Levo Gen 2 have brose fixed the motor issues yet ?

Murch

Active member
Aug 9, 2019
222
185
United States
I think we are all waiting to find out as there is no way to tell until people get a lot of miles and time on them without failure.
 

MrSimmo

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Apr 24, 2020
1,096
1,047
The Trail.
I wouldnt worry to be honest, enjoy the bike and the warranty is excellent.

The interview with Specialized that Rob did, the guy said:
- Failure rate was under 5% globally, there are regions where failures are pronounced (UK - wet) but its not nearly as bad as people think
- They are on a rolling refresh for the motors, he said every motor since Jan 2020 has the latest fixes on it

Both Specialized and Trek discuss motor/component failure rates in their investor meetings; they mention the motor failures statistics reported is actually skewed towards Bosch rather than Brose - a change since April 2020 - meaning that there are now more factory return failures in Bosch than Brose per month globally for the products being compared.
 

Master_G

Member
Oct 13, 2019
82
48
Gloucester
Also it depends how picky some people are when it comes to replacement, as the Brose is so quiet you can hear even the slightest bearing noise whereas with shimano/bosch theyre much louder so may seem to last longer before someone decides its time for replacement.

I can hear when the sprag clutch in my 1.3 gets slightly gritty so i thoroughly clean it all and run some light oil towards it.
 

muzzman1

Active member
Feb 11, 2019
153
140
Los Angeles CA
Do you happen to know what serial number the updated motors start at?
The serial numbers look like these pics.
The second segment of the serial # 100XXXXXX, the X's represent the date code of the Motor. Any motor after Jan 2020 is the updated motor.
19 levo.png 20 Levo.png
 

jsharpe

Active member
May 15, 2019
181
185
USA
Bummer. The motor in my 2020 Comp was manufactured 10/8/2019. The odometer is currently at 370 miles which is only about half of where people seem to start having issues. I wonder if it's possible to have the belt swapped without replacing the whole motor, or if there other changes in addition to the belt.
 

Murch

Active member
Aug 9, 2019
222
185
United States
No one can open the motors except Brose otherwise the warranty is void. No shop can tell you what has failed unless they open it up which they won’t do unless they want to buy the motor.
 

Gav TLEC

New Member
Jun 14, 2020
11
19
Brisbane, Australia
Bummer. The motor in my 2020 Comp was manufactured 10/8/2019. The odometer is currently at 370 miles which is only about half of where people seem to start having issues. I wonder if it's possible to have the belt swapped without replacing the whole motor, or if there other changes in addition to the belt.
My 2020 Expert Carbon motor has the same manufacture date with just 280km on the clock and four weeks old, and already I can hear a friction noise as I rotate the crank. There is a dramatic amount of resistance when I rotate the crank compared to my wife's Turbo Levo. I've also had the bike turn it self on and display a motor fault code. I was told this was a cable but now I'm not so sure!
 

ryturn

Well-known member
Sep 12, 2019
123
149
Australia
there has been a cable issue as well as motor , some dealers have a bag of the new cables , some dealers have spare motors ready to go. Specialized are on to these issues and they give the best customer service in the industry .
 

Gav TLEC

New Member
Jun 14, 2020
11
19
Brisbane, Australia
Can someone explain how the numbers after the 100 represent a date? I'm not seeing it
So being an American company I assume the date works as follows, after the 100 the first two digits are the Year of manufacture followed by the Month as two digits and then the Day as two digits. In my case 100191008 would be 8th day of October 2019.
 

jsharpe

Active member
May 15, 2019
181
185
USA
While I'm a bit disappointed that my new 2020 purchased in March still has the older motor spec, it's not going to impact my immense enjoyment of the bike. If (when?) it does happen to fail I 1) hope it does within the warranty period and 2) hope it doesn't happen when I'm in the backcountry 20 miles from a road and cell service.

On the plus side, my bike is the aluminum comp and there is a growing theory that temperature is an aggravating factor with the carbon models having it worse since they don't conduct the heat away as well. Looking back, my highest max motor temp was 127F with most rides more than 10F lower than that.
 

Murch

Active member
Aug 9, 2019
222
185
United States
On the plus side, my bike is the aluminum comp and there is a growing theory that temperature is an aggravating factor with the carbon models having it worse since they don't conduct the heat away as well. Looking back, my highest max motor temp was 127F with most rides more than 10F lower than that.

The aluminums around here are failing just like the carbon ones.
 

Funkeydunk

Well-known member
Subscriber
May 28, 2019
390
297
Uk
Just picked mine up from the shop after my first motor replacement after 1750 miles. I assume this is a 21st Feb 2020 manufacturing date?

261BB88C-75C2-4DAD-BD4A-19DC80905311.jpeg
 

mazukea

Member
Feb 1, 2020
74
118
Hawaii
I had to get my first motor replacement back in mid-May after just 463 miles. I just checked my motor serial number and it looks like its a Jan 24 2020 motor. I hope its a good one! 138 miles on this new motor so far.
 

Gav TLEC

New Member
Jun 14, 2020
11
19
Brisbane, Australia
Put me in the Boo Hoo section... bought the bike new two weeks ago,just checked the motor October 19 so thats taken the smile off my face.......
As a new owner and as of today now the happy recipient of the updated 2.1 trail tuned motor I suggest you be vigilant and at the first sign of noise, drag or any other symptom, contact your dealer for a warranty claim ASAP.

I have two bikes, my partners Turbo Levo and my Turbo Levo Carbon Expert. My partners forks were sticking, part of a batch manufactured to the wrong tolerances and my motor displayed a fault code followed by significant drag or resistance when rotating the crank with the motor off.
Only having the bikes for 4 to 5 weeks at the point of failure and only 280km on my bike, Anne's even less, I contacted Fair trading and confirmed my options. These were catastrophic failures for two new bikes and are common issues known to Specialized.
Had I the knowledge gained from the forums and internet prior to purchase, I would have ordered bikes built after a certain date to ensure I had the latest updated parts free from known issues.
To the credit of my local dealer and to the credit of Specialized, Tuesday 16th June 2020 was the day I requested an appropriate response from Specialized regarding my issue or I would be seeking a full refund or two new bikes.
Today Friday 19th June 2020 I have had two brand new motors installed in both bikes, plus a new power cable (V3) in my bike. Anne's forks are being replaced with the higher spec Yari 160mm travel fork at no charge, as the base spec Turbo Levo fork was not available in Australia. The forks are to be installed Tuesday next week as the mounting hardware did not arrive with the forks.
That in my books, is a sensational effort and response from both my dealer and Specialized. Not to forget that my dealer have put the shop demonstrators Lyrik fork on my partners bike while we waited for a resolution so we can still ride together.

I'm a fan of the product and I'm a fan of the warranty response from Specialized. Make sure you have your evidence, be polite but firm regarding issues as soon as they arise. Our new motors are from production dates of late February 2020. They have a new bearing housing and a new reinforced belt.
I will be sure to announce any issues if they arise for the assistance of others if this happens with these new motors.

Test ride first thing Saturday morning :)
 

Winger

Member
May 28, 2020
111
49
Birmingham
Well you can file me in the astonished section.... buy a new bike in June 2020 and find it has a motor built in 2019 which is old hat and out of date,my advice to anyone looking too buy new check the engine date before leaving the shop like I should have done grrrrrrr.
 

Winger

Member
May 28, 2020
111
49
Birmingham
Without going into all the pro’s and con’s just had a conversation explaining that because of the way these bikes are manufactured, the motors are built 6 months in advance, and when pressing the individual on the phone asked was my October 2019 motor the latest version he said yes with magnesium parts,my mistake was not asking for that in writing......
 

J200George

Member
Jun 14, 2020
77
29
Glasgow United Kingdom
Without going into all the pro’s and con’s just had a conversation explaining that because of the way these bikes are manufactured, the motors are built 6 months in advance, and when pressing the individual on the phone asked was my October 2019 motor the latest version he said yes with magnesium parts,my mistake was not asking for that in writing......

I think like you I would not be pressing the button on any new Levo unless I could verify that the motor was indeed built after the upgrade, I think from Jan 2020? All hell will break loose mind you if those motors start failing.

I really do want one of these bikes but...whilst I get that the manufacturer warranty is solid, and I am sure the dealer involved will "treat me right" Its the damned inconvenience and the hassle of it blowing mid blast on a trail, then the stress of arranging to get the bike in, waiting for approval for warranty replacement, parts and scheduling of the work. I accept that there is a risk with every purchase but in this case I will be trying to minimise that risk by waiting a little longer.
 
Last edited:

Winger

Member
May 28, 2020
111
49
Birmingham
Looking at 2020 test reports, if you go into Mission control check if you have Stealth and Shuttle which it appears only the 2020 bikes have???
 

EMTB Forums

Since 2018

The World's largest electric mountain bike community.

556K
Messages
28,081
Members
Join Our Community

Latest articles


Top