What BMW R 1250 RT owners have reported to NHTSA, the service bulletins the manufacturer sent dealers, and any federal defect investigations, by model year. See BMW R 1250 RT safety recalls or check your VIN.
Complaints owners filed with NHTSA, by the model year of the vehicle. A high count can also mean a popular year, so compare it with how many were sold.
| Year | Complaints | Crashes | Fires | Injured | Deaths | TSBs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 2021 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
| 2020 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 2019 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
The vehicle systems named most often in BMW R 1250 RT complaints (one complaint can name several).
In the owners’ own words, as filed with NHTSA. Unverified reports; NHTSA removes personal details before publishing.
Regarding headlight warnings and horn malfunction and/or other possible electrical safety issues. (in addition to previous entry for brake a malfunction) On a few occasions (in addition to the mentioned intermittent brake malfunction) the motorcycle "low beam" headlight has stopped on occasion giving a dash warning and reset on it's own and "possible" ground fault or some other codes but BMW NA has been unwilling to have the dealer do any diagnostic work to adequately determine any potential safety issues. Within the last month one of the horns has quit working, possibly shorted out. Due to parts not being available the dealer cannot repair the motorcycle. They will not diagnose until …
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.
On May 2, 2026 I was operating the vehicle at 60 mph on the interstate. There were absolutely no other vehicles in my line of sight or on the roaway anywhere near me. The motorcycle went into automatic breaking and the brakes appeared to activate all on their own and almost locked up. I immediately was able to pull over and smell the very strong smell of burning brakes. I shut off the motorcycle let it cool down and proceeded to the local dealer. The dealer had absolutely no idea what could have happened and did not have time or ability to look into it further at that time. They did observe that the rear brake caliper and disk appeared to be discolored and may have gotten very hot. They're …
Original owner, purchased July 2021. Adaptive cruise control (ACC) continues to drop off intermittently after numerous complaints to BMW service techs and BMW Customer Relations since new. Attempts to repair include dealer 'recalibration' and software updates none of which have solved the issue. When in use, ACC suddenly, without warning drops out leaving driver to actively recover previous speed (throttle). Not such a problem at lower speeds, however at highway speeds the dropout could be life-threatening. In my case, traveling the posted 85mph highway speed outside of Salt Lake City, the ACC dropped out. The sudden deceleration nearly threw me from the motorcycle as if I had suddenly b…
I believe the BMW configuration of the adaptive cruise control following distance selection might result in a rear end collision. I normally set the following distance to the longest setting, which corresponds to a two-second following distance (IMO, the minimum safe distance). I am fairly often caught off-guard by the system because the next time the bike is started, the following distance defaults to the *closest* following distance, and does so WITH NO visual warning in the instrument panel (the following distance is not displayed when cruise is set; it is displayed only after the distance control button on the left grip cluster is pressed). In my case, despite knowing this I still hav…
BMW Motorrad had a safety check on the driveshafts/ u joints for R1200 and R 1250 GS and RT motos. I had mine checked at D2 Powersports in Q3 or Q4, 2023 and it passed. No paperwork was given. On 3/28/24 the driveshaft / U joint failed on NC 178 south of Rosman, NC. Had this locked up in a corner it could have cause a wreck. The R1250RT was towed to D2 Powersports 10 hours later. D2 submitted a request for warranty repair or some financial help to BMW Motorrad. Request denied. I paid the entire $2677.96. BMW has SIB 33 04 23 out for K5X driveshaft maintenance schedule change published 12/12/23 and includes K52 R1250RT. My question, which BMW will not answer: Why …
Page 67 of the BMW Motorad Owners Manual describes operation of the "self," cancelling , "Comfort turn indicators" as follows: After the turn signal is pushed to the right or left, the turn signal indictors automatically turn off under the following conditions: -Speed is under 18mph; after a distance of 165Ft is covered. -Speed is between 18 mph and 60 mph: after a speed dependent distance is covered or during acceleration. -Speed is above 60 mph: after turn signal indicator flashes five times. The turn signals don't turn off as described above. The auto cancelling signals only turn off after a distance of approximately 1500 feet regardless of speed. This can create a dangerous situation a…
The contact owns a 2022 BMW R 1250 RT. The contact stated while riding 35 MPH, the motorcycle made a whistling sound. The motorcycle was taken to the dealer, and the dealer replaced the windscreen; however, the failure recurred. The motorcycle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 5.
Repair instructions and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about known issues. A TSB is not a recall, and the repair is usually free only while the car is under warranty; ask your dealer for the bulletin number.
Return Combination Switch
Some Take-down/Alley lights with part number 63 17 2 361 722, produced from 2023 onwards, may have a poor performing regulator. This can cause the lights to flicker.
After a quality inspection it was found that the âEmissions Controlâ and âNoiseâ labels contain incorrect data.
After a quality inspection it was found that the âEmissions Controlâ and âNoiseâ labels contain incorrect data.
Delivery Stop 330008 is now associated with 33 04 24 Service Action: Check Suspension Strut
After close inspection it has been found there was an issue during production of the suspension strut that the proportional valve in the suspension strut may loosen over the course of the service life. This results in a loss of damping function.
Due to a manufacturing fault, the proportional valve within the suspension strut may come loose over its lifetime. As a result, this can lead to a loss of the damping function.
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 âÃÂÃÂdischarged batteryâÃÂàcomplaints.
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.
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
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opens these when complaints point to a possible safety defect. Many end in a recall.
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
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation public data (complaints, manufacturer communications, investigations), model years 2010 and later. Had a safety problem? Report it to NHTSA.
In complaints filed with NHTSA for model years 2019–2024, owners most often name: service brakes, forward collision avoidance, electrical system. 23 complaints are on record.
No. A complaint is an unverified report from an owner. A technical service bulletin (TSB) is the manufacturer telling dealers how to fix a known issue; it is not a safety recall and is usually covered only under warranty. A recall is a formal safety action, and its repair is free.
File a vehicle safety complaint at NHTSA.gov. NHTSA reads every report, and patterns of complaints are what open defect investigations and, eventually, recalls.