I'm Reaching Out for Help/Information (2017 R1200RT)

I didn't put this in the "Wethead" section because it's not really about my specific motorcycle but a question about BMW and how service/warranty issues are handled at the dealer and corporate level.
Here's the background: On or about March 6, 2021 my radio developed a problem; the sound from Sirius XM and FM became distorted. The sound (in my bluetooth speakers) was perfect on the Aux and UBS inputs but on Sirius XM the sound was like listening to an old worn out vinyl record played with a bad needle. The music was there, the volume was fine, but (believe me) you wouldn't want to listen to it. This sound problem was on all XM channels. My bike was still under warranty, so I took it to the closest BMW dealer -- Broward Motorsports of the Treasure Coast in Hobe Sound, Fl. The dealer told me they would contact BMW warranty dept. to find out how they (BMW) wanted them to deal with the problem. That was March 25. I called the dealer one (1) week later to find out if they had heard from BMW; the answer was "No, it usually takes time." I let another week go by and called the dealer again; again I was told they hadn't heard from BMW and when I asked how long these things usually take, I was told (in a quite nasty tone of voice) not to call anymore, they would call me. That was on-or-about April 7. On-or-about April 8, I called BMW Customer Support to try to learn why it was taking so long for the dealer to get a response about my problem -- I wasn't able to learn anything about why nothing was being done about my radio problem, but on April 15, while on a two-week car trip, I got a call from BMW Customer support saying they would look into my problem. On April 21 I received an Email from customer support saying they were "researching" my "case" and I would hear something by April 28.

I know it's not April 28, yet, but as of today it's been a month since I went to the dealer and I would like to know if this is normal BMW Corporate/Dealer procedure?!! I'm planning a big cross country trip in early June and I would like my radio fixed. My father-in-law was a motorcycle dealer (Berliner Motors and Yamaha among others) and I spent a considerable amount of time involved in the business and I never heard of ANYTHING taking this long to get answered. I'm hoping someone on the forum will be able to tell me if this is SOP or what, if anything, I can or should do to try and get my radio fixed.

Thanks for reading!

Have you contacted Sirius? They have a specific way to “refresh” the signal algorithm.

https://channelselector.siriusxm.com/retailrefresh_view.action#/refreshradio

OM

While you wait for the promised reply from BMW NA CS, you might look at this thread (https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?86504-Why-does-Sirius-XM-sound-SOOO-bad-through-my-Sena-20s) to see if someone might have some help for you.

Also, based on a thread regarding 2021 RTs lacking radios and TPMS due to electronic chip shortages, I think BMW is overwhelmed with issues on the new bikes, which may have led to the delay on your 4-year old bike. Also, I know that BMW NA CS has had some cutbacks in the past year. However, you have a promise of a result by 4/28. Perhaps they'll have found an answer by then.

Omega Man said:

Have you contacted Sirius? They have a specific way to “refresh” the signal algorithm.

https://channelselector.siriusxm.com/retailrefresh_view.action#/refreshradio

OM

Click to expand...

That was the first thing I tried after making sure the problem WAS NOT the bluetooth or the head set.

Please advise how this turns out. Thanks

No help

ExGMan said:

While you wait for the promised reply from BMW NA CS, you might look at this thread (https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?86504-Why-does-Sirius-XM-sound-SOOO-bad-through-my-Sena-20s) to see if someone might have some help for you.

Also, based on a thread regarding 2021 RTs lacking radios and TPMS due to electronic chip shortages, I think BMW is overwhelmed with issues on the new bikes, which may have led to the delay on your 4-year old bike. Also, I know that BMW NA CS has had some cutbacks in the past year. However, you have a promise of a result by 4/28. Perhaps they'll have found an answer by then.

Click to expand...

I got a reply from BMW customer service. The rep said he contacted the dealer (Broward Motorsports Treasure Coast) and they told the rep that they thought the problem was in the bluetooth system in my helmet and that they had told me the same thing. That was a lie! Here's my (too long winded) reply to the rep (edited):

Subject: Re: Your BMW Correspondence [1-17660230988]
Date: April 29, 2021 at 9:16:19 AM EDT
To: CustomerRelations@bmwusa.com

Grant,
I’m glad that we were able to communicate yesterday but devastated by what was communicated!
I want to give you some background and I’ll try to make it brief, but by making it brief, I’ll also be leaving out A LOT of the whole story, so if you have any questions or want any more information/details, please email or call (561) 601-xxxx).
I’m 82 years old, I’ve been riding motorcycles since I was 16. I’ve owned Ariel, BSA, Ducati, Harley, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha and Zundapp. My 2017 BMW R1200RT is my first BMW which I bought in 2018 to “downsize” from a 2010 Harley FLHTK (Ultra Limited). I was quite leery of buying my BMW, because when I visited the local dealer in West Palm Beach, Broward Motorsports (this was 2017/2018) the service manager actually bad-mouthed BMW -- the bikes and the company. Up until now I’ve been happy with my BMW and more than satisfied with my treatment at all the BMW Dealer’s I’ve dealt with: Cycle Works of Barrington, IL (purchase); All Seasons Sports Center, Wooster, OH (600 mile service); Leo’s South, Lakeview, MN (6000 mile service); Gateway BMW, St. Louis, MO ($14,000.00 crash damage); Power BMW & Indian, Palm Bay, FL (12000 & 18000 mile service) Bob’s BMW, Jessup, MD (rear tire).
I was excited when Broward Motorsports opened their BMW dealership in Hobe Sound, FL. I never wanted to go to the dealership in West Palm Beach because I didn’t want to work with people who were bad-mouthing the product they were selling and I sure didn’t want them working on “my baby”! I assumed that their new BMW location would be staffed with new people with positive attitudes about the product they were selling and anxious to treat their customers right. Evidently, i was wrong!! As you can read above, I had been traveling to Power BMW in Palm Bay (95 miles) for service.
Now as to my radio problem: I rode my BMW to “Bike Week” in Daytona Beach; on the ride up everything was fine I was listening to XM and my own recordings on USB in my helmet via Bluetooth headset (Cardo Palk-talk Slim), on the way home when I switched the radio from the USB input to the XM I noticed their was “static” in the music so I switched channels — that didn’t help, the “staticy” sound was on all the channels, so i switched back to the USB input and listened to my own recorded music. When I got home, I did everything I could to get to the root of the problem. I have two (2) bluetooth headsets in two (2) different helmets — the problem was the same in both. I dug out an old Sony Walkman and plugged it into the AUX port that music was clear-as-a-bell just like the USB input, but the XM was, by comparison, terrible. I contacted Sirius XM and had them send a radio reset three (3) times — there was no change.
I then made an appointment with Broward Motorsports in Hobe Sound to have the radio checked out. At Broward Motorsports I was kept waiting for more than an hour until the Service Manager could come out and listen to the radio. The Service Manager refused to put on my helmet to listen to the music through the speakers in the helmet (better sound than the motorcycle’s speakers) and said he couldn’t hear any difference between XM and the USB input (there was/is a difference, even through the bike speakers, but i’s not as dramatic). The dealership is on a busy highway and the ambient noise made it difficult to hear anything and if we took the bike inside where it’s quiet, there is no XM signal to listen to. Two days later, I was back at the dealer. I had taken the whole Palk-talk Slim system out of my second helmet so the Service Manager could put the speaker(s) directly to his ear without putting a helmet on; I also took along the Walkman so that the AUX input would be functioning as well as the USB and, of course the XM. My wife was also there with her car so that she could drive me home if I had to leave the bike and she could also hear bad sound on all the XM channels. After listening to the music, the Service Manager now agreed there WAS a problem and went to get his boss so that the boss could hear it too. The Service Manager came back alone and said that his boss said if he (the Service Manager) could hear it that was good enough for him. The Service Manager said that they would contact BMW and see how BMW wanted them to proceed and that they would call me when they heard from BMW…

Evidently I was lied to!! Now here I am more than a month later, the dealer has never called me, and all I’ve gotten for my time and trouble so far is the run-around.

I don’t know what else to do, so I’m going to try a different BMW dealer — I know there are good ones out there, see above!

PS: Grant, do you think I would be going through all this time, trouble and effort if there wasn’t a real problem?
Sincerely,

XM reception

If the audio issue is only on XM the problem could very well be the SAT Antenna. This has a small pre-amp in the base and has been known to cause similar problem. I do not know where this antenna is located but I do know that finding someone knowledgeable to troubleshoot the issue can be a crap shoot.
I saw similar problems in my previous work life working with Sirus/XM and a few automobile manufacturers.

I live in the Pacific North West, and in Southern California.

I know you think this is a dealer issue, and vocalizing a rant feels good, but it's not their fault. They are just hoping you will tire and go away. The truth is the XM setup on RTW's is just a POS. Period. Dealerships can't do squat about it, and BMW NA has no solution. All you will hear is "crickets". I simply turned it off and refused the numerous offers to buy a subscription from Sirius no matter how low the price, or no matter how long I could try another 6 month trial for free.

If you really want to hear the issues with the sub-standard "radio/bluetiooth" junk, maybe visit the BMW Luxury Touring web site and look at the whole forum subtopic titled "Satellite Radio". Here you will find a vast majority of the posts about satellite antenna location and relocation, and replacement with better antennas. You are lucky to be in a very flat place with few towering dense trees with canyons and mountains my friend. Think 30% no sound what so ever, and 70% scratching sounding audio that reminds you of a AM crystal radio kit from Radio Shack you may have had as a kid.

I've included a link for you if you're interested.

https://www.bmwlt.com/search/18701/?q=XM&t=post&c[child_nodes]=1&c[nodes][0]=53&c[title_only]=1&o=relevance

You can do the same search in the "Wethead" forum there and get similar results.