BMW R1200 RT brake failure problems

Filed May 10, 2018 · Transmission · 24,564 miles · TX

Catastrophic failure of the rear differential (final drive). The drive began making grinding and squealing noises. I then felt the rear wheel loosing traction. I pulled to the shoulder immediately. I noticed at that time a brake failure warning light illuminated on the instrument panel. My rear brake was ineffective. Upon examining the drive area there was gear oil all over the rear brake caliper, disc and rear wheel, including the tire. The final drive was serviced approximately 1200 miles prior to this failure, it had been filled with the correct viscosity oil at the recommended level of 180cc. At that time there were no metallic shaving of any kind visible in the oil that was drained from the drive. The failure occurred on texas state highway 6 in a rural area.

Filed Jan 12, 2017 · Brakes · 22,000 miles · TX

The brake failure light came on, bmw shop said ABS unit is bad $2000 fix. On many bmw motorcycle forums there are many ABS unit failures. Bmw knows about these failures but does nothing.

Filed Aug 17, 2016 · Brakes · 26,000 miles · PA

Brake failure light came on while riding. Investigation by mechanic shows ABS has failed. Bike only has 26,000 miles. This is unacceptable and should be a recall based on information and reports on the various lists and boards I participate on. Fault codes 24048 (ABS pump motor defective) and 24049 (power supply to pump motor faulty). This is a design defect and based on it being an integral braking system failure should be recalled and repaired by manufacturer.

Filed Sep 22, 2015 · Brakes · 48,150 miles · CA

When I began a ride the red ABS brake failure warning light came on and remained on. A shop read the code to determine the cause as ABS pump motor failure. I learned through on-line research that it is a common problem relating to poor design of the ABS pump motor brushes that fail to make good contact resulting in a low voltage situation and pump failure. The result - the ABS system does not work. The estimated cost of replacing the unit is approx. $2200. The mechanic tapped on the motor housing and freed up the brushes but it was a temporary fix that lasted about 200 miles. It then became an intermittent problem for about 400 miles before it went back to being the constant problem that I am now forced to fix or ride without ABS brakes. This is a well known and documented problem but bmw has not admitted any problems related to design of the unit. The problem appears to be in the way the brushes slide in a grooved guide or key way . Apparently the grooves get dirty and the brushes hang up and don't reach the proper position for good contact with the motor armature if I understand it correctly. Modulemaster in moscow, idaho, rebuilds the units and provides a 5 yr guarantee. They seem to be quite busy with these units. My mechanic actually sent in 2 of them at the same time. The second unit was from a gs model. And there are other models experiencing the same issue. It is my opinion that the federal safety agency needs to take a look at this issue and cause bmw to fix the poor design and eliminate the problem of ABS failure. Documented evidence of the scope of the problem can be found through sites such as forums.bmwmoa.org, www.xs-adventure.com, www.I-bmw.com.

Filed Feb 14, 2015 · Brakes · 24,080 miles · OR

About 1 year ago, the 'brake failure" light came on the dashboard of my bmw r1200rt motorcycle. Even though the brakes seem to work fine, I pretty much stopped using the motorcycle because I was afraid of it. Because of inactivity, the engine wouldn't start so I rented a u-haul trailer and brought the bike to a bmw dealer so they could get it running again. Because I hadn't used the bike for awhile, I forgot to tell them about the brake failure light. When they test rode my bike, they saw the light and tried to reset (clear) a code to see if it would fix it. The code would not reset or clear. They then told me that this brake failure light indicates that the ABS system is no longer working. I was told the part to fix it cost about $2,500. I feel this should be something that bmw should repair as it is a safety issue out of my control. Is bmw responsible to repair this problem?

Filed Oct 25, 2014 · Brakes · 35,000 miles · KY

Traveling at highway speed, ABS system failed, which showed up as a "brake failure" light on console. Abs pump controller failed. After initial failure, the "brake failure" light would come on intermittently. I don't know if this indicated intermittent failure or something else. Front wheel or rear wheel would lock up instead of the ABS system overriding and controlling the brake. On a bike this is particularly dangerous.

Filed Aug 21, 2014 · Brakes · 232 miles · IL

At that low mileage a few months after purchase of the motorcycle I was alerted to "brake failure" lamp on instrument cluster. I was told by dealer (who was in new jersey - bike was shipped to chicago) that this fault would probably disappear after some more use of bike. I was assured that brake functions were not affected. The fault code supplied by a local dealer was at 232 miles and it was 005 dfo pump motor voltage supply. I had the bike stored for several years after that and it now has less than 400 miles on it. The fault is still there and I am told that I would need a new ABS module ($2000 plus for the part and $500 for the labor) the latest fault code reading at 288 miles was "009309 kombi under tension" due to the lapse of time since purchase I understand bmw's hesitancy of warranty repair, however after conversing with other bmw r1200rt owners of bikes of 2007-2012 vintage, I see that virtually all r1200rt bikes were affected by this problem. I am told, that the main reason for this internal ABS module fault is the fact that the brushes inside the pump motor do not have strong enough springs pushing them against the pump rotor. This causes pitting on the rotor, etc. This clearly is a manufacturer's flaw and since ABS brakes are an important part of the riding safety of this bike, it is definitely a cause of concern.

Filed Jul 31, 2014 · Acceleration, Brakes · 7,806 miles · NC

I was cruising along on my bmw r1200 rt at the 70mph speed limit when all the sudden the brake failure light flashed repeatedly on the dash, along with a red warning triangle. I immediately look for the next exit, but before I get to the exit, I encounter a heavy rain. When I try to slow the bike, the brakes are numb, and very difficult to press. This causes an immediate panic, but I'm able to slow the bike after a very long interval. I park the bike and read the owners manual about the failure. It is described as a serious failure which will cause the servo assist to be deactivated, but the bike is still rideable. Since I was over 300 miles from home, I attempted to manage the problem as the manual recommended. The bike is basically unrideable and not controllable when this error appears. There is no way to control your stop, and this is nothing like just losing your ABS, and having to resort to regular brakes. This is like having about 30% of your brakes available! Which is terrifying. I don't know why this system is designed this way,or why bmw would suggest it's okay to continue to ride in this manner. I felt like my chances of being in an accident were increased by 120%. This braking system is dangerous. So much so, that I found out that bmw discontinued its use after the 2006 production and went with a totally new system. This system was only used for 2 years on the r1200rt. I would love to know why this system wasn't recalled, and what bmw knows about the failure potential. Maybe that's why they discontinued it. I felt my life was put in danger by riding this motorcycle. Bmw should be held accountable.

Filed Jun 28, 2014 · Acceleration · 8,735 miles · NC

I was cruising along on my bmw r1200 rt at the 70mph speed limit when all the sudden the brake failure light flashed repeatedly on the dash, along with a red warning triangle. I immediately look for the next exit, but before I get to the exit, I encounter a heavy rain. When I try to slow the bike, the brakes are numb, and very difficult to press. This causes an immediate panic, but I'm able to slow the bike after a very long interval. I park the bike and read the owners manual about the failure. It is described as a serious failure which will cause the servo assist to be deactivated, but the bike is still rideable. Since I was over 300 miles from home, I attempted to manage the problem as the manual recommended. The bike is basically unrideable and not controllable when this error appears. There is no way to control your stop, and this is nothing like just losing your ABS, and having to resort to regular brakes. This is like having about 30% of your brakes available! Which is terrifying. I don't know why this system is designed this way,or why bmw would suggest it's okay to continue to ride in this manner. I felt like my chances of being in an accident were increased by 120%. This braking system is dangerous. So much so, that I found out that bmw discontinued its use after the 2006 production and went with a totally new system. This system was only used for 2 years on the r1200rt. I would love to know why this system wasn't recalled, and what bmw knows about the failure potential. Maybe that's why they discontinued it. I felt my life was put in danger by riding this motorcycle. Bmw should be held accountable. Thanks.

Filed Jan 2, 2014 · Brakes · 44,511 miles · NC

The ABS and rear braking system failed. This was indicated by an instrument panel red warning light, "brake failure". As a result of this failure, the rear wheel brake did not operate as designed (integral brakes) and the ABS system was non-functional. The scanned codes state that the power supply to pump motor is faulty.