[MCJEFE]

Originally Posted by Clark124

This sounds very interesting. Please Post some picks.

Not much to show yet, she's just stripped and chopped up a little. Waiting for sheet metal fab and lithium cells on the slow boat from China...

[blueash]

Let me see if I understand the problem. You ordered an EZGO from other than the Villages dealer and thereby saved money. It was brand new and not operating correctly. The dealer had a person drive it and said if it is NOT covered by the warranty it would cost you $70 for transportation and presumably also the cost of service to repair. That means if it is covered by warranty the transportation and service are free. Now you are afraid to drive it because something may be wrong and worsened by use.

Why wouldn't whatever is causing the noise be covered by your warranty? It is new, the dealer was notified of the problem within days of delivery. It seems to me that you need it fixed and the selling dealer is your best option. You may spend some of that money you saved, but get it fixed. I wouldn't let a non-authorized person take anything apart as that will certainly void your warranty.

[CFrance]

I have followed this advocacy forum for years. They have helped many people receive satisfaction when companies will not respond to problems. They have a proven method of contacting heads of companies. I suggest contacting them with your problem if you don't receive satisfaction from EZGO.

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[OhioBuckeye]

At least you left great advertisement for E-Ego! I’m sure not all of them are noisy.

[pgettinger01]

Does the sound increase (Louder) if you go faster and does it decrease (Softer) if you go slower? If the sound decreases and increases with speed it is motor or wheel related. Some electric vehicles are required to make a noise to alert people they are coming.

[lawgolfer]

1. Take McJeff up on his offer to inspect your cart. It's very generous and you'll get the straight story

2. The salesman at the non-selling dealer is blowing smoke up you. Fleet carts are nothing more than carts that are sold or leased as "fleets', that is, in a large number to golf courses and country clubs. The mechanical parts are identical. The trim and options will differ.

3. Our last country club leased 90 EZGO lithiums two years ago and I have probably driven 90% of them as I played 150 rounds/year. Most were perfect. However, several had the most god-awful motor whine or gear whine imaginable. I never bothered to keep track of the ones which were the problem. If I noticed it before I teed off, I traded carts. If not, I traded before starting the back nine.

4. The problem is, most likely, in the "reduction gear". The electric motor spins at RPM's too high to directly drive the cart and must be reduced by a set of gears. The whine results from a poorly cut set of gears or ones which have not been properly adjusted during assembly.

5. If the selling dealer is non-responsive, raise hell with EZGO.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Colorado Girl

Less than a month ago this golf cart was delivered after a five month wait. From the get go it has emitted a loud whining noise that is very unpleasant. The dealer in Ocala was notified immediately and had a (non mechanic) delivery person test drive it the next time he was in The Villages. Naturally, he had no idea what is wrong with it but said we would be charged $70 if he took it back to the dealership and if the dealer’s exam finds the noise isn’t covered by warranty. We declined and took the cart to the main local dealer who test drove and said the cart is very noisy but it is probably a “fleet” cart which is built with inferior parts that make noise and wear out quickly and would not be covered by warranty. We checked and our warranty states it is for non-fleet carts. Original dealer has not been responsive to our emailed questions or phone calls. Local dealer doesn’t seem to want to service carts not bought from them. We paid over $13k for this cart. All we know is that other test drives we have done of the same model cart have been very quiet.
Do any of you have experience with EZGO lithium models being noisy or having warranty problems? How do we prove it is not a fleet cart? And is it true fleet carts are built with inferior parts? We do not know how to proceed as we do not want to damage the cart by driving it much. We waited a long time for something we’re now afraid to use.

I did not "buy" the BS that the local dealer was selling about fleet parts. It would help to identify the location of the "whine". If it happens when the cart is motionless, you could buy an auto stethoscope at an auto parts store. Or an old trick is to hold a screwdriver to an area of the machine or engine and place your ear on the top of the plastic handle. You would hear the "whine or whine vibration" loudest at the noise source. Don't try that while moving! Use a real stethoscope for the "while-moving" test. When you know the general area or specific part making the noise, you can decide to do-it-yourself or look to U-Tube for help or some local retired wrench-bender type. I think that after paying $13K big dollars that your dealer should be treating you better. They won't get any repeat sales from you and you could and SHOULD bad-mouth them. And write to the local Chamber of Commerce and write to the manufacturer's headquarters! For $ 13K you should be getting "happy trails" for many years.

[Garywt]

Something does not sound right here. A dealer that just sold a brand new cart should be jumping through hoops to get things right. They should send out a mobile mechanic at the least at now cost and charge it back through the warranty. Good luck.

[dahrens1]

Originally Posted by grantsdziadzi

I also have owned an Ezgo RXV with the exact same problem. The problem is the gears in the rear end housing. EZgo has an additive that they install in the rear end housing that significantly reduces the whining noise. The auto part stores also carry the same type of additive for autos. This is a correctable problem, don’t let them tell you it is not.

I would like to get some more info on this additive. Do you have the specific name for what EzGo uses or recommends?
Thanks
Dave

Thank you all so much for trying to help. At this point we’re thinking the whining noise may be caused by the controller. The noise “pulses” or “surges” while the cart is moving and does not change much regardless of the speed except the “pulses” kind of run together at higher speed, making the whining sound more constant. Granted, this cart is limited to 19 mph, so it doesn’t take much to get to that point. But the only time it runs silently is when it’s in reverse gear — excluding the backup alarm, of course.
The manufacturer has been unresponsive to our questions and complaints. Customer service is a misnomer.
The selling dealer never returns calls or emails, either, and judging by the sloppy work they did installing a few options we ordered we don’t think their employees are capable of repairing whatever is mechanically wrong with the cart.
The local dealership will not give appointments to cart owners who did not buy from them and the service manager also lied to us several times. We could try going down there and wait to see if they could repair our cart in between “VIP” appointments, but that may take days of wasted time. Besides, would the mechanics actually do a good job on a cart the service manager doesn’t want them to work on?
To say that we’re frustrated would be an understatement. There are no easy answers for any of this. I have to say that we’ve never seen such unethical behavior by any type of vehicle dealer and I do not understand why golf carts should be any different. Having a local monopoly should not mean you can be dishonest and treat people badly.
Thanks for listening.

Originally Posted by dahrens1

I would like to get some more info on this additive. Do you have the specific name for what EzGo uses or recommends?
Thanks
Dave

Dave, the rear axle additive for our cart model is listed in the owners manual. I doubt this will help your noise issue, however. The fluids there are not supposed to be replaced unless they are leaking or at the 5 year mark. And our particular cart design requires that the rear axle be removed to do so; unlike with most carts, there is no filler port that can accessed in any other way. Removing the rear axle is a job that requires specialized tools and about an hour’s time for an experienced mechanic to accomplish. If you suspect a problem with the rear axle it might be best for you to use your VIP status at the local dealer and ask them about it.
In trying to solve my new cart’s noise issue I’ve already learned a lot, thanks to the good people on this forum suggesting possible causes that I then researched in the service (not owners) manual.

[Homer49]

If you could post an audio or audio/video recording somewhere (YouTube?) and share the link here other owners of that cart could compare to their sound experience. I have what I think is a normal light gear whine, probably rear end, that’s slowly getting better as everything wears in. It’s not loud by any means, but other than the tire noise, it’s the only sound this cart makes.

[DAVES]

Originally Posted by Colorado Girl

It’s a brand new fresh from the factory 2021 with the new 4.2 lithium battery packs. We have phoned, emailed and even snail mailed EZGO but have had zero response.

There is an art to complaining. I am not familiar with ezgo but complaining and getting results. First of all is a registered return receipt, restricted delivery to the head of the company. If, it is a corporation, I assume it is, the top executives will be listed.
Restricted delivery means the president in charge of ????? needs to sign for it, not some clerk in the mail room. The post office often does not even know they have this service.
It is fairly expensive to do. Hopefully you have kept records. I spoke to xxxxx on xxxxxx
at xxxxxxx and was told xxxxxxxx. You can bet when the person working for the dealership gets a call from the company president or his secretary or anyone on the company masthead the attitude about giving you excellent service will suddenly change. If, no reply, if no satisfaction you can forward it to better business bureau etc.

[John_W]

...

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Colorado Girl

Less than a month ago this golf cart was delivered after a five month wait. From the get go it has emitted a loud whining noise that is very unpleasant. The dealer in Ocala was notified immediately and had a (non mechanic) delivery person test drive it the next time he was in The Villages. Naturally, he had no idea what is wrong with it but said we would be charged $70 if he took it back to the dealership and if the dealer’s exam finds the noise isn’t covered by warranty. We declined and took the cart to the main local dealer who test drove and said the cart is very noisy but it is probably a “fleet” cart which is built with inferior parts that make noise and wear out quickly and would not be covered by warranty. We checked and our warranty states it is for non-fleet carts. Original dealer has not been responsive to our emailed questions or phone calls. Local dealer doesn’t seem to want to service carts not bought from them. We paid over $13k for this cart. All we know is that other test drives we have done of the same model cart have been very quiet.
Do any of you have experience with EZGO lithium models being noisy or having warranty problems? How do we prove it is not a fleet cart? And is it true fleet carts are built with inferior parts? We do not know how to proceed as we do not want to damage the cart by driving it much. We waited a long time for something we’re now afraid to use.

If this is a new cart under warranty, I would have the dealer's delivery person take it back and pay the $70.