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wntrhwk

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Joined
Jun 15, 2018
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Hello, I am sorry to go against Bob's recommendation but in this case I feel I need to. I purchased an Lectric bike 13 months ago, I have right at 100 miles on it. The battery controller is failing so I called Lectric to see if they could help. They said is was very rare that the controller would fail so soon, but I have to pay for a new controller because I am 30 days out of warranty. So, they say this situation is very rare but they would not stand behind their product and help a customer out. If they don't have confidence in their product, how can we, when we use these bikes for transportation, sometimes a long way from towns. Just something to be aware of, they will not help you even in a "rare" situation.
 
Maybe they suspect abuse? Water soak? Cheap chinese crap? I don't know what happened but warranties are mostly 'fluff' on any imported consumer products these days. I know this from experience.

(I'm not talking about motor vehicles that cost tens of thousands of dollars) 

I would simply buy a third party controller from a reputable vendor, with a better reputation and more capacity and you will probably need a new display unit. A couple hundred bucks, install the new stuff, and you're back on the road. 

And you will have earned the right to truthfully provide negative reviews about Lectric and their products. You will have cost them WAY more than they cost you. Look at how many readers here you may have helped already, and how many lost sales that Lectric will suffer. You might even paint over the logo on the bike...or put a phoenix decal over it! Rise from the ashes!

Satisfied customers tell 2 friends. Unhappy customers tell 100 friends. 

Do they not know this stuff? I guess not. Goodwill gestures cost them nothing. They make money for the company.

Rant over.
 
It is out of warranty, so unless you elevate, it is what it is. What's the cost of there controler? Are they at least sending you the part at there cost?

I would guess that even if they covered the part it would be super expensive to send back for them to fix.
 
What do you mean by

"The battery controller is failing"

.. if it hasn't failed.. what s it doing wrong, or how is it not workingcompletely????
 
wntrhwk said:
 So, they say this situation is very rare but they would not stand behind their product and help a customer out. , they will not help you even in a "rare" situation.
they suck rocks cause they should help you out truly.

but darn company policy shields them from that and you are gonna get screwed, simple as that but that happens to all of us with anything we purchase and the warranty etc. policies that company extends to us.

I feel for ya cause I also got nailed thru my life on some crap I bought that wasn't cheap but the darn crap failed earlier than I would have ever thought and got no satisfaction to where you just wave 'bye bye to your money' and what I would do....more calls to the company.  I would put myself straight up to the damn President of the company and voice my complaints.   I would go all in and see if I could wangle my way into a new controller from them and be the one that voices myself so loud, someone is gonna fix it for free, and I would smile while doing it all to help myself :)   Go for it....go all in and make them fix their sub par controller cause once they said it is rare, then you deserve to be treated better against a rare failure of their product even if not in their policy to do so.........wishing you the best :) but darn yea, we all have issues like this in life that stink.....how much you activate and go all in for a fix is your next move....I say go all in and get your issue handled!   If it doesn't work out after alot of effort, well, ya tried LOL-----and if they handle it, it would be a company I might deal with in the future, if you come back with no good action from their side, I would avoid this company like the plague....it is good to say what companies are great and ones that cheat people thru their policies in force.....of course it is all about the warranty level and policy they have in force and some can be tough and some can be very generous on their stance to stand behind their product.
 
Some credit cards will double the warranty up to a year, if you purchase with one...signature visa and maybe others.
 
Good to know... what kinda cost on the controller? Something seems weird there. My son got one and after a long wait as it sat out on a ship forever, he’s pretty happy. But I suppose you were too til that happened. We’ll have to stay tuned...
 
These people certainly are good to HOWA, and therefore us. I understand when you get troubles with a product but before you throw the baby out with the bathwater email CRVL or HOWA and explain the problem maybe they can intervene with you because they have a relationship. Nothing guaranteed and I know you had a hard time with them but I just want to suggest we try to solve it in another way. I am positive that they don’t want their reputation in our community soiled.
 
tx2sturgis said:
And you will have earned the right to truthfully provide negative reviews about Lectric and their products. 

i'd say getting screwed by Lectric Ebike after only 13 months earned him the right of review! 
thanks to the OP for letting us know...
 
What electric source was used with the controller?
Was the controller left plugged in 24/7 this entire period?
Were you using a regulated power source? Like a sinewave, or were you using a construction genny?
Was the controller in open air all the time while operating?
While operating was it under a jacket or some other thing that would block heat shed?
Is it possible it got wet/damp at some point in the last year?
Did you have a battery backup between your power source and the controller?
Any lightening strike close by?

I ask these questions because it is possible that your own behavior and/or actions resulted in the failure of the controller. Or your situation may have contributed to the failure.

Heat kills electronics, eventually.
Electric pulses/spurious voltage events, can destroy any electronic component, or stress it such that it later fails.
Regulated power is an absolute must when working with these kinds of electronics, thus the mention of the source of power and the battery backup. Dirty power will ruin devices.


Do not take this as accusations, but as things that may have contributed to the death of the controller.

Misuse of equipment is a major cause for component failure, so mfgs have to draw a line somewhere or they would go broke. Once you have the thing they make, there is little they can do to ensure that you operate it within its intended limits.
 
JJsimonds said:
What do you mean by

"The battery controller is failing"

.. if it hasn't failed.. what s it doing wrong, or how is it not workingcompletely????
Their words, not mine. They said the controller was failing.
 
Ripper238 said:
It is out of warranty, so unless you elevate, it is what it is. What's the cost of there controler? Are they at least sending you the part at there cost?

I would guess that even if they covered the part it would be super expensive to send back for them to fix.
$100, and no, they were not willing to help at all.
 
tx2sturgis said:
Maybe they suspect abuse? Water soak? Cheap chinese crap? I don't know what happened but warranties are mostly 'fluff' on any imported consumer products these days. I know this from experience.

(I'm not talking about motor vehicles that cost tens of thousands of dollars) 

I would simply buy a third party controller from a reputable vendor, with a better reputation and more capacity and you will probably need a new display unit. A couple hundred bucks, install the new stuff, and you're back on the road. 

And you will have earned the right to truthfully provide negative reviews about Lectric and their products. You will have cost them WAY more than they cost you. Look at how many readers here you may have helped already, and how many lost sales that Lectric will suffer. You might even paint over the logo on the bike...or put a phoenix decal over it! Rise from the ashes!

Satisfied customers tell 2 friends. Unhappy customers tell 100 friends. 

Do they not know this stuff? I guess not. Goodwill gestures cost them nothing. They make money for the company.

Rant over.
Thx for the reply. There was zero abuse, I am a retired System Admin, I KNOW electronics. I am glad somebody agrees with my situation, they could have easily sent a new controller, their cost probably less than $50, my cost $100. Why would you be so cheap? As I said, they probably have zero confidence in what they sell, only thing that makes sense.
 
MGfromBC said:
If you rode a bike 100 miles in 13 months it sounds like it spent an awful lot of time just sitting.

MG
Bought bike because of back injury, only rode when pain was tolerable.
 
[quote='Needless to say you had a lot to say. Let me just say I am a retired System Admin with over 30 years of experience with electronics. Some of your questions do not apply, you cannot "]
What electric source was used with the controller? 
Was the controller left plugged in 24/7 this entire period?
Were you using a regulated power source? Like a sinewave, or were you using a construction genny?
Was the controller in open air all the time while operating?
While operating was it under a jacket or some other thing that would block heat shed?
Is it possible it got wet/damp at some point in the last year?
Did you have a battery backup between your power source and the controller?
Any lightening strike close by?

I ask these questions because it is possible that your own behavior and/or actions resulted in the failure of the controller. Or your situation may have contributed to the failure.

Heat kills electronics, eventually.
Electric pulses/spurious voltage events, can destroy any electronic component, or stress it such that it later fails.
Regulated power is an absolute must when working with these kinds of electronics, thus the mention of the source of power and the battery backup. Dirty power will ruin devices.


Do not take this as accusations, but as things that may have contributed to the death of the controller.

Misuse of equipment is a major cause for component failure, so mfgs have to draw a line somewhere or they would go broke. Once you have the thing they make, there is little they can do to ensure that you operate it within its intended  limits.
[/quote]
 
any solutions handled by the company for you if you have hounded them a bit more? just wondering :)
 
RoamerRV428 said:
any solutions handled by the company for you if you have hounded them a bit more?  just wondering :)
Not a word, even tried HOWA. Howa gave the Lectric company speel, profit margins, supply chain issues, blah, blah. Kinda dissapointed in HOWA, did not think they would turn "Corporate" but it appears they did. Just an FYI, if you go to an Electric bike forum and put in Lectricxp you will see MANY issues with their controller, some people have had 2 or 3 replaced inside of a year. A known issue from the company, Seems HOWA and Lectric are trying to keep this on the down low. I would go with a company that is honest and stands by their product, not Lectric.
 
NctryBen said:
Good to know... what kinda cost on the controller? Something seems weird there. My son got one and after a long wait as it sat out on a ship forever, he’s pretty happy. But I suppose you were too til that happened. We’ll have to stay tuned...
They want $100, their cost probably $20. If you scan the Electric bike forums you will see some people have had to replace 2 - 3 controllers in a single year. Obviously a known issue. Would not trust a dishonest company.
 
wow thanks for that update. very interesting on it all..ugh
 

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