ABS repair - we found someone who is doing it!

My 2009 R1200RT is just out of warranty with 9,000 on the odometer. The ABS module just failed. While I have purchased three new BMWs from BMW of Ft. Myers, they told me to go to hell. So did BMW. As riders we need to be very careful about buying these bikes with all of their new toys, then having them fail prematurely. We need to also be wary of dealers who don't care once they sell the bike. This is a safety issue, since how do I know that the entire braking system won't fail too? The ABS module on BMW motorcycles has a bad track record and many owners are getting hit with $1,500 to $2,000 bills for a repair that should never happen in such a short time. It certainly doesn't happen on their cars. I know that BMW of Ft. Myers has developed a horrible service reputation, but this, being a safety situation, cannot be permitted without legal intervention.

You can go to national highway safety site and register failure...write letter to president of BMWna then if nothing happens call Tyler at module master [url]www.modulemaster.com[/url] get it repaired for a few hundred bucks with a 5 year gaurentee and move on..

[QUOTE=43435;816562]My 2009 R1200RT is just out of warranty with 9,000 on the odometer. The ABS module just failed. While I have purchased three new BMWs from BMW of Ft. Myers, they told me to go to hell. So did BMW.[/QUOTE]As Paul Glaves has often pointed out - the requests for "good will" warranty work after the warranty runs out is basically called by the dealer. If the dealer approves the work, BMW backs them up. If the dealer doesn't approve the work, BMW backs them up.

Since you've bought several bikes from this dealer - it sounds to me as if the dealership is somehow being monitored for warranty work by BMW, which can indicate they are submitting more then the expected amount for the number of bikes sold. In cases like that - the dealership will be very reluctant to submit a good-will claim to BMW.

As was mentioned - ModuleMaster is fixing these for a very reasonable charge. I'd ask around in your area to find a good independent wrench and have him remove the module, send it off to ModuleMasters and reinstall it. Then you can happily go to the dealership and suggest they put some sand where the sun don't shine.. :whistle

BTW - ABS modulator failures are certainly NOT unknown in BMW cars.. it's not as often as with some Volvo series cars (where they ALL fail eventually), but ModuleMaster repairs the BMW car ones also, and that's an indication that failures occur and there is a market for the repairs.

The ABS modular on BMW motorcycles is a weak part of the motorcycle that will fail at anytime. This causes a serious safety issue. If your bike is even a week out of warranty, they tell you to go to hell. BMW has gone out of their way to prevent us from easily having these modules rebuilt. If this was happening on one of their cars, it would necessitate a recall. As BMW riders we are just too use to putting up with their crap. It may have been fine when we could repair our bikes ourselves. I am considering a class action suit against BMW because of their unwillingness to solve a safety defect on their motorcycles.

Go for it...put my name down !!!

I wish you a lot of luck with that goal.. but I suspect you'll be somewhat frustrated - unless you're an attorney who is going to DIY.

Class-Action lawsuits (CALs) are generally brought by law firms that specialize in that sort of tort.. and they have to see the profit in the suit for them.. unless you're going to pay them out of pocket to pursue the case. Often the award that a successful CAI receives is divided so the law firm gets the majority of the money (and the participant gets a free Netflix rental or something.)

While failures have and do occur, and the BMW response is expensive outside of warranty, I doubt if there are enough of them to convince these law firms that there is money in it for them. I'm on a number of BMW car forums - one dedicated to the M3 series (I mod there also..) and people have tried to get CALs going for a flaw in the engine design that sometimes causes total engine failure on the cars.

So far - several years down the road - the law firm they approached has not found enough "damages" to make it worthwhile for them to file the lawsuit. Ditto on a Porsche forum I am on, where there is another engineering flaw costing people money.

And as far as this happening on the cars and necessitating a recall.. it DOES happen on BMW cars, and so far - no recall. It also happens on Volvo and many other cars, as can be seen by the thriving market in rebuilding ABS modules. It happened on a Volvo I owned (and they ALL eventually fail) and I paid out of pocket to repair it. Luckily Volvo did sell only the electronics module part, which is where the failure occurred so it was less then $1000 to fix.

Please let us know how this works out. If you find a firm willing to take it on, you'll need evidence that there is an issue, and forums are probably the best place to find that.