Total Complaints
5 filings
BMW K SERIES · model year
5 NHTSA complaints, and 1 active recall for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2004BMWK SERIES carries 5 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2004 K SERIES is fuel system, gasoline:delivery:hoses, lines/piping, and fittings with 2 filings, followed by vehicle speed control (1) and fuel system, gasoline (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 1 active recall campaign, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.
NHTSA currently has 34 investigation files overlapping the 2004 K SERIES. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
5 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS | 2 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | 1 |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 1 |
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS
ON CERTAIN MOTORCYCLES, THE O-RING IN FUEL LINE QUICK-DISCONNECT COUPLING COULD BECOME DAMAGED AND LEAD TO A FUEL LEAK. THERE IS ALSO A PROBLEM INVOLVING CRIMP-TYPE HOSE CLAMPS, WHICH CAN RESULT IN A FUEL LEAK.
THE BRAKE FAILURE LIGHT LIT UP AND I LOST POWER BRAKES AND EVEN AT 10 MPH IT WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO STOP THE BIKE. THE MODULE CONTROLS THE SERVO LINKAGE ALSO. THIS IS A KNOW PROBLEM WITH BMW K BIKES WITH ABS AND BMW REFUSES TO RECALL THE BIKES. I BELIEVE IT IS A SERIOUS SAFETY PROBLEM AND RIDERS CANNOT GET ANY HELP FROM BMW. IT IS A 2500 DOLLAR REPAIR AND IT HAPPENS TO MANY BIKES AT AROUND 20,000 MILES. NO WARNING. WE NEED HELP WITH PUTTING SOME PRESSURE ON BMW. IF YOU WANT VERIFICATION CALL ANY BMW MOTORCYCLE DEALER. THERE ARE LOTS OF POSTS ON I-BMW FORUMS AS WELL. I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR LOOKING INTO THIS MATTER THANK YOU [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
Mileage: 24,000
FUEL LINE QUICK DISCONNECT BEGAN SPRAYING ME AND MY 2004 BMW K1200RS MOTORCYCLE WITH GASOLINE WHILE RIDING. THE MC WAS NOT DRIVABLE DUE TO THE OBVIOUS FIRE HAZARD. CHECKED THE INTERNET. FOUND NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 04V028000. WENT TO MY LOCAL BMW DEALER WHERE I BOUGHT THE BIKE AND HAVE HAD IT SERVICED. WAS TOLD THAT MY MC WAS NOT COVERED BY THE RECALL. BOUGHT A NEW UPDATED (MUCH SUPERIOR METAL INSTEAD OF PLASTIC) QUICK DISCONNECT FITTING AND INSTALLED IT MYSELF. COMPLAINED TO BMW OF NORTH AMERICA. BMW OF NA ALSO TOLD ME THAT MY MC VIN NUMBER WAS NOT COVERED BY THE RECALL CAMPAIGN. SINCE MY FUEL LINE LEAKAGE PROBLEM APPEARS TO BE IDENTICAL TO THE ONE DESCRIBED IN YOUR CAMPAIGN 04V028000, I REQUEST THAT YOU BRING PRESSURE ON BMW OF NA TO INCLUDE THE REST OF THE AFFECTED VIN IN THEIR RECALL DATA BASE. *TR
Mileage: 14,000
UPON ARRIVING AT HOME AND SHUTTING DOWN THE MOTORCYCLE, I COULD SMELL GAS COMING FROM THE BIKE. I CHECKED THE FUEL LINE QUICK DISCONNECTS AND FOUND THAT ONE WAS LEAKING FUEL. SINCE THE FUEL PUMP WAS OFF, THE FUEL WAS NOT LEAKING VERY BADLY. I ATTEMPTED TO PRESS THE QUICK DISCONNECT COUPLING TOGETHER TO INSURE THAT IT WAS FULLY SEATED. WHEN I DID THAT, THE END OF THE MALE CONNECTOR, WHICH WAS CRACKED AND LEAKING, SNAPPED OFF RENDERING THE COUPLING USELESS. THIS ALSO RENDERED THE MOTORCYCLE INOPERABLE. I DID SOME RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET AND DISCOVERED THAT THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE TO BMW AND THAT THEY DID ISSUE A SERVICE BULLETIN / RECALL ON THIS PROBLEM. HOWEVER, THEIR SOLUTION IS TO REPLACE THE FAULTY DISCONNECT(S) WITH NEW ONES OF THE SAME DESIGN. HOWEVER, THE CONNECTOR DESIGN IS FUNDAMENTALLY FLAWED IN THAT THEY ARE USING PLASTIC INSTEAD OF METAL AND ARE PRONE TO FAILURE. HAD THE CONNECTOR FAILED AT SPEED IT WOULD HAVE SPRAYED FUEL ALL OVER THE BIKE AND PASSING AUTOMOBILES POT
Mileage: 37,900
NOTICE OF GASOLINE SMELL COMING FROM RIGHT SIDE. WHEN EXAMINED, GAS WAS DANGEROUSLY SPRAYING THE ENTIRE VALVE COVER, GEAR HOUSING, BOTTOM OF TRANSMISSION HOUSING, AND MY RIGHT LEG. THE ENTIRE PLASTIC QUICK DISCONNECT OF THE RETURN LINE SHEARED APART, CAUSING THE LEAK. DEALER HAS NOT CORRECTED IT YET SINCE ALL WERE CLOSED. I WAS ABLE TO FIND REPLACEMENT CLAMPS AND A THROUGH BARB AT A HARDWARE STORE. PAINTED ENGINE COMPONENTS ARE NOT STAINED AND NEED TO BE REPAINTED. PLASTIC QUICK DISCONNECTS FUEL LINE PARTS NEED TO BE REPLACED WITH APPROPRIATE BRASS OR STAINLESS STEEL PARTS. NO FUEL LINE COMPONENT PART SHOULD EVER FAIL WITHIN 27,000 MILES...PERIOD. *JB
Mileage: 27,676
CAR GAS PEDAL STICKS AND THEN LUNGES FORWARD, CAUSING THE CAR TO BE HARD TO CONTROL AND UNPREDICTABLE. BMW DEALER REFUSES TO SERVICE CAR. *JB
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.