• Welcome Guest! If you are already a member of the BMW MOA, please log in to the forum in the upper right hand corner of this page. Check "Remember Me?" if you wish to stay logged in.

    We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMWMOA forum provides. Why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the club magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMWMOA offers?

    Want to read the MOA monthly magazine for free? Take a 3-month test ride of the magazine; check here for details.

  • NOTE. Some content will be hidden from you. If you want to view all content, you must register for the forum if you are not a member, or if a member, you must be logged in.

2013 1200 RT bluetooth issues

I have a 2013 R1200RT and don't have the money yet to get any audio helmet sets. I have a C3 helmet and have read all the threads about this problem.

I currently ride with foam earplugs and just use the installed stereo through the speakers. Above 70 mph with the faring pretty far up to block the rush of air, I can still sing along with the music. At that speed I have the volume all the way up to "20". The music is ok but talk radio is useless. I was looking at the Senna headsets but it sounds like nothing is a real answer.

Guess I'll just keep reading the forums and wait for some real solution before I spend any more money.

My next purchase is a back support then touring pegs. Right knee is driving me nuts. Getting old sucks but my feet still hit the floor in the morning so I guess I'm better than most.
 
Gut feeling

My gut tells me you are right. I think it is a design problem. I have only listened to a K abike but the audio was much better. Unfortnately the radios are not interchangable. I am going by today to check on the situation.
 
2013 RT BT and radio...

Hello, I have a new 1200RT. Since day one what ever plays over bluetooth is of terrible quality. The radio and head set has been replaced and still no improvement. Latest from my
Dealer's rep is that BMW will buy back the headset but I have to live with the poor audio. Doesn't sound right to me. I am stuck with a $2000+ optioon that doesn't work as advertised. I quess I will have to start letter writing and contacting a lemon laywer. Seems like BMW would be embarrased to put out such poor equipment. Has anyone else had these issues?

I've had my 2013 since March.... The radio output quality through the BT is garbage. At first I had issues with the Schuberth BT in the their C3 helmet...that thing just flat doesn't work reliably. Then went to the BMW communicator... it pairs but the sound quality through the radio was terrible and it wouldn't reliably tune FM channels. The sound quality was bad even on XM channels. I went to dealer ..they had trouble with FM tuning and then swapped with the radio out of a new bike..tuning got fixed but the bt sound is still bad. An expensive cheap sounding radio. iphone synced to the helmet sounds fine...as does music from teh GPS... Making matters worse is playing the sound through the speakers isn't anything to write home about.
 
Still not right.

So far The BMW headset has been replaced twice, radio replaced, bluetooth antenna replaced, all to no avail. Now BMW wants to replace the radio again. This time it will be in the shop over two weeks. I got the bike in May amd it has been in the shop almost a month from radio issues. I think the radio has a design problem. Too many people are having problems and BMW will not own up to the issue.
 
So far The BMW headset has been replaced twice, radio replaced, bluetooth antenna replaced, all to no avail. Now BMW wants to replace the radio again. This time it will be in the shop over two weeks. I got the bike in May amd it has been in the shop almost a month from radio issues. I think the radio has a design problem. Too many people are having problems and BMW will not own up to the issue.

Yep..that sounds about right. I think the problem is either in the bluetooth interface from the receiver (FM/AM/XM/AUX) and the bluetooth radio or in the bluetooth radio itself. My headset pairs fine, with good sound, to my iphone, and Garmin. Unfortunately this kind of issue is not something a dealer can actually fix...their role is 'bitch and switch'. Until BMW engineering gets the joke that they have a problem this is a game of attrition...how many times can gripe, how long can you be without the bike while the dealer does wholesale swaps...at some point the dealer will stop getting support from BMW and say they can no longer help. Hate to be so cynical but I went through something similar with the nav on my goldwing.
 
bluetooth

Sorry there is no solution. If it were me, I'd just pair to my iphone or GPS as I have done instead of be without the bike while the dealer screws around with a fix that isn't going to work. The bluetooth in this radio is junk and replacing junk with junk is just time you don't have the bike to ride. I don't know of anyone who gets decent bluetooth sound from the radio. Sad but true. What BMW should do is give all of us who bought this option a credit for merchandise to cover for what is obviously a poorly designed product.
 
The more people complain maybe BMW wiil do the right thing. $2500+ invested in junk is terrible. According to NC my bike meets the criteria of a lemon. I plan on proceding along those lines. BMW doens't like embarrassment. Maybe the lemon aspect will get their attention.
 
update

Total: 2- bluetooth antennas, 3-headsets and now 3 complete radio and control modules, counting the original = no resolution of the problem. Waiting on further info from BMW.
 
Last edited:
If it brought bad publicity to BMW it might work. I have thought about painting the bike like a lemon and riding it around. They know this is a problem but will not admit it. I have heard rumors about a new sound system in 2014 bikes. Possibly like the K bikes.That came from a dealer but he didn't have any conformation he could share. If true BMW should swap out bikes with a crap radio for a new bike. Doubt they would do that considering their poor customer relation hx. I do like the class action idea. I am so tired of big companies dodging their responsibilities.
 
If it brought bad publicity to BMW it might work. I have thought about painting the bike like a lemon and riding it around. They know this is a problem but will not admit it. I have heard rumors about a new sound system in 2014 bikes. Possibly like the K bikes.That came from a dealer but he didn't have any conformation he could share. If true BMW should swap out bikes with a crap radio for a new bike. Doubt they would do that considering their poor customer relation hx. I do like the class action idea. I am so tired of big companies dodging their responsibilities.

"If true BMW should swap out bikes with a crap radio for a new bike "

That sounds a little unrealistic to me.. I have the audio system ( and have had in each of the last two bikes) and it seems fine to me. No issues. Pairs with Sena just fine and my iPhone. Sound quality seems fine for in helmet speakers to me.
The idea you get a new bike for a radio issue , seems a little skewed to me. nb. I have the non USA version of the 2013 RT.
regards
paul
 
unrealistica?

I have had the bike since mid May. It has been in the shop for half of the time I have owned it. The option plus headset was $2500 plus, numerous others are having the same problem. I don't think it is unreasonable at all that BMW should be held accountable for the products they sell and my time and hard earned money. My radio will not pair with any head set but the BMW headset. According to the dealer it is the first radio his hesd set would not pair with. He has a
 
unrealistica?

I have had the bike since mid May. It has been in the shop for half of the time I have owned it. The option plus headset was $2500 plus ,numerous others are having the same problem. I don't think it is unreasonable at all that BMW should be held accountable for the products they sell and my time and hard earned money. My radio will not pair with any head set but the BMW headset, and the sound quality is terrible when it does. Normal talk radio sounds like you are running your fingernails across a washing board. Any music except folk is so distorted you can't discern a guitar from a drum. I am not asking for great audio quality. Just something that dosesn't make you want to rip the helmet off. According to the dealer it is the first radio his headset would not pair with. He has a Sena headset. I don't drink BMW koolaide. I don't care if it is a foot pedal problem any company taking money for their products should have to stand behind the product and do what ever they can to make the customer happy. This isn't a fluke issue. BMW knows there is a problem. Maybe some are willing to accept inferior performance for their money, I am not.
 
I have had the bike since mid May. It has been in the shop for half of the time I have owned it. The option plus headset was $2500 plus ,numerous others are having the same problem. I don't think it is unreasonable at all that BMW should be held accountable for the products they sell and my time and hard earned money. My radio will not pair with any head set but the BMW headset, and the sound quality is terrible when it does. Normal talk radio sounds like you are running your fingernails across a washing board. Any music except folk is so distorted you can't discern a guitar from a drum. I am not asking for great audio quality. Just something that dosesn't make you want to rip the helmet off. According to the dealer it is the first radio his headset would not pair with. He has a Sena headset. I don't drink BMW koolaide. I don't care if it is a foot pedal problem any company taking money for their products should have to stand behind the product and do what ever they can to make the customer happy. This isn't a fluke issue. BMW knows there is a problem. Maybe some are willing to accept inferior performance for their money, I am not.

So why doesnt the dealer swap out the radio and Bt device?
Regards
Paul
 
Duh!

Evidently you haven't been reading. He has swapped out three head sets, two bluetooth antennas and 3 radios and control modules and nothing has changed. There is s design flaw in the system somewhere.
 
Last edited:
Piling on in Kansas City

At the risk of redundancy I wanted to acknowledge that I am having the same experiences in Kansas City. I recently had a software update on my 2013 R1200RT that I had hoped would improve the situation, but to no avail. Love the bike, hate the Bluetooth. This is my first experience with the BMW brand. I expected better customer service. I feel helpless. Surely there is something we can do collectively!

Dale Trott
Lenexa, Kansas
2013 R1200RT
 
I am on the third radio counting the original one. I am all for doing something collectively but not sure where to begin.
 
Evidently you haven't been reading. He has swapped out three head sets, two bluetooth antennas and 3 radios and control modules and nothing has changed. There is s design flaw in the system somewhere.

I am not trying to be difficult, but why does mine and a lot of other peoples work just fine?
That would indicate something other than a design flaw.
Regards
Paul
 
Back
Top