Thanks Troy, hadn’t seen that video, I found it quickly and it’s extremely useful. Apart from all the useful cleaning tips it also showed me there’s an air intake on one side that I hadn’t seen before! I’ve got the trainer set up not far from a wall on that side so it hadn’t been visible in the shadows; now I know where to direct an extra fan.
2 Likes
Hey David.
My 2T has done exactly the same today, just wondering have you had a positive response from Garmin yet?(edit just realised thread is from Dec 2020- not 20th Dec!!)
Anyway be good to hear how you got on!!
Mine went today 35 minutes into a 2.2w/kg ride, no efforts etc so was really surprised. I use mine 2-3 hours a week for last 18 months and can only hit about 700W so not hard use at all.
The one thing I did do recently that may have caused the trainer to work harder than previous was set the trainer difficulty to 100% literally 2 rides ago. But that should be something I should have been able to do.
Mine is totally dead- no lights but when I plug it in the fans are spinning much harder than they used to as if they are responding to an overheating incident, but I’ve no lights/connectivity or resistance.
Marty.
Hi Marty.
I feel for you. Yes, it was a year ago for me, but I can run you through the process.
I wouldn’t worry about what you did or didn’t do. It seems that these trainers just don’t have longevity sadly. Mine was about 6 months old when it went. The key thing is that at 18 months old it is still under warranty (two years I believe).
I’m not sure where you are based, but the first thing to do is to contact Garmin. The experience when you do contact them does vary a little. In my case I didn’t manage to actually get someone to speak to on the phone, just email. I was asked to attempt to use the Tacx Utility app (install on phone) to run a system check. In my case it couldn’t even detect the trainer.
As well as contacting Garmin it might be worthwhile contacting the company you bought your trainer from. In my case I’d used Wiggle in the UK and when I was getting nowhere fast with Garmin I almost switched to going via Wiggle instead. So, good to have as a backup. What I can say though is that my retailer said I did need to contact Garmin first anyway to log the issue.
Eventually Garmin agreed that my trainer was dead and that it would need to go in for repair. Initially they tried to get me to pay for the shipping (which was expensive). I put up a bit of a fight (they said it is in their T&C that you pay). I was able to use UK consumer rights due to it being less than 12 months old. I’ve seen some people say they had to pay for shipping, while others didn’t, so it really depends on the person you end up dealing with at Garmin.
Before shipping they did get me to dismantle the trainer, removing parts that are already fitted when you buy the trainer. I couldn’t actually remove one of the parts and that led to concerns I’d have issues if an incomplete unit was shipped back to me (the Garmin guy just told me that they could ship that part separately after my replacement arrived).
Once my unit was shipped back I heard absolutely nothing and about three weeks later a replacement arrived. Mine seemed to be a new unit, but some seem to get a new one and others a reconditioned one. Had I got a reconditioned one I don’t know if I’d have needed the parts I was asked to remove, but in my case I didn’t need them.
So far my replacement has been going strong for the 11 months I’ve had it. The biggest difference I noticed was that on my first unit the fan was loud from the moment you turned it on. On the replacement it was virtually silent, making me think the replacement was faulty. The responses I got at the time was that it how it should be, so I guess my initial unit was faulty from purchase and it was only a matter of when it failed.
Anyway, I hope the above helps. I get the impression that supplies aren’t quite as bad as they were this time last year, so hopefully the turnaround won’t be too long. The key is just to get going with the contact process with Garmin as quickly as you can.
Personally I think these trainers were designed for light use and partly because of Covid lockdowns people ended up using them much more than expected, leading to lots of failures. By the sound of it you aren’t a super user, but I’d honestly be surprised if many of these units survive five years. As much as I like my Neo, if it does fail again I’ll probably switch to another brand.
Thanks David, I really appreciate the detail in your post. I have contacted Garmin but I guess they won’t respond for a few days with the holiday season. I genuinely thought this trainer was bullet proof but there seems to be quite a few with similar problems based on the forums. A lot of people also say the trainer gets quite hit and to be honest I had never noticed this with mine.
Mine is totally dead (no lights won’t connect to anything etc) except that the fans seem to be on overdrive, and it genuinely never missed a beat the previous 18 months. It’s a pity as my confidence in even a replacement unit is now pretty low. The only thing I’m glad about is that it has failed inside warranty.
I think it is no coincidence either that it failed literally approx after 90 mins use after changing the trainer difficulty to 100%.
Thanks again,
Marty.
That’s due to a fault on the internal circuit board, which makes the trainer believe it’s constantly overheating so it ramps the fan right up and kills the resistance. Not sure where you’re based but on the Neo Owners Group on Facebook there are various people who have figured out how to repair it, and offer such a service for those outside of the Tacx/Garmin warranty period. If you’re in warranty, they should sort you out with a replacement without much complaint, that’s what happened to my Neo 2 shortly after a firmware update - they sent me a 2T to replace it.
1 Like
Thanks all- Garmin have agreed to replace it anyway, so I have it boxed up and ready to go. There was no mention of covering shipping but I have a courier collecting it for 20€ and I can’t complain with that. (I’m in Ireland and the unit is going to an address in Ireland)
Let’s hope the replacement unit has lots of life in it.
Thank’s again
Marty.
1 Like
Mine’s just done exactly the same today. Suddenly lost all resistance after ~51 miles. No LEDs on trainer, loud fan noises. Reset protocol didn’t work. Waiting to hear back from Garmin about a warranty replacement (only 16 months old with nearly 4,900 km “on the clock”). Up to this point it had worked flawlessly. Really bad timing coming at the start of season 2 WTRL-ZRL races!
1 Like
Marty,
Did Garmin send you a brand new unit or a refurbished one? Did you attempt to get a monetary refund? I e-mailed them on Saturday and am hoping for a quick response and a positive resolution. Fingers crossed. Thanks, Bill.
Hi William,
I have not received my replacement yet but I have no reason to believe it is anything but a new unit.
I have sent mine back and they are in the process of returning it.
Below is a screenshot of my “Exchange Summary”.
Note I am returning a 2875.62 and getting back a 2875.04 which I believe is basically a unit without the freehub.
Returning:
NEO 2T Smart
T2875, Tacx, GB
T2875.62
Qty: 1
Receiving:
NEO 2T Smart resistance unit
Service Only
S2875.04
Qty: 1
Hope this helps,
Martin.
Hi Martin,
Thanks for the response. Just got off the phone with customer service (hadn’t had a response to my e-mail but, in their defense I only sent it on Saturday. Unfortunately, because I’d dismantled the trainer/removed cassette ready for shipping back, I couldn’t answer one of their questions regarding the red power light. So, I’m receiving an e-mail from them with instructions to carry out some kind of check before they’ll ask for the unit to be replaced. FYI, because I purchased it from a 3rd party (Wiggle) and not directly from Garmin, the replacement will be a refurbished unit and not a brand new one. A bit upset about this TBH. Anyway, no idea how long this will take to resolve…sigh.
Well I didnt buy mine directly either-- i bought it from Glamsport, but honestly how is that an acceptable reason to provide you with a refurb unit instead?–
TBH id nearly prefer a refurb unit, as id hope that whatever weak parts that are failing in them would be replaced with something more robust in the Refurb unit- but maybe thats just wishful thinking.
Hi Marty,
Yes, I’m with you on that one. I’m trying to muster some positive thinking into believing that a refurb unit will be superior and have all the kinks ironed-out. I’ll probably get one that was previously owned by a 100kg track sprinter knowing my luck! Looks like mine will be going back to them for a replacement ASAP. I’ll let you know how things progress (apologies for calling you Martin in the previous reply, I was a bit flustered after my phone call with Garmin). Best, Bill.
LOL-- ive read reports of people receiving “refurbed” units but they reckoned they were new… anyway lets hope whatever we both get lasts a few years, i consider myself lucky, mine was 20 months old when it gave up. There is a guy in the UK- im in Ireland BTW (Chris Webb- goes by the name “turbo Doctor” or something… he will fix it for you much cheaper than Garmin if you have an out of warranty issue down the line.
Best of Luck 
My replacement arrived anyway- it says refurbished on a sticker on the box but honestly it’s a new looking unit, not a blemish on it anywhere.
Gonna give it a try tonight- let’s hope it’s a good one.
Marty.
First spin done- silky smooth, I set the Zwift difficulty back to 50% as I have a sneaky suspicion changing it to 100% accelerated it’s early failure (thankfully in hindsight as about 4 months short of being outside warranty)
Fingers and toes crossed it goes strong for a few years.
Marty.
My Neo2, nearly 20k, just overheated bad burning smell, and loss of resistance, it’s finished. Garmin changing it despite being out of warranty, a new unit coming still cost me £300!, but out of warranty what can I expect.