NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Defect Petition DP12-001: M/C final drive ball bearing failure
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Defect Petition DP12-001 on January 20, 2012 and closed it on June 20, 2013. NHTSA's investigations file lists the BMW K1200LT and K1200 LT for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- DP12-001 (also written DP12001)
- Investigation type
- Defect Petition A petition asking NHTSA to open a defect investigation; NHTSA grants or denies it, and granting one opens an investigation.
- Status
- Closed June 20, 2013
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- BMW of North America, LLC
- Component
- Power Train — Driveline — Differential Unit
- Vehicles and equipment
- BMW K1200LT and K1200 LT
A recall appears here only when NHTSA's investigations file links one to the investigation; NHTSA's summary or record can name others.
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Defect Petition DP12-001.
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received a defect petition requesting that it open an investigation into model year (MY) 1998-2009 BMW KLT series motorcycles for final drive bearing failures.
The petitioner asked NHTSA to issue an order that [BMW] be required to recall the affected models for inspection ofcomponent wear and proper assembly of the [final drive] bearing.
ODI has reviewed the petition, assessed relevant consumer complaints, and gathered other data in the course of investigating this issue.
Based on its review, ODI does not believe that a safety-related defect trend currently exists for final drive bearing failures in the subject motorcycles.
Therefore, in view of the need to allocate and prioritize NHTSA's limited resources to accomplish the agency's safety mission, the petition is denied.
However, the agency will continue to monitor information related to this issue and will take further action if warranted.
For detailed information, see the Federal Register notice: https://federalregister.gov/a/2013-13779.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Defect Petition DP12-001. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
What an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
BMW VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for DP12-001
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.