[UPDATE September 22, 2023: Since the initial dealer reports came in, BMW has released the following official statement:
“BMW of North America is dedicated to providing vehicles to our customers that meet their expectations. To ensure that our vehicles are of the highest industry standards, BMW performs ongoing testing and evaluation. Following a recent quality analysis, BMW is pursuing measures to further evaluate the material used in a component of its motorcycle evaporative system, which may not have been produced to material specifications."
Information about what measures BMW plans to take to address this issue has not yet been released, but we expect that it should follow shortly. In the meantime, if you're in North America, this weekend probably isn't the time to go shopping for a new (or used) BMW bike at your local dealership.]
Original piece follows.
Multiple BMW Motorrad dealers in the US are reporting a delivery stop sale notice issued on September 19, 2023, regarding all new and pre-owned BMW models in their inventory—except for the CE-04. The notice specifically states that the issue is not safety-related and adds that vehicles previously sold are not subject to the stop sale order.
As of the morning of September 21, 2023, BMW North America has not made a public announcement about this situation. RideApart has reached out to BMW NA to inquire further and will report back if we receive any updates. Since multiple dealers are reporting this stop-sale, however, it is certainly newsworthy.
Perusal of forums also reveals anecdotal evidence from would-be BMW buyers who say that they were told by dealers that they can’t buy a new or used BMW right now. At least one such report came from a person who said that they’d placed a deposit on the bike in question and had gone to the dealer to pick it up but were told that they could not do so right now.
Hermy’s BMW Motorcycles in Port Clinton, Pennsylvania made a public Facebook post about this issue. In its statement, the dealership wrote that, “Most importantly, we have been told that this is not a safety issue, indicating that it is in some way related to emissions.” It then goes on to reassure its customers that while it will keep them informed of future developments regarding this issue, since it is not a safety-related one, they can continue to enjoy their existing BMW motorcycles with full peace of mind.
An email notification sent out to customers by Missouri’s Gateway BMW also talks about the stop-sale notice and says the same things. It adds that “next steps are being determined,” and that “a notice with measures will be published once information is available from BMW Motorrad USA.” It goes on to say again toward the end that the issue is not safety-related, seeking to assuage any worries that its customers may have about safety issues.
Both the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the US Environmental Protection Agency currently do not have publicly available recalls listed that relate to this matter. The US EPA also has the power to void certificates of compliance for vehicles and engines that are found to be in violation of its requirements, and lists those publicly on its site. Those instances are quite rare. At the time of writing on September 21, 2023, there are currently no EPA void certificates or letters listed for any BMW Motorrad products.
This is a developing story, so RideApart will be sure to keep you updated as we learn more.
