Volt 4 Year Battery

[Dave Y Fenni]

Hi All
My Volt Metro LS is now 4 years old. It has not done a lot of miles, as my commute is only 0.5 miles one way in the dry. Volt are saying that a 4 year old battery should be replaced, at a cost of £530 for a replacement (large size), as they are out of stock of the standard size and don't know when stock will be back.
My question is,
Do I replace battery.
Re cell battery, if so how & where?
Or scrap bike, purchase a cheap Chinese legal import for not a lot more than the cost of a replacement Volt battery.
Whats your thoughts?

 

[matthewslack]

Hi All
My Volt Metro LS is now 4 years old. It has not done a lot of miles, as my commute is only 0.5 miles one way in the dry. Volt are saying that a 4 year old battery should be replaced, at a cost of £530 for a replacement (large size), as they are out of stock of the standard size and don't know when stock will be back.
My question is,
Do I replace battery.
Re cell battery, if so how & where?
Or scrap bike, purchase a cheap Chinese legal import for not a lot more than the cost of a replacement Volt battery.
Whats your thoughts?

Does it still work?

 

[Nealh]

The volt looks similar to a silverfish case battery, if so it is a generic one bought for about £200 on ebay. If it isn't then get it re-celled for a lot cheaper then the dealer price.

 

[Dave Y Fenni]

Does it still work?

Yes it still works and with no power loss?

 

[Dave Y Fenni]

The volt looks similar to a silverfish case battery, if so it is a generic one bought for about £200 on ebay. If it isn't then get it re-celled for a lot cheaper then the dealer price.

Thanks
But the volt batterie is nothing like a silverfish?
Re celled any recommendations?

 

[sjpt]

If it is still working properly there is no need to replace it. They should last much more than 4 years unless they are either heavily used or completely ignored.

How did Volt communicate that it was time to change it? If there was nothing wrong you presumably didn't contact them?

 

[Nealh]

I assumed you are changing because of an issue, if there is no issue then no need to buy a new one or re-cell. Some batteries go on for 6, 7 years or more and for such a short journey will be fine.
It is a sales pitch if they recommend to change it.
I have batteries 7 years old still working well.

 

[wheeliepete]

Agree with what's been said, no problem with continuing to use your existing battery, but if at some point you feel the need to recell your battery, speak to Jimmy at ebikebatteries, he's a member of the forum and is the the go to guy used by quite a few on here.

 

[matthewslack]

Yes it still works and with no power loss?

If it still works with no 'power' loss - does that mean no 'capacity' loss? - then 'if it ain't broke...'

Am I missing something?

 

[Dave Y Fenni]

If it is still working properly there is no need to replace it. They should last much more than 4 years unless they are either heavily used or completely ignored.

How did Volt communicate that it was time to change it? If there was nothing wrong you presumably didn't contact them?

I am on Volt email as an owner.
The bike is like new, serviced annually from the dealers, where I purchased it. Its never been ridden in the rain.

 

[Dave Y Fenni]

Volt has also said.
It is not recommended to keep + 4 year old batteries indoors. As I keep bike & battery indoors as I have no where else to keep the bike?
I think it's a sales pitch? but wanted some advice from those with more experience than myself?

 

[davell]

I have a volt coming up to 5-years-old on the original battery and still going strong with 12000 miles on the clock. I believe they are LiFePO4 batteries and are rated for more cycles than other types. I think it’s volt marketing personally and won’t be changing it as it hasn’t lost a lot of capacity.

 

[soundwave]

i have 2 batts both older than 4 years old and still working so no need to replace these things until they are dead and no longer takes a charge as replacements are expensive.

at the end of this year 1 of my batts will be 8 years old and still using it tho range is limited as expected and use a dongle to remove the speed limit

 

[matthewslack]

Volt has also said.
It is not recommended to keep + 4 year old batteries indoors. As I keep bike & battery indoors as I have no where else to keep the bike?
I think it's a sales pitch? but wanted some advice from those with more experience than myself?

Given low usage, indoors storage and not going out in the rain, your battery has had a gentle life in perfect conditions, so difficult to think of any reason for it to have any serious issues.

Imagine if electric cars needed a precautionary new battery every four years! There'd be riots!

 

[Nealh]

No issues keeping a battery indoors that ahs been looked after well.
A bit of scare mongering tbh.

 

[Stanebike]

Volt are saying that a 4 year old battery should be replaced, at a cost of £530 for a replacement (large size), as they are out of stock of the standard size and don't know when stock will be back.

That’s interesting as the Volt website is still taking orders for the standard size MetroLS battery, (that’s not to suggest you need a new one when your old one is still giving good service).

 

[georgehenry]

Just to add my own two penny worth. The 400Wh battery on my 2015 Haibike Yamaha will be seven years old in March and still works a treat with no issues after 14.978 miles ridden.

Good job as it will cost an arm and a leg if I were to buy an Yamaha replacement when it needs changing.

(In April 2018 I had to fix the charging socket on the battery and charger myself when they broke as no help was available from the Bike shop or manufacturer. If I could not have mended it myself I would have needed to buy a new battery and charger.)

 

[sjpt]

We all agree (for once).

One small extra point that has been touched on above. As batteries get older they start to suffer capacity loss before they become unusable. As your commute is so short that probably won't be an issue for you, unless you also use it for significantly longer rides at weekends you didn't mention.

 

[Dave Y Fenni]

Here is the an extract from the Volt email.
The prices for batteries in our replacement scheme are as follows:

Black standard battery - £280
Silver standard battery - £280 (Though these are currently out of stock, we don't have a confirmed date yet for when they will be back)
Black XL battery - £520

There is a £10 delivery fee which would bring the total amount to £290 for a Standard or £530 for an XL.

We advise all customers to stop using their battery after its life expectancy is reached. If it is used after this point we advise to keep it, and charge it, outside of the home. For safety, batteries should not be stored in or near any living quarters, and must be kept out of direct sunlight, in a dry environment away from flammable materials.
I have a Metro LS folder as I have a touring caravan, so to answer the asked question, I do use it in the summer on weekends, I do take it away with us. Have riden it in France & all over the UK. My wife does not ride, so it's all solo rides.

 

[flecc]

We advise all customers to stop using their battery after its life expectancy is reached. If it is used after this point we advise to keep it, and charge it, outside of the home. For safety, batteries should not be stored in or near any living quarters, and must be kept out of direct sunlight, in a dry environment away from flammable materials.

There have been numerous lithium battery fires since they can be prone to self destruct if there is the slightest thing wrong in manufacture. The most dangerous time is during charging so it's wisest to never leave a lithium battery charging when out or asleep.

That said, most of the fires have been in laptop batteries and earlier Tesla electric car batteries, both now very rare. There were some incidences of fires in e-bike batteries when cobalt cathodes were commonplace, but a change first to manganese cathodes and later to compound cathodes has all but eliminated that problem.

However, it can never be assumed that lithium batteries are totally safe, which is why large ones like our e-bike ones cannot be flown unless expensive special fire proof containers are used. Even then most airlines refuse.
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