2002 BMW R1150gs: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2002 BMW R1150gs
On the 2002 BMW R1150gs, the failure owners report most often is ABS module or sensor failure, with 7 reports on file. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 30,000 miles. Overall it scores 79 out of 100, severe risk for a 2002.
Severe risk for a 2002 — 14th riskiest of the 328 2002 vehicles we can rate. 24 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork.
The failures owners actually file about
Owners have reported 11 named failure modes on the 2002 BMW R1150gs, and the three most-reported carry 58% of everything filed.
ABS module or sensor failure leads with 7 reports and about 7.0 per 1,000 vehicles.
Other brake problem follows with 5 reports.
Complete transmission failure follows with 2 reports, median 40,000 miles.
By system, the reports fall mostly into brakes (13), fuel (3) and transmission (2).
When these failures get reported
10 of the reports on the 2002 BMW R1150gs came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 30,000 miles.
The busiest stretch is between 20,000 and 30,000 miles, which alone holds 40% of the dated reports.
80% of the dated reports were filed below 36,000 miles, which is early enough that a fair number of these cars were still under a factory warranty when the owner complained.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
- Dashed the median reported mileage
How bad it is when it goes
Across the named modes, 1 a fire and 1 an injury. Those are the words owners used in their own complaints, and NHTSA does not verify them, but they are the closest thing in this data to a measure of what a failure actually did.
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 5.08, where a stalled engine or a failed airbag weighs many times more than a rattling trim panel, and a figure this high means the reports are dominated by failures with safety consequences rather than annoyances. The weighting is set out in full on the methodology page.
What the top failures cost to put right, as editorial estimates for an independent US shop rather than figures from NHTSA: ABS module or sensor failure at $500–$2,400, other brake problem at $300–$1,800, complete transmission failure at $2,800–$8,000 and CV axle or driveshaft failure at $450–$2,200. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
21% of the reports on this year sit in the engine, transmission, drivetrain or cooling systems — the four where a repair bill is usually four figures.
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABS module or sensor failure | brakes | 7 | 2 | — | 22k | — | 7.0 | $500–$2,400 | High |
| Other brake problem | brakes | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5.0 | $300–$1,800 | High |
| Complete transmission failure | transmission | 2 | 2 | — | 41k | — | 2.0 | $2,800–$8,000 | Critical |
| CV axle or driveshaft failure | drivetrain | 2 | 2 | — | 29k | — | 2.0 | $450–$2,200 | High |
| Fuel leak or fuel odor | fuel | 2 | 1 | — | 2k | — | 2.0 | $300–$2,500 | Critical |
| Electrical fire or melted wiring | electrical | 1 | 1 | — | 22k | — | 1.0 | $1,500–$9,000 | Critical |
| Oil leak | engine | 1 | 1 | — | 36k | — | 1.0 | $250–$2,200 | Moderate |
| Loss of braking | brakes | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1.0 | $400–$3,000 | Critical |
| Catalytic converter failure | emissions | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1.0 | $900–$3,500 | Moderate |
| Other fuel system problem | fuel | 1 | 1 | — | 8k | — | 1.0 | $300–$2,200 | High |
| Other body or interior problem | body | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1.0 | $200–$2,000 | Moderate |
Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
How often, against how many were built
Scaled by an estimate of how many of these cars exist, the 2002 BMW R1150gs draws about 24 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 94th percentile of complaint rates among 2002 vehicles we can rate.
That denominator is the weakest number on the page and it is fair to say so plainly. Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound.
The working figure is 999 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 2002 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The odometer reading is the one the owner gave.
ABS module or sensor failure
This motorcycle is equipped with a linked ABS brake system. The rear wheel and front wheel work together. The motorcycle was without brakes for an undetermined period of time. *ak *nm
Complete transmission failure
My 2002 bmw 1150gs motorcycle has only just over 41k miles on the odometer. These motorcycles are advertised to the public as able to drive forever across continents, but that is not the case. I was very surprised when it lost some internal gears last weekend and something let go in the gearbox when shifting between 5th and 6th under normal operating conditions. After regular maintenance, the transmission is no longer operational. Metal fragments came out of the transmission when drained of fluid. This is a total transmission failure and will need to be replaced. I was traveling at near 65 miles per hour on a vehicle with only two wheels and was very fortunate that I was not in heavy traffic and that the bike's rear wheel did not lock up. This could have resulted in a fatality if I were to have been thrown from the bike and / or rear ended by other vehicles upon my rapid deceleration. There was a national highway traffic safety administration recall of similar bikes built around the same time (see number: 02v319000). Although my motorcycle was manufactured and assembled at or near the same time, my local bmw dealer or bmw of north…
My 2002 bmw 1150gs motorcycle has only just over 41k miles on the odometer. These motorcycles are advertised to the public as able to drive forever across continents, but that is not the case. I was very surprised when it lost some internal gears last weekend and something let go in the gearbox when shifting between 5th and 6th under normal operating conditions. After regular maintenance, the transmission is no longer operational. Metal fragments came out of the transmission when drained of fluid. This is a total transmission failure and will need to be replaced. I was traveling at near 65 miles per hour on a vehicle with only two wheels and was very fortunate that I was not in heavy traffic and that the bike's rear wheel did not lock up. This could have resulted in a fatality if I were to have been thrown from the bike and / or rear ended by other vehicles upon my rapid deceleration. There was a national highway traffic safety administration recall of similar bikes built around the same time (see number: 02v319000). Although my motorcycle was manufactured and assembled at or near the same time, my local bmw dealer or bmw of north…
Recalls on the 2002 model year
NHTSA has issued 1 recall campaign covering the 2002 BMW R1150gs, affecting an estimated 999 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.
The campaigns cover service brakes, hydraulic. Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.
One caution about reading these together: a recall usually raises the complaint count for the same part, because owners who read about it go and file. The mileages stay informative; the counts get noisy.
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
2,997 vehicles 2001-07-31- Defect
- Vehicle description: motorcycles. The distance between the brake line and the speedometer drive cable could be too small. Due to compression and rebound of the fork, the speedometer cable could contact and chafe the brake line.
- Consequence
- Brake fluid leakage could occur, resulting in a loss of front braking capability. If this happened, depending on traffic conditions and the rider's reactions, a crash could occur.
- Remedy
- Dealers will measure the distance between the front brake line and speedometer cable. The brake line will be replaced if the distance to the speedometer cable is found to be too small or if it is damaged. A new protective sleeve will be installed in the speedometer cable near the front fender. Owner notification began december 18, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact bmw at 1-800-831-1117, option #5.
Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.
How it ranks in the 2002 field
The score at the top of the page, placed among its peers. The zones are the same thresholds the scorer applies, read out of the scorer itself, so the picture and the band word cannot disagree.
Scores are ranked within the model year, never across years, because an older car has had longer to accumulate reports.
- Left fewer and less serious reports
- Right more, or worse
- Marker this vehicle
Where 2002 sits in the model line
Severe risk for a 2002 — 14th riskiest of the 328 2002 vehicles we can rate. Because the ranking is against the same model year only, age cancels out of it.
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
The limits of complaint data
24 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork. Every count on this page is therefore a floor: it is the number of owners who went to the trouble of filing with a federal agency, which is a small and self-selected fraction of the owners who had the fault.
Of those 24 reports, 10 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 42% of the sample rather than all of it. Owners also round: readings pile up on multiples of ten thousand, which is why this site publishes "about 90,000 miles" and not "91,438".
The failure modes are assigned by software reading the owner's own words, which is accurate in bulk and wrong in individual cases. A mode with a handful of reports may contain a misfiled one.
And nothing here predicts what one car will do. These are other people's complaints, filed years apart, on cars maintained by strangers. Read the page as a map of where this model year has previously gone wrong, then have the specific car in front of you inspected.
Questions this page answers
What are the most common problems with the 2002 BMW R1150gs?
The most-reported failures are abs module or sensor failure (7 reports, median 20,000 miles), other brake problem (5 reports) and complete transmission failure (2 reports, median 40,000 miles). Counts come from owner complaints filed with NHTSA, which are voluntary, so they show what owners bothered to report rather than every fault that occurred.
Is the 2002 BMW R1150gs reliable?
It scores 79 out of 100 on our risk index, which is severe — 14th riskiest of the 328 2002 vehicles we can rate. The score is a comparison against other 2002 vehicles, not a prediction about any individual car, and it is built from complaint rates, severity and how early failures appear.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed