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[rightleft22]

How are people’s experiences of Zero support for those early adapters who purchases a 2011 or 2012 bike? 

I have a 2011 and feel that I’m a good ambassador for Zero, being friendly and answering questions where ever I take the bike. However lately I feel like I’ve been left out in the cold.

[Justin Andrews]

Zero support? No idea, that's my dealers job. 

My dealer has been excellent to me.

[Richard230]

When I first bought my 2012 S and had a couple of minor issues, Zero came to my home and picked up my bike, took it to the factory and made the repair.  Then they did the same thing with the encoder programming upgrade.  Now if I have any issues, my dealer takes care of it and if they can't (like when my 2014 S power tank wasn't working), Zero sends a technician to the dealer's service shop and performs corrective work there.  Since the power tank problem, I haven't had any issues that needed to be resolved. 

My daughter has my old 2012 S and ever since the encoder recall, the bike has run reliably and without any performance issues. It now has about 10K miles on the clock.  However, the tail light assembly had to be repaired when the supporting bracket failed and various plastic rivets that hold the plastic together keep falling out, but both of these problems were easily corrected with hand tools, a few hardware store parts and a little time and did not need the assistance of Zero support.

[benswing]

My dealer has been able to take care of everything pretty quickly for my 2012 Zero S.  Although most of my visits were for  upgrades rather than support.  It really depends on the dealer and how well they communicate with Zero.

[flexydude]

my experience has been a frikkin nightmare. my 2012 has been broke almost as long as it has run. it has just over 13k miles. the main problem is i live far from any dealer. the bike is now at the nearest dealer which just opened up, 4 hours away. it's been there over 10 days and they still don't know what is wrong with it. A friend of mine at work was going to buy one but I convinced him not to.

[BSDThw]

I had good experiences with the work of my dealer.

I think it is important for Zero to have a good dealer network.

[trikester]

I've owned a 2010 DS, a 2012 DS and a 2013 FX. My experiences with Zero support have all been good. In 2010 all support had to be directly with the factory because they didn't have any dealers. I bought the bike factory direct and when support was needed they had a local rep in my area who would deliver the parts or they would ship them to me and either I would do the work or the rep would. Once they developed dealers they no longer had local reps but then Hollywood Electrics and Harlan came on the scene so my good service experience has continued. Of course, I bitch about what should be a 45 minute drive (hauling my bike) taking two hours (LA area traffic). 

Trikester

[oobflyer]

I bought my 2012 when Zero was selling them through the NorCal Mastercraft dealerships (a boat/jet ski company). They knew absolutely nothing about electric bikes.
When I bought the bike no one there gave me any 'orientation' on the thing - when I asked how to plug-in to charge they just shrugged their shoulders. I finally found the port and the LED lights myself.
When I took it back to them for the "glitch" firmware update they installed the wrong firmware (an older version instead of a new version), which made things worse.

It was probably a smart move for Zero to stop selling bikes through NorCal Mastercraft.

Now if I need service I take it to the factory. It's a two-hour drive to trailer it there, but at least they now what they're doing. My only complaint about the service at the factory is that they are too busy making new bikes to spend time on the older bikes. They kept my bike for a couple of months last year - just to do some basic checks and update the firmware, etc.

To end on a positive note - I now have over 15K miles on my 2012 ZF9 and it runs perfectly - like brand new.

[Mirainere]

Here in Swiss support is very bad... or maybe I have to say that there's no support!
It'a about one year that I'm asking a complete check of my 2012 Zero DS (that had two smashes) and I'm still waiting even for the dealer to come for at least the firmware update.
Hopefully, out of the low quality parts the engine doesn't need a lot of maintenence so I can drive even with broken parts, but still is not funny nor safe.

[flexydude]

so almost one month my bike has been at the dealer, and they still have no answer for me, and can't duplicate the faults. Says they are have difficulty coordinating with the engineers at zero for the internet hook up so they can see it at the plant. WHAT THE FRUKK?!

[prpoub]

Hello,

How to know the version of firmware of zero S 2012 ?

when i turn on the lcd display u7 2011 ?

[Justin Andrews]

I'm not sure the dash display lists the bikes firmware (although arguably it should)
To get your firmware revision, as far as I know, you need to plug a computer into the bike and log onto its onboard computer. Doing this requires the special cable, so is not easy for an owner to do.

[MostlyBonkers]

For an island with a population of over 60 million, we have one mainstream bike dealer that has an arrangement with Zero to act as the UK service centre. The staff there are brilliant, as per Justin's comment. Zero really need to do more in the UK though. So much potential!

[BSDThw]

What FW do you want to know?

The BMS, MBB or the Sevcon.

Actually you have 3 ways to connect your 2012. The OBD II connector if you look from the steering head under the "tank" you will see it. There is CAN Open towards the Sevcon and a "TTL 3.3V RS232" for the MBB.
Behind the rubber cap at the front of your Battery-Pack there is a connector for complete information from BMS.

I am not 100% sure - didn't find a log of my 2012DS at the moment- if you could get all FW from the RS232 at the ODB II! For sure you get some infos of BMS at this connection.
BTW even if you possess a 3.3V USB to RS232 you need a password to get the information.

[vchampain]

I had very bad experiences in the beginning with both a 2012 XU and a 2013 DS, including an almost one year down time.
I would say it all depends on
   - luck - some bikes seem to have less issues than others
   - place - close to the Zero factory or a great dealer (unfortunaterly most of them are not, and the contract between Zero and the dealers forces dealer to pay for many consequences of Zero issues, meaning that they'll end up forcing you to pay for them)
   - method - the best thing happen to
                  a) Discuss to your dealer and make it clear that you expect the bike fixed, the costs (of course if it is related to a faulty bike) paid for by them (like driving the briken bike to the dealer..). You are also entitled for a replacement bike.
                  b) If nothing moves, contact directly the Zero country manager (you'll find its name through linkedin or google)
                  c) If nothing move, eascalate higher at Zero
    - time (hopefull) - there seem to be a new director for quality at Zero. Let's hope he will change this

And of course keep us posted. The best help you can give both to Zero and the users community is contributing to a flawless service. For this issues need to be treated, not to be hidden.