Rail Battery popped out on 1st Ride!

[Thesag]

So I got my Rail 5 on Monday. Messed around with a few things at the house that night including taking the battery out to see how it works and charges off the bike.

Had my first ride last night and 15 minutes in my battery pops out when I'm doing about 15 mph and lands on the rocky ground. It scratched and dinged some of the edges of the outside painted "downtube" part. Not happy. I had the key in my backpack so I cleaned the battery off, put it back in and used to key to make sure it was locked. The bike rode fine after that so no battery damage apparently.

I figured it was user error and I must not have locked it when I put it back in at the house after taking it out. After playing with it today though it seems like you can't NOT lock it. What I mean is the key will only come out of the lock when it's in the locked position so I clearly didn't leave the key in an unlocked position. That means it popped out when it was supposed to be locked in. After putting it in and taking it out a couple times I think I was able to recreate the event. I put the battery in, visually it looked like it was seated, the key turned to the locked position and when I pulled on the battery a few times it came out. Seems like it can go in and visually look ok but not actually be locked in.

Has anyone else had this happen? I don't know if this is a defect and I should take it back to my LBS to look at it, or if this is just a thing with these batteries where you need to make absolutely sure it's in properly even if it visually looks ok and seems locked. I love the removable battery thing but not if it's not secure.

 

[Darren]

a known problem - see here

 

[Philly G]

a known problem - see here

@Thesag as @Darren says it's a common Trek fault, unfortunately. Follow the steps in the battery alignment .pdf at the top of the thread and you should have no further issues. However I would put a warranty claim in to get a new battery cover at the very least. Not good to have it all scratched up on your first ride through no fault of your own. Batteries don't like being dropped so perhaps a replacement battery as well.

 

[Thesag]

Thanks. I bought it from a Trek store so I will definitely contact them tomorrow to see if I can get a replacement.

 

[Orangie]

They will fix. Pre painted cover is 99$

 

[Doug Stampfer]

After following PhillyGs advice I have run thin strips of foam around the battery to stop the rattle sound. If you do this grab the edges of the battery & give it a good yank to make sure it's locked in there firmly before riding.

 

[MOTO13]

I have ridden my 9.7 a lot with zero problems. But just in case, I use clear Gorilla tape over the battery case. Provides paint protection plus there is no way in hell it's coming off during a ride.

 

[Thesag]

I’ve been busy as hell with work this week but talked to the manager of the Trek store yesterday and I’m brining it in today so they can do the alignment procedure, take pictures and submit a warranty request for a new battery.

And yes...I will DEFINITELY use some kind of strap around the battery going forward.

 

[Philly G]

I’ve been busy as hell with work this week but talked to the manager of the Trek store yesterday and I’m brining it in today so they can do the alignment procedure, take pictures and submit a warranty request for a new battery.

And yes...I will DEFINITELY use some kind of strap around the battery going forward.

Given that this is a fairly common fault, I don't understand why bike shops aren't doing the battery alignment on the bikes as a standard procedure before owners take delivery Seems a no brainer to me.

 

[Thesag]

I agree Philly G, but then again it shouldn't be on the dealers to fix an issue the manufacturer should address with their own design. If this was a somewhat common issue on the 2020's it's pretty surprising they didn't address it for the 2021's.

The ironic thing is I chose the Rail over the Levo mostly because of the removable battery. I'm in Texas USA where it gets extremely hot here in the summer and being able to charge the battery and store it inside the house was a big advantage over the Levo. I still love the removeable battery concept but that is in a world where the battery doesn't fly out while I am riding the bike.

 

[Philly G]

I agree Philly G, but then again it shouldn't be on the dealers to fix an issue the manufacturer should address with their own design. If this was a somewhat common issue on the 2020's it's pretty surprising they didn't address it for the 2021's.

The ironic thing is I chose the Rail over the Levo mostly because of the removable battery. I'm in Texas USA where it gets extremely hot here in the summer and being able to charge the battery and store it inside the house was a big advantage over the Levo. I still love the removeable battery concept but that is in a world where the battery doesn't fly out while I am riding the bike.

I don't think there's anything wrong with the design though. The problem is in the way the bikes are assembled. If the battery alignment is done correctly when the bike is assembled, the battery does not fall out. I was lucky enough to find this forum during the several weeks lead time to get my bike, so I knew about the issue and was able to address it before my first ride. I've had no problems whatsoever. I even bought some straps to hold the battery in but have never felt the need to use them. Trek's design works fine, but the bike shops who assemble the bikes for their customers should be doing the alignment procedure, it shouldn't be left to the owners.

 

[Hamina]

Never had any issues with the battery and I always take the battery out for charging. I've done this circa 80 times.

I can see how the gorilla tape either leaves sticky marks on the frame when removing or strips the paint after couple of months. If the design would need a strap there would be one initially from factory.

 

[Geedog]

Hello, I'm sure Trek will sort this out for you. I put black electrical tape all around where the battery fits, and the charging point, this keeps muck n water out and keeps it in place, tho I still get the odd battery rattle. I also use an inch or so of tape to keep the kiox in place.
I've named my bike The Tapir.
They are a great bikes.
Good luck.

 

[sgh77]

I have ridden my 9.7 a lot with zero problems. But just in case, I use clear Gorilla tape over the battery case. Provides paint protection plus there is no way in hell it's coming off during a ride.

Same, I haven't noticed any battery rattles either.
First thing I did was PPF my Rail 9.
Had nothing but fun, 1 month old, 500km of Grade 3 & 4 tracks, (Medium/Advanced)

 

[Thesag]

Just an update on this. Trek is replacing the painted outside cover but the battery tested ok on their diagnostics so no battery replacement under warranty. Apparently there is a service bulletin on this issue so in addition to the alignment procedure done by the shop, there is some kind of plate or something being shipped that gets installed to help secure the battery better. Doesn't sound like the bike will be available until at least the end of the week.

I was out on the acoustic bike Saturday suffering a little on a climb when a couple guys on Levos blew by me. One of them was my friend that was with me on the first ride when the battery popped out. Talk about rubbing salt in the wound! haha

 

[pragrick]

this happened to me twice now with my 2020 rail. Both times Trek gave me a new cover under warrenty, but unfortunelty it just happens. LBS said that they fixed it and maybe they did. I have two batteries, the first one got damaged and they say they fixed the issue, but I have a second battery bought later and it happened to it too. Again, trk gave me a new cover....

 

[Thesag]

My LBS so they needed to do the alignment procedure AND put some kind of plate in that will hold the battery better. It was a comedy of errors because the plate came in but didn’t have the screws they needed so it took more than a month to get the bike back. They replaced the cover but not the battery. They claim a tested it out OK.

I got one ride in before we had about two months of rain which flooded our lakes and most of our trail systems. Got to ride the other day so I’ve only had a couple rides since getting the bike back but so far so good.

 

[Thesag]

Pragrick,

You might ask your LBS about this securing plate mod my LBS did.

 

[Yoak]

Pretty bad luck. I’ve never had (or seen) this problem on my 2020 9.8 or 2021. My friend rents out Rails and not once has any batteries come loose. I probably jinxed it now though

 

[BrentD]

I'll just leave this here...

 

[running_rabbit]

Does anyone of you guys have a picture of the plate which was installed to fix the battery-drop-out issue? Is this also fixing the „rattle“ problem? When I bought my bike last May the battery fell out at the very first test-ride…but I assume it was because it wasn‘t prooperly locked. Never happend again. Nevertheless…I asked the LBS to algin the battery…and they did. Nevertheless…since I am always taking the battery out for charging, I triple-check it before every ride…

 

[Philly G]

Does anyone of you guys have a picture of the plate which was installed to fix the battery-drop-out issue?

There is a picture of the alignment plate in the 2021 Rail manual update as posted here New Trek Rail 2020-2021 Service Manual Supplement - EMTB Forums
On the test ride you mention, the battery would have fallen out due to misalignment. When putting the battery in, it is impossible to remove the key if the lock is not properly locked. If your LBS has done the alignment properly, you should have no issues. If in doubt, you can always go over it again yourself, @BrentD put the link for that just above

 

[Hamina]

I'm not saying that the problem doesn't exist, BUT I've removed the battery plates several times due to cable changes (dropper, gear and soon the brakes) and almost everytime the problem has been that I can't get the battery out.

I've always just simply looked that the key is in center of the hole. I'm guessing that some day my battery will also drop ?

 

[Philly G]

I've always just simply looked that the key is in center of the hole. I'm guessing that some day my battery will also drop ?

The lock being centered in the hole is only part of it...if your battery is that hard to remove, I would say that is due to misalignment...have you had a go at the alignment procedure ? Prevention is better than cure....you don't want to drop your battery ?