BMW R 1200 RT Complaints

270 consumer complaints on file.

#11760800August 30, 2026
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
I own a 2010 BMW R1200RT motorcycle. The motorcycle was subject to BMW’s fuel-pump recall, and the recall repair was performed in 2014. The motorcycle has now developed a crack in the fuel-pump flange at the base of the female quick-disconnect fuel fitting. The crack is allowing gasoline to leak under pressure. The motorcycle has the metal reinforcement ring associated with the previous recall repair. This failure is particularly concerning because the fuel-pump flange and quick-disconnect area were the subject of BMW’s previous safety recall involving cracking and fuel leakage. I understand that my motorcycle may not currently be listed as subject to BMW’s later 20V-471 recall because of the repair performed in 2014. However, I am reporting this as a new safety defect because the fuel-pump/flange assembly has now failed again and is leaking gasoline. I am concerned that a previously recalled and repaired fuel-system component has developed another crack in the same critical area, creating a potential fire hazard. I have photographs documenting the crack, the metal reinforcement ring, and the component markings. I can provide the photographs and the 2014 repair documentation. I request that NHTSA document this complaint and review whether this represents a continuing or recurring safety defect involving the BMW R1200RT fuel-pump flange and quick-disconnect fitting.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11681917August 20, 2025
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
This vehicle was subject to a recall under bulletin 16 0114. The issue was a fuel pump which cracked at flanges which leaked fuel onto the hot engine, which could cause safety issues with fire. My vehicle listed above, had the fuel pump replaced with 12,505 miles on it under the recall. The replacement fuel pump, which is apparently no better than the original that was replaced under recall, cracked again leaking fuel onto the hot motorcycle engine. This happened with 20,300 miles on the vehicle, which is less than 8000 miles later. BMW is refusing to replace under the recall or a warranty the fuel pump which means I am stuck with the bill. I believe that BMW should be replacing a defective part with a new design and better part not an old design faulty part. I would encourage you to issue another recall on the vehicles in question under bulletin 160114 in the interest of motorist safety.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11655713April 20, 2025
ENGINE
Motorcycle stops randomly and goes into Limp Mode . BMW dealer does not seem to be able to fix . This has happened several times on the freeway . very dangerous .
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11639294January 29, 2025
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
I have a 2014 R1200RT that is leaking fuel because of a warped fuel tank. VIN: [XXX] My dealer tells me that this was a problem on my years RT and that this can only be fixed by replacing the fuel tank. I was told that ethanol was probably the culprit in taking this tank down so quickly. I was also told that BMW redesigned the tank to alleviate the problem and that replacing the old tank with the redesigned one would take care of this. BMW Motorrad is not offering to replace this as the warranty is only for 3 years or 36,000 miles. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11634105January 4, 2025
SERVICE BRAKES
Front brakes- Front brake lever will not pull in (hard to pull) front brakes do not work, was unable to stop, rear brakes limited and was unable to stop through intersection.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11612140September 2, 2024
ENGINE
TECHNICIAN FOUND THAT THE ENGINE DOES NOT RESPOND TO THROTTLE INPUTS. DISCOVERED LEFT AND RIGHT THROTTLE BODY REQUIRE REPLACEMENT DUE TO CABLE CAMS ARE BROKEN. BOUGHT THIS BIKE FOR PARTS. CHOSE TO FIX IT UP GIVEN LOW MILEAGE. LOOKS LIKE PLASTIC CAM FRACTURES FREQUENTLY. LUCKY I FOUND OUT BEFORE I TRIED RIDING IT. NEWER MODELS BY MANUFACTURER AND AFTERMARKET PARTS OFFER METAL CAM. EVEN MY KIDS CAR SEATS NEED TO BE REPLACED AFTER 10 YEARS BECAUSE OF “PLASTICS FATIGUE/FAILURE”.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11604258July 24, 2024
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2017 BMW R 1200 RT. The contact stated while at a red light, the engine was making an abnormal sound. There was no warning light illuminated. The motorcycle was ridden back to the residence. The contact inspected the motorcycle and noticed that there was an excessive amount of metallic particles attached to the drain plug. The motorcycle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of this failure and confirmed that the VIN was not associated with an unknown recall for the failure. The contact was referred to NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 40,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11539398August 18, 2023
ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Motorcycle went into "limp mode" while riding.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11535570July 31, 2023
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:THROTTLE
On 06-19-2023 i was North bound I275 north of 8 mile about 715pm. I was in the left lane going about 68 mph. All of a sudden my It felt like my throttle cable broke, when I twisted it there was no motor response forward and backward, but my motor was red lining against the Rev limiter, so I pulled in the clutch and it did not slow down at all. Actually I sped up to over 100 mph, thankfully there was noone in front of me, I steadily pulled on the front brake and stepped on the back brake until I came to a stop. The length I went was at least 1 1/2- 2 miles from when I thought the cable broke till I got it stopped. I had it towed to southeast bmw in Plymouth, MI. It's still in the shop as of July 31,2023. So I don't know what exactly went wrong yet. They are waiting on a part and said the throttle cable didn't break. My question is why did I continue to go faster while the clutch was in. Besides what ever went wrong on the bike and heavier pants, myself and the bike were not harmed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11513782March 25, 2023
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
2005 BMW r1200rt that I have owned since 2016 with little to no issue. Leak from winter storage in the front left side of the engine. It matches a thread of a cracked fuel pump. With your site they submitted the problem under JBN1-18051. Also under a complaint number 10428629. I wish to know if it is a issue that is a recall or something I can submit for BMW to take care of, or if I will need to get fixed myself. I saw that riding with it can result in fuel landing on the ride during transit making it dangerous to ride.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11495808December 2, 2022
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
The OEM plastic 90° quick discount fitting on top of the fuel pump started spraying fuel. I started smelling fuel on the interstate highway 10 and by the time I could pull over safely off the interstate I was covered with fuel. The fuel was running down on the hot exhaust pipe’s on the front left side of the motorcycle and spraying all over my face and legs. I could have been set on fire and burnt to death because of where the fuel was spraying from. This also could have cost the lives of the people on the interstate had i burst into flames and lost control of the motorcycle. When I called the BMW dealership in Tucson AZ the service tech told me that they had a medal aftermarket 90° fitting that would fix my problem. I replaced the fitting and the fuel leak was fixed. This motorcycle fuel pump was replaced 07/01/2014 at mileage 12,482 because of a fuel leak recall. I’m filling this report because this fitting fail happened without warning 15,700 miles after the fuel flange recall. This must be a common problem for the service tech to know over the phone the fox and have a aftermarket medal part that fixed the fuel leak. The location of this potential leak makes it extremely dangerous hazard.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11492222November 4, 2022
POWER TRAIN
2009 BMW R1200RT MOTORCYCLE REAR BEARING FAILURE THAT LED TO A FINAL DRIVE FAILURE. At highway speed, heard clicking noise from rear of bike. While parked on center stand and spinning rear wheel, heard a terrible grinding sound. Who knows what would have happened had I not exited when I did. This left me stranded, requiring a tow; repair took two days and was over $3,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11490555October 24, 2022
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
The throttle body has plastic pulleys for the throttle flapper cam. These plastic parts fail. My motorcycle lost power in freeway traffic and I nearly was ran over by traffic when this part failed.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11485901September 22, 2022
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
The contact owns a 2011 BMW R1200 RT Motorcycle. The contact stated that while starting the motorcycle, fuel was spraying from the fuel line. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer but the motorcycle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V471000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was contacted but no additional assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 37,528.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11483260September 7, 2022
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Development of a major fuel leak after starting motorcycle, leak is coming from the high pressure fitting on the fuel pump. Very dangerous as the fuel is dripping on the hot exhaust and pooling on top of the fuel pump. Risk of fire and possibility of fuel getting on pant leg and burning riders leg. I talked to a couple dealers in the Phoenix area and it’s more common than not.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11479890August 18, 2022
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
When starting my BMW motorcycle it normally can be started in two modes: (1) in neutral or (2) In gear with the clutch handle pulled back to the handlebar and the clutch disengaged. However, my BMW 2015 BMW R1200RT motorcycle will NOT engage the starter motor to start the engine with the Clutch handled pulled back to the handlebar which disengages the clutch. The problem was noticed at 17,500 miles and several others have reported the same issues. BMW Motorcycles refuses to repair this latent/systemic safety defect in the BMW dual microswitches (actually two are contained within one physical unit), BMW part number 32728537609. This failure puts a rider at severe risk when the BMW motorcycles that have this switch and it is in a failed state when the motorcycle stalls in traffic. The rider must quickly shift the transmission into neutral to enable the starter motor to engage and restart the engine. This is difficult to do as one attempts to quickly shift the transmission into neutral, restart the engine, shift the transmission into gear, and move forward with traffic. BMW is aware of this critical safety issue that affects several years and models of their motorcycles but instead either sells a new dual microswitch for $103.86 or installs it with labor for a total charge of $246.36 (Cal-Moto, Livermore, CA). There was no warning this dual microswitch was beginning to fail, only total failure. BMW motorcycle dealers are well aware of this issue and many are out of stock given the demand for the replacement dual microswitch, p/n 32 72 8 537 609.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11478959August 12, 2022
POWER TRAIN
The drive shaft on my 2016 BMW R1200 RTW failed while I was on I 69 northbound at speed of 75 mph. I am in possession of the failed components. The back wheel locked with no warning and the bike fishtailed dangerously while I was in heavy traffic. The local BMW dealership has replaced the driveshaft and connected universal joints.There was zero warning . The director of service at the dealership revealed that a needle bearing in the assembly failed. No one official has inspected the bike or failed components except the dealership that sold me the bike and has performed 100% of the required maintenance. According to the director of service at the dealership there is not any maintenance suggested or required in the manufacturers manual or dealer instruction for the component/assembly that failed. The dealership has informed me twice that I will be reimbursed for the repair order by the manufacturer. I have not been reimbursed to date 8/12/2022. I was riding that day with two engineers (degreed) and our belief after reviewing my components and other reports via the internet of similar drive train failures for this model bike is that this is a component/assembly with multiple failure modes
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11460528April 12, 2022
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
The bike is a 2008 BMW R1200RT. The throttle bodies for each cylinder has a plastic cam that is the point of attachment for the throttle cable. That plastic cam broke and completely detached from the bike. I was accelerating to merge into traffic on Interstate 64E at Corydon, IN. Once established in the right lane, the bike suddenly lost power and slowed rapidly while I was approached from the rear by a tractor trailer that had to apply brakes and continuously sounded his horn while abruptly maneuvering to the left lane to avoid me while I was attempting to assess what had just happened. This is a critical safety component and its failure has been documented countless number of times on various owner's group forums for this type of bike. One of which is linked here: https://www.bmwsporttouring.com/topic/91897-throttle-body-more-cracked-cable-camspulleys/ Another: https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?76036-Broken-Throttle-Body-Pulleys-2009-R1200RT/page5 It is apparent the plastic that this throttle body cam is made from deteriorates rapidly causing a significant safety risk. There are aftermarket replacements that are made from aluminum, but they are very expensive. I am asking for a safety recall and that BMW be made to replace these parts with a metal or a material that is less prone to failure.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11434688September 28, 2021
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP
The contact owns a 2005 BMW R 1200 RT. The contact stated while starting the motorcycle and it began to stall. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The motorcycle was not drivable. The motorcycle was towed to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the fuel pump needed to be replaced. The motorcycle was repaired. The contact stated that on 7/2021, he noticed fuel leaking from the fuel pump onto the engine. The contact called the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The motorcycle was not repaired but was pending repairs. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 13V617000 (Fuel System, Gasoline) however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 52,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11430640August 26, 2021
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
The contact owns a 2011 BMW R 1200 RT. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V471000 (Fuel System, Gasoline). The dealer was contacted and informed that the parts were not available. The contact called back the same dealer on two separate occasions and was informed that parts were still unavailable. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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