2001 BMW K1200LT
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
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Vehicles › BMW › K1200LT › 2001
These records cover every 2001 BMW K1200LT. To see whether one car still needs a recall repair, decode its VIN or check it with NHTSA.
Owner complaints
25 complaints1 involved a fire
What owners report most
Latest complaints
- Power train › Driveline › Differential unit
TL* the contact owns a 2001 BMW k1200 LT motorcycle. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph, he felt a slight vibration. After pulling over her noticed that there was an oil leak on the rear tire. The motorcycle was taken to a dealer where they advised him that the bearings had…
TL* the contact owns a 2001 BMW k1200 LT motorcycle. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph, he felt a slight vibration. After pulling over her noticed that there was an oil leak on the rear tire. The motorcycle was taken to a dealer where they advised him that the bearings had failed and caused the seal to fracture, causing the leak. The motorcycle was repaired for the bearings and the seal. The manufacturer was not contacted. the failure mileage was approximately 45,151. updated 04/10/12*lj the differential bearing and seal had to be replaced. Updated 04/16/12
- Power train
I had the same failure as described in odi no. 10439549, and > currently being investigated under campaign dp12001. gear oil leaked. this failure happened 850 miles from home and had to be towed home. *kb
- Power train · Power train › Driveline › Differential unit · Wheels
2001 BMW k1200lt. Request for investigation into BMW motorcycle final drive failures *tgw the consumer stated when he attempted to bring the motorcycle to a safe stop, he discovered the rear brakes did not work, which forced him to use the front brakes only, which extended his stopping distance.…
2001 BMW k1200lt. Request for investigation into BMW motorcycle final drive failures *tgw the consumer stated when he attempted to bring the motorcycle to a safe stop, he discovered the rear brakes did not work, which forced him to use the front brakes only, which extended his stopping distance. he was able to bring the bike to a safe stop without incident. upon inspection, he realized the rear brakes failed because they were saturated in gear oil, that leaked from the final drive unit after the final drive bearing seal failed. the final gear crown gear bearing failed, causing metal parts to be crushed between the spinning gears, tearing the seal and allowing the oil to leak. The consumer stated it was the second time the final drive bearing failed on his bike. *jb updated 12/13/11*jb updated 01/05/12.*jb ...updated 01/31/12 *bf updated 02/03/12
- Service brakes, hydraulic › Antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip
Service brakes, hydraulic: antilock on a 2001 BMW. *Tr
- Service brakes, hydraulic
Unexpected failure of rear bearing on 2001 BMW k1200lt motorcycle. Rear bearing oil seal also failed, causing oil leakage onto tires and braking surfaces. Vehicle was able to was removed from service immediately after failure, before oil impaired braking abilities. Bearing and housing will be replaced. *Tr
- Service brakes, hydraulic
I noticed my bike tires seemed to be out of balance, a noticeable vibration especially at lower speeds. I had the tires checked and ended up replacing them. The problem seemed to move to the rear of the bike after replacing the tires, with a vibration in the footpegs and while accelerating from a…
I noticed my bike tires seemed to be out of balance, a noticeable vibration especially at lower speeds. I had the tires checked and ended up replacing them. The problem seemed to move to the rear of the bike after replacing the tires, with a vibration in the footpegs and while accelerating from a stop it felt as if the rear tire was flat. I checked the suspension and set it to the proper preload on the rear shock but the vibration persisted. I searched on the web and found where other BMW motorcycle riders with shaft drive had experienced similar problems when their rear drive bearing went out. I had the motorcycle towed to the dealership where they diagnosed the problem as a rear drive failure. *Tr
- Power train › Driveline
BMW motorcycle k1200lt final drive failed 300 miles from home. Had to rent a car to get home and then back again to pick motorcycle up. Out of pocket cost of repairs and transportation $700. *Tr
- Service brakes, hydraulic › Antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip
Component failure, hydraulic brakes: antilock final drive failure BMW k1200lt motorcycle
- Power train › Driveline › Differential unit
I own a 2001 BMW k1200lt motorcycle. I maintain it very well and change lubricants ahead of schedule. my wife and I were riding the motorcycle not far from our home when we felt a roughness and vibration that worsened and worsened. Hearing that these bikes are notorious for a failed bearing in the…
I own a 2001 BMW k1200lt motorcycle. I maintain it very well and change lubricants ahead of schedule. my wife and I were riding the motorcycle not far from our home when we felt a roughness and vibration that worsened and worsened. Hearing that these bikes are notorious for a failed bearing in the rear drive, I stopped to check it and there was gear oil all over the rear wheel. Even more dangerous than the gear oil spilling onto the tire was the fact that it ran down onto the rear brake caliper! thankfully, we were close to home, so we "limped" home very carefully before the total failure happened. Numbers of owners are reporting this same failure where the gear oil IS spilling from the rear drive onto the tire and brakes. this IS very dangerous. *tr
- Suspension › Rear
Failure of rear drive bearing on k1200lt BMW. *Ak
- Service brakes, hydraulic › Foundation components › Hoses, lines/piping, and fittings
Brake hose ruptured causing front brakes to fail and fluid to leak on tire. *Tr
- Fuel system, gasoline
Dt*: the contact stated while driving various speeds the fuel line fitting quick disconnect came loose causing fuel to spill on the vehicle. this occurred twice. both times the contact replaced the fitting himself. the dealer has been alerted.
- Service brakes, hydraulic › Antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip · Suspension
Vibration in footpegs and rumbling noise from rear drive unit. crown wheel bearing failed. Caught in time before serious damage was done. this bearing IS the main support element for the rear wheel on this motorcycle. parts from damaged bearing have taken out oil seal which leads to rear brake…
Vibration in footpegs and rumbling noise from rear drive unit. crown wheel bearing failed. Caught in time before serious damage was done. this bearing IS the main support element for the rear wheel on this motorcycle. parts from damaged bearing have taken out oil seal which leads to rear brake and wheel being covered in gear lube. broken bearing could lead to lock up of rear wheel. Gear lube on the rear brake disc would lead to loss of braking. Gear lube on rear wheel would lead to loss of traction. All could lead to a crash with subsequent property and bodily damage. bearing and seal where replaced. old parts are available. *nm
- Service brakes, hydraulic › Antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip
There have been dozens of reports of BMW k1200 LT motorcycles on the nhtsa website as well as directly to BMW and at the BMW LT owners website at http://www.bmwlt.net/ubbthreads/showflat.php?cat=&board=surveys&number=17109&page=&view=&sb=&o=&fpart=all&vc=1 the common thread IS that the bearing…
There have been dozens of reports of BMW k1200 LT motorcycles on the nhtsa website as well as directly to BMW and at the BMW LT owners website at http://www.bmwlt.net/ubbthreads/showflat.php?cat=&board=surveys&number=17109&page=&view=&sb=&o=&fpart=all&vc=1 the common thread IS that the bearing fails, the seal leaks due to debris and the rear end dumps it lubrication oil all over the rear brake assembly, tire etc. this IS a dangerous condition for a motorcycle!!! only two wheels to start with!!!! in light of the nhtsa campaign ID number : 04v297000 for lube leakage on the rear brake assembly of another BMW motorcycle please review any/all complaints already received by nhtsa and read the text to see that this IS a common and recurring problem that may have been improperly classified by the people making the report. bottom line, there are thousands of other BMW motorcycles out there, hundreds of which have (not theoretically) dumped rear end lube all over the rear brake assembly with consequences identical to campaign ID number : 04v297000 . our group at the website above can produce names, dates, vin numbers etc. To back up this claim. please don't hesitate to contact me for more information. I consider this formal notification to nhtsa of the severity of this problem. thank you. stephen m. White lewisville, tx. *nm
- Power train › Driveline › Differential unit
BMW motorcycle, model k1200lt. Riding normally at 65 mph on freeway, oil leaked out of rear drive unit onto brakes, wheel and tire. Lost all rear braking effectiveness, tire slipped slightly on road. pulled onto shoulder, stopped by using front brake only. vehicle towed to dealer where rear drive unit was replaced at my expense. old part IS being shipped to my office. *nm
- Power train › Axle assembly › Axle shaft › Seal
Wife and I going home from weekend trip when our motorcycle started making a grinding sound from the rear wheel. After getting bike to side of the road I noticed oil covering wheel, brake and tire. Had bike towed to dealer, they said it was the rear drive bearing. They said that they had a few of them go bad. With 37,000 miles out of warranty. Still at dealer waiting repair.
- Exterior lighting › Headlights
Poor headlight -gives out about as much light as a candle. *la
- Power train › Automatic transmission
While driving 60 mph transmission failed without warning. *Ak
- Power train › Driveline › Differential unit
Rear drive differential main bearing failed on my BMW 2001 k1200lt motorcycle causing a wobbling rear wheel and excessive noise. I was able to bring the cycle under control and make it to the dealer.*ak
- Power train › Clutch assembly › Pedal/hand lever(motorcycle)
Broken threaded stud on shifter linkage ball assy.
- Suspension
Started hearing a grinding noise from rear of motorcycle and felt some rear wheel wooble. road with the symptom for about 15 miles until I could get to a telephone to call closest dealer. dealer said to ride in. traveled approximately 4 miles and symptoms got much worse. called a towing service…
Started hearing a grinding noise from rear of motorcycle and felt some rear wheel wooble. road with the symptom for about 15 miles until I could get to a telephone to call closest dealer. dealer said to ride in. traveled approximately 4 miles and symptoms got much worse. called a towing service and had bike transported to brattin's BMW in san diego. after inspecting rear wheel the technician determined that the rear drive bearing had disintegrated cause unknown. repair took approx 2 weeks due to parts. dt
- Visibility › Rearview mirrors/devices
Left side outboard mirror braket fell off. mirror brakets were poorly designed, design popped out. when consumer went over a bump in road, mirror popped out on the freeway. consumer feels this IS very dangerous, there IS no way to tighten mirror. *ak *scc
- Power train › Axle assembly › Axle shaft › Seal
Read drive bearing/seal failure, causing gear oil to cover rear tire and brakes.*ak
- Power train › Driveline › Driveshaft
Driveshaft failed while driving at highway speed of 65 mph. Dealer notified. *Ak consumer states that after coming to a standstill, oil was all over the rim, the tire and the brake pads, the rear end was shimmying. *slc
- Service brakes, hydraulic › Foundation components › Drum
Rear brakes were making a loud noise when applying brakes. dealer has been notified, and technician urged consumer not to use rear brakes until a remedy was found. Please provide further information.*ak
Defect investigations
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened these reviews into vehicles including this one.
- M/C final drive ball bearing failure
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received a defect petition requesting that it open an investigation into model year (MY) 1998-2009 BMW KLT series motorcycles for final drive bearing failures.The petitioner asked NHTSA to issue an order that [BMW] be required to recall the affected models for inspection…
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received a defect petition requesting that it open an investigation into model year (MY) 1998-2009 BMW KLT series motorcycles for final drive bearing failures.The petitioner asked NHTSA to issue an order that [BMW] be required to recall the affected models for inspection ofcomponent wear and proper assembly of the [final drive] bearing.ODI has reviewed the petition, assessed relevant consumer complaints, and gathered other data in the course of investigating this issue.Based on its review, ODI does not believe that a safety-related defect trend currently exists for final drive bearing failures in the subject motorcycles.Therefore, in view of the need to allocate and prioritize NHTSA's limited resources to accomplish the agency's safety mission, the petition is denied.However, the agency will continue to monitor information related to this issue and will take further action if warranted.For detailed information, see the Federal Register notice: https://federalregister.gov/a/2013-13779.
- Fuel line leakage
BMW IS conducting a recall (04v-028).an information request(ir)response was not received. Upon bmw's receipt of the ir, and after discussions with odi, bmwdetermined that a recall was necessary. On certain motorcycles, the o-ring contained within the fuel line quick-disconnect coupling could become damaged.further…
BMW IS conducting a recall (04v-028).an information request(ir)response was not received. Upon bmw's receipt of the ir, and after discussions with odi, bmwdetermined that a recall was necessary. On certain motorcycles, the o-ring contained within the fuel line quick-disconnect coupling could become damaged.further, there IS also a problem involving crimp-type hose clamps, which can also result in a small fuel leak.dealers will inspect, and if necessary, adjust all crimp-type hose clamps.also all fuel line quick-disconnect couplings will be inspected.if a leak IS detected, the quick-disconnect o-ring will be replaced.if damaged, the coupling will be replaced.owner notification IS expected to begin during february 2004.
Service bulletins
Technical service bulletins and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about this vehicle. Ask a dealer for the full document by its number.
- 10205114With the introduction of the new watertight fuse box a change was made from large type fuses to mini fuses. While the correct fuses are installed in the fuse box, the older, large type fuses were supplied in the on-board tool kit.
- 10147912Map data should be stored on a 64 GB SD card. In GARMIN Express the note appears that a maximum of 32 GB is possible.
- 10037025BMW: procedure for determining and replacing incandescent and halogen light bulbs under warranty.
- 10033130BMW vehicles: fuel level sensor repairs. Where it IS necessary to replace the right or the left side fuel level sensor due to a failure, the entire pump and housing or delivery unit (suction jet assembly) do not need to be replaced as well. In some cases, epc does not show that the repair kit IS available separately in the illustration, but it IS available in the parts description. All models. No model years listed.
- 10030825BMW motorcycle: engine fuels containing ethanol. BMW motorrad has no objection to the use of si engine fuels containing up to a maximum of 10% ethanol and imposes no warranty restrictions. Ethanol mixtures in proportions higher than 10% can have an adverse effect on performance and can result in damage to components that come into contract with fuel. No warranty claims whatsoever for damage caused in this way will be accepted. No model years listed.
- 10029706BMW motorcycle: wheel speed dependent, clearly audible clanking noise occurs when braking to adjust speed. E series (K25; k25/02; k25/03; k25/11; k25/12; k25/hp; K26; K27; K28; K29; k29/hp; K40; K41; K43; k43/hv; K44; k589/03; K71). No model years listed.
Every BMW K1200LT model year
Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.