The sorry saga of 1200GS/GSA fuel pump controller failures (410 so far)

[rcgd]

Hi Tim, just had my second fuel pump failure today on my R1200GS. The last one was replaced in August. There is going to be a loss of life soon if BMW don't sort this problem out. In both cases had it happened minutes earlier it could have been catastrophic for me (and my wife on the first occasion). I am filing a report to DVLC and will also write to BMW. Keep up the good work.
Best wishes
Richard Drysdale ([email protected])

 

[John Stevenson]

1200GS fuel Controller failure - 2008

When did it happen? - June 2008
- Where were you? Galashiels , Scottish Borders
- rider name -self
- bike details (model and year) R1200GS 2007
- remedy Tow truck to dealer in Dalkeith
- How many days work/holiday did you lose? - without bike for 10days on way back from Black Forest- tow truck driver told me it was the antenna ring - he guesssed wrong !
Were there any incidental costs? No

 

[GezGSA]

Disillusioned of Devon

Hi everyone,
Nearly wiped out on M5 in rain when my 8 month old 1200GSA with 18k miles cut out in fast lane. BMW Assistance guessed correctly on arrival it was duff pump controller, said i should carry a spare if doing this mileage as often fail(oh yes, this is after 2 warped discs, failed clutch & immobiliser...). Wrote to BMW UK quoting Sale of Goods Act 1979 asking to reject bike as of unsatisfactory quality & be reimbursed, never even had a letter from them. Issue bounced back to dealer- initially tried to fob me off with £500 "goodwill" towards a new bike, had a month long battle with them & BMW UK "Customer Services" who I FINALLY got through to & after a lot of horse trading eventually got a cheque in settlement and rid of the bloody thing. I work in automotive design/ development & that this problem, caused by the poor siting/ inadequate protection of the component hasn't been acknowledged and properly addressed by BMW is scandalous. Their arrogant, dismissive attitude to all this stinks and I would NEVER consider buying another bike from them. In case it may be of any use to anyone else
BMW Customer Services number is 01344 480411. Best of luck...
Gerry

 

[Charlie George]

Fuel Pump Resistor

rider name Charle George
- bike details (model and year) R1200GS 2006
- mileage 18000
- typical weather conditions ridden in Everything used most days all year
- is the bike stored for long periods of time No


sorry change of status

Bike died and BMW emergency Service arrive new Fuel Pump Resistor in hand
and then £66 changed hands. [never noticed £100 excess on 3rd year BMW extended warranty] and now its all better

I always felt left out not having anything go wrong.

BUT its still the best bike I have ever had!!!!

 

[sutty]

when/2006
where/whitchurch
mark sutton
r1200gs/55 plate
recoverd and taken to williams manchester
1 day lost
done on warranty
luckily it happend the week before we went to france no probs after.

 

[pistonbrokescooby]

oh no

hi all
what a ball ache
after running a adv 1150 for three years in the rain only ,15000 miles as a winter hack ,no probs , no rust no alloy corrosion . did waxoil the lot .now gone and bought this piece 1200 , . page1 of this thread no 7 ,water getting in the connections . ??? then page 3 no 33 burnt wires possible due to fpc getting hot working on a empty tank???(GO A NEW NAME FOR THE FPC ).
ok so would it be best to waterproof the whole issue ,fill connections up with either waxoil or ac 50 to stop corroding and as a safety measure and then make a cover to go over the lot or duck tape up .but if it need ventilation because it gets hot ??no way running these beasts full of fuel .only ever run around with a gallon in or so , trips maybe fill to top . poor guys that have broke down with this problem . don't really want to run around with spares in every place possible . cheers and will look forward to a few replies .
piston broke scooby

 

[smilee mark]

Find out for sure today some time. My 1200gsa 2007 with 20,000 K,s Stopped today..Felt like fuel pump. Coughed and spluttered , would start , then stop again , BMW road side assistance picked it up..

Confirmed on Friday It is the fuel pump..The bike is off the road for the long Weekend BLLAAGGHH. Said "they had to pull the fuel pump apart to check".. I said (to no avail) I couldnot care less if it was a hose in it, it was a well known fault and it should be replaced.. Fell on deaf ears.. At this stage they do not think they can get to it till Wednesday.. This will make it 6 days of the road,,If i get it back then,,Oh and Mark Smith is my name. They said no cost , that it will be covered by Warranty..

 

[nozza]

fpc

2nd one to go in 18 months.

When = 26th jan 09
Where = Burnley Lancs
Name = Nozza
Bike = 1200gs 05
Remedy = Green Flag flatbed
Days Off road = 7
Cost = £59 for new fpc fitted myself
Nozza

 

[mrsroynie]

Fuel pump controller failure.

Time: May 2008.
Place: Rousilliion, Vaucluse, France.
Model and Year: 2005 R1200GS.
Remedy: Bike lifted from side of a very steep hill to a dealer in Avignon. Pillioned home 500 miles on husband's bike.
Days work/holiday: Not applicable, but part took over two weeks to arrive.
Incidental Costs: Insurance paid for (and booked) train to retrieve bike. Overnight accommodation, food, etc. not covered.

 

[Gringo-Loco]

AA Knackers wagon recovered the bike after it failed to run after each attempted start.
03.Feb.09
Outside the house Hull.
04 R1200GS
14500 miles
FPC burned out.
2 days in BMW for dianostics. (I knew what was wrong before the dealer laptop did...)
£50 for new part £??? can't remember the labour.

 

[boxertw]

...2008 R1200Gs 450KMs, controller failure..repaired under warranty, no
charge!

 

[Gromit80]

12th feb 09
08 GSA 19400Miles,
20 miles from home
Got bike recovered to Mike (Cardiff motorad) FPC burnt out
£89

 

[judge]

Come on daddy Darkhorse fess up as to why you only made it to the Ace Adventure Day in four wheels and it wasn't just to keep Novice company

 

[clive916]

04 1200GS

26,000 miles

FPC total failure -1/4 mile from home (thank God!) at start of journey.

Bike pushed back home.

Info received on this forum.

New FPC bought (67 quid), fitted myself and now back on the road - 4 days later.

 

[mfish]

When: 20 Feb 09
Where: 100 miles from home in Herts.
Name: M Fish.
Bike: R1200GS 05. 19,500 miles.
Remedy: Recovered by Green Flag to Bahnstormer, Alton. 3 working days off the road. Expenses and inconvenience of getting train back to home after the weekend.
Cost of repair at Bahnstormer: "Investigate non start £7.08. Read fault memory with bmw diagnosis sys £21.25 Replace electronics of fuel pump £58.73. Total £87.06 plus VAT, TOTAL £100.12"
Always regularly washed, used and serviced. A shame the part isn't routinely replaced at service. Was advised that in any event no guarantee the new modified part may not fail. I might buy a spare, as we are going to Greece this Summer.
Cheers, Michael.

 

[Jeto]

- When did it happen?: Fri 27/2/09
- Where were you?: Elephant & Castle roundabout - on a Fri evening rush hour. Which was a little scary.
- rider name: Edward Smith
- bike details (model and year): R1200 GS 2008 (surely it should have been sorted by the 08 model!)
- remedy: tow truck and BMW Assist the following day
- How many days work/holiday did you lose?: it screwed up half my weekend
- Were there any incidental costs? No

 

[steveh]

When did it happen?: Thursday 05/03/09
- Where were you?: M25 outside lane
- rider name: Steve Haskins
- bike details (model and year): R1200 GS 2005 (23k miles, FBWSH)
- remedy: tow truck and RAC recovery to SBW
- How many days work/holiday did you lose?: 1 day lost of work
- Were there any costs? its out of warranty and the cost so far for the fix is £190 (parts and Labour)...not happy

 

[mart6061]

- When did it happen? 10 March 2009
- Where were you? Fast Lane of M62 at 85 mph
- rider name Martin Taylor
- bike details (model and year) R1200GS 2007
- remedy? Warranty replacement
- How many days work/holiday did you lose? 1, took 5 hours from breakdown to leaving dealer without bike.
- Were there any incidental costs? no


Recovery guy had recovered three GS rider in 2 weeks with same problem. Didnt have a spare though.
H told me BMW wont recall as not dangerous/have no solution. I do think it is dangerous.

 

[Harlequin]

Good piece of work Tim, well done.
Surely BMW must respond to this kind of poor customer experience. Just imagine if 240 customers changed bike, or did not purchase another GS. Alot of dosh lost.

 

[AndyW]

Another one Tim:

Robert P has sent the following message from the Contact Us page on http://www.motorcycleinfo.co.uk/:

- When did it happen? 14/03/2009
- Where were you? 50 miles from home
- bike details (model and year) R1200GS Adventure 2006
- remedy Paid for bike recovery to home address - ordered new part as dealer had sold THREE in one morning!!
- How many days work/holiday did you lose? Lost 1/2 day and had to postpone rest of group ride (I was leading)
- Were there any incidental costs? Full recovery costs - never had a BMW break down before in 7yrs of ownership (three different bikes) so didn't extend the free recovery period - but a part shouldn't fail and completely disable you after less than 12,000 miles.
The BMW dealer doesn't even consider it excessively corroded!
I have emailed BMW and await their response.