Levo Gen 2 Levo Motor - Acceptable Bottom Bracket Play

[HGmtb]

My 2019 Levo still has the original motor after nearly 4 years (which if this forum is anything to go by, puts me in quite a minority group), but is showing obvious signs of wear, even though I take good care of it - the drive side of the Bottom Bracket has more than 0.5 mm up and down radial play, and makes a slight grinding noise when the cranks are rotated under load (without the chain).
The bike shop that I purchased it from confirmed the Bottom Bracket was indeed worn, but said it had "acceptable play", and that they would not replace the motor (which they would only do if the bike was "unrideable"). However they agreed that if it was an analogue bike, the Bottom Bracket would need replacing if it had this much play (even though it could still be ridden).
I don't want to have to walk out of the trail in a few months time if or when the motor completely fails (the Sprag Clutch seems to be on the way out too - but the bike shop couldn't diagnose that, as it is only intermittently noisy), and therefore consider it unreasonable that bike shop said that I was just trying to get a new motor before my warranty expires, and that play in the Bottom Bracket is acceptable - is that really Specialized's policy ?

 

[Mina08]

Bearings need replacing, try another shop

 

[Zimmerframe]

I think @Bearing Man lightly covered this in his article :

WHEN should you stop pedalling to not DESTROY your motor ?

This may sound like an odd question, but it’s an important one as far as your motor is concerned. This article is written more for anyone who owns an ebike with an expired or expiring warranty. We are probably all guilty of riding a bike with a...

www.emtbforums.com

 

[Bearing Man]

My 2019 Levo still has the original motor after nearly 4 years (which if this forum is anything to go by, puts me in quite a minority group), but is showing obvious signs of wear, even though I take good care of it - the drive side of the Bottom Bracket has more than 0.5 mm up and down radial play, and makes a slight grinding noise when the cranks are rotated under load (without the chain).
The bike shop that I purchased it from confirmed the Bottom Bracket was indeed worn, but said it had "acceptable play", and that they would not replace the motor (which they would only do if the bike was "unrideable"). However they agreed that if it was an analogue bike, the Bottom Bracket would need replacing if it had this much play (even though it could still be ridden).
I don't want to have to walk out of the trail in a few months time if or when the motor completely fails (the Sprag Clutch seems to be on the way out too - but the bike shop couldn't diagnose that, as it is only intermittently noisy), and therefore consider it unreasonable that bike shop said that I was just trying to get a new motor before my warranty expires, and that play in the Bottom Bracket is acceptable - is that really Specialized's policy ?

Wow! What an answer! Play, roughness or unhealthy noises are not acceptable, and will normally be replaced under warranty without question. I would contact Specialized and ask them to speak with the dealer to fit a new motor.

 

[HGmtb]

I think @Bearing Man lightly covered this in his article :

WHEN should you stop pedalling to not DESTROY your motor ?

This may sound like an odd question, but it’s an important one as far as your motor is concerned. This article is written more for anyone who owns an ebike with an expired or expiring warranty. We are probably all guilty of riding a bike with a...

www.emtbforums.com

He did, and that is the reason (and also the way) I checked the Bottom Bracket for wear - as any play can't be heard quite the same way as on an analogue bike.

 

[HGmtb]

Wow! What an answer! Play, roughness or unhealthy noises are not acceptable, and will normally be replaced under warranty without question. I would contact Specialized and ask them to speak with the dealer to fit a new motor.

That's exactly what I did @Zimmerframe - and now I have a new motor after 3 years and 11 months with the original one.

 

[rzr]

Wow! What an answer! Play, roughness or unhealthy noises are not acceptable, and will normally be replaced under warranty without question. I would contact Specialized and ask them to speak with the dealer to fit a new motor.

but in a 'normal' bike, it's normal wear and tear, right? bearings and other stuff, and you just replace that part (not under warranty), right? so how is it with motors ?

 

[Bearing Man]

but in a 'normal' bike, it's normal wear and tear, right? bearings and other stuff, and you just replace that part (not under warranty), right? so how is it with motors ?

Sorry, I am not 100% certain of what you are asking but here goes.
Most manufacturers, including Specialized, only offer a 2 year warranty on their motors. Specialized extended this to 4 years on the Brose 2019 and 2020 motors for their own reasons.
Once a motor is out of warranty the manufacturer will only sell you a new motor, either with another 12 months warranty or no warranty, usually depending on the amount of motors you've had.
If a motor is out of warranty, we replace what ever has failed and charge for this as the product is not ours and it's not our fault that it's failed. then we put our own 12 month warranty on the motor to cover our parts and labour.
This is the same for all motors.
Very few motors make it to a "fair wear and tear" stage, as 99% of them are killed prematurely by water.

 

[rzr]

I don't know how motors are handled. and I don't know exactly what warranty covers.
with most (all?) other things, if, for example, bearing dies (after some reasonable time, like 6-12 months), it won't be covered by warranty as it's normal wear and tear, right?
I don't know how it works with Brose motors.

 

[HGmtb]

In some respects an eBike mid-motor is the equivalent of the Bottom Bracket in an Analogue Bike - it is treated as a single component which is specifically warranted for 4 years (Specialized don't repair Brose Motors, they replace the whole unit).
If the Bottom Bracket of an Analogue Bike developed play within the component warranty period (which would possibly be 1 year, rather than 5 years for the frame), it would normally be replaced not repaired, no questions asked.

 

[rzr]

i'm not sure, who would (manufacturer or shop) change bottom bracket under warranty if there is a play after one year of use ...

anyway, great that they change whole motor