Recall · 26V658000
BMW of North America recalled the BMW R 18 over power train
4,630
Vehicles covered
1
Model
4
Model years
October 7, 2026
Filed with NHTSA
POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION:SEALS/GASKETS
- The defect
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2021-2024 R 18 motorcycles equipped with the optional reverse gear. The seal for the reverse gear control unit may deteriorate and allow moisture inside the control unit, which can result in the unit overheating.
- What it can cause
- An overheated reverse gear control unit increases the risk of a fire.
- What the dealer does
- Dealers will replace the reverse gear control unit, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed November 27, 2026. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417. Motorcycles in this recall were previously recalled under 24V716. Motorcycles previously repaired under the prior recall will need the new repair completed.
The repair is free, whatever the age or mileage of the vehicle, and whether or not you are the original owner.
Which vehicles
A recall reaches a range of VINs inside these model years, not every car built in them. Yours may not be covered even if it is listed here, and the only way to find out is NHTSA's own VIN lookup.
| Vehicle | Model years | Safety record |
|---|---|---|
| BMW R 18 | 2021 to 2024 | 2022 |
How this campaign compares
At 4,630 vehicles this is a bigger campaign than 74% of the 19,883 vehicle recalls with a published size filed from 1995 up to this one. The middle campaign among them covers 472. It covers model years 2021 to 2024, so the oldest vehicles on it were 5 model years old when the defect was reported to NHTSA.
BMW vehicles have been recalled over the power train 42 times before this, most recently in August 2026 as 26V525000. That is not evidence the earlier repair failed.
This site holds the complaint record for 1 of the 4 model years the campaign names. Their owners have filed 9 complaints with NHTSA, 9 of them before this campaign was filed. The earliest of them reached NHTSA in August 2023, 3 years before this filing.
The vehicles on this campaign carry one other recall published here: 24V716000 (power train).
Check your own car
A VIN check is the only answer for a specific vehicle, and it also shows every other open recall on it, which is usually the reason it is worth doing rather than reading one campaign.
Filed by BMW of North America, LLC with NHTSA on October 7, 2026 as campaign 26V658000. Every word of the defect, consequence and remedy above is NHTSA's published record of that filing, not a summary of it.
Compiled and maintained by guarledes. Data last checked 2026-10-07.
Independent developer and analyst