What happens when a shimano motor fails

Thinking of an ebike in about a years time and part of the fun is the selection process.

A few of the bikes i really like the look of (Rise LT) have the shimano motor and I keep reading about how borked you are if it fails after their 2 year warranty expires. So when this does happen what do people actually do?

What you do is make sure you have bought from a local, reputable bike shop who care about customer service. By all accounts Shimano are pretty good at helping while out of warranty provided your LBS presents the case well. If you are anywhere near Ross on Wye can I suggest you give Zero Bikes a call. I am currently getting a new battery for my Rise under Warranty almost 2.5 years after buying it.

The other thing to remember is that prices for motors and batteries continue to fall. How many of us replace a set of forks after a few years? That will undoubtedly cost more than a motor.

From what I gather, you go out and buy a bike with a Bosch motor, or a Specialized.

If you can’t get anything done under warranty and after two years these guys seem to work on shimano.

E-Motor Repairs

I have not used them but they seem to have been around for a while now.

Will certainly be buying from my local Leisure Lakes in Frodsham

I asked this question before buying my Rise LT.

Still not really answered. I rang a well known motor repairer, and they said they cant touch Shimano, not because of parts, but because Shimano wont let them have the software to do diagnostics on the motor. They said in theory they could repair bearings etc but because they then cant test its all working properly they are not prepared to touch them.

I guess some companies may be prepared to do a repair without testing after other than it rides ok so must be ok?

I’ve watched YT vids where people have said they are as good as Bosch for warranty ie a sliding scale of 5 years.

I think all ebikes are a bit pot luck it would appear regardless of motor manufacturer

So if it is knackered is it most likely the case of buying a new motor or battery and then your LBS fitting it?

I’d be buying such an advanced/technical bike from an LBS! A ‘simple bike’ eg cable gravel/road bike is easily fixable by yourself/any mechanic with all parts readily available etc and an online retailer will (by law) have to deal with manufacturing defects. But something with expensive electronics etc, yeah I’d be getting the extra ‘customer service’ protection from an LBS!

Bought my Rise in 2021 via an online UK dealer. All ok & did over 2500 miles with no issues. Then this March it died completely halfway up Cwm Carn. This was at 2yrs 4mths ownership.

Took it to my local Shimano Ebike dealer who had a chat with Madison (UK Shimano) and they said to send them the motor. Suspected driveshaft torque sensor failure which is terminal/unrepairable (even by Shimano!!).

Three weeks later a brand new motor appeared at the dealer FOC under warranty

I’ve used these guys for a Specialized Brose motor upgrade and they were great – different to the link higher up the thread I think? –

Homepage

They’re been around for ages, featured on EMBN and were super helpful, efficient and professional when I used them.  They sell bearings for Shimano motors, but don’t seem to offer a repair service for them. Anyway, in your position I’d have a proper, honest talk with your chosen relevant LBS, check out what usually happens with Shimano motor failures and possible costs and if you still have doubts, look for a bike with a Brose or Bosch motor that you know can definitely be fixed outside of warranty.

It may restrict your choice of bike, but peace of mind may make that a worthwhile compromise for you.

What happens when a shimano motor fails

Buy a real bike without a motor?

Buy a real bike without a motor?

My Bosch motor has failed after 950 miles. Luckily 3 weeks warranty left.

New motor sent by bosch and fitted all within a week of me dropping the bike off at my lbs.

Just on my way to pick the bike up.

Definitely buy from a bike shop that has a good reputation for after sales.

My GF’s 3 year old (out of warranty) Shimano E8000 started slipping internally recently – popped message to (mail order) supplier who contacted Madison/Shimano – she received a free replacement E8000 motor – supplier got a crate of beer.

Based on my own experience and everything I’ve read of others, Shimano are being really sensible about motor failures. Many out-of-warranty motors are replaced free of charge and there appears to be a sliding scale of discount after some point – like any bike part they’ve got a service life after which they need replacement so at some age you’d be on the hook for a full £900 cost.

https://www.e-motorrepairs.co.uk/ seem to offer some Shimano repair services.

Other motors appear to be more repairable, but the cost of a service (which is bearings and seals – this excludes the parts that have actually broken on many of the motor failures I’ve heard of) means they’re not a cheaper option than Shimano. Just having the bearings changed is going to be £3-400 by the time you’ve paid postage

Repair & Overhaul Service (New)

Actually fitting a motor isn’t in any way a difficult job – remove cranks, undo bolts, disconnect cables and then reverse. You need far more tools to fit and bleed brakes properly.

Buy from a decent shop. The Shimano diagnostics that the shops doesn’t appear to be any more informative than the stuff you get as an end user in the Shimano app. I wasted a week (and spent some money) paying a shop locally to try to fix mine (they spent some hours messing with cabling but once they’d established there was no evidence of corrosion/water damage to the connections they were just wasting time and they were then being vague about logging it with Shimano and ‘not promising anything’). I went back to the original dealer who said ‘don’t worry – we’ll get onto shimano and sort it’. Sent them the motor and had a new one in a little over a week.

Lastly, I think you have to look at motors in the context of the other bits of tech you can fit to your bike. A SRAM AXS rear mech is £4-500. A new motor suddenly looks like good value!

Bosch Smart System ones are about as repairable as Shimano now.

i.e. they go in the bin if there are any electronics problems and you need a new motor.

When my E8000 expired after 3 years, I took it to a local shop who claimed to have all the Diagnostic kit. Like b33k34s experience, they didn’t have a clue and charged me money for effectively rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic. I next took it to my local Shimano Service Centre who were great. Even though well our of warranty they fixed a deal with Shimano to buy a new motor for a third of the price. Not ideal but a considerable improvement on the alternative

Just to add , the other anecdotal thing Ive read on the interweb is that the EP801 (new version) is more reliable than the older version ie less being said on the interweb about it

They has Steve Jones on EMBN post a “report” of the same, but it’s meaningless **** dribble, if they still can’t be repaired when they do break, and they do all eventually break…

A SRAM AXS rear mech is £4-500. A new motor suddenly looks like good value!

Not when you consider Deore as perfect for your needs, SLX slightly blingy and anything else pretty OTT.
😉

Other thing to remember with Orbea is that warranty is not transferable.

So be careful if you buy any ebike 2nd hand

Other thing to remember with Orbea is that warranty is not transferable.

Nor is the warranty for Specialized, Trek is 3 years from original purchase for 2nd owner (rather than lifetime) but that’s Frame only NOT drivetrain (which would presumably cover motor). Giant is the same (warranty on all bits attached is whatever term and conditions from the OEM)

So the questions really are –

Does ANY manufacturer have a long term transferable warranty that would cover an e-bike motor?

How do motor manufacturers (Shimano/Brose/Bosch et all) respond to premature motor failures for second owners? Shimano’s warranty is 2 years, requires proof of purchase but makes no mention that you must be the original owner.

Every time this comes up I question the business model which accepts such a failure rate. Emtbs would be a lot cheaper if buyers weren’t supporting warranty programmes

1.Don’t buy shimano.

2.Buy from a local lbs.

3.Make sure the warranty card is filled in and registered.

.

1. Shimano these days doesnt feel like shimano of old, it seems lass robust and there have been problems with their brakes leaking, even up to xtr level

2. Whatever you buy, probs can occur, and it will be a damn sight easier driving injured bike to somewhere local than trying to return it to the other side of the country

3. Again, whatever you get just dont forget about it being registered, as nobody wants a 900 quid bill landing on their lap

@b33k34, I’m sorry but that’s incorrect, Specialized’s warranty is transferrable, as per the warranty page: Specialized

“Subsequent Owners (second or later) are covered by a two year warranty from date of original retail purchase by original purchaser.”

I would also note that Brose motors are now seemingly the only motor* used by a big manufacturer that is complete rebuildable & has all the parts available from the manufacturer to consumer. Being an owner, I would note they might not be the most reliable overall, but long term are fixable.

*some new stuff coming thru is different

When your shimano motor fails you look up the closest official steps dealer and take your bike there. It honestly doesn’t matter where you bought the bike.

The shop plug in the bike and print off a report and send the motor and report to Madison for warranty.

If it’s out of warranty you will get offered a discounted motor with the discounted amount variable. If it’s chipped you might not get a discount.

@z1ppy thats weird.  I did go look but either got a different page or completely failed to read it properly.