Ola S1 Electric Scooter Switches Into Reverse Mode Without Warning, Goes Upto 102Kmph: Watch

In a few months since its deliveries began, the Ola S1 electric scooter has gone from being one of the most anticipated scooter in the country to the most infamous one. Pouring into the sea of complaints that were already flooding social media was a recent incident in Pune where an Ola S1 burst into flames in the middle of a busy street. While Ola issued a statement that the incident was under investigation, it seems like the nightmare is not ending for the manufacturer. A recent tweet by an Ola S1 user has highlighted yet another formidable issue that forced him to sell the scooter eventually. A life threatening software glitch in his unit’s reverse mode.

The user who goes by the name themangofellow on Twitter narrated his ordeal in a series of tweets where he explained how the scooter switched to reverse mode without warning leading him to take a fall with minor injuries. " One day,there was a car parked haphazardly in the middle of the road. I just pulled the scooter back and it activated Reverse mode.. When I accelerated further, it went in reverse direction I fell down with a few scratches on both my body n scooter’s. Luckily it was not a busy main road.. So I escaped unhurt.. If it was a busy road like ORR, I’d probably be dead meat by now" he said.

In addition to the dangerous incident, what followed was a very unpleasant experience with the manufacturer’s roadside assistance service. The issue that was promised to be addressed within two hours was not touched until the next two days. This was in addition to the 7-minute wait-time for assistance. Eventually, folks from the manufacturer picked up the scooter to resolve the issue. After a week when the scooter was returned, the user says that the scooter was untouched and no repairs were done. The issue seemed to be rooted in an absolute miscommunication where the towing company picked up the wrong scooter to deliver. “I called up customer care and they apologised saying they were to deliver another scooter & got mine back instead. Their towing team, service team, callers Are all outsourced to different agencies and they have no communication between them whatsoever" he said.

After the scooter was finally fixed following a delay, the user said that he was too scared to ride the scooter again. “I had no guts to use it again. That reverse mode activation when you accelerate is a potential killer. What if this happens when my wife and kid are riding. I seriously couldn’t muster enough courage to ride the scooter again. I sold it to my cousin"

After looking further into the matter, we found out that the issue comes a few days after a video was uploaded on YouTube where an owner laid the scooter on its side to check the maximum speed in the reverse mode. The results were shocking when the scooter crossed triple digit speeds effortlessly. It should be noted that many of the controls and features of Ola S1 Pro are operated with the help of an in-built software, which can be updated from time to time, just like a smartphone.

While the features of a vehicle controlled by software might look seem modern, it comes with a slew of dangers as well. The Ola S1 Pro abruptly going into reverse mode at a high speed on its own is a prime example of the same.

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