Electric Scooter Maintenance – 5 Easy Steps For Electric Scooter Care

Updated July 2nd, 2023

Electric scooters are a lot of fun but they aren’t cheap. They do not need much maintenance and upkeep, they do need a little care. Easy electric scooter maintenance is easy with these 5 tips. You can keep your scooter going strong and problem free for years. With a few minutes of your time, you can extend the life of your electric scooter and it’s batteries. By skipping care and maintenance you leave yourself open to breakdown or premature battery failure. Let’s look at how to take care of your electric scooter.

Electric scooter maintenance in 5 easy steps

Tools

You only need a few simple items to maintain your scooter. A set of allen wrenches (metric), a set of wrenches, a philps head and flat head screwdriver, lubricant and some rags.

1 – Cleaning

The first step is cleaning your electric scooter. Do not set your scooter out and hose it down. Electricity and water generally do not mix. To clean your scooter use a damp rag to wipe it down. If you need a little more use some all purpose cleaner spray. Spray small amounts on your scooter and wipe it off. Repeat as needed until the scooter is clean. You can use paper towels are rags.

The goal is to wipe your scooter clean without getting it anymore wet than it needs to and to avoid getting water into the electronics and batteries. The below video demonstrates how to clean an electric scooter.

2 – Lubrication

We want to lubricate the moving parts of the scooter. The best thing to use is a spray lubricant such as WD-40 Bike Chain Lube that contains PTFE. This acts as both a lubricant and protectant. Do not use regular WD-40 as a lubricant. WD-40 is a penetrating fluid, it is not a lubricant. It will free up frozen joints but it does not lubricate. See this article on WD-40 to learn more.

Spray a small amount into the wheel bearings on the front and rear wheels. Wipe off any excess you can from the wheels. If your scooter has disc brakes, take care not to spray any on the brake rotors. This will contaminate the brake pads and rotor surface.

Spray a small amount into the moving parts of the folding mechanism, shock absorber, etc.. and wipe off any excess lubricant. The below video shows how to lubricate an electric scooter. The lubrication section starts about 4 minutes into the video.

3 – Check tires

If your electric scooter has pneumatic air tires, check the air pressure. The tires should have recommended air pressures written on the sidewalls. Always keep them inflated to the recommended pressure. If you have solid tires, inspect them for damage and wear.

Check the tires for wear while you are at it. If the tires have no tread left, it is time for replacement.

5 – Brakes

If your electric scooter has disc brakes you need to check the brake pads for wear. If the friction material looks like it is almost gone, it is time for new brake pads. It is a good idea for you to check the brake pads when the scooter is new. That way you have a reference for how much friction material they have to begin with. It is usually a couple mm.

The below video shows how to check and adjust disc brakes on an electric scooter.

4 – Check Fasteners and cables

Go around your electric scooter and check all the fasteners to make sure nothing is coming loose. Use the correct allen wrench or regular wrench to make sure everything is snug. If there is a fastener that keeps coming loose you can apply a little locktite to it. This should help it stay tight. Check cable housing and cable fittings for wear and tightness.

5 – Battery care

The battery is likely the most exensive part of your scooter to replace if you can replace it. It is also the area you should devote the most attention to care. I heard this saying once. “Most batteries don’t die, they are murdered” it is for the most part true.
These are things that batteries do not like:

• Overcharging
• Discharging too far
• Overheating
• Charging too fast

Doing any of the above will reduce the life of the battery or worse.

Many scooters these days have lithium polymer or lithium ion batteries. There are still a few hanging on with lead-acid or nicad/nihm batteries but they are few and far between.

Lithium batteries need to be treated with respect. Only use a charger designed for the battery pack in your scooter. Lithium batteries can ignite and burn if over charged or charged too quickly. The fire is hot enough to burn through metal and ceramic. You don’t want one to catch fire. Just because the connector fits from someone else’s charger, doesn’t mean you should use it. See this article from OSHA about lithium batteries and their hazards.

Always keep your scooter charged at least a little. If you discharge lithium batteries too far, they become damaged and can’t accept charge again. Lithium batteries will slowly discharge over time when not in use. They do not self discharge as fast as other battery chemistries but they still do. If you run your scooter until it cuts off due to a dead battery, you should charge it before storage.

Do not leave an electric scooter on a charger unattended. You shouldn’t hook it up to charge and then leave home for a few hours and hope for the best.

Heat can damage your scooter batteries. When you are done riding your scooter, if the batteries are hot, let them cool down a bit before charging.

The below video gives some good information on electric scooter battery care.

Electric Scooter Maintenance FAQ

Q: How long does a electric scooter battery last?

An electric scooter battery can last several years if properly cared for. Proper care can extend the life. Several factors come into play. Most batteries are good for a given number of charge and discharge cycles. If you use your scooter more, this puts more cycles on the batteries, which will reduce their life span. You will notice over time that you don’t get as much range as you did when the batteries were new. When the range gets too short, it’s time for new batteries.

Q: Why won’t my electric scooter hold a charge?

There are many reasons your scooter may not hold a charge. Did the batteries overheat or get overcharged or discharged too far? These will all damage the batteries and make them no longer work.

Is the battery charger working? There should be some indicator that charging is occurring. Usually by flashing color coded lights on the charger or battery.

Is there damage to the scooter wiring or electronics? Is there is a frayed wire or short circuit somewhere, the battery charger may not function.

Q: Why is my electric scooter not working?

Is your battery charged? If not the battery needs to be charged. Make sure the battery is fully plugged in. Check any visible wiring for frayed wires. Does the scooter power up when you plug in the battery but it just doesn’t have propulsion? Read the manual that came with the scooter for resetting it. Check the manual for any fuses or circuit breakers that might be present.

The below video gives some trouble shooting examples for a Razor 100 scooter. Much of it applies to any electric scooter.

Q: How do I reset my electric scooter?

Unplug and plug the battery back in. If that doesn’t fix your problem you should read your scooters manual for how to reset it. If you have lost the manual or it didn’t come with one, you should look online for a manual.

Q: How do I know if my electric scooter is charging?

Your electric scooter charger or battery should have a light indicator that shows when it is charging. It should be flashing or non flashing lights. Look in your scooters manual for how to charge your scooter and how to tell if the charger is charging.

Q: How do you check an electric scooter battery?

You can use a multi-meter to test the battery voltage. You can use the voltage measurement on the multi-meter across the battery terminals to see what voltage the charged battery has. It should be the same as the voltage rating.

You can also check the voltage under load by having someone stand on the scooter and advance it quickly to full throttle. Do not hold it at full throttle any longer than necessary for taking the measurement. Holding the scooter motor and battery in a stalled condition will cause them to overheat. The voltage of a fully charged battery should not drop more than 1-2 volts from it’s unloaded value.

If you are not familiar with using a multi-meter, you should seek out help from someone who has before. Some electric scooters have very high power batteries that can cause electrical shock if you are not careful.

You might also like:

• How To Fix Electric Scooters – 9 Easy Things To Check
• Electric Scooter Weight Limit. Can Big People Ride Them?
• How To Make An Electric Scooter Faster. 5 Simple Ways You Can Do It