ABS vs. Rear End Failure

[Tbird]

In my almost 5 years on this forum...I've heard what I think is as much talk about the ABS unit failure as the rear end failure. I hope to see if I'm right in this poll. It seems odd to me that the ABS failures don't get near the face time or rise to the level of frustration as the rear end failures do. Maybe it's because you can still ride your bike without ABS; as I have for over a year now. But because it is so costly to replace the ABS unit (more than the rear end) I see this as ANOTHER big issue that BMW should be acknowledging...and fixing beyond the warranty window.

I broke the poll down into in warranty and out of warranty groupings to get a feel for if your failures (ABS and rear end) were "early" failures or "later" failures.
Also...please click TWO boxes. 1) The condition. 2) The resolution.

Please respond with any special circumstances...dealer experiences...etc.

Thanks, Tom

[jzeiler]

Tom,


For ABS failure you should add two choices:

1. Always had the fluid flushed at the correct interval.

2. Never changed my fluid.

But then we could alway have another survey.

[mtrevelino]

Tom,
You mention "in-warranty". Does that include extended warranty coverage?

[vernvernvern]

Hi All,
The rear end failure at 19,000 has been my only disappointment on my '03 LT. Half of those 19000 miles I put on the bike as I bought it used.(May 2006) I don't believe the rear oil had been changed until I did it at 12000 miles. The oil was really dirty.

Dealer in Kansas City took care of me right away! I've been 6000 miles since the fix and still going.

No problem with the ABS and my warranty ends next month. Ugh!

Since the bike is such a great ride, I'll put up with the disappointments. They are fixable but I think BMW has the ability to make a MAINTAINED bike more trouble free!

Just my .02 cents worth!

[Bob204bc]

Tom,


For ABS failure you should add two choices:

1. Always had the fluid flushed at the correct interval.

2. Never changed my fluid.

But then we could alway have another survey.

All of the services on my bike have been strictly by the book and performed at the dealer.

Failure of ABS unit at 23,000 miles. Out of warranty, BMW says - tough luck.
Failure of rear end at 31,000 miles. BMW paid half. The Dealer went to bat for me this time.

Main Seal Failure at 53,000 miles. Out goes the clutch. All on my nickel.

Even though this has been a terribly expensive bike to own (especially considering the periodic maintenance costs), I continue to enjoy each ride. It is a great 2-up traveling machine.

[hschisler]

I would report the final drive failure of my '05 LT at 4,300 miles but it doesn't really fit into what you are looking for in your poll. The dealer left the fill plug off the final drive during a routine service, causing all the oil to fly out of the gear housing during a trip I was on. Completely self-inflicted, and they replaced the drive at no cost to me, of course.

[Tbird]

My thinking on In/out of warranty was 3yrs/36K miles.
(In other words was your failure "early" in the life of the bike).

Also...I assuming that all BMW required maintainance has been done.
(i.e. fluids changed at recommendend intervals).

But then again...I have a 95' GMC with ABS that's never had a brake fluid change and it's working fine with over 130K miles on it. So why can't BMW make my LT's ABS work for 30K miles...swaping out the fluid every 12K miles???

[jrlakin]

My ABS lights started flashing when the bike had slightly over 12000 miles on it. It is a 2000 I purchased used in Nov 2005 with 8500 miles, and the lights started flashing in June of 2006, and thus it was out of warranty when the problem started. I have not YET flushed the brake system to see if that will cure the problem, but I intend to do so before the end of winter. When I changed the oil in the rear end at 20000 miles, the oil looked excellent with no shaving at all, so I will keep my fingers crossed. jrlakin

[CarSalesman]

Whatever the warranty situation, as of the moment I write this we are showing:

ABS failure: 5.2% + 12.3% = 17.5%
Rear End Failure: 10.5% + 21.1% = 31.6%

Amazing that 31% rear end failure, especially since its almost eliminated on 2003+ models. That means the failure rate on older models is much higher. I wonder if BMW is still sticking to their original crap about a 4% failure rate on the older models.

I'd be curious about an entirely separate survey about the 2003+ models for the rear end with the new bearing, and 2002+ models for the Integral brake unit. Am I correct on those dates for the system changes?

My 2004 model went its entire 3 year warranty period without a warranty repair of any kind.

[JATownsend]

Whatever the warranty situation, as of the moment I write this we are showing:

ABS failure: 5.2% + 12.3% = 17.5%
Rear End Failure: 10.5% + 21.1% = 31.6%

Amazing that 31% rear end failure, especially since its almost eliminated on 2003+ models. That means the failure rate on older models is much higher. I wonder if BMW is still sticking to their original crap about a 4% failure rate on the older models.

I'd be curious about an entirely separate survey about the 2003+ models for the rear end with the new bearing, and 2002+ models for the Integral brake unit. Am I correct on those dates for the system changes?

My 2004 model went its entire 3 year warranty period without a warranty repair of any kind.
Whoa! Don,

You have some VERY fuzzy math going on here!

There are over 11,000 registered users on this site, most own at least one LT... 18 FD failures does NOT equal 31%...anyway you slice it. :confused:

[eljeffe]

Whatever the warranty situation, as of the moment I write this we are showing:

ABS failure: 5.2% + 12.3% = 17.5%
Rear End Failure: 10.5% + 21.1% = 31.6%

Amazing that 31% rear end failure, especially since its almost eliminated on 2003+ models. That means the failure rate on older models is much higher. I wonder if BMW is still sticking to their original crap about a 4% failure rate on the older models.

I'd be curious about an entirely separate survey about the 2003+ models for the rear end with the new bearing, and 2002+ models for the Integral brake unit. Am I correct on those dates for the system changes?

My 2004 model went its entire 3 year warranty period without a warranty repair of any kind.

This is the dumbest set of assumptions and calculations I have ever seen on either issue posted in this forum in the entire history of the K1200LT forum (going all the way back to the eGroups site).

[CarSalesman]

The figures in my message are merely the survey totals shown at the top, at the time the response was posted. Its obvious that not even a large percentage of the 11,000 have responeded. even at this moment. As of this second mesage, the percentages haven't changed much, but then there are only 60 total responses.

If the two of you want to get personal about our mutual intelligence levels, you can start with your own reaction to assuming that you would take the failures above, and divide it by 11,000. The percentages aren't my math, just reading what's on the graphs above.

El Jeffe, I think your post in particular is way out of line.