· By Erik Svedin
Bosch e-bike error codes explained: how the codes are structured in the classic and the smart system, the most common codes with cause and fix, and when the bike has to go in.
An error code on a Bosch e-bike is a number that the display, the remote or the eBike Flow app shows when the drive system has detected a fault it cannot handle on its own. The number tells you which part of the system is raising the alarm — display, drive unit, battery or ABS — but not always exactly what is broken. Most codes clear after a restart or once a connector has been wiped; a smaller share require diagnostic tools at an authorised Bosch workshop. Here we explain how the codes are structured in the two generations, which codes are most common at the counter, what you can do yourself before handing the bike in, and what the workshop does with the code. We run a bike shop with an e-bike workshop ourselves, and the error code is the first thing we ask for when a customer calls.
Bosch has two code systems that cannot be mixed. The classic system, which Bosch calls eBike System 2, sits on bikes with an Intuvia, Purion, Kiox or Nyon and shows three-digit codes such as 503. The smart system, on bikes from roughly model year 2022 with a Kiox 300 or 500, Purion 200 or 400, Intuvia 100 or just an LED Remote, shows six-character codes such as 523005, and the full text lives in the eBike Flow app rather than on the display. The same digits mean different things in the two systems, so a workshop always wants to know both the code and which display the bike has before looking anything up.
The first digit of a three-digit code identifies which component is reporting the fault. It is the most important piece of information on the whole display, because it decides whether a restart is worth trying or whether the bike should stay put until the workshop has looked at it.
| Series | Component raising the alarm | Typical symptoms | First action |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4xx | The bike computer or remote (Intuvia, Purion, Kiox, Nyon) | Display does not start, buttons do not respond, no contact with the drive unit | Check that the display sits properly in its mount, wipe the contacts, restart |
| 5xx | The drive unit, i.e. the motor and its sensors | No or jerky assistance, motor cuts out while riding, wrong speed on the display | Restart, check the speed sensor and the spoke magnet |
| 6xx | The battery or the charger | Bike does not start, battery does not charge or stops charging, assistance stops suddenly | Remove the battery, clean the contacts, refit it, try another charger if one is available |
| 7xx | Gear system or another third-party component | The automatic gearing misbehaves | The code comes from the gear manufacturer; look it up in their manual |
| 8xx | ABS | The ABS light does not go out after start-up or comes on while riding | Restart and ride for a couple of minutes; if the light stays on it is a workshop job |
The table below is our summary of the codes we meet most often, with cause and fix in our own words. The full list of all classic codes, including the entire ABS series, is in the error code search in the BikeOffice app.
| Code | Likely cause | What usually helps |
|---|---|---|
| 410 | A button on the bike computer is stuck, often from dirt | Clean the buttons |
| 422 | Communication with the drive unit is lost | Check the cables and connectors to the drive unit |
| 423 | Communication with the battery is lost | Remove and refit the battery, check the battery contacts |
| 430 | The bike computer's own small battery is flat | Charge the bike computer in its holder or via USB |
| 500 | Internal fault in the drive unit | Restart; if the code returns, diagnosis is needed |
| 502 | Fault in the bike lighting | Check the lights and the lighting cables |
| 503 | The speed sensor gives no valid signal | Check the spoke magnet and its distance to the sensor, restart |
| 504 | The system suspects a manipulated speed signal, assistance is limited | Check that the spoke magnet is fitted correctly and that no tuning equipment is present |
| 510 | Internal sensor fault in the drive unit | Restart; if the code returns, diagnosis is needed |
| 530 | Battery fault | Remove and refit the battery, restart |
| 540 | The drive unit is too hot or too cold | Let the drive unit reach normal temperature, restart |
| 550 | An unauthorised power consumer is connected | Disconnect the accessory, restart |
| 592 | A component, often the display, is not compatible with the system | Change to a compatible display |
| 602 | Internal battery fault | Restart; if the code returns, the workshop is needed |
| 655 | Several battery faults at once | Remove and refit the battery, restart; if the code returns, the workshop is needed |
In the smart system the code has six characters, and the first identifies which component is raising the alarm: 1 is the remote or display, 5 is the drive unit, 6 is the battery, 8 is ABS and F is the system as a whole. Characters two and three point to a sub-function, and the last three number the fault. The display often shows only the number, while the Flow app shows the full text and sometimes an action. The app also distinguishes between critical faults, which stop the assistance, and less critical faults that can be acknowledged with a button press. Many codes of the INFO type are known faults that Bosch has already corrected in newer software, and then the fix is an update in the app.
The codes that Bosch themselves cover in the user manuals are the ones the rider can do something about, and they are also the ones that keep coming back to our counter.
| Code | Likely cause | What usually helps |
|---|---|---|
| 523005 | The speed sensor gets too weak a signal from the rim magnet | Check that the magnet is firmly fitted on the valve, restart |
| 514001–514003 | The speed sensor finds no magnetic field, the magnet may have come off | Check the magnet, the sensor and the sensor cable, restart |
| 514006 | Interfering magnetic field near the drive unit | Remove magnetic objects nearby, restart |
| 660001, 660002 | Battery fault | Restart; if the fault persists, the battery must be neither charged nor used until the workshop has looked at it |
| 680007–680017 | The battery is outside its permitted operating temperature, charging pauses | Let the battery reach room temperature; remove it, connect the charger for ten seconds, refit it |
| 6A0000 | The battery software is too old for DualBattery | Update the software in the Flow app with all components connected |
| F10004 | The software versions of the components do not match | Update all components in the Flow app, restart |
| 890000 | The ABS indicator light is not working | Restart the bike and the app, update the software |
| 131000 | Buttons on the remote are being held down | Check that no buttons are stuck |
| 141001 | The remote's internal battery is flat | Charge the remote from the bike battery or via USB for at least 45 minutes |
| 152001, 153001 | The remote is too hot | Let the bike cool down for a quarter of an hour somewhere cooler |
| 112000 | The connection to the phone failed | Log in to the app again and reconnect |
Four things are worth trying before anyone books a workshop slot. Switch the bike off completely, wait half a minute and start it again; a surprising share of all codes disappear then. Remove the battery, wipe the contacts on both battery and bike with a dry cloth and refit it. Look at the spoke magnet or the rim magnet: it should sit firmly and pass the sensor at a distance of a few millimetres, and a magnet that has spun round the spoke immediately gives a speed signal fault. Finally, write down the code, when it appeared and what the bike was doing at that moment, because that is exactly the information the workshop needs to take the right path from the start. If the bike has the smart system, the code is also shown in the eBike Flow app together with a short description.
The bike has to go in when the code comes back after a restart, when a drive unit code appears while riding, when a battery code occurs during charging, when the bike has got water inside it, or when the code shows up after a crash or a repair where cables have been rerouted. The same applies if the display shows a code the customer cannot find in their manual; those codes are meant for the workshop. A battery that gets hot, smells or has swollen must not be charged at all but handed in straight away, whatever the display says, and Bosch are clear that a charger must never be connected while the display shows a critical fault.
The workshop reads the drive system with Bosch's diagnostic tool, which requires the workshop to be an authorised Bosch eBike workshop. The tool shows the fault memory — not just the current code but every code stored since the last service — and can update software, run tests on individual components and in some cases reset faults that would otherwise remain. If the component is broken, the new part is ordered through Bosch's dealer channel, which is why an unauthorised workshop often has to pass the bike on. What the workshop does with the code at the counter, before the diagnosis, is to look it up: a quick lookup gives the customer a first indication of the likely cause and of whether it looks like a short or a long job.
Motor manufacturers have no shared code system. Bosch, Yamaha, Bafang, Shimano and Ananda all use their own series, and a code that means battery fault with one manufacturer can be a sensor code with another. Even within Bosch the generations differ: a fault that the smart system shows with an explanatory text in the app may be just a number on an older Intuvia, and the numbers are not even the same length. That is why the first question at the counter is always which motor system the bike has, and the second which generation. Only then is it meaningful to look up the code.
Yes, in most cases, but without assistance. The drive system switches off the motor assistance when it detects a fault, and the bike then works as an ordinary, unusually heavy bicycle. That is harmless with display faults and most motor codes. With battery codes, however, the battery should not be charged until the fault has been investigated, and with codes that appeared after water or a crash it is better to walk the bike than to risk making the fault worse.
What works in our own shop is to record four things the moment the customer walks in: the code, the motor system and generation, the bike's mileage and when the fault occurred. With those details the staff look up the code and give a first indication before the bike has even been rolled into the workshop. The customer then knows whether it is a matter of a connector that needs wiping or a battery that probably needs replacing, and the workshop knows where to start. That lookup is what Error codes in BikeOffice does: the codes for Bosch in both generations, Yamaha, Bafang, Shimano and Ananda in one place, searchable by number, instead of in six different manuals.