I EXPERIENCED A SIMILAR FAILURE AS DESCRIBED IN ODI NO. 10439549, AND CURRENTLY BEING INVESTIGATED UNDER CAMPAIGN DP12001: BMW MOTORCYCLE FINAL DRIVE FAILURE. MY 2000 BMW R1100R FINAL DRIVE HAS FAILED THREE TIMES IN 150,000 MILES. THE FIRST FAILURE OCCURRED DURING MY AFTER-MARKET WARRANTY PERIOD AT 58,378 MILES ON 5/7/2003. DUE TO THE FINAL DRIVE BEARING FAILURE, THE REAR WHEEL BECAME LOOSE, AND THE FINAL DRIVE UNIT WAS LEAKING OIL. THE UNIT WAS REPLACED BY SAN DIEGO BMW MOTORCYCLES (AT THE TIME: BRATTIN BMW) BEFORE THE UNIT FAILED CATASTROPHICALLY. THE SECOND FAILURE (THE ONE THE DEALER INSTALLED AS A REPLACEMENT) OCCURRED AT 114,000 MILES IN NOVEMBER, 2008. AGAIN, THE REAR WHEEL BECAME LOOSE AT THE BEARING, AUDIBLE GRINDING SOUND COULD BE HEARD FROM THE FAILING UNIT, AND IT WAS LEAKING GEAR OIL. I SENT THAT FINAL DRIVE UNIT TO A PRIVATE MECHANIC FOR REBUILD. THE THIRD FAILURE (OF THE REBUILT UNIT) OCCURRED AT 143,663 MILES ON 7/16/11. BY THIS TIME, I HAD BEGUN PERFORMING MY OWN ROUTINE SERVICE, AND HAD OBSERVED AN INCREASE IN THE SIZE AND AMOUNT OF METAL FLAKE ON THE FINAL DRIVE DRAIN PLUG OVER THE COURSE OF ~18 MONTHS. AT THE TIME OF REPLACEMENT, I COULD FEEL A SLIGHT GRINDING IN THE BEARING WHILE ROTATING THE REAR WHEEL, AND OIL WAS LEAKING FROM THE INPUT SHAFT SEAL. ANY TIME THAT I ASK A BMW DEALER ABOUT THE PREVALENCE OF FINAL DRIVE FAILURES, THE QUESTION IS BLOWN OFF. *TR
2000 BMW R1100
Owners filed 3 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the power train › manual transmission. No safety recall has been issued.
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structure | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Power Train › Manual Transmission | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Power Train | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What owners reported
Newest filings2000 BMW, R1100RL. THE MOTORCYCLE CONTAINED A DESIGN FLAW IN THE FINAL DRIVE GEAR LUBE SEAL WITHIN THE CHASSIS OF THE MOTORCYCLE.*AK *JB
THE TRANSMISSION INPUT SHAFT SEAL OR THE SEAL INSTALLATION PROCEDURE IS DEFECTIVE. THIS SEAL ON MY TRANSMISSION HAS LEAKED FOR THE PAST 7000 MILES. BMW ATTEMPTED TO REPAIR THIS LEAK BY REPLACING THIS SEAL UNDER WARRANTY AT 15K MILES. THE NEW SEAL HAS BEGUN TO LEAK. THIS SEAL IS A KNOWN PROBLEM TO BMW MOTORCYCLE OWNERS - ESPECIALLY R1100S OWNERS. ANY LUBRICANT LEAK ON A MOTORCYCLE IS A SAFETY ISSUE. MANUFACTURERS MUST BE FORCED TO RESOLVE KNOWN REPETITIVE LEAKS.*AK
3 of 3 complaints, reproduced as filed.
Reading this record
No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.
Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.