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What 6 owners told NHTSA about the 2016 BMW C650 Gt Maxi-scooter

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (6)Engine (6)Transmission & drivetrain (3)Fuel system (1)

3 of 6 complaints match · Transmission & drivetrain · clear filters

Feb 11, 2020Transmission & drivetrainEngine

MY 2016 BMW C650GT SCOOTERS' MECHANICAL TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER FAILED, ALLOWING MY TIMING CHAIN TO JUMP, CAUSING MY VALVES TO SLAM INTO MY PISTONS WHICH BENT THE VALVE STEMS, CAUSING A REPAIR COST OF $3800.00 U.S. HAD THIS HAPPENED WHILE I WAS STILL ON THE FREEWAY (HAD JUST EXITED I-5 IN SEATTLE AND WAS STARTING TO RE-ACCELERATE TO 25 MPH ON 45TH AVE W. WHEN THE TIMING CHAIN SLIPPED CAUSING A VERY LOUD CLACKING NOISE, FOLLOWED BY A STALL AND THE INABILITY TO RESTART) THIS COULD HAVE EASILY CAUSED A DANGEROUS ACCIDENT AND SERIOUS HARM, IF NOT DEATH TO MYSELF, OR ANY RIDER IN THIS SITUATION. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE BY BMW, AND WAS A RECALL ON EARLIER MODELS (2013 & 2014) AND REMEDIED BY REPLACING THEM WITH A HYDRAULIC TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER, HOWEVER BMW CONTINUED TO MANUFACTURE LATER BIKES USING THE MECHANICAL TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER. A QUICK GOOGLE OR FACEBOOK SEARCH OF BMW C650GT OWNER/ GROUPS/FORUMS, TURNS UP MANY DISCUSSIONS FROM OWNERS ALL OVER THE WORLD COMPLAINING ABOUT THIS EXACT SAME ISSUE. IN SOME CASES, BMW HAS PAID 100% OF THE REPAIR, BUT IN MANY BMW WON'T PAY ANYTHING. IN MY CASE THEY ARE PAYING 50% HOWEVER THEY SHOULD BE PAYING 100% OF THE REPAIR BILL AS THIS KNOWN ISSUE. BMW IS NOT EXACTLY CONSISTENT IN THE WAY THAT THEY ARE HANDLING THESE REPAIR COSTS AND ITS TIME THEY DO WHAT IS RIGHT, OR BE FORCED TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT. IT'S DANGEROUS FOR ANY VEHICLE TO STALL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FREEWAY BUT IT'S EXTRA DANGEROUS FOR A MOTORCYCLE RIDER IF THIS HAPPENS WHILE MOVING IN FAST TRAFFIC ON A HIGHWAY. THIS IS A DANGEROUS ISSUE FOR ANY BMW C650GT OWNER W/ A MECHANICAL TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER INSTALLED ON THEIR BIKE. I'VE READ FACEBOOK POSTS FROM OWNERS WITH 2017 C650GTS WHOSE BIKES WERE MANUFACTURED W/ THE MECHANICAL TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER! HOW CAN BMW DO THAT IF THEY'VE RECALLED THIS ISSUE ON EARLIER YEARS AND FIXED THE ISSUE WITH HYDRAULIC TENSIONERS? HELP!

NHTSA ODI 11308626

Jan 22, 2020Transmission & drivetrainEngine

WHILE OPERATING THE VEHICLE ON THE FREEWAY FOR APPROX 20 MIN, AFTER EXITING THE FREEWAY AND COMING TO A STOP AT A STOPLIGHT AND THEN RE-ACCELLERATING TO 25MPH, THE TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER MOVED, MAKING A LOUD CLACKING SOUND ALLOWING THE TIMING CHAIN TO JUMP, RESULTING IN BENT VALVE STEMS ETC. SYMPTOMS WERE A LOUD CLACKING SOUND AT STARTUP - THIS NOISE WOULD GO AWAY AND RETURN INTERMITTENTLY. I ASKED NOBLE RUSH BMW LAKE CITY WA (NOW OUT OF BUSINESS) ABOUT THIS SOUND WHEN MY BIKE WAS IN FOR THE 6,000 MILE SERVICE/BMW BRAKE RECALL SERVICE THIS PAST SUMMER, AND WAS TOLD IT WAS NORMAL AFTER THEY TOOK MY BIKE FOR A TEST RIDE, ESPECIALLY AT STARTUP, AND THERE WAS NO ISSUE. WOW WERE THEY EVER WRONG! MY BIKE IS CURRENTLY IN THE SHOP AND I AM LOOKING AT AT LEAST A $3600.00 REPAIR BILL. A QUICK GOODLE ABOUT THIS SOUND AND TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER ISSUE, YIELDS QUITE A FEW STORIES FROM UNHAPPY BMW C650GT OWNERS ALL ACROSS THE US AND CANADA. PREVIOUS BMW C650GT MODEL YEARS WERE RECALLED DUE TO THIS SAME ISSUE, HOWEVER I CANNOT FIND A RECALL FOR THIS ISSUE FOR MY BIKES YEAR, BUT I CAN HOWEVER FIND MANY 2016 OWNERS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM.

NHTSA ODI 11301155

Jan 17, 2019Transmission & drivetrainEngineFuel system

MI SCOOTER HAS INSTALLED ON TWO RANDON OCASSIONS WHILE COASTING OR SITTING AT A STOP SIGN. ACCORDING TO MY MAKE AND MODEL FORUMS THIS IS AN EXISTING PROBLEM THAT BMW HAS NO FIRM FIX

NHTSA ODI 11170674

Working with the data? Download all 6 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 21, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2016 BMW C650 Gt Maxi-scooter verdict →