RoadVitals

2023 BMW F850GS

Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
2
Latest Jun 9, 2024
Safety recallsA safety recall is issued when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle has a safety-related defect or does not comply with a federal motor vehicle safety standard. Recall repairs are free. Whether a specific vehicle is covered depends on its VIN — a recall listed for a model year does not necessarily apply to every vehicle of that year.
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InvestigationsNHTSA opens an investigation to examine whether a safety defect may exist. An open investigation is not a determination that a defect exists, and many investigations close without a recall. Investigations can, however, lead to one.
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Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
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Overview

Our database contains 2 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2023 BMW F850GS, most frequently naming the brakes, engine and powertrain (other) categories. 7 manufacturer communications are on file.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

What owners report

Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded

  • Brakes133.3%
  • Engine133.3%
  • Powertrain (other)133.3%

Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.

Safety recalls

No recalls in our database for this model year

That does not guarantee a specific vehicle is unaffected — recalls are issued against VINs, and new campaigns are announced regularly. Check a VIN on NHTSA.gov.

Recent owner complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words

EnginePowertrain (other)
Filed Jun 9, 2024

New 2023 BMW F850GSA Motorcycle purchased in April of 2023. Clutch lever often sticks as it engages with the engine causing the motorcycle to lurch forward when attempting to take off from a stop. Nearly struck by another vehicle stopped behind. Problem confirmed by dealership and manufacturer. No warning indicators activated. This situation was observed from the day I took delivery. Was advised that a clutch adjustment was all that was needed. However, the condition continued. The clutch would stick about 80 percent of the time and caused the motorcycle to stall numerous times when trying to move away from intersections. Dealer advised to drive for a while thinking that it would get better. It did not. Motorcycle was at the dealership many times for this concern. I filed a concern with BMW and was told in writing that the sticking clutch was normal? In October 2023, I delivered the motorcycle to the dealer as they requested for a comprehensive investigation. Service Technicians confirmed that there was a problem and has seen this in other units sold at their store. The technician installed a go-pro camera system on my motorcycle and sent the video to BMW in Germany. BMW acknowledged that there is a problem. A complete Clutch basket system was replaced and the motorcycle was returned to me in November after the riding season ended declaring that it was repaired. In the spring of this year (2024), it appeared that about 90 percent of the sticking clutch was successfully repaired. After adding another 1K miles, it appears that the problem has returned and occurs about 50 percent of the time while pulling away from a stop. In conclusion, a clutch that sticks just as it engages with the engine is a serious safety hazard and could easily cause a crash and or injury when trying to take off! All other related repair/concern documents were not made available to me from the dealer or manufacturer.

NHTSA ID
11593272
Incident
Jun 2, 2024
Brakes
Filed Aug 7, 2023

While driving the motorcycle I lose the ability to pull in the front brake for a few seconds. When I pulled in the clutch to slow down the ABS and Traction Control error lights went off. At this moment I was able to pull the front brake again. I immediately took the bike in for service. The technician said the speed sensor was backing out of the bike and applied loctite. First, the speed sensor did not have loctite so it could come loose. Second, a failure of ABS should NEVER affect the ability to apply the brake. I was very lucky I was able to get out of traffic and be able to slow down. It could have been a serious injury

NHTSA ID
11536911
Incident
Jul 15, 2023

Manufacturer communications

A bulletin sent by a manufacturer to its dealers. Not a recall, and repairs are not necessarily free.

MCAS3126

SERVICE BRAKES

Brake Pedal Return

MCAS1726

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM; EXTERIOR LIGHTING

Return Combination Switch

MC320124

POWER TRAIN

Stiff clutch cable movement at PDI and or before delivery to the customer.

MC340124

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Due to an internal time offset in the communication of the control units fault entry “0X480688 ABS: Vehicleencoding faulty (ABS: Vehicle encoding faulty)”. May appear after programming the ABS. The fault memory cannot be deleted even after resetting the variant and or setting the variant again has been carried out without success.

B611305

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

The electrical system of BMW vehicles has been subject to an ongoing development process over the last few years. This has led to increased demands being placed on the battery. This document covers important information for the dealer on how to handle “discharged battery” complaints.

MCAS4023

POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT

BMW AG has requested the inspection of all dealer stock of the following part number(s) listed below to ensure the spacer is conformed to drawing.

Manufacturers file copies of the bulletins they send to dealers with NHTSA. These often describe diagnostic or repair procedures for a known condition. They are not recalls: repairs described in a bulletin are usually only free if the vehicle is still under warranty or the manufacturer has extended coverage.

Compare model years

Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model

BMW F850GS by model year
YearComplaintsRecallsInvestigationsIssue Index
2023Viewing200—
2021100—
2020010—
2019110—

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.