2019 BMW R 1250 RT

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this Preliminary Evaluation (PE) on April 1st, 2020 to investigate six consumer complaint allegations of brake fluid leaking from the front brake calipers on their 2019-2020 model year (MY) BMW R1250 motorcycles. At the closing date of this investigation, the number of ODI complaints has risen to fourteen.During the investigation, ODI contacted several consumers to validate and confirm their complaints.ODI learned from these conversations that the subject motorcycles were leaving brake fluid puddles on or near the front tires. One consumer forwarded pictures of a subject motorcycle leaking brake fluid on a BMW dealer showroom floor. In response to an ODI Information Request (IR) letter, BMW supplied ODI with 139 dealer field reports. Many of them also described leaking brake calipers that failed at 0 to 4 miles shown on the bike odometer. ODI was also able to gather pictures from BMW related to the field reports and they too showed calipers leaking brake fluid. BMW disclosed in the IR response that they switched to a Hayes designed and manufactured front caliper starting with MY 2019 of the subject motorcycles. The previous model years used Brembo manufactured calipers. ODI analyzed warranty claims and production data provided by BMW. ODI found that 1,169 vehicles were repaired for front brake caliper leaks. A total of 838 subject vehicles were repaired before the date of first sale.The motorcycles, found to be leaking and serviced prior to the date of first sale, appeared to be in violation of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 122 for ?Motorcycle Brake Systems?, under Section 5.2.3. The FMVSS requires that ?during all tests and on their completion, there shall be no friction material detachment and no leakage of brake fluid. Discussions between the NHTSA Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance and BMW resulted in the manufacturer recalling MY 2019-2020 R1250 GS, GS Adventure and R1250 RT, 2020 S1000 RR and S1000 XR motorcycles for front brake calipers leaking when parked, failing to comply with the requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 122, Motorcycle Brake Systems.As part of the safety recall, BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect, and if necessary, replace the front brake calipers with an improved design free of charge. The recall is expected to begin October 6, 2020.Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.This Preliminary Evaluation has been closed with a voluntary safety recall released by the manufacturer (20V-471).The ODI reports cited above can be reviewed at: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID using the following complaint identification numbers: 11340459, 11319970, 11320627, 11311740, 11319565, 11319858, 11311520, 11308994, 11323486, 11316146, 11319832, 11319554, 11322813, 11308930.

When I purchased the motorcycle as a demo the front fender was loose from the fittings/placement. I repaired it and reported it to the BMW dealer. In the years that I have owned this motorcycle I have had to repair the same issue at least three times. I believe the dealer has also repaired it at least once after my complaint. Please see pictures attached. This is a serious safety issue as the Fender may come loose and interfere with the rotation of the front tire, resulting in an accident, or worse, injury.

NHTSA ID

11738171

Incident

May 15, 2026

Hill Start Control malfunction this feature Hold the bike when it comes to a stop uphill or downhill of 5' degree gradient or more for max 2.5 minute, when auto mode on the brake will automatically hold the bike when it comes to a stop on a gradient and release when cultch lever release bike take off, when hill hold suddenly release without warning the bike roll backward or forward depending on the situation cause crash because your hand or foot are not on the brake you rely on HSC. My 2019 BMW R1250RT HSC stop working at 15000 miles at that time intermittently once or twice a month as time goes on it getting more frequently now happen every time at any gradient and random time will release the brake suddenly from 2,3,5,10,15,20,25 seconds very annoying and scary when I'm on a uphill, at 30000 miles I bring my bike in for repair for the first time, dealer program it works for two week and stop working, second time program again I could not make it home HSC not working, 3rd time they bleed the brake system and told me the bike works as design no fault in abs system because I had the auto HSC on cause this complaint. The fact is HSC not working with auto mode turn on or off, when I pickup my bike the manager rode test and verified HSC not working in both mode, the next day dealer call me they going to order the ABS module it took two months. Fourth repair 10/13/21 replace the ABS module/pump I pickup the bike did not make it home HSC not working. I almost crash/drop my bike many times, No warring light on dash, I ride my bike seven days a week now 42000 miles on the odometer.

NHTSA ID

11437250

Incident

Feb 1, 2020

Purchased 2019 BMW R1250RT on August 1, 2019. Noticed brake fluid leaking from day one but really didn't think anything of it at first. Fast forward to December 2020 and was doing a routine search on another vehicle and I thought I should check for recalls on my bike. Thats when I found Recall Campaign No: 20V-476. Bike has been sitting in garage ever since with 920 miles on it. I paid over 27,000.00 grand total. I took the bike to the dealer yesterday and asked about repairs and owner told me BMW are replacing brake rotors with Brembo brakes. Ok, great do it! Owner states that they are not available. I asked him if he and BMW were going to buy my bike back given that I cant ride it or sell it. He stated that I would have to take it up with BMW Corporation. I finally decided to just sell it to him at $17000.00. So now I am going after BMW for the other $10,000.00.

NHTSA ID

11420550

Incident

Dec 23, 2020

EXISTING NHTSA RECALL NUMBER IS 20V476 RECALL WAS STARTED AUG 2020. BMW ISSUED STOP SALE ON MY MODEL AND RELATED MODELS. FOUND OUT DURING SERVICE OCT 2020 THAT MY BIKE WAS AFFECTED. BMW TODAY MARCH 4TH 2021 TOLD ME THEY DON'T HAVE A DATE FOR REPLACEMENT BRAKE PARTS. I CANNOT TRADE OR SELL THIS BIKE WITH THIS RECALL AND BMW HAS NO REMEDY. BMW HAS HAD MORE THAN ENOUGH TIME TO FIX THIS RECALL PERMANENTLY AND AS SUCH I THINK THEY SHOULD BE FORCED TO BUY BACK CUSTOMER'S MOTORCYCLES. EXISTING NHTSA RECALL NUMBER IS 20V476

NHTSA ID

11399085

Incident

Oct 31, 2020

Mileage

3,662 mi

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2019 BMW R 1250 RT. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 20V476000 (SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC, SERVICE BRAKES) HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE RECALL REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO GO AZ MOTORCYCLES (15500 N HAYDEN RD, SCOTTSDALE, AZ 85260; (480)609-1800) WHERE IT WAS CONFIRMED THAT THE PART WAS NOT YET AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER HAD EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE.

NHTSA ID

11396660

Incident

Nov 4, 2020

LEAKING BREAK CALIPERS AFTER 618 MILES. THE ISSUE WAS DISCOVERED DURING MY INITIAL 600 MILE MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE. BMW IS SELLING THESE BIKES WITH KNOW BREAK ISSUE THAT AFFECTS THE R1250RT AND R1250GS MODELS. BMW HAS ISSUED A SERVICE BULLETIN, BUT HAS NOT SELLING THESE BIKE OR ISSUED A RECALL. NEW REPLACEMENT CALIPERS HAVE BEEN ORDER FOR 30 DAY NOW. NEW CALIPERS WILL HAVE DIFFERENT PART NUMBER DUE TO THE ORIGINAL PART HAVING A FAULTING DESIGN AS I UNDERSTAND IT.

NHTSA ID

11319565

Incident

Feb 29, 2020

Mileage

618 mi

I PURCHASED THE MOTORCYCLE IN EARLY MARCH 2020. I LEFT THE MOTORCYCLE ON ITS CENTER AT MY RELATIVE'S RESIDENCE, IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. TWO AND A HALF WEEKS LATER I RETURNED TO MY RELATIVE'S RESIDENCE TO RETRIEVE IT AND NOTICED AN ACCUMULATION OF BRAKE FLUID ON THE FRONT WHEEL, AT THE 6 O'CLOCK POSITION. I CLEANED THE FLUID AND INSPECTED THE BRAKE CALIPER. I DID NOT THINK OF TAKING PHOTOS OF MY FINDINGS AT THE TIME. I RETURNED HOME WITH THE MOTORCYCLE. ON 3-27-2020 I RODE THE MOTORCYCLE TO THE BMW MOTORCYCLES OF CONCORD, CA. THE TECHNICIAN INSPECTED THE FRONT BRAKE CALIPERS AND CONFIRMED BOTH CALIPERS HAD EVIDENCE OF FLUID LEAKAGE. I WAS TOLD BY BECKY, A SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE, BMW IS AWARE OF THE ISSUE BUT DOESN'T HAVE THE PARTS TO FIX THE PROBLEM AT THIS MOMENT. FOR THE SAFETY OF OTHERS, IT IS IMPERATIVE THE POWERS THAT BE, WHETHER BMW OR NHTSA, LAUNCH AN OFFICIAL RECALL FOR THIS POTENTIAL GRAVE DEFECT.

NHTSA ID

11319554

Incident

Mar 22, 2020

Mileage

6,300 mi

IN JANUARY 2020, I WAS ADDING SOME ACCESSORIES TO MY BIKE IN THE GARAGE AND NOTICED BRAKE FLUID ON THE BOTTOMS OF THE FRONT BRAKE CALIPERS. UPON FURTHER INSPECTION, THE BRAKE MOUNTING BRACKETS AT THE END OF THE FORKS WERE STAINED FROM LEAKING FLUID. I REPORTED IT TO THE DEALER, EUROCYCLES OF SONOMA. THEY HAD ME BRING IN THE BIKE ON FEBRUARY 8TH. ACCORDING TO THE SERVICE TECH, THEY TOOK THE CALIPERS APART AND REPLACED SEALS AND PISTONS FOLLOWED BY PRESSURE TESTING. THEY INFORMED ME THAT THE FRONT CALIPERS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. I WAS TOLD THE REPLACEMENTS WOULD ARRIVE IN THE 9TH WEEK OF 2020. I JUST FOLLOWED UP(3-4-20) WITH THE SERVICE DEPT AND THEY ARE STILL ON BACK ORDER WITH A NEW ETA OF THE 2ND WEEK OF MARCH. ON THE BMW RIDERS FORUMS, MANY 2019 R SERIES OWNERS ARE REPORTING LEAKING BRAKES.

NHTSA ID

11316146

Incident

Feb 8, 2020

Mileage

300 mi

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.

Vehicle goes into emergency operation mode and a warning light illuminates on the instrument cluster.

Multiple factors may cause the driveshaft to become damaged; among them are corrosion in certain parts ofthe driveshaft, and wear and tear exacerbated by certain climatic conditions.

Frame and mounting parts

BMW Motorrad is aware of a number of cases in which the screw connections of the Paralever link and/or the rear brake caliper have loosened in customer vehicles while driving.

Multiple factors may cause the driveshaft to become damaged; among them are corrosion in certain parts of the driveshaft, and wear and tear exacerbated by certain climatic conditions.