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Minipro intermittently LIFE-THREATENING unsafe, veering right


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I am the ORIGINAL OP (Rider222), and yesterday, after all these years, my wife's BLACK minipro hit a small pot hole on the sidewalk, and her minipro twisted right, causing her body to twist, and she fell forward and got hurt.  Luckily just bruises and scrapes.  This minipro then kept spinning in circles, right.  She was riding  behind me so I didn't see it happen.   I reset her minipro and then I took over and kept driving that unit over the same pot hole, and after a few tries, I was able to repeat that event; it threw me off forward and it kept spinning in place, exactly the same.  This pot hole was minimal, and not much difference than any normal uneven surface. Again, we are long time experts on these and have been over extreme surfaces; in comparison this pot ho  This black minipro for years seemed stable, and all of a sudden within 5 minutes  was able to have the same problem occur twice.  I then ran my white minipro of that same pot hole dozens of times and was not able to repeat any problems.  I switched minipros with my wife, so I then drove the problematic minipro probably 5 miles back to the van, down sidewalks, gravel roads, etc, (cautiously of course), with no further problems.  We don't ride these too much anymore, months can go by between uses, but now I can't trust the black one.  And, now i feel I really can't trust any of them.  This problem is slightly different than the one in my original post.  My original WHITE minipro shot 90 degrees right, and just kept shooting forward.    This BLACK one spins right and keeps spinning in place.

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  • 1 month later...

my segway mini lite is doing the same thing where it veers off to the right as hard as it can 9/10 it will yeet me off i have been able to stop it from launching me completely off by going frusteratingly slow to feel any sudden jerks in the steering bar i know it happens uncontrollably but dont know exactly why and is slowly worsening day by day itz time to take it in

and the steering bar doesn’t sit straight up and is loose anymore 

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  • 3 months later...

My Ninebot S does the same thing.  It abruptly veers to the left when hitting a bump.  I talk to someone at more4motion and they said it was probably the steering shaft housing.  I purchased one and haven';y had the time to replace it yet though.  Has anyone found out what the cause of this is?   Is there a way to read the black box data?

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21 hours ago, evm said:

My Ninebot S does the same thing.  It abruptly veers to the left when hitting a bump.  I talk to someone at more4motion and they said it was probably the steering shaft housing.  I purchased one and haven';y had the time to replace it yet though.  Has anyone found out what the cause of this is?   Is there a way to read the black box data?

Hello,

The first very simple question: did you remove the pads and put them back on? If yes, in what way?
Second point: have you removed the steering bar? Did you tighten the two screws on the steering bar properly? The screws that go into the steering shaft?
Does the steering shaft move?
Another very simple point: is your tire pressure equal on both sides?
Did you lean the steering bar all the way to the right then to the left? The behavior of the S?

Black box data only shows loads and error codes related to BMS, sensors etc...

As you can see with my simple questions, the cause may be quite simple.
For having dismantled several times a steering cage, it is very firmly fixed and the sensors are also very firmly fixed, after it is possible that during its production it was badly assembled but I doubt. Because the steering shaft is the first complex part mounted in order on the chassis/bodyframe.
A steering bar that is too tight will obviously deviate the driving since the steering bar will block in the movement from left to right or vice versa

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  • 2 months later...

Hi, I have encountered this issue today, after more than 4,5k km flawless riding on my Ninebot mini that I own for 5 years now (last 3 of which on first version swallowbot and then extreme MRN76 firmwares). The same route I was doing thousand times with no apparent reason.
 

Luckily I was familiar with this thread on forum, so I have always had it somewhere in the back of my head and this probably saved me today. I have been always trying to stay focus while riding this equipment just in case. Never thought though that this will actually happen to my unit, until today. 
 

I was riding approx. 18kmph, so far from max speed (that is around 25kmph with the firmware I have) while this happened on rather even and flat pavement with no bumbs. Still consequences, if I have not managed to stay on my feet, would have been severe. It is something really dangerous.

I guess after all those years there is still no conclusive answer to the underlying problem and the root cause of this issue, or maybe there is?

Edited by MacGary
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  • 1 month later...

My Segway-Ninebot mini pro has started veering right as you guys have stated. I replaced the steering mechanism and it seemed to fix it until yesterday I got on it and rode down my neighborhood it flung me off and I broke my left arm. I have a radial head fracture. I really think this is a software problem. I’m really considering calling Segway-Ninebot on this issue as I have tried a lot of things to try and fix this issue and nothing worked leaving me with a broken arm. Once it threw me off it was beeping like crazy and turned off. 

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  • 3 months later...

Well add me to the list. It started jerking to the right at slow speed so no crash but it sure has me worried to ride. I've had my (refurbed) Minipro for about 3 years with no real problems until now. I'm 72 and can't afford to be a test dummy. I might consider just getting a new one. Hopefully, someone figures out a fix. 

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  • 6 months later...

I have several Segway Ninebot Models  including the S, S plus and Mini pro as well as as the unicycle. I  am a  very experienced rider and witnessed the issues in this thread first hand in all my "vehicles". I am quite concerned on how common and frequent these "accidents" occur. These are very serious and life threatening incidents and can't for the life of me understand why there has been no Class action Lawsuit against this company in regards to finding some kind of resolution.  I understand there are disclaimers but this goes above and beyond as there should be 100 percent reasonable trust in their products being functional and safe. Regardless of the model , they don't come exactly cheap and it baffles me to how no one is held responsible for something so serious . If an individual l   is able to seek legal resolution over burns from a hot chicken Mcnugget being trapped in a seatbelt, certainly there should be some legal resolution should Segway not take responsibility and investigate / address these concerns regardless of the age or milage of your euc

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I've had this same EXACT issue for a couple years now..  hard jerk left/right steering on the Mini Pro:

I've had an ongoing issue with my Mini Pro suddenly jerking to the left or right - for over 2 years. I replaced the Hall sensor and housing twice, which worked for a short time. I finally think it's solved! You have to remove the battery, front and rear fascia, foot pads, steering arm and center tower to get to the steering housing - then apply dampening grease to create resistance (found on Amazon)... Total disassembly/reassembly time "on the bench" for me, having done it no less than 3 times, was about an hour.
 
My theory is that over time, the factory grease breaks down - i've had mine since 2018 and this started a couple years ago..  When this happens, the lack of resistance causes the steering shaft to become ultra sensitive - any bump, stick or other debris you roll over can shift the balance of the unit, which then gets  transferred to the steering shaft.  Even your body/knees just slightly touching the steering bar will become "amplified" because there is no resistance to dampen the movement..  Just a theory - but since applying a generous amount of this grease, the steering bar is now TIGHT-A-F - like new condition..
 
- hopefully this will help someone else
 

segway steering assembly.png

Edited by michael_m
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  • 2 months later...

I had a similar event although not quite exactly the same. I was riding about 10 mph on a walkway when suddenly the unit completely stopped. I pushed it to my right and it went to the traffic (no cars) as I threw myself toward my left and landed on grass. It happened so fast my head must have hit the ground because I had concussion for maybe 2 weeks. I picked up the miniPro and tried to turn it on. It would not turn on. I pulled the unit to the house, luckily I was only about 1/3 mile away. I tried turning it on again and it would not turn on. I connected it to the charger, it had more than half charge. Charged it till it was 100% charged, turned it on and it would not turn on... Found a Segway dealership out in the east coast, sent a message inquiring if they have heard of such problem; no answer. Called the dealership in Boulder, Colorado and they asked if there is a light inside the control compartment. I have not looked inside yet so the saga goes till I get the chance to take a look as the guy I talked to was not very friendly.

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  • 2 weeks later...

@michael_m

THANKS !
your explanation is perfect !
Indeed, if you clean the steering shaft once a year, which is not that thin, mine was very clogged with mud, it is inevitable to remove this black grease which is encrusted with grains of sand.

For those who need a tutorial to completely disassemble the mini pro or mini s, including the steering shaft and the pads, it's online here:

google album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/FWkKqx98khbAHXSV6

Don't forget there is another simple cause of "drift", which is when you remove the pads from above and replace them the same way, in truth the pads have a nested way of relocating to their support. you have to disassemble everything and reassemble the pads correctly otherwise the joysticks are no longer aligned with the circular plates under the pads.

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On 8/17/2023 at 5:33 PM, Rider2020 said:

if there is a light inside the control compartment

Hi @Rider2020The control compartment, the fine, is the bluetooth with a red led, you can see it in the dark behind the panel behind the battery level indicator.
In your case, I think the battery is dead, how many miles do you have?
I had an accident like yours, (I cracked my two meniscuses), the battery which had done 18,000km let me go uphill.
I replaced it and no longer had a problem.
When you remove your battery you look at the light if it flashes, if it flashes the battery is in good health.

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So glad it worked @jojo33!!

quick update - about 50 miles later - it came back just the other day - the jerking left/right. But it was an incredibly hot day and I’m guessing it affected the viscosity of the grease. It seems to be fine now. Overall I call it a huge success. Thanks for documenting the process!!

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12 hours ago, michael_m said:

Thanks for documenting the process!

Thanks to you for looking for another reason for the drift.
There are many other factors, such as the steering bar screws, but dirt is the most logical. When you completely disassemble the Mini after a year of intensive use, you can see that nothing is 100% waterproof. There is dried mud, sand, and even moisture around the steering shaft.
After cleaning, the balancing must be reset.

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