Perma-E010 error preceded by an intermittent then solid W013 error

R120

Moderator
Subscriber
Apr 13, 2018
7,819
9,190
Surrey
I know that if your motor casing shows evidence of crash damage they may not warranty it - couple of people on here had that happen to them.
 

David0208

Member
Mar 30, 2019
103
64
United Kingdom
I know that if your motor casing shows evidence of crash damage they may not warranty it - couple of people on here had that happen to them.
That is something that should be SHOUTED FROM THE ROOFTOPS!

Surely you would want to know if that was the situation before buying a new bike? Today has convinced me that I will sell my Vitus while I can .... new Specialized for me.
 

Nickolp1974

Active member
Jul 30, 2019
236
174
Louth lincs
Got directed here from the live stream last night, not got an issue myself was just interested in thread as i'm e8000 system. I'd be devastated if I had to wait anymore than 2 weeks as it's my only bike. So warranty is 2 years on motor, if it gets replaced say after a year do you have a year left or do you get another 2 years just on replaced motor?? Are and will there be any numbers with regards to failure rates?
Hope all you guys get sorted soon.
 

David0208

Member
Mar 30, 2019
103
64
United Kingdom
Got directed here from the live stream last night, not got an issue myself was just interested in thread as i'm e8000 system. I'd be devastated if I had to wait anymore than 2 weeks as it's my only bike. So warranty is 2 years on motor, if it gets replaced say after a year do you have a year left or do you get another 2 years just on replaced motor?? Are and will there be any numbers with regards to failure rates?
Hope all you guys get sorted soon.
Nick you get 2 years in total. If you get a new motor after 1 year then unfortunately you still only have one year left
 

thebarber

E*POWAH Elite
May 28, 2018
986
598
Norfeast
Yes.... Shimano Ebike UK messaged me to let me know that my motor was back with the LBS. Only when the LBS contact did I know it was a new motor.

But again ... no motors? I'm not buy that. If that WAS the case then why wouldn't they just tell you that? All just hearsay at the moment.

As far as I have experienced and also friends in the club, the motor is NOT the issue. The issue is absolutely SHIT and nonexistent customer service from the place of purchase. If Shimano were the problem then the suppliers would just blame Shimano, but that isn't happening.

It's Wiggle and CRC that need to be called out for their unbelievably poor customer service.

I have had nothing but great service from wiggle regarding warranty.
Starting with a replacement shifter, new dropper post and replacement motor via lbs.
Just had to send pics of damaged item and replacement was in the post asap.
Motor wise I tried everything they advised to no avail and then took to lbs, aprox 2wks later got bike back with a new motor.
I was charged £85 but wiggle reimbursed me no problem.
 

David0208

Member
Mar 30, 2019
103
64
United Kingdom
I have had nothing but great service from wiggle regarding warranty.
Starting with a replacement shifter, new dropper post and replacement motor via lbs.
Just had to send pics of damaged item and replacement was in the post asap.
Motor wise I tried everything they advised to no avail and then took to lbs, aprox 2wks later got bike back with a new motor.
I was charged £85 but wiggle reimbursed me no problem.
That's great .... and that's what I did. However they wouldn't let me take you lbs or my warranty would be invalid. Nonetheless I did and I had the same success as you. Unfortunately others have not been so lucky and had to ship the whole bike to Norn Iron to the warranty centre for CRC.

That's the bit that has been painful in terms of customer service.

In terms of the motor and Shimano, it looks like there is a shortage of motors and that process is taking longer. In addition Madison have rejected a few warranty claims on motors that have the same issues and errors claiming then to be crash damaged.

So that is the second part that is troubling not just for those who have the heartache of an ebike under a year old with a motor that doesn't work and a manufacturer that won't replace or repair them, but for all the customers who (like us) have a working motor .... where does that place us? I for one am VERY nervous that I have a £4k bike that is less than 6 months old and it's used for enduro mountain biking, can encounter an issue that Shimano can reject.
 

Peaky Rider

E*POWAH Master
Feb 9, 2019
846
537
Derbyshire Dales
As I've said in an earlier post, it's only a matter of time before the Chinese start knocking these motors out for two hundred and fifty notes.

Last year, the rear door locking motor failed on my wife's Evoque. £193 from Land Rover, £38 from China, works perfectly.
 

ggrin

Member
Feb 11, 2019
51
20
Scotland
My Focus Jam squared 2018 started giving intermittent error msgs at about 4 or 5 months old, at about 7 months I got the terminal combination of msgs you describe.
Took it back to my lbs where I bought it but Madison started to give him the run around, but after couple of weeks he took a new motor from a stock bike and fitted it to my frame to get me mobile again.
When I bought my bike I paid £200 over cheapest Internet price so I would get good local support, feeling vindicated now.
Compare Madison/Shimano with Bosch: my mate has a 3 year old Scott with a bosch motor which stopped working, he took to local bosch bike shop (not where he bought it) who sent motor back to Bosch and they supplied a new motor foc, despite it being a year out of warranty!
 

Peaky Rider

E*POWAH Master
Feb 9, 2019
846
537
Derbyshire Dales
My Focus Jam squared 2018 started giving intermittent error msgs at about 4 or 5 months old, at about 7 months I got the terminal combination of msgs you describe.
Took it back to my lbs where I bought it but Madison started to give him the run around, but after couple of weeks he took a new motor from a stock bike and fitted it to my frame to get me mobile again.
When I bought my bike I paid £200 over cheapest Internet price so I would get good local support, feeling vindicated now.
Compare Madison/Shimano with Bosch: my mate has a 3 year old Scott with a bosch motor which stopped working, he took to local bosch bike shop (not where he bought it) who sent motor back to Bosch and they supplied a new motor foc, despite it being a year out of warranty!

Good job I'm not the worrying kind. Oh! just remembered , I am. :confused:
 

ottoshape

Well-known member
Dec 19, 2018
177
111
Right Here
You have a fezzari wire peak correct? Hows fezzari been with handling this issue? wire peak has been on my short list.

Correct, it's the Fezzari. We shall see how they get this fixed. I just got the authorization from Shimano support to have the motor warrantied late yesterday evening.
 

seamarsh

Active member
May 7, 2019
350
174
usa
Correct, it's the Fezzari. We shall see how they get this fixed. I just got the authorization from Shimano support to have the motor warrantied late yesterday evening.

Interesting, So Fezzari doesn't provide support for motor.. just straight to Shimano?
 

R120

Moderator
Subscriber
Apr 13, 2018
7,819
9,190
Surrey
Some good news today - Madison contacted my LBS and have confirmed they are sending out a replacement motor. Pleased as earlier in the week they had told LBS is was likely a few weeks until they would be able to look at motor.
 

seamarsh

Active member
May 7, 2019
350
174
usa
Shimano wanted to use my laptop connection via PCE1 to the DU8000 device. Very sharp tech did some debugging and declared it warranteeable.

Man count me in as officially scared to buy an ebike..just so many issues I've been reading about lately.. I imagine it's going to get worse before it gets better with the amount of bikes that are coming to market.
 

ottoshape

Well-known member
Dec 19, 2018
177
111
Right Here
Man count me in as officially scared to buy an ebike..just so many issues I've been reading about lately.. I imagine it's going to get worse before it gets better with the amount of bikes that are coming to market.

Yeah, if the motor dies the bike is pretty much a boat anchor. With that said, I will persist until it's fixed and will still love riding it. An eMTB took the place of my plated 2T dirtbike. It has a motor, keeps me in shape and can go in so many more places than the dirtbike. The best thing? I will never get ejected and hit the dirt going 50mph ever again!!! :cool::cool::cool: (20mph - yes, 50mph - no way)
 

seamarsh

Active member
May 7, 2019
350
174
usa
Yeah, if the motor dies the bike is pretty much a boat anchor. With that said, I will persist until it's fixed and will still love riding it. An eMTB took the place of my plated 2T dirtbike. It has a motor, keeps me in shape and can go in so many more places than the dirtbike. The best thing? I will never get ejected and hit the dirt going 50mph ever again!!! :cool::cool::cool: (20mph - yes, 50mph - no way)

Thats exactly where I'm at, except its a non plated ktm 350..which honestly Ill probably just keep because resale sucks on it and its hard to let go of the idea of riding, although its less and less these days.

But the reliability has got to be there.. if I drop 6k on a bike and engine has to be replaced in a year... thats a tough one to swallow.

Kind of interesting that bike makers outside of specialized/giant? who use off the shelf motors can just tell you to deal with manufacturer. They build the bike and sell it to you take the profit and then you have to deal with shimano? I guess it's the same with forks etc but this is in new league. makes sense why so many are using shimano.. once they sell the bike its on the customer to deal with problems.

Anyway good luck.. from your pictures it doesn't seem like you are riding super demanding terrain.. no high mountains? Florida? To only make it a year and a 1000 miles is really pathetic. I mean thats beyond not being reliable thats ridiculous.
 

Simon-C

Member
Sep 4, 2019
6
3
Montrose
Interesting thread Chaps. I'm also the owner of a Vitus E Sommet, for 18 months it's been a great bike.

But recently I've been experiencing a problem that seems to becoming a common issue with the STEPS motor, which is understandable since it's new technology that will improve with time and development, but could damage the reputation of the motor if it is not dealt with correctly.

In my case my motor suddenly, and for no apparent reason went into E010 error mode and would not run at all. Shimano STEPS fault code reference recommends taking the bike to a STEPS service center for diagnostics. I did this and the Service center did firmware up grades and all the recommended checks and tests, still no joy they had to charge me £125 for the work, and told me that the motor needed replacing, and that it would have to go to Madison cycles.

I asked them to contact Madison on my behalf, but since I'd purchased my bike through Chain Reaction Cycles they advised me to go through them. Here starts the major issue, dealing with CRC has been a constant struggle, I've had to send the whole bike back to Ireland for them to initiate the motor replacement with Madison. This whole process until now has taken 75 days, and my bike is still not returned to me yet.

On a positive note Madison have now supplied CRC with replacement motor for me, which has been fitted and the bike will eventually be returned. But the time frame could have been greatly reduced if the service center could have dropped the motor and had it exchanged with Madison directly, probably in less than 2 weeks.

Currently I have only 4 months remaining of the original warranty for the bike, and subsequently 4 months warranty on the new motor also.

I feel that Madison should offer me a separate warranty period on the new replacement motor. I now have lost confidence and faith in the STEPS motor and feel that maybe in a few months time I'll be left with an expensive bike that will be useless with a failed motor.

So not only am I £125 out of pocket, and 75 days throughout of summer without my bike, I'm also owner of an EMTB with a motor that cannot be repaired or replaced by one of the biggest online cycling retailers worldwide, and by the UK distributor for Shimano.

Si.
 

R120

Moderator
Subscriber
Apr 13, 2018
7,819
9,190
Surrey
New motor arrived at LBS today, so total turnaround from them sending the motor to Madison and getting a new one back was 23 days.

Interesting thing was that Madison couldn't find what was wrong with the old motor, only that whatever they tried when diagnosing the same fault code came up and they couldn't get it to work, so they decided to send a new motor, they didn't specify if they disassembled it.

So I would definitely recommend dealing with Madison via an LBS, obviously how much the lbs charge you for taking out, and putting back in the motor will depend on your relationship with them, but for me it took 6 weeks for CRC to respond to the initial warranty claim, and then they said it could be 8 weeks without the bike.

In retrospect I wish I had just got the LBS to send in the motor in the first place, but I wanted confirmation from CRC that it was covered for warranty before I did so.

Madison have confirmed you do not need to go through CRC, with my LBS I did the "paperwork" with them, and all they did was take out the motor, create an order with Madison, and send the motor off - this is the note I did and got them to send with motor, you also need to send receipt for original purchase. As an FYI I did all the checks listed.

Screenshot 2019-09-13 at 18.05.41.png
 
Last edited:

seamarsh

Active member
May 7, 2019
350
174
usa
Interesting thread Chaps. I'm also the owner of a Vitus E Sommet, for 18 months it's been a great bike.

But recently I've been experiencing a problem that seems to becoming a common issue with the STEPS motor, which is understandable since it's new technology that will improve with time and development, but could damage the reputation of the motor if it is not dealt with correctly.

In my case my motor suddenly, and for no apparent reason went into E010 error mode and would not run at all. Shimano STEPS fault code reference recommends taking the bike to a STEPS service center for diagnostics. I did this and the Service center did firmware up grades and all the recommended checks and tests, still no joy they had to charge me £125 for the work, and told me that the motor needed replacing, and that it would have to go to Madison cycles.

I asked them to contact Madison on my behalf, but since I'd purchased my bike through Chain Reaction Cycles they advised me to go through them. Here starts the major issue, dealing with CRC has been a constant struggle, I've had to send the whole bike back to Ireland for them to initiate the motor replacement with Madison. This whole process until now has taken 75 days, and my bike is still not returned to me yet.

On a positive note Madison have now supplied CRC with replacement motor for me, which has been fitted and the bike will eventually be returned. But the time frame could have been greatly reduced if the service center could have dropped the motor and had it exchanged with Madison directly, probably in less than 2 weeks.

Currently I have only 4 months remaining of the original warranty for the bike, and subsequently 4 months warranty on the new motor also.

I feel that Madison should offer me a separate warranty period on the new replacement motor. I now have lost confidence and faith in the STEPS motor and feel that maybe in a few months time I'll be left with an expensive bike that will be useless with a failed motor.

So not only am I £125 out of pocket, and 75 days throughout of summer without my bike, I'm also owner of an EMTB with a motor that cannot be repaired or replaced by one of the biggest online cycling retailers worldwide, and by the UK distributor for Shimano.

Si.

Holy smokes!! 75 days? That’s insane!!
 

seamarsh

Active member
May 7, 2019
350
174
usa
That's how long I have been told my Focus will be, and that's purchased through a local bike shop.

Damn that’s rough.. I’m looking at whyte with new Bosch.. maybe I should wait 6 months and see if new Bosch proves reliable! They should definitely prorate your warranty, at very least.
 

Peaky Rider

E*POWAH Master
Feb 9, 2019
846
537
Derbyshire Dales
Damn that’s rough.. I’m looking at whyte with new Bosch.. maybe I should wait 6 months and see if new Bosch proves reliable! They should definitely prorate your warranty, at very least.

I don't think any of the current motors are particularly reliable, just have to hope the manufacturer you choose can cope with warranty issues better than Shimano seem able to do.
 

ottoshape

Well-known member
Dec 19, 2018
177
111
Right Here
Thats exactly where I'm at, except its a non plated ktm 350..which honestly Ill probably just keep because resale sucks on it and its hard to let go of the idea of riding, although its less and less these days.

But the reliability has got to be there.. if I drop 6k on a bike and engine has to be replaced in a year... thats a tough one to swallow.

Kind of interesting that bike makers outside of specialized/giant? who use off the shelf motors can just tell you to deal with manufacturer. They build the bike and sell it to you take the profit and then you have to deal with shimano? I guess it's the same with forks etc but this is in new league. makes sense why so many are using shimano.. once they sell the bike its on the customer to deal with problems.

Anyway good luck.. from your pictures it doesn't seem like you are riding super demanding terrain.. no high mountains? Florida? To only make it a year and a 1000 miles is really pathetic. I mean thats beyond not being reliable thats ridiculous.

I'd have kept my dirtbike if it was truly streetable, like your 350. Riding a 300cc 2T on pavement ain't much fun. Areas to ride dirtbikes are getting fewer and farther between, unless you want to camp out in a cow pasture and zig-zag/hare scramble through tree lines. FWIW, FL has a ton of really cool dedicated MTB riding areas with some serious double black diamond single track and some really good elevation changes. Our eMTBs are welcome on all of them.

We are on the leading-bleeding edge of this technology and as a result we're involved in a lot of the ugly facets of the learning curve. With my 2T, I had enough spare parts or parts available within a couple hours drive to keep me going even if I nuked the motor. I didn't expect the exact same from Shimano but I did expect MUCH more resiliency from such a major manufacturer.

I believe Fezzari will do whatever is within their reach to get me back on the bike ASAP and I really hope it won't be 23 days... Expecting more info soon from them.
 

ottoshape

Well-known member
Dec 19, 2018
177
111
Right Here
I don't think any of the current motors are particularly reliable, just have to hope the manufacturer you choose can cope with warranty issues better than Shimano seem able to do.

I had a Giant eMTB for 1 week before I got the Fezzari. The bike fired up in the LBS and the next day at home it was dead, fatal error displayed on bar computer. The LBS had me call Giant Customer Service to debug the bike, they had no clue. That made buying an Internet based bike much easier...
 
Last edited:

R120

Moderator
Subscriber
Apr 13, 2018
7,819
9,190
Surrey
I really think the issue across the board is with how manufacturers deal with warranties on e-bikes, and I think most of them as yet don't have the warranty process down.

AFAIK Specilized are the only company that will allow shops to keep spare motors in stock, this is why you can normally go into the likes of Berkshire Cycles, Freeborn, and Raceco and get a motor replaced same day if the dealer believes the motor needs replacing.

The other brands of motor insist on the faulty unit being sent back to them for diagnosis, and of course in a lot of cases the whole bike has to go back to the manufacturer first, who then send the motor off, adding to the timescale.

I think the current 2-3 week turnaround from Shimano is actually not that bad, the pain is that there is inconsistency from the bike brands and dealers in how they deal with it - I am lucky that I have a great LBS that I have a good relationship, who where happy to expedite everything for me when I ran out of patience with Chain Reaction.

I also think that there should be service plans for these motors - I think the brands try and avoid this for marketing purposes, trying to sell the motors as hassle free, but I would far rather buy a motor that had to be serviced every six months if it meant it lasted longer, and minor issues that currently end up in a replcemtn motor could be sorted by a service centre.
 

Peaky Rider

E*POWAH Master
Feb 9, 2019
846
537
Derbyshire Dales
I had a Giant eMTB for 1 week before I got the Fezzari. The bike fired up in the LBS and the next day at home it was dead, fatal error displayed on bar computer. The LBS had me call Giant Customer Service to debug the bike, they had no clue. That made buying an Internet based bike much easier...

My mate bought a Giant Trance nine months ago, at the same time I bought my Focus. Both motors failed at the end of August within a week of each other.
He got his back from the LBS (not the one that supplied his bike) after twelve days, I've been told by the shop where I bought my bike, not to expect to have mine sorted until the middle of November. :cry: So much for the supposed advantages of buying from your LBS. Seems like the whole game is pure pot luck.

Just seen your post R120 and would like to know how you find these great LBS's, in thirty years of mtbing I've never found on. Once they've got your money you are not quite so important and are you the exception in getting yours sorted in 2/3 weeks or am I when having to wait 7+ weeks?
 
Last edited:

R120

Moderator
Subscriber
Apr 13, 2018
7,819
9,190
Surrey
I also think that there appears to be much greater lead times with brands that use bespoke batteries rather than Shimano ones, this is because to diagnose a fault both the battery and the motor have to be diagnosed, if the bike uses a Shimano battery then you can just send everything to Madison, but if it uses a proprietary battery like Focus, Norco and YT, then the bike has to be sent back to them first to check the battery and cabling to rule out any issues with that.
 

EMTB Forums

Since 2018

The World's largest electric mountain bike community.

552K
Messages
27,901
Members
Join Our Community

Latest articles


Top