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2008 R1200RT ABS Module Bad

runmerry

New member
Does this not seem a little out of line to have to replace an ABS Module ($2,132.74) after only 14,500 miles. It seems like I have no options except to have the dealer replace. Is this a common problem with BMW? I feel like if BMW can't build a better product than this, then folks should get a price break. Someone please set me straight..
 
There is somebody out there who rebuilds these -
ModuleMaster
2006 South Main
Moscow, ID 83843-8913
Local: 208-892-0764
Toll free: 888-892-0764
Their website doesn't show BMW bikes, but there have been posts here saying that they do this too.
 
First off, welcome to the forum Runmerry. Secondly, your post belongs in the hexhead forum and not here since it is a 1200. Some of the guys on that forum may have some good ideas for you.

I agree that this is very low mileage for such a failure. With low mileage bikes that sit through winters etc. it is really important to flush brake fluids out and that includes the ABS system and not just the calipers and master cylinders. If the ABS system is rarely engaged and fluid just sits in there problems are known to develop. I hope you can convince the dealer that such a low mileage failure is unreasonable though. Good luck.
 
How is the module "bad"? ABS fault lights that can't be cleared at the dealer? ABS doesn't work at all?

Very low miles for an ABS module failure for sure. Now, an 08 with less than 36,000 miles would be covered under the warranty, IF the fault were determined and fixed by 2011. Your dealer "may" be able to get some support/help from BMW NA if he'll go to bat for you on a bike past the warranty time limit but no where near the warranty miles limit.

My 94 has 170K and the ABS is working great. The original one did fail after a minor crash in 98. I rode without ABS for many years until I replaced it with a salvage module off of ebay for $250. Been working great ever since I installed it myself in 06.

Regular "exercise" of the ABS, and your skills with it, DOES also help to keep the ABS unit active. I too have heard of ABS module issues on bikes where the ABS is rarely/never activated.
 
ABS Module bad

I had a Chevy S-10 pickup and the ABS module went out at 44,000 miles. I was looking at $1500 minimum for repair. I called other dealers and talked to their service writers and found out the modules usually last 120,000 + miles.
I called Chevrolet headquarters and argued with their customer service for several days about the low mileage faulty module. They agreed, and picked up the bill. I would call, and be persistent.
 
As Paul pointed out - you are not at the mercy of just BMW to fix this. The ModuleMaster fix takes care of the "usual" problem with these ABS units.. sticky brushes in the activating motor. It's not terribly costly, but it does require R&R of the module and shipping it off to ModuleMaster. So far I've only heard of satisfied customers, and I haven't heard of any that they weren't able to repair. They also include a 5 year (unlimited mileage) warranty on the module once they repair it.

That's the route I'd take if I experienced this problem. It isn't a fluid-flush problem (although that is a VERY GOOD IDEA every 24 months) - it's an electro-mechanical problem that can be fixed and once fixed shouldn't return.

Good luck with it... (and a bit of searching here on the forum should turn up a number of threads on exactly this topic.)
 
I had my 08 RT module go out at 27517 miles . It was out of warranty and fixed by the dealer after they got the OK from BMW. If the dealer makes a sincere effort on your behalf there is a good chance they'll fix it out of warranty. Also in my favor was the fact that it was only out of warranty by 3 months

If that doesn't work go for Paul's suggestion.
 
Does this not seem a little out of line to have to replace an ABS Module ($2,132.74) after only 14,500 miles. It seems like I have no options except to have the dealer replace. Is this a common problem with BMW? I feel like if BMW can't build a better product than this, then folks should get a price break. Someone please set me straight..

Lack of mileage, and therefore use, is not good. Having said that I personally feel that BMW ABS pumps have a higher failure rate than you would anticipate. BMW NA denies this. With 30 years experience in the business I have no doubt BMW is wrong. However, that does not necessarily make me right. This is an example of BMW NA requesting a dealer to pick up a portion of the repair expense when a customer requests a warranty repair when the unit is no longer under warranty. As to why the dealer is expected to pay a portion I have no clue. BMW NA will intentionally make an attempt to offload their expenses onto the dealer network. In my opinion this is a rotten thing to do to a dealer when the OEM failure rate is higher than expected.

Lest I sound too negative let me state I love BMW products in general. Despite certain ways BMW NA will hit up the dealer network for various costs I highly recommend owning a BMW motorcycle. Overall they manufacturer wonderful motorcycles. Forcing the dealer network to absorb OEM warranty issues is not appropriate in my opinion. The concept is simple. All manufacturers make mistakes from time to time. That is the very reason a warranty is in place. That is the OEM telling the customer Look, we're not perfect. We will cover our mistakes for XX number of months and/or miles. An OEM needs to as accurately as possible project their anticipated warranty expenses and add that number to the cost of building units. The failure rate total in effect becomes a part of Cost of Goods Sold although it is laid out in a different manner on the balance sheet. From that number you determine what dealer cost on the unit will be. And then arrive at your MSRP number. Warranty costs should always be included in that manner. Dealers are not the manufacturer and should not be expected to pay for the manufacturers mistakes. It's simply not fair to offload the expense onto individual dealers that are in the midst of an angry customer. BMW NA will disagree with this concept however and certainly has the right to do so.
 
HUGE selling point;

Extended warranty's:). I got my first ever, 7 year one on my current GSA'07 model(bought new in '08). Never bought the long plans before but glad I did and at almost 100000m now, I still have nearly 2 years full coverage for 900$ initial cost. I TOO have heard of the fix for these modulators and its cheap vs. BMW new part, much much cheaper, only a few hundred bucks. I hate brake fluid, NASTY stuff to work with/messy! Its one of the only things I let dealer do on my bike, as I do all my other service needs. My GSA has simple brake system ABS, no pump, so its cheap to have dealer do it, under a 100 bucks. Randy
 
Extended warranty's:). I got my first ever, 7 year one on my current GSA'07 model(bought new in '08). Never bought the long plans before but glad I did and at almost 100000m now, I still have nearly 2 years full coverage for 900$ initial cost. I TOO have heard of the fix for these modulators and its cheap vs. BMW new part, much much cheaper, only a few hundred bucks. I hate brake fluid, NASTY stuff to work with/messy! Its one of the only things I let dealer do on my bike, as I do all my other service needs. My GSA has simple brake system ABS, no pump, so its cheap to have dealer do it, under a 100 bucks. Randy

The word "pump" get's thrown around a lot. Myself included. Depending on motorcycle manufacturer date you have either the 1st generation or Gen 2. Your model years indicates you have a Gen 2 pressure modulator as opposed to the 1st generation. Either one can fail although the Gen 2 should hold up better. The good news is Gen 2 only costs $1.7k to purchase as opposed to a bit over $2.3k for the 1st generation :hungover .

It is important to renew brake fluid. Never ignore renewals with ABS systems in particular. Moisture accumulation over the course of time and perhaps poor engineering (I'm not an engineer so I could be wrong on this point) has the potential to destroy the pressure modulator.
 
Starting with the 2007 model year - all ABS systems were switched to EVO-II ABS (I think that's what they called it) - ie - non-power, non-whizzy system. It's superior in feel to the whizzy system IMHO and much simpler to service.
 
I had my 08 RT module go out at 27517 miles . It was out of warranty and fixed by the dealer after they got the OK from BMW. If the dealer makes a sincere effort on your behalf there is a good chance they'll fix it out of warranty. Also in my favor was the fact that it was only out of warranty by 3 months

If that doesn't work go for Paul's suggestion.

A "sincere effort" may have nothing to do with it. I went through a period where BMW just out and out refused to warranty (technically known as "goodwill") an out of warranty abs pump. At some point they changed their tune but decided the dealer should pick-up part of the repair costs as well as the customer. I guess they felt the dealerships and the customers had apparently designed the pump wrong therefore they should shoulder some of the burden. :banghead:banghead
 
Does this not seem a little out of line to have to replace an ABS Module ($2,132.74) after only 14,500 miles. It seems like I have no options except to have the dealer replace. Is this a common problem with BMW? I feel like if BMW can't build a better product than this, then folks should get a price break. Someone please set me straight..

My ABS unit failed at 9000 miles on my 07 RT.

Doug
 
Abs failures

With all due respect to those who talk about "only $1700, not $2200", I think Im going to make it my lifes work to force BMW to fix their **** ABS and compensate all us poor suckers who had to pay to fix faulty design and lousy abs motor components probably imported from China or some other nefarious point east.......
My 07 GS had two owners prior to me, but that doesnt ever excuse the abs failing at about 8000 miles.....( the dreaded motor brush failure according to Module Master)...

I love my bike, but I am beginning to actually hate BMW the corporate entity for their bloody minded arrogance over this...oh and my son's rear drive failure at about 12,000 miles just to rub salt in the wound hasnt made me any more generous........
And the more I hear about this the madder I get........:banghead
Al
 
ABS failures

With all due respect to those who talk about "only $1700, not $2200", I think Im going to make it my lifes work to force BMW to fix their **** ABS and compensate all us poor suckers who had to pay to fix faulty design and lousy abs motor components probably imported from China or some other nefarious point east.......
My 07 GS had two owners prior to me, but that doesnt ever excuse the abs failing at about 8000 miles.....( the dreaded motor brush failure according to Module Master)...

I love my bike, but I am beginning to actually hate BMW the corporate entity for their bloody minded arrogance over this...oh and my son's rear drive failure at about 12,000 miles just to rub salt in the wound hasnt made me any more generous........
And the more I hear about this the madder I get........:banghead
Al

Interesting comment. I too love my bike and RT's in particular. But with all the truthfulness ever assembled by man BMW NA is the worst OEM I have EVER had to deal with in 30 years. Their arrogance is simply amazing. Even had one of their rep's lie (yes, I do mean lie) to my face once and I called him on it. His response? "I don't give a sh** what you think." Never ever had a rep respond in such a manner. Over the course of time I was pretty much merciless with them as I sincerely wish all BMW dealers need to be but won't. Nothing seems to work with them. Neither kindness nor rudeness or the facts seem to alter their own little reality. NA really needs to be taken down a peg or two but most folks within the dealer network are in fear of doing so. If only every BMW dealer in the USA would rise up against them and fight against such crap. Gee, do I sound mad?

I don't know BMW's method of indoctrination when it comes to their employees but they fall into BMW corporate-speak and that's the end of it.

The sad part is I still love RT's and much of the BMW product in general. Doesn't say much for my intelligence as I still give BMW money for some of the products they make.
 
A ModuleMaster Rebuild

As Paul pointed out - you are not at the mercy of just BMW to fix this. The ModuleMaster fix takes care of the "usual" problem with these ABS units.. sticky brushes in the activating motor. It's not terribly costly, but it does require R&R of the module and shipping it off to ModuleMaster. So far I've only heard of satisfied customers, and I haven't heard of any that they weren't able to repair. They also include a 5 year (unlimited mileage) warranty on the module once they repair it.

That's the route I'd take if I experienced this problem. It isn't a fluid-flush problem (although that is a VERY GOOD IDEA every 24 months) - it's an electro-mechanical problem that can be fixed and once fixed shouldn't return.

Good luck with it... (and a bit of searching here on the forum should turn up a number of threads on exactly this topic.)

This is the route I chose: My ABS module had about 21K and Failed, as Don pointed out it is due to sticky brushes in the activating motor on almost all of the failures. ModuleMaster addresses the brush issue an goes through the pump also. Taylor at ModuleMaster was great. From the time I shipped it out until it was delivered back was about 10 days. I live in Indiana. Great Service, answered all my questions and informed and educated me after it was serviced. I had to wait a couple of weeks after I re-installed the ABS unit to do a check out ride due to the weather, but it worked fine. I highly recommend their services:thumb
 
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How long ago did you replace the pump? Is than an exceptionally low mileage unit vs unit age?

It was in 2010. I had just bought the bike second hand. It was 2 months out of warranty and BMW told me to pound sand because I wasn't the original owner. A costly problem for a new to BMW owner. I almost fell over when the dealer told me that the part was two grand. According to my dealer mechanic the key to keeping the ABS units working properly is to flush the brake fluid regularly. Especially for bikes that are not run regularly. I haven't had any other issues with the ABS unit in 25000 miles since the new unit was installed.

Doug
 
It was in 2010. I had just bought the bike second hand. It was 2 months out of warranty and BMW told me to pound sand because I wasn't the original owner. A costly problem for a new to BMW owner. I almost fell over when the dealer told me that the part was two grand. According to my dealer mechanic the key to keeping the ABS units working properly is to flush the brake fluid regularly. Especially for bikes that are not run regularly. I haven't had any other issues with the ABS unit in 25000 miles since the new unit was installed.

Doug

Yes, shame on BMW NA as they were denying replacement ABS units under what's known as goodwill, in other words after the warranty runs out. I do not know what the total count was for ABS failures but I felt it was higher than anticipated. I am unable to back up my opinion however. It was just a gut feeling on my part and I could be wrong. In addition, the warranty doesn't state it will pay for higher than anticipated failure counts anyway so BMW NA had the right to the decisions they were making in this circumstance.

However, BMW NA, at least in our district and I do not know nationally, did alter their stance somewhat during 2011 if I'm not mistaken and were doing partial goodwill's if the dealer was willing to absorb some of the cost. Apparently the dealer network and the customer were to blame for the design therefore it was their responsibility to absorb some of the cost :scratch .

After 30 years I do feel comfortable in my opinion on this issue. If I were you I would contact BMW NA asking for your ABS failure to be treated in the same manner as their latter stance. I have no clue but I do imagine the failure rate was greater than it should have been and BMW did a partial reverse on their stance. Given the fact the bikes out there had performed properly for many (hopefully many) miles the customer did get some usage out of the component so a partial goodwill might be considered to be fair. I'll leave that for the customer to decide. But contact them to discuss and do not let the matter drop no matter how much you get blown off by Customer Relations. Contact corporate if need be. It's easy for me to say without knowing all the facts but my guess is the failure rate was great enough where BMW NA felt the need to get out in front of this problem.

Given the levying of fines involving BMW's failure to handle recalls properly one might assume the ABS pump problem was not handled properly either. Of course, one doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the other so keep that in mind.
 
According to my dealer mechanic the key to keeping the ABS units working properly is to flush the brake fluid regularly. Especially for bikes that are not run regularly. I haven't had any other issues with the ABS unit in 25000 miles since the new unit was installed.

Doug
Since you have a 2007 (EVO-II brakes) your mechanic is uninformed, or blowing smoke up your butt.. The problem with these modulators is the brush assembly. I haven't heard of any hydraulic failures on them (I'm sure I will - but so far - none.) Changing the brake fluid won't do anything for sticky brushes in the motor of the modulator. This may be a case of "expert expected" - mechanics like to appear as experts in all things mechanical, and if they don't know the real answer a stock one helps maintain their expert status.. (AKA "mechanic blather..") I can't think of the last time I heard a mechanic say "I don't know.." but if you find one - prize them.
 
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