2002 Harley-Davidson Flht

Routine

Owners filed 6 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the engine and engine cooling › engine. It has been recalled 1 time.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine2
000
Fuel System, Gasoline › Storage › Tank Assembly1
000
Exterior Lighting1
000
Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline1
000
Electrical System › Wiring1
000

1 safety recall

Part 573 reports
Exterior Lighting02V002000
Filed Jan 4, 200228,949 vehiclesHarley-Davidson Motor Company

Defect. ON CERTAIN MOTORCYCLES, THE CLIPS THAT RETAIN THE WIRING FOR THE FRONT FENDER TIP LIGHT CAN BECOME DETACHED FROM THE FENDER, CAUSING THE WIRES TO FRAY AND SHORT.

Risk. THIS COULD CAUSE THE LIGHTING SYSTEM FUSE TO BLOW, LEAVING THE VEHICLE WITHOUT AN OPERATIONAL FRONT FENDER TIP LIGHT, HEADLIGHT, TAILLIGHT, RUNNING LIGHTS, AND PASSING LAMPS (IF EQUIPPED).

Remedy. DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FENDER TIP LIGHT WIRING HARNESS RETENTION CLIPS, AND INSPECT AND REPLACE, IF NECESSARY, ANY DAMAGED WIRING HARNESSES. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN JANUARY 9, 2002. 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 HARLEY-DAVIDSON AT 1-414-342-4680.

What owners reported

Newest filings
Exterior Lighting
Filed Jul 21, 201134,000 milesMI

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 HARLEY DAVIDSON ROAD KING FLHT MOTORCYCLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT A CLIP FROM THE FRONT FENDER BECAME LOOSE AND MADE CONTACT WITH THE FRONT TIRE. AS A RESULT, SOME OF THE FUSES WORE OUT AND THE HEADLIGHTS STOPPED ILLUMINATING. THE VEHICLE WAS PREVIOUSLY REPAIRED UNDER THE RECALL ASSOCIATED WITH NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 02V002000 (EXTERIOR LIGHTING). THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE RECURRENCE AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THERE WAS A WAITING LIST TO HAVE THE VEHICLE REPAIRED AGAIN. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE DEALER WOULD NOT REPAIR THE VEHICLE A SECOND TIME FREE OF CHARGE. NO FURTHER ASSISTANCE WAS PROVIDED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 34,000.

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine
Filed Mar 8, 201029,000 milesWI

I OWN A 2002 HARLEY DAVIDSON FLHT. LAST YEAR (2009) I NOTICED THAT MY FAIRING STARTED TO VIBRATE EXCESSIVELY WHEN THE ENGINE WAS AT 1500 TO 2200 RPM. I BOUGHT THE MOTORCYCLE NEW AND PREVIOUSLY DID NOT HAVE THIS PROBLEM. THE BIKE VIBRATED SO BAD THAT THE FAIRING BRACKET BROKE. I HAD MY MECHANIC REPLACE THE BRACKET AS WELL AS THE FRONT MOTOR MOUNT, WHICH DID NOT HELP THE VIBRATION. MY MECHANIC (INDEPENDENT) BELIEVES MY ENGINE CRANK SHAFT HAS "TURNED" OR IN OTHER WORDS IS OUT OF TOLERANCE. AFTER RESEARCHING THE PROBLEM ON LINE, I HAVE DISCOVERED NUMEROUS OTHER HARLEY DAVIDSON OWNERS HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM, WITH MOTORCYCLES FROM 2001 TO 2010 WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. MY BIKE HAS AROUND 30,000 MILES ON IT, AND VIBRATES SO BAD AT THE MENTIONED RPM'S THAT I CAN'T EVEN SEE THROUGH MY MIRRORS, MAKING THIS A SAFETY ISSUE AS WELL. *TR

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine
Filed Mar 2, 200740,000 milesME

TL* - THE CONTACT CALLED REGARDING THE 2002 FLHT ELECTRIC GLIDE STANDARD HARLEY DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE THE MOTORCYCLE WAS BEING REPAIRED THE MECHANIC DISCOVERED THE CAM TENSIONER WAS WORN OUT . THE MECHANIC REPLACED THE CAM TENSIONER WITH A MECHANICAL TENSIONER. THE FAILURE MILEAGE 40,000. THE CONTACT STATED HIS CONCERN WAS THAT THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS TO INDICATE THE CAM TENSIONER FAILURE. *AK

Fuel System, Gasoline › Storage › Tank Assembly
Filed Jun 12, 20031,200 milesNC

HARLEY-DAVIDSON 2002 FLHT FUEL TANK QUALITY PROBLEM LEADING TO SAFETY RISK OF FIRE AND VEHICLE STALLING EXPOSING OPERATORS AND/OR PASSENGERS TO PERSONAL DEATH OR PERMANENT DISABLEMENT. FUEL TANKS HAS A SIGNIFICANT RUST CHARACTERISTIC ALLOWING CONTAMINATES TO ENTER INTO THE MOTORCYCLES FUEL SYSTEM CAUSING A CARBURETOR OVERFLOW CONDITION RELEASING RAW FUEL ONTO THE MOTORCYCLE SURFACES LEADING TO FIRE RISK AND ENGINE STALL DURING OPERATION. I HAVE HAD YEARS OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH OTHER MODELS OF HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTOR CYCLES WHICH HAVE NEVER EXHIBITED THIS PROBLEM AND ALL HAVE FACED THE SAME ENVIRONMENTS AND OPERATING CONDITIONS WITHOUT THIS ISSUE. THE PROBLEM STRONGLY SUGGESTS THAT ON THE MANUFACTURING DATE OF THE 2002 FLHT FUEL TANKS THE PROCESS INTRODUCED A QUALITY DEFECT FOR THE PRODUCTION RUN. ALSO, A DESIGN CHANGE IN 2003 PRODUCED FUEL TANKS THAT ADDS A REMOVABLE FUEL FILLER CUP TO THE TANK FURTHER DEMONSTRATES THAT APPEARS TO BE A KNOWN QUALITY ISSUE WITH HARLEY-DAVIDSON FUEL TANKS. THERE WOULD BE NO NEED FOR THE CHANGE OTHERWISE. ADDITIONALLY, CURRENT HARLEY-DAVIDSON R&D EFFORTS ON TANK COATING PROCESSES AND TANK COATING COMPOSITION WOULD NOT BE OCCURRING SAVE FOR THIS FUEL TANK QUALITY ISSUE. ALTHOUGH NO DEATHS NOR PERMANENT DISABILITIES HAVE RESULTED AS YET, THERE IS A SAFETY RISK TO THE CONSUMER FOR FIRE AND/OR TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS DUE TO THE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS OF THIS QUALITY DEFECT WITH THE HARLEY-DAVIDSON FUEL TANK. *JB

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline
Filed Sep 4, 2002CO

AMBIANT AIR THAT IS COMING OFF MOTOR GRADUALLY BURNS PASSENGER OR DRIVER OVER A PERIOD OF TIME. CONSUMER NOT AWARE THAT HE IS BEING BURNT UNTIL IT IS TOO LATE. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK

Electrical System › Wiring
Filed Dec 9, 2001NY

FRONT FENDER TIP LIGHT WIRE RUBS AGAINST TIRE, CAUSING WIRE TO FRAY AND MAKE CONTACT CAUSING THE LIGHT FUSE TO SHORT OUT. ALL HEAD LIGHTS, AUXILLIARY DRIVING LIGHTS, RUNNING LIGHTS AND MARKER LIGHTS GO OUT. THIS HAPPENING AT NIGHT AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS COULD PROVE TO BE FATAL.

6 of 6 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 2009
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20220100Routine
20210100Routine
20200100Routine
20193000Routine
20101200Routine
20098300Routine
20084200Routine
20074000Routine
20061000Routine
20051000Routine
20041000Routine
20032100Routine
2002 — this page6100Routine
20016100Routine
20001000Routine
19998100Routine
19984100Routine
19977100Routine
19967100Routine
19953100Routine
19940100Routine

Compare every Flht year →

Reading this record

No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Recall repairs are free for as long as the recall stands. Check whether a specific car still has open work at NHTSA's VIN lookup.

Most recent recall on file: Jan 4, 2002. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.