My Ather 450X: S1 - Lukewarm at best

Unless there is evidence from Ather in form of a pre delivery checklist where they verified that the scooter was unloaded in mint condition, I will lay this at their doorstep.

Man ! I wish they do take this request and show the proof that the scooter’s PDI was done. Do keep us updated.

Is memorizing the FAQ a prerequisite for purchasing the scooter

Agreed, need not be memorized. I understand your POV. Maybe the reason I’m putting up with these niggles since its my first Ather and I love to read every bit before I purchase something expensive. I should also consider that you have owned the 450, and now the 450x thus giving you a better picture what has Ather given you. Apologies from my end.

I don’t care.

Well, ok. There is no end to it right ? :slightly_frowning_face:

I take cars apart and put them back together for fun.

Yup! Avid Teambhp surfer.

If they’re confident that the drivetrain noise will disappear in 50 or 500 km, they should run the entire assembly on a test bench for that long and then deliver the scooter.

Strongly agreed, A lot of flaws on getting out information like this to the customer. All in all, I do hope Ather rectifies all your concerns and lives up to its name and the image you had with your 450 !

Shall wait for more updates!

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I look forward to the same.

None required. We are simply expressing opinions, and you are entitled to yours as I am to mine.

There is, if the documentation is correctly updated and / or there is better QA / QC in place. Having read that there are a bunch of such disconnected chargers floating around, I would lean towards the QA / QC side. Try to understand that unless the electrician is from Ather, a random person would not be comfortable opening up the cover - no matter how trivial it is -, and even if they do, may not be aware of the purpose of the separate white connectors or whether they have been left disconnected on purpose or by accident. It’s a waste of time, that can be avoided very easily with a little bit of common sense on Ather’s part.

To give credit where it is due, I like how they’ve shrunk the entire unit and made it extremely easy to get it up and running. It’s the definition of plug and play - unlike the old Pod charger. It’s minor omissions like the LED and activation that spoil what is otherwise a stellar experience.

Speaking of manuals, the 450X dashboard still links to a manual for the 450. How retarded is this?

Used to be a member there a long time ago. I’ve sworn off forums of late because they consume a lot of time that I don’t necessarily have to spend. This particular instance required to be brought to light, and made me jump right back in.

I’ll keep them coming. :slight_smile:

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Looks like the scratches on my scooter are indeed part of a pattern, along with the other issues.

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Hey @blackworks,

Been following up with the team on the issues you’ve flagged here. Have passed on some of the annoyances you’ve raised on communication as well and they’re looking into it. I believe the team has also reached out to you to schedule a service pickup to get some of the issues sorted.

Apologies for the experience you’ve had, not something that’s usual and definitely not the experience we try to ensure customers have.

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I’ve been in touch with CS from the beginning @abhishek.balaji. the posts I’m making everywhere may make me look like a troublemaker, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m not posting here for help or visibility, but to spur or shame the powers that be into action - if they truly care.

I am merely voicing out loud what a lot of others say in private. The other day, a customer of mine who has a finger in the EV manufacturing pie sniggered and said NVH when I mentioned that I had an Ather, and I couldn’t disagree. The X seems to be more of the same.

As long as others continue to have similar experiences, even if they are few and far between, your words will be empty platitudes.

It would be a shame to see a fundamentally good company lose its reputation and fold because it got too high on its own supply

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One more: Disappointed

Seems painfully obvious that there is no pre delivery checklist on Ather’s end, or if there is, it’s not being taken seriously.

I wonder how they’ll be able to operate at scale if they’re unable to keep up with the existing workload.

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I turned the screen brightness all the way up this morning to be able to see better. Then in the evening when I was making a short run, thanks to the bright screen contrasting against ambient darkness, it truly hit me how crooked the handle was. Here’s a picture showing the same. This is on a scooter traveling dead straight on an empty road.

Update: I’ve been told to expect a technician who will pick up the scooter on Wednesday morning.

I’ve also made it clear that I will NOT be parting with the scooter unless a loaner is made available for the duration of the repair.

When I last spoke with CS and asked them about this, I was told that “company policy” only allows for loaners for work that runs for 2 weeks or longer.

I call BS on this. You cannot hide behind company policy after rolling out a grossly defective product and depriving a customer of its use within the first week of ownership.

@abhishek.balaji, @tarun, please make note.

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Received a call from CS today. They will be issuing a loaner scooter for the duration of the work.

Thank you, Ather. I hope all the identified issues are fixed once and for all.

As mentioned in the call, I am not concerned about panel replacement. The scratches are minor and I can live with them.

That leaves the crooked handle and the rumbling chassis. While I doubt that the latter can be fixed at all, I hope they prove me wrong.

I think the vibrations cannot be fixed because the motor bolts rigidly to the chassis, which amplifies the vibrations from the motor. In certain situations, there is a resonance established that makes this even more severe. @tarun, do let me know if I am mistaken.

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The scooter got picked up today and I was issued a loaner. Although it has a damaged screen and doesn’t track straight (pulls quite noticeably to the left), the refinement on this thing is quite a revelation.

The loaner has run 6500 km and neither my 450 not the X were anywhere even close to this smooth when they were brand new.

There’s a very clear discrepancy between pre-production / internal units and those that are actually sold.

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Given them my scooters for servicing maybe for 5-6 times never have I recieved a loaner, do I have to ask for it?

You do, and you need to put our foot down. If the scooter is going in for something that is not your fault, a loaner has to be mandatory, not a favor.

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Yes what @blackworks said is true unless it is a general service. In your case I think 5-6 times is not general there is a issue in the vehicle itself which is not your fault so I don’t see any reason you should not ask for a loaner it is your right to ask.

No, they were regular 5000km services for 2 scooters.

That shouldn’t take more than a day to finish. The main reasonI asked for one was because the ETA was open ended.

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First of all i feel sorry for everything u’ve been through now bro, and after reading ur post i too was initially worried about a brand new scooter being delivered in such a condition and man it isn’t cheap either, i literally sweated out reading ur posts about ur experience with ur S1 knowing that i would be taking delivery of one soon even though this being my first e-scooter i let go of my trusted SR-150 because of that leap of faith i took in this brand.

Coming back to ur issues, as far as i can see the pictures of the scratches they are on the entire left side of the scooter and the handle is aligned to the right by a few degrees, if something would’ve happened after delivery/the scooter had a fall (usually when accidents take place) the handle alignment issue and the scratches should be on the same side, but here in ur case they are in different places clearly a case that something went wrong pre delivery still thinking otherwise around i would suggest you to pls check what happened during that time as i hope Ather would’ve not delivered a brand new scooter with so many scratches all over.

and seeing ur latest post that u’ve given ur ride to get all the issues rectified, i only wish for the best but still this was not bound to happen in the first place with a brand new scooter, will look forward for ur future posts and wish u have a good time with ur 450X S1 for time to come.

Take care bro.

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Thank you. Things are being sorted out as we speak.

There is still some back and forth over how the scratches came to be, but that is the least of my worries. I don’t even want the panels replaced because I’m going to eventually scuff them myself.

The handle was the big problem, it it turns out that the nut attaching the handle to the fork was not torqued to specification.

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Received the scooter earlier this evening.

  • Scratched bodywork: There is no conclusion on where this originated, and I am not adamant about panel replacement. This can be considered closed.
  • Misaligned handle: The center nut wasn’t torqued to spec. The handle was realigned and nut tightened. Sorted.
  • Very bad NVH: Belt tension was readjusted and floorboard screws were retorqued. While the drivetrain has freed up now and the motor sounds much happier, it’s still quite noisy and the rumbling floorboard is still the same.
  • Poor power delivery: This is better now
  • A seat that doesn’t close properly: Seat was realigned and now doesn’t skew sideways, but still needs to be dropped from around 6" for the latch to close. The 450 would close even if the seat was dropped from an inch above.

Additionally, the software on the scooter was found to be buggy and was updated to a more stable version.

Also, now when I hit the rear brake, there’s a creaky, gravelly noise from the rear wheel area. Probably debris between the pad and rotor. Will need to check this later.

Looks like I have no option but to get my hands dirty and get to the bottom of the NVH problem.

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I am surprised to see you defending. They should be getting kicks from managers for ruining the hard work of Ather Engineers, who put in so much efforts in bringing this vehicle out. Sales team poor job is the end result, the make or break deal. I am in Kochi. I went for a test drive yesterday, staff was helpful, but seemed to be lacking interest which was evident, as i never received the subscription details which i was promised, and the phone number got switched off the next day. This happening to a New Customer who is interested in buying! Moreover, i should mention when i was there, i was the only one in the experience centre. @blackworks Can u suggest if i should let go of buying this scooter completely? Specifically because you mentioned about your old scooter getting slow and noisy over time. Will you kindly give your opinion? I had assumed that for 3 yrs at least motor and battery will not degrade at all.

Thank You

This is such a sad experience and I can totally relate to it. My review coming up soon. Completed 1000 kms today and guess what, it was heading to the service centre which technically doesnt even exist as its not constructed. I will be taking this up on social media with all proofs I have and maybe filling a case against Ather for cheating me and other customers. Just finishing my draft of the review.

First customer of Delhi and trust me I regret spending my hard earned money on this crap.

How I wish I could speak to @tarun once and tell him that what was delivered to me is nothing but a disaster as I almost got killed due to throttle issue and wiring issue.