NHTSA vehicle safety data

2023 BMW R 1250 RT Recalls & Complaints

The 2023 BMW R 1250 RT has 1 NHTSA recall campaign and 1 owner complaint on file as of November 3, 2026. Recall repairs are usually free at an authorized BMW dealer.

NHTSA recall and complaint data for the 2023 BMW R 1250 RT. Recall data is refreshed daily from NHTSA.

2023 BMW R 1250 RT owner complaints

Owners have filed 1 complaint with NHTSA about the 2023 BMW R 1250 RT, describing incidents dated July 21, 2024.

Most-cited components

Forward Collision Avoidance 1 complaint

Newest complaints

ODI #11603649 · Filed July 21, 2024
I believe the BMW configuration of the adaptive cruise control following distance selection might result in a rear end collision. I normally set the following distance to the longest setting, which corresponds to a two-second following distance (IMO, the minimum safe distance). I am fairly often…

Read the full complaint

Gearbox Input Shaft May Break

NHTSA #23V011000 · Power Train — Manual Transmission — Internal — Shaft — Input · NHTSA notice

Reported January 18, 2023 · BMW of North America, LLC

Potentially affected: 18,534 vehicles

Repair completion: 84.98% (latest rate the manufacturer reported to NHTSA; dataset updated November 3, 2026)

Owners notified February 22, 2023

Defect description

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2019-2023 R1250GS, R1250GS Adventure, and R1250RTP motorcycles. In certain engine operating and riding conditions, the gearbox input shaft may become damaged or break, possibly resulting in a blocked rear wheel.

Safety consequence

A damaged gearbox input shaft or a blocked rear wheel can increase the risk of a crash.

Manufacturer remedy

Dealers will update the engine control unit software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 22, 2023. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.nhtsa.gov.

try.vin has no NCAP crash-test rating on file for the 2023 BMW R 1250 RT. NHTSA rates some vehicles by body style — pickups by cab, vans by roof height — so check nhtsa.gov/ratings.

1 owner complaint has been filed with NHTSA for the 2023 BMW R 1250 RT.

Forward Collision Avoidance

ODI #11603649

Incident: July 21, 2024 · Filed: July 21, 2024

I believe the BMW configuration of the adaptive cruise control following distance selection might result in a rear end collision. I normally set the following distance to the longest setting, which corresponds to a two-second following distance (IMO, the minimum safe distance). I am fairly often caught off-guard by the system because the next time the bike is started, the following distance defaults to the *closest* following distance, and does so WITH NO visual warning in the instrument panel (the following distance is not displayed when cruise is set; it is displayed only after the distance control button on the left grip cluster is pressed). In my case, despite knowing this I still have been surprised to find myself too close to the vehicle in front, and have to rapidly hit the distance setting button to back off. For others without this knowledge, the potential injury concern is someone setting their cruise control with the NOT-DISPLAYED too-short default following distance, and then not having enough reaction time to avoid sudden deceleration of the front vehicle (e.g., set the cruise with the default too-short distance, and shortly thereafter the front driver brakes to avoid an animal before the rider has a chance to figure out why he/she is following closer than he/she intended). This should be easily fixed with a simple software fix: either (i) programming the default cruise following distance to be the longest distance, or better yet, (ii) have the following distance ALWAYS displayed after the cruise on switch is operated (as in my Ford F-150 and Mustang) -- the opposite of BMW's current approach of showing a solid block that HIDES the following distance setting, until the following distance button is manually pressed. IMO, the solid block is both unnecessary and a potential trap for the unwary, and should be removed so that the set distance is ALWAYS visible. I live near DC and can make my motorcycle available for inspection if desired.

Other BMW R 1250 RT model years

Check your 2023 BMW R 1250 RT VIN

Not every recall applies to every VIN in a given year. Enter the 17-character VIN from your BMW R 1250 RT at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether your specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.

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