SRAM Red AXS rear derailleur freeze
Hey everyone,
I’m running into a frustrating issue with my SRAM Red AXS rear derailleur (12-speed) and could use some collective wisdom.
The Problem:
The derailleur randomly stalls across the cassette during shifts in both directions.
When it hangs up, pressing the shifter still makes the LED blink (wireless communication is fine), but the motor stays dead and doesn't move.
As you can see in the video: If I gently push/nudge the parallelogram with my thumb, it clicks into position and immediately comes back to life, shifting normally for a few gears before getting stuck again.
What I’ve tested so far:
Chain on vs. off: With the chain installed and under tension, it stalls almost immediately. With the chain completely removed, it runs much better and shifts through multiple gears, but still occasionally freezes up.
Battery / Contacts: Battery is fully charged, contacts are clean. Even tested a different known-good battery, same result.
Firmware / Reset: Performed a hard reset / firmware recovery via the AXS app. Firmware is up to date.
Pivots & Cage: Cage damper moves smoothly with normal resistance, no obvious external damage.
It looks like the internal lead screw or the overload clutch is binding/getting hung up under load, requiring that slight manual nudge to overcome the initial resistance.
Since the bike was bought used and is well outside the 2-year warranty window, official warranty replacement is not an option.
Has anyone successfully revived a derailleur with this specific binding issue (e.g., flushing the pivots with penetrating oil/PTFE lube), or is the internal gearbox/motor toast?
Thanks in advance!