[dTal]

It seems to be a trend in electric vehicles. I just bought an electric scooter which came with literature warning that my warranty would be voided if I so much as undid a single bolt. It's rather jarring, coming from the world of cycling, where stripping your vehicle down to atoms and reassembling it is considered normal maintenance.

Incidentally, the same literature claimed my warranty would also be voided if I failed to maintain the scooter properly. I'm not sure where to go from there...

[jacquesm]

You're free to ignore such warnings.

And in many cases the warnings are there because the law comes down hard on manufacturers that enable bypassing the (mandatory) governor systems which limit the speed (and sometimes the torque) at which the vehicles can operate.

[CivBase]

Yeah, but warnings like that confuse owners about what their rights are. I'm starting to think there should be a penalty for businesses who assert rights beyond what they actually have.

[dTal]

Sure, I'm free to void the warranty and no one will arrest me. Seems unfair though.

[AshleyGrant]

You're free to ignore those warning stickers because the onus is on the manufacturer to prove that you opening the device caused the issue. Warranty stickers are a scare tactic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson%E2%80%93Moss_Warranty...

[dTal]

Only ~5% of the world's population is subject to that law. The company I bought the scooter from is in the remaining 95%.

[HWR_14]

It matters less where the company is than where you are. I mean, sure, a company in China can refuse to honor the warranty, but they risk losing the ability to sell their goods in the US.

[dTal]

Again, I never mentioned the US.

The amount of casual US-centrism in a thread where people are handing out legal advice is astounding.

To everyone: please don't tell someone on the internet that $FOO is legal without checking where they live. You might get someone hurt.

[kfarr]

Electric bikes are refreshingly serviceable, I've learned a lot about bike maintenance and repair by using a Tern GSD as our "daily driver"

[Steltek]

Mmmm, how much of the electric side is actually serviceable? I think you're confusing e-bikes with regular bikes. The electric side is probably entirely off limits to people and what you're experiencing is the vestigial aspects of the regular bike underneath.

[kfarr]

Yes good point, it's really bikes that I love

[giobox]

As someone who own's a Tern GSD and a Tern Vektron too, I've found the unserviceable Bosch electric drivetrain to not be refreshingly serviceable at all.

This may have changed in year since I last had to look and might vary by region, but in US Bosch have been incredibly strict about parts and software tools for the motors - only approved dealers can order a brand new replacement motor, for example. You cannot order one as private individual easily (much like a Tesla...). That's unheard of for bike parts generally speaking.

For sure, all of the parts that are shared with traditional non e-bikes (group sets, brakes, wheels, etc etc) are still easily privately serviceable by end user. The Bosch electric drivetrain, not so much.

[kfarr]

Good points all around, I have luckily not had to deal with the electric drivetrain

[CountDrewku]

That's because it's a normal bike other than the motor itself.

[jacquesm]

Just make sure you don't short out those batteries.

[dd36]

Pretty sure voiding warranty for opening isn’t legal.

[dTal]

If only that were globally true.