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Fuel strip poll

Have you had at least ONE fuel strip fail?


  • Total voters
    835
I knew I should not have

Answered this poll (had a feeling that answering could be tempting fate). Looks like my fuel strip failed today on my 2008 RT. 1.5 months short of 5 years ownership, I bought it new from the dealer. I will find out for sure tomorrow morning.

Update today July 5th...
I answered the poll a few weeks ago, and of course that was a NO FAIL.

Today, just replaced the failed (yesterday) fuel strip. $225 canadian, + 1 hour labour at $108 per hour (usually two hours but they had my tank off already doing something else for me) = so with tax this little fuel strip replacement cost $372.96 Canadian.

How's that for spending money.
 
Last edited:
Cowboy, sorry for the failure, but now you have a 2 year parts and Labor warranty

Save your receipt and if it shows any sign of failing be sure and bring in back to the dealer within the 2 year parts and labor warranty period.
 
So my fuel gauge started working. I bought the bike and a 100 miles into the return trip the gauge slowly went to full. I thought " hey I like this bike it makes it own fuel". Then I ran out at 213 miles, hmm maybe not so good. Any ways 3 months its has been stuck on full. Then on the the way to the MOA rally at Salem, I get a yellow flashing light, WTF! Checked the trip meter and yeah I need fuel, fill up and the gauge goes to full, working like it is supposed to. Trust it, I don't think so, but it has been working fine now through 2000 mile. Hmmm.???? What do you think???
Brian
Canoe BC
Oh yeah 08 GS
 
Fuel strip replacement with 911s

has anyone got instructions for replacing a fuel strip 2005 K1200s, my buddy just got back from Oregon BMW rally and said it can be done with that 911 device and laptop. Thanks Woody
 
The gs911 has nothing to do with it. You have to physically replace the strip. To avoid removing the tank, you can remove the gas filler and have someone with a small hand reach straight down and unplug the old one and plug in a new one. Pay attention to how the connector works. It's a snug fit and takes some wiggle to unplug it.
However, it seems that most of them fail at the connection of the wires to the strip inside an epoxy block on the strip. Some folks have welded this connection back together with a gas grill sparker. Do a search on adv forum and read about it. Pictures too. The thinking is that the connection is lost due to whatever...corrosion, etc. and the sparker rewelds it. They recommend a full tank of gas to avoid worry about air/fuel mixture and a spark. The trouble with this method on a K12 S is tha you have to remove the tank anyway to get to the connector. On a GS, the connector is right up top on the left side if the bike. Same for an rt too somewhat. But if you remove the strip from the tank filler and don't mangle the wires ( like I did ) then you might try just fixing the strip and putting it back.
You do not have to recalibrate the strip with the BMW computer system. I believe BMW has informed the techs of this now, and I never have recalibrated mine. We have been thru 7 strips so far. The new ones work fine (until they break) with out recalibrating.
 
BTW, the resistance of the measuring part of the strip, the center two pins on the connector, is nominally 2500 ohms. The heater part of the strip, the outside two pins, is about 30 ohms I believe. The heater connections don't seem to often break though.
 
Apparently the newer beta versions of the GS-911 code will help you calibrate the strip after it has been replaced.
 
Chalk up another one for my 07 RT. This time costing me just under $350. I was @ 6 months out of the last replacement.

BMW needs to warranty this for at least 5 years per replacement, two just isn't long enough.
 
Chalk up another one for my 07 RT. This time costing me just under $350. I was @ 6 months out of the last replacement.

BMW needs to warranty this for at least 5 years per replacement, two just isn't long enough.

Steve, hopefully you've reported it on the NHTSA website.. it looks as if they're finally applying some heat to BMW over fuel system leaks, be good to get them on the case of failing fuel strips (which they have required recalls for on BMW cars..)
 
Yep. Complaint filed again. From what I saw, after all the sensor failures I know of, there are only 13 complaints. I'm two or three of them. Why aren't people filing complaints when these fail? If it's because it's covered under warranty, you folks need to know that this isn't about who covers the repair - it's about BMW correcting the problem.
 
Better poll...

For all of us that have had a fuel strip come loose - has anyone had a long term fix/replacement that lasted? (Mine is currently laying in the bottom of the tank telling me I have a half tank when I only have about a quart)
 
I appreciate Don putting this poll together but it appears that more is required.

If over 60% of the voters(247) reported at least one failed fuel strip, but only 13 people have reported the issue to the NHTSA, then I doubt the NHTSA is very concerned about the fuel strip problem.

I applaud Don for bringing the issue up before the forum but more must be done. I doubt that BMW NA ever looks at our polling data or even cares.

On the other hand, if there was a large and sudden influx of reporting of the fuel strip failures to the NHTSA then it might get their attention.

I still say that a strong response from the MOA demanding that BMW NA address the issue might get some response. But the MOA would rather not ruffle the BMW NA feathers, so reporting to the NHTSA is the best option.
 
Fuel strip

28000 miles on number five I think. Happens way to often. Only good thing is they won't outlast the warranty!!
 
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