Reliability & cost of ownership
Bmw R Series Reliability & Common Problems
How reliable is the Bmw R Series? Compare every model year side by side — NHTSA recalls, owner complaints, and crash-test stars — then open the year you're shopping for a full reliability and repair-cost forecast.
Bmw R Series problems by model year
2 recall entries and 23 owner complaints on file across 6 model years, sourced from the federal NHTSA database.
| Year | Recalls | Complaints | NCAP stars | Full report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 R Series | 0 | 4 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2005 R Series | 0 | 3 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2004 R Series | 1 | 4 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 2002 R Series | 1 | 8 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 1996 R Series | 0 | 1 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
| 1995 R Series | 0 | 3 | No NCAP test | Reliability forecast → |
Most-complained-about components
Owner complaints filed with NHTSA against the Bmw R Series, grouped by the component each complaint names — the fastest read on where this model gives trouble.
- power train6 complaints
- fuel system6 complaints
- wheels5 complaints
- gasoline5 complaints
- service brakes2 complaints
- hydraulic2 complaints
- fuel/propulsion system2 complaints
- structure1 complaint