Owners filed 6 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the engine and engine cooling › engine. It has been recalled 2 times.
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Engine | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Defect. VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: MOTORCYCLES. THESE MOTORCYCLES WERE BUILT WITH A FUEL TANK VENT FITTING THAT COULD BE PLUGGED ALLOWING THE CARBURETOR TO OVERFLOW FUEL.
Risk. THIS COULD RESULT IN A FIRE.
Remedy. DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE FUEL TANK VENT FITTING AND, IF PLUGGED, WILL CORRECT THIS CONDITION.
Defect. VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: MOTORCYCLES. THE ENGINE CAM BOLT CAN LOSE ITS CLAMP LOAD AND/OR BREAK.
Risk. THIS CONDITION CAN CAUSE THE ENGINE TO QUIT RUNNING WITH OR WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING. IN SOME INSTANCES, THE ENGINE COULD RUN ERRATICALLY BEFORE QUITTING.
Remedy. DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE ENGINE CAM BOLTS AND WASHERS.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 HARLEY-DAVIDSON FXDWG. WHILE RIDING THE MOTORCYCLE, THERE WAS A STRONG HESITATION AND THE CAM SENSOR LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHO REMOVED THE CAM COVER AND INDICATED THAT THERE WERE METAL FRAGMENTS. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE CAM BEARINGS AND CAM BOLTS FAILED. IN ADDITION, THE MOTOR MAY NEED TO BE REMOVED FOR FURTHER DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBERS: 99V200000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE) AND 99V003000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 14,000.
TOTAL ENGINE FAILURE. TERRIBLE GRINDING NOISE INSIDE THE ENGINE. *TR
HARLEY-DAVIDSON CAM BEARING FAILURE ON 1999 TWIN-CAM88 & TWIN-CAM88B ENGINES. THIS WAS IDENTIFIED BY HARLEY-DAVIDSON AND A DESIGN CHANGE WAS MADE TO THE CAM BEARING ON DECEMBER 14, 1999. A FIX KIT WAS EVEN PREPARED AND MADE AVAILABLE TO ALL DEALERS. MY 1999 FXDWG CAM BEARING FAILED AND CAUSED OTHER PARTS TO BECOME WORN AS WELL, WHICH IS PUTTING ME IN THE SITUATION OF HAVING TO PAY $3200 TO GET THE BIKE IN CONDITION TO SELL. I'VE READ OTHER "RECALLS" ON THIS SITE AND NOTICED THAT ONE OF THE RECALLS ONLY AFFECTED APPROXIMATELY 14000 BIKES (IT WAS AN ENGINE COOLING ISSUE) AND I'M CURIOUS AS TO WHY A RECALL WASN'T ISSUED ON THIS ISSUE WITH THE CAM-BEARING. I JUST SPOKE TO A HARLEY REP WHO WAS VERY SHORT ABOUT THIS ISSUE AND SAID "IF THIS WERE TO FAIL ON YOUR BIKE, YOU WOULDN'T BE GOING 50 MILES". ASIDE FROM THE "COST" ISSUE HERE, THERE IS CERTAINLY A SAFETY ISSUE IF THE ENGINE WERE TO SEIZE UP AT 65 MPH, ONE WOULD MOST CERTAINLY BE DEAD. I'D LIKE A REVIEW INTO WHETHER THIS ISSUE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A RECALL EVENT IN LIGHT OF WHAT IT COSTS AND THE AFFECTS IT HAS ON THE OWNER AFTER SPENDING $20K ON THE BIKE TO BEGIN WITH. *NM
CAM BOLT BREAKING WHICH RESULTED IN SUDDEN ENGINE FAILURE(ABNORMAL WEAR)
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE MENTIONED MOTORCYCLE. *AK
WOULD YOU PLEASE INVESTIGATE THE HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTOR COMPANY'S (H-D - MILWAUKEE, WI) 1999 88 CUBIC INCH, TWIN-CAM MOTORCYCLE ENGINES? THESE ENGINES HAVE A FAULTED DESIGN RELATED TO THE CAM BEARINGS AND CAM SUPPORT PLATE WHICH CAN RESULT IN CATOSTROPHIC FAILURE. THE BALL BEARINGS WHICH SUPPORT THE CAM ENDS FAIL. THIS FAILURE CAN RESULT IN THE INTERNAL DESTRUCTION OF THE LOWER END OF THE ENGINE WHICH WILL SHUT THE ENGINE DOWN IMMEDIATELY, WITHOUT ANY PRIOR WARNING WHICH CAN RESULT IN A FATAL CRASH. H-D KNOWS A PROBLEM EXISTS AS THEY WILL REPAIR A BLOWN ENGINE ON A "SILENT RECALL" BASIS, BUT WON'T INITIATE A PROACTIVE RECALL. THE PROBLEM WITH THAT APPROACH IS THAT THE VEHICLE OPERATOR MUST EXPERIENCE THE HAZARD OF THE BLOWN ENGINE WHILE UNDER WAY FIRST, RATHER THAN REPLACING THESE BAD BEARINGS BEFORE AN INCIDENT OCCURS. PLEASE CONTACT ME FOR COMPLETE DETAILS.
6 of 6 complaints, reproduced as filed.
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: Jul 23, 1999. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.