Investigations
| NHTSA ID | Manufacturer | Date open | Date close | Subject | Recall campaign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - DIFFERENTIAL UNIT | ||||||
| DP12001 | BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC | 01/20/2012 | M/C final drive ball bearing failure | |||
| By letter dated 11-28-2011, christopher d. cimino of edmunds, wa, requested that nhtsa open an investigation into the repeated final drive bearing failure and possibly flawed assembly controls of the final drive unit on bmw k1200lt models...nhtsa's office of defects investigation (odi) is opening this investigation to examine mr. cimino's allegations and determine whether a safety-related defect trend currently exists involving final drive crown gear ball-bearing assembly failures on the subject motorcycles.the odi report cited above can be reviewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/complaints under the following identification (odi) number: 10439549 | ||||||
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 07/15/2010 | 30000 | ||
| The final drive leaked fluid on the rear wheel, the rear drive began to grind and seize. end of ride. | |||
| 05/15/2012 | 42000 | 1 | |
| Rear drive seal and bearings failed, leaking oil, loosing braking power, with tire wobble. *tr | |||
| 05/15/2012 | 42000 | ||
| Rear drive seal and bearings failed, leaking oil, loosing braking power, with tire wobble. | |||
| 09/24/2004 | 37290 | 2 | |
| This is same failure as described in odi no. 10439549, and currently being investigated under campaign dp12001. my 1999 k1200lt has had the final drive rebuilt twice and replaced totally once at bmw dealerships. the first time was a rebuild on 9/25/2004 at 37290 miles after the final drive started grinding. the next was 9/12/07 at 54929 miles with the same circumstances. the most recent was 8/28/2012 at 73001 miles after the final drive failed completely, leaking drive lubrication all over the rear wheel and disk brake. rear brakes subsequently failed as well. this happened at interstate speeds of 75mph. costs for rebuilds run $400-600 and the last repair/ replacement of final drive and brakes was $2023.00. my experience indicates that the drives only last 20-30,000 miles. i bought the bike with 11,000 miles on it and i do not know if the final drive had been replaced prior to my purchase. these failures have all been attributed to the faulty assembly of the final drives, which require a very careful measurement of a tapered wheel bearing preload. most rebuilds blame the failure on too much preload. newer designs by bmw have replaced the tapered bearing with a better design that does not require the exacting standards for preload. failures on these units have been drastically reduced. *tr | |||
| 09/24/2004 | 37290 | ||
| This is same failure as described in odi no. 10439549, and currently being investigated under campaign dp12001. my 1999 k1200lt has had the final drive rebuilt twice and replaced totally once at bmw dealerships. the first time was a rebuild on 9/25/2004 at 37290 miles after the final drive started grinding. the next was 9/12/07 at 54929 miles with the same circumstances. the most recent was 8/28/2012 at 73001 miles after the final drive failed completely, leaking drive lubrication all over the rear wheel and disk brake. rear brakes subsequently failed as well. this happened at interstate speeds of 75mph. costs for rebuilds run $400-600 and the last repair/ replacement of final drive and brakes was $2023.00. my experience indicates that the drives only last 20-30,000 miles. i bought the bike with 11,000 miles on it and i do not know if the final drive had been replaced prior to my purchase. these failures have all been attributed to the faulty assembly of the final drives, which require a very careful measurement of a tapered wheel bearing preload. most rebuilds blame the failure on too much preload. newer designs by bmw have replaced the tapered bearing with a better design that does not require the exacting standards for preload. failures on these units have been drastically reduced. | |||
| 07/17/2009 | 20500 | ||
| Final drive have being rebuilt one year earlier & again i lost control rear tire whithe rim start it wouvoling out control, bike weigth 840 pounds very difficult and with my wife on board thanks god we are alive. gold star bmw dealer in queens determine that i need a brand new final drive,i was very furtume to be alive; final drive it was total blown away into little pieces . repair cost around $1500.00 dollars. thanks luis g lopez | |||
| 06/17/2011 | 46000 | ||
| On june 17, 2011 the final drive of my 1999 bmw k1200lt started leaking gear oil from the crown bearing seal. the suspected cause is the crown bearing failure pushed the seal out of place and allowed the gear oil to leak on the rear brake disc and rear tire. this in turn caused the rear brake to fail due to oil on the brake pads and the rear tire to be unstable with oil on it. i replaced the rear drive in january 2012. | |||
| 07/27/2007 | 1 | ||
| Final drive failure on bmw k1200lt 1999 model. 37,000 miles. *jb | |||
| 05/15/2001 | 47000 | 04/27/1999 | |
| Rear drive failure, k1200lt bmw motorcycle. the rear drive on the motorcycle failed, causing the motorcycle to be inoperable. the bearing collapsed from inside out. the race holding the rollers broke in several places. *nlm | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY | |||
| 07/24/2004 | 32843 | 1 | 11/15/1999 |
| (1) 110 miles before failure, noticed a growling sound. rode this motorcycle with a passenger toward dealer 100 miles at 50 mph, then 10 miles at 40 mph as growling increased. stopped when rear wheel started wobbling, 30 miles away from dealer.*ak (2) rear drive of motorcycle failed. because i had heard problem and was aware, rear wheel did not lock up and cause accident. (3) entire rear drive replaced, after waiting 11 days 3000 miles from home for backordered part to arrive from germany. | |||
| 09/06/2003 | 42299 | 03/20/1999 | |
| Bearing failure in rear drive assembly of 1999 bmw k1200ltc motorcycle | |||
| 07/23/2002 | 1 | 07/01/2099 | |
| It's a big problem since many riders of this kind of bike have had and reported this failure to bmw. it's a safety issue because you lose control on your bike when it happens. many other big bikes don't have this kind of problem. bmw doens't assume it as a week constructions and after warranty doesn't stand behind. dt | |||
| 06/20/2002 | 1 | 02/01/2002 | |
| No summary listed for above motorcycle. *ak | |||
| 07/05/2002 | 1 | 03/01/2000 | |
| No summary for above vehicle. *ak | |||
| 04/21/2002 | 1 | 10/01/2099 | |
| This should be a recall before someone gets killed on all models. no safety defect listed. *ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY - AXLE SHAFT | |||
| 10/23/2001 | 1 | 08/01/2000 | |
| Final drive crown gear bearing defective.*ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE HUBS | |||
| 10/26/2007 | 76178 | 1 | 12/05/2005 |
| Rear drive failure. it's a pretty common occurrence. you can see the results of the online forums not-so-scientific results here: http://www.bmwlt.com/forums/survey.php?&do=results&sid=28 it sucks. i have to fork out a bunch of dough to fix something that bmw should have never made that way. *tr | |||
| 07/05/2002 | 39840 | 0 | 11/18/1999 |
| Rear drive bearing failure. *tt | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE | |||
| 05/08/2008 | 43700 | 1 | |
| My 1999 bmw k1200lt had a mysterious vibration coming from the rear wheel. i thought i may have a flat tire. stopped checked pressure, and all was fine. rode bike approximately 300 miles when the rear wheel began slipping and really felt like it was going to fall off. i depressed the rear brake lever, but it collapsed completely (i later learned why), no rear brakes. i managed to get the motorcycle stopped, and i could immediately tell what the problem was. there was final drive oil leaking from the final drive of the motorcycle onto the rear brake caliper, and onto the rear tire. this would explain why the wheel felt like it was 'coming off'. additionally, the dealer explained that the reason the brake peddle had to be 'pumped up' was that the rear wheel was vibrating back and forth opening the caliper. this is the second time this issue has happened on this motorcycle. the previous final drive bearing was replace approximately 14 thousand miles earlier, by a bmw mechanic. *tr | |||
| 11/07/2003 | 46165 | 1 | 03/13/1999 |
| Bmw k1200lt motorcycle rear drive failure. rear wheel bearing failed without warning.*ak | |||
| 08/08/2003 | 43700 | 1 | |
| 1999 bmw k1200lti rear drive failure. *ak | |||
| 08/13/2003 | 42500 | 1 | 12/14/1999 |
| Rear drive failed on bmw k1200lt motorcycle. bearing in rear drive of shaft drive motorcycle has failed causing grinding noise, making vehicle unridable.*ak | |||
| 07/27/2003 | 85000 | 1 | 06/11/1999 |
| Bmw k1200lt motorcycle - final drive went out. the final drive starting making noise then dumped all fluid onto the rear brake and tire. *ak | |||
| 07/16/2001 | 16000 | 2 | 05/16/1999 |
| Suffered a rear drive assy failure on a 1999 bmw k1200lt-c, between 14-16k miles. *ak | |||
| 06/09/2003 | 35120 | 1 | 03/15/1999 |
| 1999 bmw motorcycle, rear drive failure allowing oil to leak onto rear tire and rear brake pads and rotor. *nlm | |||
| 09/15/2001 | 1 | ||
| Rear drive failed at 65-70 mph, mileage was 27500.*jb | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - DIFFERENTIAL UNIT | |||
| 06/14/2006 | 37000 | 1 | 06/05/2003 |
| Two bearings in the rear end assembly of my 1999 bmw k1200ltc failed and needed to be replaced at 37k. the dealership in seattle that repaired the bike would not cover any of the repair costs involved. *jb | |||
| 09/02/2005 | 57400 | 1 | 03/01/2005 |
| Dt: the rear differential unit went out on the motorcycle. gear oil leaked out all over the rear tire. the motorcycle was being driven home from the store. there was a rubbing sound, then there was a wobble in the rear tire. the owner stopped immediately. there was no prior warning of the impending failure. there was no accident. *jb | |||
| 07/01/2003 | 32000 | 1 | 03/20/1999 |
| Bmw k1200lt rear drive failure. 32000 miles rear crown bearing failed on extended trip.*ak | |||
| 09/07/2002 | 70 | 01/05/2000 | |
| Rear drive failure on 1999 bmwk1200lt motorcycle | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - DRIVESHAFT | |||
| 07/25/2002 | 1 | 09/01/2099 | |
| No summary listed for above motorcycle. *ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - UNIVERSAL JOINT | |||
| 04/08/1999 | 5000 | 1 | 03/01/1998 |
| Rear end final drive failed on my '99 bmw k1200lt motorcycle. there was no real warning other than a severe grinding noise. i was able to ride home (slowly) and then noted the rear tire was no longer straight up but had a severe wobble. i then had it towed to the dealer who fixed it. bob, pls note, the incident date below is an approximation - it's been a while. (i heard you speak at the ra rally in shelbyville - very good job!) *nm | |||
| POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION | |||
| 08/08/2001 | 26000 | 1 | 03/31/2000 |
| The rear drive assembly on my bmw k1200lt motorcycle started vibrating and making grinding noises. it then dumped drive oil all over the rear wheel and tire, causing the rear brakes to become inoperative and the rear tire to slip on the road. i was fortunately able to bring the bike under control and to a complete stop thus avoiding a serious crash.*ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION - FLOOR SHIFT ASSEMBLY | |||
| 06/26/2003 | 28000 | 1 | 06/27/2002 |
| Shift linkage broke on 1999 bmw k1200 lt icon motorcycle. vin wb10555a1xzd70170. *ak | |||