NHTSA Complaint #10443904 — 2007 BMW F800 S

THE MOTOR ON MY 2007 BMW F800S STARTED KNOCKING IN THE SPRING OF 2011. THIS IS APPROX 6 MONTHS AFTER THE WARRANTY EXPIRED. I BROUGHT THE BIKE IN TO THE DEALER. THEY TOLD ME IT WAS FINE. THIS PROCESS WAS REPEATED TWO MORE TIMES. FINALLY THE ENGINE WAS REMOVED AND DIAGNOSED. THE DEALER FOUND COMPLETE PISTON FAILURE (PISTON SLAP). THE PISTON SKIRT WAS GRINDING INTO THE CYLINDER WALL. BOTH THE PISTONS AND BARRELS NEED TO BE REPLACED. THE COST OF THE REPAIR IS MORE THAN THE VALUE OF THE BIKE. BASED ON VISUAL EVIDENCE OF THE DAMAGE I HAVE FOUND AT LEAST ONE ENGINEER THAT STATED IT CLEARLY STARTED HAPPENING WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS UNDER WARRANTY. THE VEHICLE ONLY HAS 16000 MILES ON IT. THIS IS A TOTAL ENGINE FAILURE. I HAVE FOUND DOZENS OF OTHERS THAT OWN THE SAME VEHICLE AND MODEL YEAR THAT HAVE HAD THE SAME FAILURE. I FEEL BMW IS TRYING TO AVOID DOING THE CORRECT THING BY NOT RECALLING THE ENGINE PARTS. BMW TOLD ME THE BIKE IS OUT OF WARRANTY AND I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REPAIRS. *TR