Team-BHP - Ola S1 Electric Scooter Review

Quote:

Originally Posted by karthis91 (Post 5797257)

Ola S1 was launched in Dec 2021 and it is pathetic that their product and service quality are still so bad after 2.5 years.

100% agree with you.

Another Update:

My brother's scooter was picked up on Tuesday and work is on to rectify the problem.

Another point I wanted to mention is that Care+ can be a pain, especially for the elderly and the not-so-strong ones in and around Chennai.

OLA has tied up with 3rd party for pick-up services and it was just the driver who came in a Tata Ace with towing equipment. When I asked him how would he load the bike on the ramp by himself considering that the side lock was there, he said I would have to help him with that. My next question was what if the customer was an elderly person, and in my case what if I had gone to work, he said he always checks with customers before coming, and if no one is around, they would reschedule the pick-up till someone is around to help him. Then, I managed to lift and load the scooter while he operated the ramp and secured the scooter with ratchet straps.

Finally, after everything was done, he asked for tips. I was lost for words (ideally, he should have tipped me for the heavy lifting but anyway, that's how things are). I was relieved that some work happening and tipped him 100 bucks.

I casually asked him how many scooters he picks up on average, he was reluctant at first but then said that it's around 7-8. Do note that not many have Care+ and they would opt to drop their scooters on their own.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TORQUEINDUCTION (Post 5797298)

That's what I am wondering, even after 2.5 years, numerous complaints and other companies like TVS/Bajaj jumping in, the sales for Ola continue to be strong. What I am missing. Is it that the problematic scooters are less in numbers compared to what they are selling. Or is it that only few enthusiastic people are studying the problems which Ola is facing. In initial days, there were less options. But new we have dominant 2 wheeler players in market with good products. Or may be Ola is VFM product. Just wanted to understand the situation.

It's the value which OLA brings to the table when you look at it which other company provides you with an electric scooter with an 8-year battery warranty starting at Rs.74,999 ex-showroom, where do you get an electric scooter with a 4 kWh battery at Rs.99,999 ex-showroom, even if you consider the S1 Pro Gen 2 at Rs.1,29,999, no other competitor offers the range, performance, features packed together at such a price. Moreover, the features provided are all included in the price, unlike competitors like Ather or Bajaj where we have to opt for an expensive Pro/Tech Pack to get the complete experience. Moreover, their scooters have adequate space, with a 34-litre under-seat storage, a flat footboard (rectified with the Gen 2 update) and cover most of the basics. So, it just makes more sense to go for an Ola, moreover with the huge number of Olas on the road, not everyone is facing issues, else if that were the case, the sales wouldn't have been this high even after 2.5 years of launch.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TORQUEINDUCTION (Post 5797298)

That's what I am wondering, even after 2.5 years, numerous complaints and other companies like TVS/Bajaj jumping in, the sales for Ola continue to be strong. What I am missing.

I believe that the reason behind their success is that they have an amazing spec for the money that the customer pays and in my brother's case, some of his friends and acquaintances have this and they were satisfied with their purchase. Them being market leader sealed the deal for him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by anilsurya1985 (Post 5797323)

I also own OLA and it is been 8 months so far and I did not faced any issue other than restart scooter few times when trunk is showing as open

I do understand that mine is a one-off case but I still stand by my opinion that the product is still crude and service is terrible. There is plenty of scope for improvement.

Quote:

Originally Posted by katchkamalesh (Post 5797368)

The people who have no complaints with the scooter just as you, refer OLA to their peers and this number is quite large considering the number of OLAs sold. Especially in the rural areas, where people don't quite use twitter where you see an OLA rant every other second, they easily fall prey to the "VFM product". My roommate got an OLA S1 Air which was forced by his father, due to someone from his workplace recommending it. They did not even consider Ather due to the price difference but oh boy are they suffering now! The scooter was in and out of the service centre for 5 months due to a number of issues ranging from the trunk not opening to switching off completely on going above 60Kmph. The service centre is a joke; the guys over there have zero knowledge on diagnosing the issue. They just pray to the lord and try resetting the software. I would advise any prospective OLA buyers to have a visit to the service centre to see the sheer number of scooters that come in for repair. Atleast that might change their mind from being the beta users of the product.

Quote:

Originally Posted by anilsurya1985 (Post 5797323)

... I did not faced any issue other than restart scooter few times when trunk is showing as open.

I too have had this issue popping up from time to time. I think that this started surfacing after they updated the software to their latest OS. I am guessing that this is the cause for the trunk open indicator on the display panel. As I store my helmet inside the vehicle, I have been delayed several times as a result of this issue. I have been resetting every time to make the problem go away. This bug needs to be fixed. Regards, Balaji

Quote:

Originally Posted by xeder (Post 5797422)

The people who have no complaints with the scooter just as you, refer OLA to their peers and this number is quite large considering the number of OLAs sold.

I do not think you read my other posts. My scooter failed on the 3rd day of ownership. However, I agree with your statement, as I had mentioned earlier, my brother's peers were satisfied with the scooter and it was one of the main reasons why he bought it.

My BIL is also on the lookout for a scooter and is inclined towards EVs. After my experience with OLA, I am contemplating against EVs as a whole because he lives in a tier 2 city, and service support by major brands is still dicey.

Quote:

Originally Posted by arjab (Post 5797462)

You say that the diagnosis was probable overcharging leading to BMS failure.
Now the question is: how did this happen?

The service manager did not attend to any of our calls, we had to visit the service center twice to check on things, and while there, we did escalate things to his boss. The manager did not attend our calls even after that. I feel people like him understand that if they want to go up the ladder, customer-handling skills are mandatory and eventually develop the skill set.

TDLR: We wanted to keep the interaction minimal and get our scooter back ASAP. They told us that BMS failed due to overcharging and would be replaced. When probed he said it was a one-off case and that ended the matter there.

Final Update:

We just got the scooter and it is working. But multiple noises are coming from the scooter and these were not there when we bought it last week.

There is noise from the brakes, I am assuming that it will go away. There is noise from the belt, I think lubrication should help. I am not able to identify the source of 2 other noises. My brother will be taking the scooter to the service center tomorrow again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by katchkamalesh (Post 5797622)

I do not think you read my other posts. My scooter failed on the 3rd day of ownership. However, I agree with your statement, as I had mentioned earlier, my brother's peers ...............They told us that BMS failed due to overcharging and would be replaced. When probed he said it was a one-off case and that ended the matter there.

....I think lubrication should help. I am not able to identify the source of 2 other noises. My brother will be taking the scooter to the service center tomorrow again.

Some things are not adding up:-
Everything with a lithium ion battery has overcharge protection today, including a Rs. 1000 powerbank, or a smartwatch. Everything maybe except the Jio M2 dongle in which battery swelled within 3 months.

And BMS itself failing due to overcharging? BMS' work is itself to manage the overcharging.

And yet all this looks some software level problem. How & why then hardware level noises are coming, what did they repair or replace exactly?

I pray your problems get solved. Personally, I'd never get anything that the company can switch off using internet, its too scary for the future.

While it’s indeed a great vehicle, the after-sales support leaves much to be desired. The lengthy wait times to reach their call center and the unresponsiveness of service centers is appalling.

It took 45 days for me to get the a wire bitten by rat to be replaced. One of my friends S1 is in their service center from 2 months due to battery failure. They are asking him to pay for the new battery, citing that the battery has only 1 year warranty and not 3 years. He has refused to pay but ola are insisting him to pay.
If this is their approach before the IPO, one can’t help but wonder how they’ll handle customer concerns afterward.

Quote:

Originally Posted by siren373 (Post 5783870)

Saw your response while on google for the issue. Have an S1 Pro in shimla and the thing overheats in 15kms uphill and degrades the performance to eco mode which is practically useless in even a 5% incline. Anybody thinking of getting this for the hills should reconsider.

Just an update. Ola towed it to chandigarh free of charge and replaced the faulty parts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by deepclutch (Post 5812655)

My Ola S1 Pro was fitted with an aftermarket center stand. Recently, the stand was removed because the latches for fitting the center stand broken off from the chassis. I am thankful it ended with minimum damage. Is there any good metal side stand for Ola S1 Pro generation 1 with parking sensor working?

For Gen 1, I would recommend the official center stand, it costs Rs.999 and is available at most experience centers in stock. For a good metal side stand, you can try this:

https://www.amazon.in/Grandbiker-Sid...e%2C268&sr=1-1

or

https://www.amazon.in/V-ENERGY-Stand...e%2C268&sr=1-2

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wason4699 (Post 5814894)

Sold off my Ola S1 Pro an year old today and bought an ICE scooter. Can't handle the tantrums of the scooter anymore. Goes dead anytime. Service centre are full no response from Call Centre. Basically no Ola product is problem free it's only that some express their experience on Social Media and forums others can't.

Yep, plus with 15 august coming, they're going to launch a motorbike too, already they dont have the capacity of repairing existing scooters, while theyre onloading more half baked products.
Btw how many kms did you drive it, and how much did you sell it for, because its getting on my nerves too now