NHTSA Complaint #10767426 — 2007 BMW R1200 RT

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 NHTSA 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.