Thinking it was a bit weird that my replacement or repaired trainer hadn’t turned up from Tacx I gave them a quick ring. I sent it back on 21 December and expected a replacement by return, nothing happened so after Christmas I gave them a call, I was surprised to be told the replacement wouldn’t be shipped until 21 Jan.
Anyway, the status still hasn’t changed on the Garmin website so I gave them another call, no explanation but “Oh yes, we’re expecting stock on 28 February”.
Bit of a joke!
I think with the pandemic the quality control has significantly dropped. You will have a screaming sales force demanding product, Engineers who have been caught off balance in terms of usage to a point. However that being said in Europe at least smart trainers do get a hammering in the winter, so you could expect a product to maybe 3 years of life instead of 4/5.
Most of the manufactures need to keep the things simple and avoid all the silly bells and whistles and just make it robust and repairable. Of course it comes to a point where you have had enough repairing it and you will buy a new one anyway.
This post may have started in Dec 2020 but the problems discussed been around since I got my trainer back in 2016. And it’s the same brands with the same faults, generation to generation.
Similar boat here, with Elite. Trainer developed a fault over the holidays, was back with the shop first day open in Jan.
Initially I was told ‘sorry it’ll be March’, but when I replied with ‘ok then, I’ll have a refund’, they managed to get in touch with Elite who promised a priority replacement.
Since then, the shop have had a new batch of trainers, but I can’t have one. Apparently they are saying that the distributor has to authorise it or they won’t get paid. The distributor is saying Elite have to allocate it to warranty stock, but the warranty team are not replying to emails. When the shop tries to contact Elite, they get an auto reply telling them to contact the distributor! 
I’ll give it another week and then will be asking for a refund, I think, quoting the relevant consumer law, if necessary.
Ladies and gentlemen, the soundtrack to my Kickr Core (only a few weeks old).
Clink clink clink, clonk clonk, clonk clonk, clink clonk clink clonk, clonk clink.
Honestly I’ve had it with Wahoo! This is my 3rd Kickr in as many months. I can’t face waiting for a 4th!
Bummer. I can imagine how frustrating this is after so many bad ones. 
Not sure how they have not solved this issue by now?
So this is a known issue then? I did think it was.
Well, I am judging this from your pure text, but what I called a Klickr years ago (right after the Kickr 18 and Core were introduced with their new silent belts), Wahoo had a massive rash of these loud sounding trainers. Quick google search can show a ton of similar videos that may align with your issue.
They claimed to have it solved a LONG time ago. Many of us hoped the failures we saw were just stock out in circulation. But so much time has passed, not to mention the introduction of a new K20 (which I have seen with the same failures) to say they have completely fixed it.
More of the same as far as I can see. Unsettling to say the least. It’s great that Wahoo seem to be handling the warranties well, but the continued reports of this issue are not great, even if they are reduced in quantity. They have a real issue that still needs correction.
I went through a bunch of those videos and I can see why you’d called it a Klickr. My noise isn’t what I’d call a click, imagine a metal worker hitting an anvil and it’s more like that.
Copy that.
I remember it been an ongoing problem since '16. Not sure about '14 (gen 1) as the chorus was dominated by the working, or lack of it, of the physical power meter. The only things that was solved by latter models (from '18) was the optical sensor and a stable/reliable power curve (high and low end of the PDC and cadence ranges).
If it helps, at least Wahoo deal with warranties. It’s radio silence from Elite on my Suito. While I have sympathy with the shop, who claim they are just not getting replies to emails, I am very close to simply demanding a refund (and I am advised the law is on my side). If I wasn’t worried about souring my relationship with the LBS, that is exactly what I’d do. But the clock is ticking…
I purchased my Kickr in Nov 2019. Knock on wood, no issues so far. It’s been used about 8-10 hours per week from November to March and 4-8 hours per use in the spring and fall.
Summer months gets used 1-2 hours per week.
Good luck 
We have sure seen people even with the older “problematic” models have no issues at all. I don’t claim this happens to all of their trainers. But they sure have not eliminated it all together.
Just like what we see from every brand, they can all have issues. It may just be that Wahoo is back to the “acceptable” reject percentage which is likely well down from the peak problem we saw in late 2018 thru mid 2019.
I decided to go the legal route with mine because I was being ignored, well, not ignored as such, people saying nice things but doing nothing.
In the UK I have two options, Section 75 Consumer Credit Act 1974 or Consumer Rights Act 2015. First one for Credit Card sales second if you didn’t use a credit card it gets more messy as you have to do the legwork yourself.
I first spoke to Wiggle and asked for at least a partial refund, they declined so I told them I was going to pursue it under Section 75, they said they’d chase Garmin who responded with “We’ll give your repair priority” and nothing much else.
I spoke to the credit card company, saying the goods had failed after 18 months, given they had a 2 year warranty it would seem fair to expect a life of at least 5 years. I had returned to the manufacturer for repair or replacement but after 45 days, nothing had come back despite the warranty saying they would attempt to repair inside 30 days.
The credit card company issued an immediate full refund. It is now up to Tacx/Garmin/Wiggle to provide evidence that the goods were acceptable and it is acceptable to take over 2 months to fix something or offer some reasonable settlement agreeable to me and the card company or simply do nothing and accept i have had my money back.
I may end up paying in the end but for now, at least they have all had to sit up and think!
That’s useful. I paid with a debit card, so I’m assuming the process is more complex… I’m now at 40 days and pretty annoyed.
Yes it is more complicated. I did this just recently for a relative with a non-bike related purchase (I had covid-related time on my hands and was kind of interested in the process!) You might spoil your relationship with your LBS but it is worth considering.
Assuming UK of course, I would recommend ringing citizens advice, they were really helpful and talked me through every step of the process. In my case, the retailer was in denial right up until the court papers were issued at which point they decided not to defend and pay in full, including my costs.
And therein lies the problem. 
If this were Wiggle or similar, then I’d be starting the formal ball rolling this week.
Thanks for the tip on citizens advice.
Wahoo have upgraded me to a KICKR V5. 
First try last night, so far so good. I did feel like you had to “try harder” than when on the Core but I think other have mentioned that. Fingers crossed my experience will be positive. After 3 failed Cores I think I earned the upgrade.
Good luck! Hope it’s a keeper for you.
Yeah, the Kickr has a heavier flywheel (16lbs vs 12lbs), so that is likely what you are feeling. Related to that, even if you use a power meter for data, doing a new FTP test is likely worthwhile. That change in flywheel inertia can show in some tests, so I’d suggest doing one reasonably soon.