah, we plugged it on and the battery's 3rd LED flashes green". In my opinion, If they would have at least tried a new battery and seen it powered on they would have ordered the replacement and my buddy would be well on his way at this point. I know not everyone has a great relationship with their LBS, but honestly, the moment I suggested to my bike shop that I thought my battery was defective, not only did they look up the stock situation they said they would pull a battery from a floor bike if they weren't available. I know not everyone has the same relationship with their LBS as I do, they have to realize the impression they leave on their customers. I can say he will never spend another dime in that shop, and I can't blame him considering the attitude from the shop. Not only from this single bike purchase, but he's had multiple bikes serviced there (for a ridiculous price, but that's my opinion lol) so I'd think they would offer just a smidge above the standard "I dunno man, I put the service ticket in and it's in Specialized hands now, and I haven't heard back" to me... that's just shitty customer service after the fact.

Maybe @Specialized Rider Care could help a bro out, if at all possible ?

 

[AdmChr]

What I mean by my last post is the shop has to go through a process to show specialized what the problem is before they can offer you a solution, and if they have a two week wait to start that process... then that sucks.

if you can show specialized directly what the issue is and that you found a solution, maybe they can just tell the shop to give you a new battery and not have to inspect it and send it in etc etc. Jump the queue essentially.

Right, so (IMHO) they should have listened to the steps that we've done and what we did to prove that another battery fixed his issue (and the 3rd green LED on the battery flashing). So rather than waste the shops time troubleshooting from scratch, and Mitch's time waiting for a resolution, I would think they would have tossed a battery in and seen for themselves... 'well look at that, a new battery does work' and offered to swap him out with one from their demo fleet (they have at least 3!!), or possibly from a floor bike and Mitch would have been on his way with nothing but an unfortunate experience made right by his LBS.

That's one less bike sitting in their Fix-It queue and one happy customer that was back on the trails! Seems like an easy fix to me. But what do I know, I work for beers... lol

 

[Mitch1129]

What I mean by my last post is the shop has to go through a process to show specialized what the problem is before they can offer you a solution, and if they have a two week wait to start that process... then that sucks.

if you can show specialized directly what the issue is and that you found a solution, maybe they can just tell the shop to give you a new battery and not have to inspect it and send it in etc etc. Jump the queue essentially.

My thoughts is my word didn’t get to the mechanic for a week and hasn’t got to specialized in another week so by the time it’s gets there it’s been two weeks of wait time for nothing...I sent Specialized the exact email above. It’s just wasting valuable time. It’s hard to see it sitting in the EXACT same place I left it over a couple weeks ago and last response I got is “it wouldn’t charge and Specialized should warranty it but they don’t have any batteries. The week I took it in Specialized had batteries in stock and ready to ship. I get NO RESPONSE from anyone till week after week I stop in...no manager or anyone reaches out to me like promised. You’ve got to realize this is the biggest shop in the area and they have 4 other shops not to far by. it’s just so frustrating...I can’t even bad mouth Specialized because I do realize that things break, it’s just how it was handled and how info was passed on or should I say lack of.....

 

[Squamish Sucks]

My thoughts is my word didn’t get to the mechanic for a week and hasn’t got to specialized in another week so by the time it’s gets there it’s been two weeks of wait time for nothing...I sent Specialized the exact email above. It’s just wasting valuable time. It’s hard to see it sitting in the EXACT same place I left it over a couple weeks ago and last response I got is “it wouldn’t charge and Specialized should warranty it but they don’t have any batteries. The week I took it in Specialized had batteries in stock and ready to ship. I get NO RESPONSE from anyone till week after week I stop in...no manager or anyone reaches out to me like promised. You’ve got to realize this is the biggest shop in the area and they have 4 other shops not to far by. it’s just so frustrating...I can’t even bad mouth Specialized because I do realize that things break, it’s just how it was handled and how info was passed on or should I say lack of.....

Just call the number up above and see if they can help.

 

[James_C]

In contrast my bike shop lent me a 2nd battery in case mine went wrong went I had an intermittent fault. In the end I got a new battery but I think they gave me it from stock rather than wait for one to be sent from specialized.

Your shop sounds a bit rubbish.

Have you complained/spoken to manager etc? If they cant fix it in a reasonable time frame then surely its time to reject the bike?


You could also consider buying a 2nd hand battery and then reselling later on once you have the warranty one back.

 

[Fast Willy]

My brand new 2021 Turbo Levo battery failed after 13 miles of use. Same issue you described, put a friends battery in it & all was good. My local bike shop was awesome & took another brand new battery off a showroom bike. 289 miles so far without issues.

 

[Norange]

I'm flat out calling that rubbish customer service from the LBS. If they've sold you a bike and it goes wrong they need to fix in a timely manner. More than a week when they have an unsold battery on the floor is not acceptable. Go back in, complain politely and loudly and repeatedly until they see your point of view!

 

[Mitch1129]

In contrast my bike shop lent me a 2nd battery in case mine went wrong went I had an intermittent fault. In the end I got a new battery but I think they gave me it from stock rather than wait for one to be sent from specialized.

Your shop sounds a bit rubbish.

Have you complained/spoken to manager etc? If they cant fix it in a reasonable time frame then surely its time to reject the bike?


You could also consider buying a 2nd hand battery and then reselling later on once you have the warranty one back.

Yeah shop hasn’t reached a hand out to help at all. Manager is like a ghost. Always get the run around that he will call. And when I show up it’s like first day I walked in and just say “still waiting” kinda regretting not going with the local Trek shop because they helped me tremendously years ago with ta bike I didn’t even buy there..thought the Specialized was a better choice but lesson learned with the support or lack of from Specialized and the local shop. Sent an email to customer care service but no response....I hate to buy another battery and it’s just more money I’m out due to poor customer service and product support. I hear ALL these great threads bout how the local shop and factory took care of them and I don’t have it.

 

[Mitch1129]

I'm flat out calling that rubbish customer service from the LBS. If they've sold you a bike and it goes wrong they need to fix in a timely manner. More than a week when they have an unsold battery on the floor is not acceptable. Go back in, complain politely and loudly and repeatedly until they see your point of view!

Yeah that’s my next plan when I have time after work to get up there. It’s a shame that 6500 bike and it’s just collecting dust. Had two big trips and rides planned so that isn’t going to happen. My gut feeling was to go with the Canyon or Trek because I absolutely LOVE my Canyon Spectal and their customer service was awesome with the few other little issues I had with the bike under warranty. And shame of it is that bike was a 1/4 of the cost of this one. It all just leaves a really bad taste in my mouth for loval bike shop and factory. I’m sorry but that’s the truth....no support one either side.

 

[Mitch1129]

Specialized contacted me and was going to look into my warranty claim. Says in usually takes 48 hours so mine has been two weeks and I explained how the shop ignored everything I said and haven’t offered a solution. I’ll call the number tomorrow.....not getting anywhere fast lol

 

[Mcharza]

That sounds awful customer service, hope you get it right

 

[Mitch1129]

*Update*
So after emailing Specialized Rider Care all my serial numbers they emailed me back that “Pro Bike Of Pittsburgh South shop did not have a warranty claim entered for that serial number”. I was beyond IRATE since my bike has been sitting there since May 5th and me and my buddy trouble shot and proved the battery was bad. Soooo as I call Pro Bike and explain there is no warranty claim on my bike I was put on hold to talk to Service and after being on hold for over 5 min. The Serv tech told me”he just entered a brand new warranty claim and he’s not sure what happened to their original warranty that was entered...unbelievable right! Then 2 minutes later Specialized has the new warranty claim and a battery is being sent....

 

[Mitch1129]

So am I happy now? ABSOLUTELY NOT.... not with Specialized or the LBS. I asked Specialized if they could file a complaint for me, mail the battery direct to me, or call the shop and have them give me a battery off one of the 10 brand new bikes sitting on the floor and all they could do is make a note on my account and send the battery to the shop. Not even next day air it or anything. That’s a shame after going thru this for over 3 weeks. So nope I’m not happy and I can say I bought my last Specialized bike! It’s a shame, I love the 2 new bikes that I bought but cmon you have to support your product and the customers better than that. Like I said I know there is a pandemic going on but I spent over 7 grand on this bike and rode it less than ten times and the solution to my happiness was 5 feet away with all the new bikes with batteries sitting there. Swap it out and get me back on the trails and put the new replacement battery in on of the 10 bikes sitting there. And as far as Factory Specialized next day air my battery or even CALL the LBS and recommend them to end this! So now I’m just sitting and waiting for my battery to come in. So my DH bike that’s on my radar this year will be a Trek, Canyon, Yt or Santa Cruz......sorry Specialized....you blew it! And can you HONESTLY blame me???

 

[Mitch1129]

Sorry for the long threads but I wanted you to hear the whole truth so if your thinking about buying a Specialized you hear a REAL LIFE true story. I appreciate everyone’s replies and stories how they had same problem and how great they were taken care of and handled.

 

[Mitch1129]

Pro Bike Pittsburgh of the South Hills is my Lbs....Trek in McMurray is ten min away from there so do you even have to ask my opinion. I’ll be traveling an hour and half to Womsleys in Morgantown to support the 2 Specializeds that I do currently own because they were even more help them Pro Bike that is 5 min from my house and that’s where I bought all my bikes. Shame shop that I’ve never spent a dime at helped more than the shop I’ve blown over ten grand at in less than 2 years....

 

[James_C]

It sounds like your problem is with the shop not the brand. Although the battery failures are annoying... and the motor failures... and the shock failures... and the fork failures

you are making the right move, keep well clear of unhelpful shops.

 

[Alleycat]

I had my lights flash red and blue on three occasions on my 2021 levo. Shutting it on and off seems to reset it. Went to where I bought it. After a few days they heard back from Specialized . They said to keep driving it that it won't hurt the bike. And that they had a few with similar problems and would maybe look into replacing the cable between the battery and motor . All very vague . No time line . I contacted Specialized through there web site .After a few days they sent a email saying how sorry they were for the problem ,And asked for my Serial number . Which I had already given them . I sent it again and have never heard back from them ! Fortunately I haven't had it happen ..Still a worry.
Then on a ride the other day about 3 km out I was shifting gears and there was grinding from the rear derailleur. I stop and look it. One of the support posts for the jockey wheels had broken and the chain had fallen off ! Good thing I wasn't way into the woods when this happened .
I went to my LBS and they said it looked like a rock or something must have got jammed in it . There was a wear on the support post where maybe the chain had been rubbing on it . they didn't think it would be covered by warranty but would check. Fortunately they had the part and had it ready the next day.

 

[DtEW]

I asked Specialized if they could file a complaint for me, mail the battery direct to me

Not even next day air it or anything.

You do know that in the US, the DOT considers lithium-ion batteries >300 watt-hours as hazardous (it can easily bring down a cargo 747), and can't be shipped through normal means, not even by ground transportation, right? Big lithium-ion batteries need to be transported by a dangerous goods specialist, and that service isn't coming to your house... nor are they allowed to just release the item to plebe recipients, or more hilariously... leave it on your doormat.

Like I said I know there is a pandemic going on but I spent over 7 grand on this bike and rode it less than ten times and the solution to my happiness was 5 feet away with all the new bikes with batteries sitting there. Swap it out and get me back on the trails and put the new replacement battery in on of the 10 bikes sitting there.

I hope that insight into how serious big lithium-ion batteries are treated might clue-you-in to how they tightly they are kept-track-of. Like, if somebody has a catastrophic battery failure... the manufacturing lot will be recalled for inspection or outright recalled. You don't allow LBS part-timers to shift serial numbers around and expect accurate recordkeeping, and hinge the fate of your half-billion-dollar company on that and hope an apartment doesn't burn down and kill 50 people because somewhere along the line because some stoner mis-wrote a serial number and a battery that was supposed to have been recalled... wasn't.

 

[Mitch1129]

Yeah ah....ah....um okay! Lol

 

[valium97]

Yeah ah....ah....um okay! Lol

Hey Mitch,

I completely understand your frustration. But as DtEW wrote, some things aren’t just that easy.

And in order to get a little understanding for the guys at the shop you might want to consider an internship for a couple of days: while those guys do or did what they love (d) they are completely overwhelmed. Not only by customers who expect their bikes to be fixed in no time but also by a boss who wants problems like yours solved immediately but then there’s no one to catch up with the paper work (Spesh claims for example!). Overworked, underpaid and most likely very unhappy wi themselves because they’d lov to help you better.

I am not justifying their not being honest but know that that’s a self protection mechanism by somebody overwhelmed being afraI’d of being found out. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.

Get some nice chocolate, go back to the store and let them know you understand and appreciate them even if you haven’t been happy with the delay.

That’s how you show appreciation, make friends (very helpful in a bike store in times like this!) and as a side effect, skip the queue.

Otherwise you’ll just be another one everybody is happy to see leave, even if there’s no fault on your end!

Have a good night.

 

[Mitch1129]

Valium97 do you work at that shop lol....I’ve been nothing but nice and never said one bad word or treated them unfairly at all. They can buy their own chocolate with the 7000 dollars they took off me for my bike. In some places that’s called “robbery” lol
if I treated a HARD WORKING AND DEDICATED customer like they treated me my boss and my company would fire me. Here is bottom line. I NEVER received a phone call giving me any updates, never got a “hey we are sorry”, never got to talk to the manager after 3 requests. So as far as feeling bad for them....I don’t. They haven’t told me they understand or feel bad for me. I would love to hear ”we messed up and we’re sorry and working on it”. Don’t I at least deserve that after cancelling my bike trip, and not having my bike that I WORKED DAMN HARD for over 3 weeks. How about a box of chocolate for me?? But I should consider their feelings?? If they showed an ounce they cared then so would I. I’m not turning this into a bash session. I just wanted to see what similar problems others had and how they were treated. Judging by the threads they were treated a hell of a lot better than me in my opinion. You disagree?

 

[Mitch1129]

Thought I would get some type of update from LBS or Specialized Customer Care today saying my battery was shipped like I was told last week....but nothing. Can ANYONE blame me for being upset honestly?? I don’t want to turn the thread into that. Just wanted to see how others with same problem were handled.

 

[Squamish Sucks]

Thought I would get some type of update from LBS or Specialized Customer Care today saying my battery was shipped like I was told last week....but nothing. Can ANYONE blame me for being upset honestly?? I don’t want to turn the thread into that. Just wanted to see how others with same problem were handled.

Do you bring beers for the mechanics every time they work on your bike? And extra beers when they do it same day instead of waiting 3 weeks to book you in?

And have you even called the number I posted a while back? I have found that actually talking to a person can help resolve issues a lot faster than email.

 

[Mitch1129]

Do you bring beers for the mechanics every time they work on your bike? And extra beers when they do it same day instead of waiting 3 weeks to book you in?

And have you even called the number I posted a while back? I have found that actually talking to a person can help resolve issues a lot faster than email.

Ash from Specialized Support helped me out. If it wasn’t for talking to them I still wouldn’t have any answers. They found out that the warranty was never filed for my bike so no action was being taken. Thanks for the number. That was only thing that helped me. Appreciate that. As far as the beers. Well that’s not going to happen. I’ll buy my next bike shop mech beers for sure. Lol

 

[Mitch1129]

That shop has to look like Dave and Busters or Chuck E Cheese ball pit for all the balls that were DROPPED during this mess hahaha