Total Complaints
3 filings
BMW R1200 RT · model year
3 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2017BMWR1200 RT carries 3 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 2017 R1200 RT is power train with 1 filings, followed by vehicle speed control (1) and engine (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.
NHTSA currently has 34 investigation files overlapping the 2017 R1200 RT. 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
3 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | 1 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 |
| ENGINE | 1 |
The contact owns a 2017 BMW R 1200 RT. The contact stated while at a red light, the engine was making an abnormal sound. There was no warning light illuminated. The motorcycle was ridden back to the residence. The contact inspected the motorcycle and noticed that there was an excessive amount of metallic particles attached to the drain plug. The motorcycle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of this failure and confirmed that the VIN was not associated with an unknown recall for the failure. The contact was referred to NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 40,000.
Mileage: 40,000
FIRST TIME WHILE PULLING OUT OF A PARKING LOT ON TO A CITY STREET THE MOTORCYCLE SUDDENLY LOST POWER,MISFIRED,CUT OUT AND WOULD BARELY RUN AND WOULD ONLY RUN AT IDLE OR A LITTLE ABOVE CAUSING LOSS OF CONTROL. SECOND TIME THE SAME THING HAPPENED IN THE DRIVEWAY WHILE THE MOTORBIKE WAS NOT MOVING.THE THIRD TIME THIS HAPPENED ON A REMOTE HIGHWAY WHILE MOVING AT AROUND 60 MPH IN A CURVE (TURNING).SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER THE ENGINE WENT INTO LIMP MODE.I HAD TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY AND RIDE ALONG THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WITH BARELY ENOUGH POWER TO MOVE ALONG UNTIL I COULD GET TO A SAFE PLACE TO PULL OVER.ON ALL OCCASIONS AFTER TURNING OFF THE IGNITION AND RESTARTING THE ENGINE IT SEAMED TO RESET AND RUN OK.THIS IS A VERY HAZARDOUS SITUATION ESPECIALLY AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS.AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH I HAVE FOUND THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED TO SEVERAL OTHER PEOPLE AND IT SEEMS THAT IT COULD BE A DEFECT WITH THE ECU AND THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR.
Mileage: 20,141
FIRST TIME WHILE PULLING OUT OF A PARKING LOT ON TO A CITY STREET THE MOTORCYCLE SUDDENLY LOST POWER,MISFIRED,CUT OUT AND WOULD BARELY RUN AND WOULD ONLY RUN AT IDLE OR A LITTLE ABOVE CAUSING LOSS OF CONTROL. SECOND TIME THE SAME THING HAPPENED IN THE DRIVEWAY WHILE THE MOTORBIKE WAS NOT MOVING.THE THIRD TIME THIS HAPPENED ON A REMOTE HIGHWAY WHILE MOVING AT AROUND 60 MPH IN A CURVE (TURNING).SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER THE ENGINE WENT INTO LIMP MODE.I HAD TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY AND RIDE ALONG THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WITH BARELY ENOUGH POWER TO MOVE ALONG UNTIL I COULD GET TO A SAFE PLACE TO PULL OVER.ON ALL OCCASIONS AFTER TURNING OFF THE IGNITION AND RESTARTING THE ENGINE IT SEAMED TO RESET AND RUN OK.THIS IS A VERY HAZARDOUS SITUATION ESPECIALLY AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS.AFTER DOING SOME RESEARCH I HAVE FOUND THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED TO SEVERAL OTHER PEOPLE AND IT SEEMS THAT IT COULD BE A DEFECT WITH THE ECU AND THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR.
Mileage: 20,141
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.