Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Foundation Components:Master Cylinder
IF ONLY THE REAR BRAKE WERE APPLIED DURING RIDING, INSUFFICIENT BRAKING PRESSURE WOULD BE AVAILABLE TO SLOW THE MOTORCYCLE, WHICH COULD raises the risk of A CRASH.
Remedy & full details
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE REAR BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER. THE RECALL BEGAN JULY 16, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT BMW AT 1-800-831-1117.
ON CERTAIN MOTORCYCLES, AN INCORRECT SEALING RING WAS MOUNTED TO THE PISTON OF THE REAR BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER.
Complaint volume
Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.
Complaints filed
19
Reporting a crash
1
Reporting a fire
0
Injuries reported
0
Deaths reported
0
Severity Index
0.10
Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.
What owners report most
Power Train — 9 reports
Fuel System, Gasoline — 2 reports
Fuel/Propulsion System — 2 reports
Power Train:Clutch Assembly — 1 reports
Power Train:Manual Transmission — 1 reports
Power Train:Driveline — 1 reports
Tires — 1 reports
Power Train:Driveline:Differential Unit — 1 reports
Service Brakes — 1 reports
What to do
Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.
Other model years
2004
Questions
Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?
Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.
Do I pay for recall repairs?
No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.
Why are there complaints but no recalls?
Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.
From the same data desk
Independent sites, same maintainer, same open-data standards.