Owners filed 9 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the fuel system, gasoline. No safety recall has been issued.
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Fuel/Propulsion System | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Service Brakes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Electrical System | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
THE ABS HYDRAULIC CONTROL UNIT HAS FAILED WHICH IS CAUSING THE ABS FEATURE TO BECOME UNUSABLE AND BRAKES NOW DEGRADED AND FAULTY WITHOUT PAYING FOR A NEW UNIT WHICH HARLEY HAS QUOTED $1400 TO REPLACE. NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 18V076000 ## VIN PASSED ## HARLEY DAVIDSON 2008 ##
FUEL GAUGE NEVER READS ACCURATE. WHEN BIKE IS FULL THE GAUGE WILL READ FULL BUT WHEN I TURN BIKE OFF AND RESTART IT AGAIN THE FUEL GAUGE WILL READ 1/4 FULL. GAUGE IS VERY INDEPENDABLE. RESULTING IN THE BIKE RUNNING OUT OF GAS BECAUSE THE IMPROPER READING FROM THE FUEL GAUGE. ALSO RESULTING IN HAVING TO CALL AND AUTO SERVICE FOR A TOW OR FUEL.
HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WHO OWN THIS BIKE ARE REPORTING THAT THE FUEL GAUGE IS A PROBLEM THAT THE COMPANY IS UNWILLING TO FIX. SEE THREAD: HTTP://WWW.1130CC.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=106786. *TR
FUEL GAUGE READS ERRATICALLY LOW FROM EMPTY UP TO ACTUAL LEVEL. POSSIBLE FUEL SENSOR FAILURE. UNCOMMANDED CHANGES IN POWER APPARENTLY RELATED TO THIS COMMON PROBLEM MAKE IT A SAFETY ISSUE DUE TO ERRATIC SPEED/THRUST BEHAVIOR. IT HAS OCCURRED AT HIGH SPEEDS IN HEAVY TRAFFIC FORCING ME TO PULL OVER. *TR
I OWN A 2008 VRSCDX HARLEY DAVIDSON - THE REAR BRAKE FAILED AS IT IS EXPOSED TO EXCESSIVE HEAT, DUE TO ITS PROXIMITY TO THE EXHAUST PIPE. THE FAILURE IS CAUSED BY THE PLASTIC PORTION OF THE SWITCH MELTING ALLOWING THE BRAKE FLUID TO LEAK OUT OF THE SYSTEM. I HAVE CONTACTED HD AND PROVIDED THEM WITH MULTIPLE CASES OF OTHER VRSCDX BIKES HAVING THIS EXACT SAME PROBLEM. THIS IS VERY SERIOUS ISSUE AND HD DID NOT INCLUDE THIS MODEL IN THEIR CURRENT RECALL OF OTHER MODELS WITH IDENTICAL PROBLEMS - ALSO HD HAS RE-DESIGNED THE BRAKE SWITCH LOCATION ON NEWER MODELS. PLEASE HELP RESOLVE THIS BEFORE SOMEONE ISN'T INJURED OR KILLED. THANK YOU, *TT *TR
2008 HARLEY DAVIDSON VRSCDX (NIGHT ROD SPECIAL) AFTER PURCHASING MY MOTORCYCLE, 5 MONTHS PASSED WHEN THE FUEL GAUGE WENT OUT. I TOOK IT BACK TO HARLEY, AS IT WAS UNDER WARRANTY, THEY REPLACED SOME PARTS WHICH FIXED THE ISSUE. THE ISSUE RESURFACED AGAIN LAST MONTH (JUNE 2011) WHERE THE FUEL GAUGE IS CONSTANTLY READING EMPTY. IT APPEARS THAT HARLEY HAS NOT ISSUED A RECALL ON THIS ISSUE AND FROM WHAT I HAVE READ, THERE ARE NUMEROUS PEOPLE HAVING ISSUES WITH THIS SAME PROBLEM. *TR
ERRATIC FUEL GAUGE. OFTEN READS FULL WHEN IT'S ACTUALLY MUCH LOWER. THIS IS MORE CRITICAL ON A MOTORCYCLE (AND ON MANUAL TRANSMISSION CARS) AS THE DRIVEN WHEEL AND TIRE ARE DIRECTLY CONNECTED FROM THE ENGINE TO THE ROAD. IF THE MOTORCYCLE ENGINE SUDDENLY AND UNEXPECTEDLY SHUTS DOWN, THE RIDER COULD BE CAUGHT OFF GUARD AND A SERIOUS ACCIDENT COULD OCCUR. ANOTHER CONCERN WOULD BE CROSSING A BUSY INTERSECTION WHERE THE ENGINE UNEXPECTEDLY SHUTS OFF, LEAVING THE RIDER GROSSLY EXPOSED TO SEVERE INJURY. *TR
FUEL GAUGE NOT WORKING ALL THE TIME. *TR
FUEL GAUGE IS ALWAYS ERRATIC IN DISPLAYING THE AMOUNT OF REMAINING FUEL (GENERALLY REPORTS MORE THAN IS REMAINING). THIS MAY CAUSE THE VEHICLE TO RUN OUT OF FUEL, LOSS OF POWER AND STALL. NO CORRECTION CURRENTLY AVAILABLE. *TR
9 of 9 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.
Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.