Levo Gen 2 Warranty extension & Firmware Update for all 2019/20 Levo/Kenevo with 2.1 motors

[Manxbiker]

My 2021 Levo motor started making a super loud whirling type noise when ever the motor was on. In OFF position, no whirling noise while pedaling. LBS diag it as an internal concern from the motor and has placed an order for a new motor.

I think it’s a late 2019 motor, which seems strange for a 2021 bike. Or am I reading it wrong?

View attachment 40785

Yeah that's a Dec 19 motor, not very good that 21 bikes are coming with older motors

 

[mtbbiker]

Yeah that's a Dec 19 motor, not very good that 21 bikes are coming with older motors

They must produce way more Brose motors than Ebikes. I’ve know heard of a handful of 2021 Levos needing a motor. Sad !

 

[lmartins]

What a clusterf*** this is turning to be. Specialized did the right thing, and should be praised for that, but it is starting to look like that the fix was no fix, so that leaves everyone with a Levo in a pretty interesting situation.

 

[#lazy]

Am I right in thinking only 18 ,19 and 2020 bikes get the 4 yr warranty not the 2021 ?
When some 2021 bikes have the 19 and 2020 motors ?

 

[Manxbiker]

Am I right in thinking only 18 ,19 and 2020 bikes get the 4 yr warranty not the 2021 ?
When some 2021 bikes have the 19 and 2020 motors ?

Only 19/20 levo and 20 kenevos get the 4 year warranty

 

[lmartins]

Those getting motors from previous years should be getting units that already have the updated parts in. Still quite unsettling, but hopefully you won’t run into the issues described here.

 

[#lazy]

Those getting motors from previous years should be getting units that already have the updated parts in. Still quite unsettling, but hopefully you won’t run into the issues described here.

But they are , that was my point !

 

[Specialized Rider Care]

@Specialized Rider Care ....any plans for the update to be available remotely in the future?

@VOOBOY - REQUEST FOR “OVER THE AIR” FW UPDATE BETA TESTERS (Levo/Kenevo gen 2) - EMTB Forums

 

[BLOJOE]

What a clusterf*** this is turning to be. Specialized did the right thing, and should be praised for that, but it is starting to look like that the fix was no fix, so that leaves everyone with a Levo in a pretty interesting situation.

Specialized did the right thing? So in my opinion the "right thing" would have been along the lines of an extended warranty (4 years) for all those with what I call the "design flawed" motors including the 2021 models (motor modified or not) and, in the meantime, a full back to the drawing board re-design of the 2.1 motor to address as many or all design flaws as possible. A full recall once the new motor is out and field tested by Specialized with the consumer option of either keeping their old motor or upgrading to the new motor with a 4 year warranty for any and all motors. This new redesigned motor would officially be called the "fixed" motor by Specialized and it would get a whole new designation like 2.2 or 3.0 or whatever...

So I get why this is not happening. 1) It would cost Specialized a sh&%load of $$, a sh&%load 2) The logistics of rolling this plan out worldwide is almost unimaginable 3) There is no way Brose can do it while addressing all the other issues - they are probably at max capacity 4) Some dealers such as Berkshire would be overwhelmed (the owner admitted he hoped that Specialized doesn't call this a fix in Rob's video), and probably many, many, many other reasons.

I've done a TON of research into this and after hearing all the horror stories and the fact that the new motors are still have issues and hearing more and more horror stories I'm bailing on Specialized and getting another brand.

It's situations like this that test a company into either doing the right thing or the less right thing. You be the judge if Specialized did the right thing. I used to work for Boeing. Did they do the right thing with the 737MAX? Nope and people died. To put things in perspective this is nothing compared to that disaster...

 

[lmartins]

Did you read what I’ve written? I do think they did the right thing by owning it and provide additional warranty for existing customers. Where things fall apart is when you see that the fix they’ve announced is turning out not to be effective, and new customers are getting the same issues without the extended warranty.
I appreciate the frustration this causes, I’m without my levo right now waiting for a motor that who knows when will get here. Bought two ebikes from them this year, and the way this unfolds will inform my decision on whether I stay a specialized customer.
For now, I give them the benefit of doubt but I totally get others may not be as patient, and I can’t blame them for that. Just don’t distort what I’ve said to fit your narrative, which btw I don’t disagree for the most part.

 

[Binhill1]

What symptoms do you get when the belt is on its way out ?

Mines making what I can describe as a higher-pitched secondary rotatory noise (in addition to the usual motor whine) only noticable from time to time. Wondering if this is it ?

No warning just started squeel as soon as I peddled

 

[BLOJOE]

Did you read what I’ve written? I do think they did the right thing by owning it and provide additional warranty for existing customers. Where things fall apart is when you see that the fix they’ve announced is turning out not to be effective, and new customers are getting the same issues without the extended warranty.
I appreciate the frustration this causes, I’m without my levo right now waiting for a motor that who knows when will get here. Bought two ebikes from them this year, and the way this unfolds will inform my decision on whether I stay a specialized customer.
For now, I give them the benefit of doubt but I totally get others may not be as patient, and I can’t blame them for that. Just don’t distort what I’ve said to fit your narrative, which btw I don’t disagree for the most part.

Totally fair. I actually have no skin now in this game (as of now I’m not loyal to any one brand) aside from the $100 I didn’t get back from my refund from my LBS on my deposit on a 2021 Levo Comp soooo...

I guess I just expect more than an extended warranty from a company when spending $6k-$12k on a bicycle (what I feel is an insane amount of money for a bike) that appears to have design flaws/issues. I guess they did also try to fix the motors but like you said there are now issues with this as well.

Perhaps I do expect too much. I do know of several car manufacturers that would not go as far either for issues they have had as well - aka they would not issues recalls instead TSBs (technical service bulletins). And I’ve bought a car with them sofar no issues.

As long as most of the consumers are happy and know what they are getting I guess that’s all that matters...

I gave credit to a local bike salesman yesterday who described the Levo to a new customer as the “best eMTB out there with the most amount of problems”. I’m pretty sure though most are not being this honest. Mine wasn’t hence my frustration. I guess this is actually a separate issue.

 

[Pacific Ryder]

Well.....just blew my 2nd motor on my '20 Levo. It was the latest and greatest with all of the improvements and firmware....I am fortunate that my retailer had a motor in stock which was slated for someone else but turns out they did not need one....should only be down 3-4 days. Still, its a real bummer to have to deal with such an unreliable bike, especially when you spend this much $. IMO a total recall would be prudent but will never happen. I would switch to another brand but these things are just too much fun.

 

[Grannyjones]

Mines been reliable so far (2020 Levo purchased in May) now with 3000km, I dread the thought of a motor failure though because sometimes I drive as far as 60 to 70 miles to do a ride and if it broke then what a waste of time, effort and money getting out there for no reason

 

[Binhill1]

Mines been reliable so far (2020 Levo purchased in May) now with 3000km, I dread the thought of a motor failure though because sometimes I drive as far as 60 to 70 miles to do a ride and if it broke then what a waste of time, effort and money getting out there for no reason

Yes I have a few long remote ones planned dread the thought of having to peddle through the hills with no power. But that's what I like so got to be done.

 

[lmartins]

Mines been reliable so far (2020 Levo purchased in May) now with 3000km, I dread the thought of a motor failure though because sometimes I drive as far as 60 to 70 miles to do a ride and if it broke then what a waste of time, effort and money getting out there for no reason

Just ride it, enjoy the bike, but make sure that you have a fallback plan. Mine went out without a notice, in a middle of a ride. Luckily I wasn’t riding alone as I usually do so I could use the other bike to get back the car.

 

[Dod Colony]

"Some time ago, it came to our attention that we were experiencing a small but unacceptable number of early-life failures in some of our Model Year 2019/20 Levo and 2020 Kenevo motors. Since then, we have worked relentlessly to drive a number of improvements to eliminate any issues. These have included steps to reduce noise, fitting a stronger belt, updates to the freewheel assembly and further optimizations to address strength and overall reliability.

All of these hardware-based improvements are featured on motors fitted to Model Year 2021 Levo & Kenevo.

To ensure peace of mind for you as a rider, we’re extending the motor warranty on impacted bikes from 2 to 4 years for all owners of Model Year 2019/20 Levo FSR and 2020 Kenevo from the date of purchase. This warranty is transferable should you decide to sell your bike."


Hi, new member here, I've been a Specialized customer for over 20 years and just last week took possession of my first Ebike - a 2021 Levo Expert. I had looked at the 2020 model but after reading about the motor issues decided to hold off for a 2021, the letter at the beginning of this thread is very clear that the problems on the new models had been sorted and that was the deciding factor for me in sticking with the brand.

I took delivery of the bike about 4 days ago but only got round to setting up the app today. Was disappointed, having spent almost £8000 (with another bike of the same model on order) to find that it was shipped by the Concept store requiring a software update ( it's currently on 6.1.0 ) but more worryingly is that the motor has a manufacturing date of 24/01/2020 which I'm starting to think is the old motor.

Have hardly ridden it - it's actually the wife's (large sold out) but I did have a play and noticed when climbing a steep hill in first gear on turbo a very loud clicking noise, like gears not meshing properly but a lot louder, so loud I jumped off as it sounded like damage could be caused. Gear adjustment looks OK.

Would appreciate any thoughts on this, is it a new motor or have I been duped?

 

[Dod Colony]

Update re above, good news, bike supplier has confirmed this is the latest motor and apologised for not updating software. They've advised that my local dealer will carry this out FOC.

 

[urastus]

Just booked my bike in for the update and they tried to charge me £20 for the update! So best watch out for that one.

I wonder if they are reimbursed for their time? They are a business

 

[#lazy]

Surprised they don’t charge an admin fee for taking the call ??

 

[Grannyjones]

My firmwire is out of date on my Turbo Levo 2020 comp - I think it was even out of date when I got it in May 2020 - I've not even updated it because it involves all the hassle of taking it back to the bike shop 20 miles away - Is it worth bothering ?

 

[lmartins]

My firmwire is out of date on my Turbo Levo 2020 comp - I think it was even out of date when I got it in May 2020 - I've not even updated it because it involves all the hassle of taking it back to the bike shop 20 miles away - Is it worth bothering ?

It is supposed to prevent your bike from breaking down, so that should answer it. With that said, it didn’t for my bike, and others here too, so it’s unclear how effective it is. The cautious thing to do is to get it updated.

 

[VOOBOY]

My firmwire is out of date on my Turbo Levo 2020 comp - I think it was even out of date when I got it in May 2020 - I've not even updated it because it involves all the hassle of taking it back to the bike shop 20 miles away - Is it worth bothering ?

Pretty sure it’s not a condition of the extended warranty offered by Specialized so if you are experiencing no issues I’d leave it. I reckon in the next month or so you’ll be able to do the update at home through the app to save you the travel time and expense of local shop upgrade if applicable. Spesh are beta testing the over the app update in Oct with users so, if all goes well, a much more convenient option ( I suspect they always had the capability to do this but got users to take them to the shop to gain data from motor)

 

[lmartins]

Going to third week without a bike, and Specialized provides no info about when can I get a new motor. Bought two Levos from Spesh this year, been riding bikes from them for more than 20 years. This really stinks and makes me wonder about my loyalty to the brand.

@Specialized Rider Care I live in Portugal, and I assume different markets will have different service levels, but is this to be expected? I thought these issues were being addressed promptly, but that is not the info I'm getting from the store (Specialized dealer).

 

[VOOBOY]

Going to third week without a bike, and Specialized provides no info about when can I get a new motor. Bought two Levos from Spesh this year, been riding bikes from them for more than 20 years. This really stinks and makes me wonder about my loyalty to the brand.

@Specialized Rider Care I live in Portugal, and I assume different markets will have different service levels, but is this to be expected? I thought these issues were being addressed promptly, but that is not the info I'm getting from the store (Specialized dealer).

Understand your frustration, it seems issues are still evident with the whole situation.

 

[Grannyjones]

Wouldn't be so bad if they hired out a bike while it's getting fixed but this doesn't seem to be happening

 

[Danos01]

@Specialized Rider Care I have a 2019 comp carbon original motor after about 6 months I had issues of motor cutting out about hour into my ride and as soon as I would start a half decent hill climb. I would turn Motor on and off and it seemed to come back spoke to Specialized in Aus and told me to take back to LBS to update firmware, but i already had the latest firmware went anyway. LBS said everything is fine i told them it would be in the carpark it only happens as mentioned before, but problem stayed and I learnt to live with it.
When I heard about the new Motor update I booked in my Bike for a Major service which included the new Firmware update hoping it would fix the issue. First ride on new firmware and bike felt underpowered in trail and turbo, I ride with 4 other riders I am the only one on a levo and even they couldn't believe how slow I was i tried the whole on/off and It didn't work when i reached the bottom of the Hill I used the app and i put Acceleration at 40% and shuttle at 40% and all of a sudden the bike felt good again ( old firmware both where at zero) is this they way it is now? as if I turn them down to 20% or off trail and turbo are useless as soon as I start climbing? Second ride was riding in eco mode seemed fine caught another rider on the trail slowed down once he moved went to take off bike felt like it was off and it was flashing a error, but not sure what the error was just the blue and red flashing turned bike on and off and the error went away, but in eco it feels sluggish and like I am fighting against the motor, but trail and turbo seem ok? I love this bike, but it is frustrating I seem to keep having issues with the motor and the new update seems to be worse.

 

[lmartins]

Week 4, no bike, no info from Specialized, no idea how long it will be before I get my bike back.

 

[ridehard]

@Specialized Rider Care I have a 2019 comp carbon original motor after about 6 months I had issues of motor cutting out about hour into my ride and as soon as I would start a half decent hill climb. I would turn Motor on and off and it seemed to come back spoke to Specialized in Aus and told me to take back to LBS to update firmware, but i already had the latest firmware went anyway. LBS said everything is fine i told them it would be in the carpark it only happens as mentioned before, but problem stayed and I learnt to live with it.
When I heard about the new Motor update I booked in my Bike for a Major service which included the new Firmware update hoping it would fix the issue. First ride on new firmware and bike felt underpowered in trail and turbo, I ride with 4 other riders I am the only one on a levo and even they couldn't believe how slow I was i tried the whole on/off and It didn't work when i reached the bottom of the Hill I used the app and i put Acceleration at 40% and shuttle at 40% and all of a sudden the bike felt good again ( old firmware both where at zero) is this they way it is now? as if I turn them down to 20% or off trail and turbo are useless as soon as I start climbing? Second ride was riding in eco mode seemed fine caught another rider on the trail slowed down once he moved went to take off bike felt like it was off and it was flashing a error, but not sure what the error was just the blue and red flashing turned bike on and off and the error went away, but in eco it feels sluggish and like I am fighting against the motor, but trail and turbo seem ok? I love this bike, but it is frustrating I seem to keep having issues with the motor and the new update seems to be worse.

Had similar behavior from my motor, felt as if it was not delivering power to the drive system. ECO felt pretty much like OFF, TRAIL felt like ECO and TURBO was very weak. The most evident thing was that the motor could not speed up its revs from standing still (i.e. - not putting out enough torque to get the bike going, after spool up it felt a bit better) in all support modes. It was inconsistent and would come and go during the ride but mostly there.
LBS told me that the motor was fine and suggested I get stronger again ... Rode like that for a while and eventually the motor died on me mid ride on a big climb, with the sprug clutch failing.
A good way to evaluate it is trying to turn the chainring backwards (like backpedaling) by hand, it it's very hard to turn back - that's a clear sign your clutch and motor are at the end of their lives and you should visit your LBS for a replacement.

BTW, it had nothing to do with the motor FW.
Good luck

 

[Grannyjones]

LBS told me that the motor was fine and suggested I get stronger again

That sounds very typical of LBS's

Anything other than total failure and it's fine

If the bike in Eco mode feels harder than an analogue bike then something is obviously wrong