RoadVitals

2002 BMW K Series Problems

Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component

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 20, 2025
Components namedHow many of our component categories appear on at least one report for this model year. One report can name several.
2
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.
1

What this page shows

Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 2002 BMW K Series, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.

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

Reports by component

Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category

  • Fuel system266.7%
  • Engine133.3%

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

Each component in detail

What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words

Fuel system

Reports naming fuel storage or delivery — tanks, pumps, lines, injectors and fuel leaks.

2
reports

From owner reports, verbatim

Approximately on Nov 25, 2024, my BMW K1200RS started on fire. I backed out of my garage and driveway onto the street. I started it up, and within a couple minutes it began smoking. I turned if off immediately and looked under the front of the bike and saw flames. I ran into my house and grabbed my fire extinguisher, and put out the flames. I had help pushing it back into my garage. About a week later I took off the left side panel and reviewed the damage. I put in a claim to my insurance. The agent that contacted me acted as if it was my fault and did this on purpose without saying so. I would agree to having the company take it away. I did not believe I would ever see it again if I complied. I canceled my claim and decided to repair it myself. It tool me 4 months to get parts and repair it. It was a very difficult job. I took many photos to document the damage. I contacted BMW about it because I discovered that others that owned the same model or very similar model with the same engine also had the same problem with about the same mileage and same year. I sent photos to a BMW representative that had its team review the photos. I did this because I think that it needed to know and investigate. After a month later, the representative contacted me, and told me they did not determine anything. I was told that since I repaired the bike, they could not make any determination. My photos were enough to show the cause, which I still have. My conclusion is that one of the fuel injectors had cracked somewhere and the voltage connection to the injector started the fire. Even though I was able to save the bike, the flames had burned many parts including the wiring harness on the left side. This was not a maintenance issue. I did my own oil changes, etc. I owned this for over 5 years, and was the 3rd owner. I believe that the injector was faulty. This should be investigated. I have photos to prove my claim. This could have caused an explosion.

NHTSA ID 11668176 · filed Jun 20, 2025

HI, I HAVE A BMW K1200RS AND IT HAS A FUEL LINE QUICK DISCONNECT.. THIS WAS ALREADY A RECALL, THE NUMBER OF THE RECALL IS: NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 04V028000 NATSA ACTION NUMBER: PE03054 OK THIS RECALL WAS DONE ON MY BIKE ON 6/4/2004. BUT THE THING IS THE SAME PROBLEM IS BACK.. I HAVE A FINE MIST OF GAS SPRAYING OFF THE SIDE OF MY BIKE ONLY WHEN IT IS RUNNING... THIS IS A HUGE FIREBOMB WAITING TO HAPPEN.. THE FIX FOR THE RECALL DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM... IF YOU GO ON THIS WEBSITE, BMW FORUM, YOU WILL SEE THAT DOZENS OF PEOPLE ARE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM.. SOMEBODY WILL GET KILLED FROM THIS..... PLEASE HELP!!!! THE BMW DEALER SAID IT WAS FIXED AND WILL NOT FIX IT AGAIN??? *TR

NHTSA ID 10435286 · filed Nov 11, 2011

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Engine

Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

Approximately on Nov 25, 2024, my BMW K1200RS started on fire. I backed out of my garage and driveway onto the street. I started it up, and within a couple minutes it began smoking. I turned if off immediately and looked under the front of the bike and saw flames. I ran into my house and grabbed my fire extinguisher, and put out the flames. I had help pushing it back into my garage. About a week later I took off the left side panel and reviewed the damage. I put in a claim to my insurance. The agent that contacted me acted as if it was my fault and did this on purpose without saying so. I would agree to having the company take it away. I did not believe I would ever see it again if I complied. I canceled my claim and decided to repair it myself. It tool me 4 months to get parts and repair it. It was a very difficult job. I took many photos to document the damage. I contacted BMW about it because I discovered that others that owned the same model or very similar model with the same engine also had the same problem with about the same mileage and same year. I sent photos to a BMW representative that had its team review the photos. I did this because I think that it needed to know and investigate. After a month later, the representative contacted me, and told me they did not determine anything. I was told that since I repaired the bike, they could not make any determination. My photos were enough to show the cause, which I still have. My conclusion is that one of the fuel injectors had cracked somewhere and the voltage connection to the injector started the fire. Even though I was able to save the bike, the flames had burned many parts including the wiring harness on the left side. This was not a maintenance issue. I did my own oil changes, etc. I owned this for over 5 years, and was the 3rd owner. I believe that the injector was faulty. This should be investigated. I have photos to prove my claim. This could have caused an explosion.

NHTSA ID 11668176 · filed Jun 20, 2025

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

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.

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .