2017 Indian Roadmaster

Routine

Owners filed 9 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the electrical system. It has been recalled 3 times.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Electrical System5
000
Unknown or Other2
000
Power Train2
000

3 safety recalls

Part 573 reports
Electrical System19V776000
Filed Oct 29, 201952,745 vehiclesIndian Motorcycle Company

Defect. Indian Motorcycle Company (Indian) is recalling certain 2014-2019 Chief, Chieftain, Roadmaster, and Springfield motorcycles. The gear position switch contacts may oxidize, causing the gear position display to inaccurately show that the motorcycle is in neutral when it is actually in gear.

Risk. If the transmission is not in neutral when the motorcycle is started, the motorcycle may move unexpectedly, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy. Dealers will replace the switch free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 16, 2020. Owners may contact Indian customer service at 1-877-204-3697. Indian's number for this recall is I-19-03.

Electrical System › Wiring › Rear Compartment/Trunk18V055000
Filed Jan 16, 20187,392 vehiclesIndian Motorcycle Company

Defect. Indian Motorcycle Company (Indian) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Roadmaster motorcycles. Water may enter the trunk wiring harness, potentially causing the brake light to remain illuminated even when the brakes are not applied.

Risk. If the brake light remains illuminated when the brakes are not applied, a vehicle behind the motorcycle may not know when the motorcycle is actually slowing, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy. Indian will notify owners, and dealers will replace the trunk wiring harness with an updated harness that contains sealing plugs in the connectors, free of charge. The recall began on January 30, 2018. Owners may contact Indian customer service at 1-877-204-3697. Indian's number for this recall is I-18-01.

Fuel System, Gasoline16V877000
Filed Dec 6, 201623,761 vehiclesIndian Motorcycle Company

Defect. Indian Motorcycle Company (Indian) is recalling certain model year 2014-2017 Chief Classic, Chief Dark Horse, Vintage, Chieftan, Chieftan Dark Horse, Springfield and Roadmaster motorcycles manufactured April 15, 2013, to July 15, 2016. In the affected motorcycles, the fuel rail may contact other components and result in a fuel leak.

Risk. A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.

Remedy. Indian will notify owners, and dealers will install a bracket that will limit movement of the fuel rail, free of charge. The recall began on December 12, 2016. Owners may contact Indian customer service at 1-877-204-3697. Indian's number for this recall is I-16-03.

What owners reported

Newest filings
Electrical System
Filed Jun 3, 2023NV

My motorcycle went in a couple of years ago for a check because it would show neutral but be in gear and vice versa. The dealer cleaned the contacts and pins. It was fine for a bit and now at 55K miles it’s back to doing the same thing. It will show neutral and I’m on the highway doing 65 mph. The. Third gear and I’m stopped with the clutch out. The dealer is now saying we have to pay for this to be checked during routine servicing? 1.8 hours at $165.00 and hour? That’s bs. They know the problem are the pins and springs but they, the dealer, won’t change them. Because parts, to me, are $130 then $$300 in labor. They’re making a huge profit of their mistake. I’ve included a photo of the parts for the repair and the inflated prices for them.

Electrical System
Filed May 30, 2023WA

The clutch switch has failed open. If the engine stalls while in traffic, the rider is required to shift the transmission into neutral before the engine will restart. This could be a dangerous situation depending on what terrane the bike and rider are on. The normal operation for restart of the engine in a stall situation is to simply pull the clutch lever in and hit the start button. The starter should engage regardless of where the gear selector is as long as the clutch lever is pulled in. When researching this problem on YouTube and the Indian Motorcycle Forum, it is wide spread.

Electrical System
Filed Aug 24, 2022AZ

I just had my recall replaced 3 TIMES because it was reading neutral in 6th gear and dropping me out of cruise AND NEVER start while in neutral ever

Power Train
Filed Sep 22, 2020NE

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 INDIAN ROADMASTER. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 19V776000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN) HOWEVER, THE PARTS TO DO THE REPAIR WAS NOT YET AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER HAD EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. AN UNKNOWN DEALER WAS CONTACTED AND CONFIRMED THAT PARTS WERE NOT YET AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. VIN TOOL CONFIRMS PARTS NOT AVAILABLE.

Electrical System
Filed Sep 17, 201910,000 milesIL

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 POLARIS INDIAN ROAD MASTER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS AN ISSUE WITH THE INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM. THE TOUCHSCREEN WAS NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY, WHICH AFFECTED THE GPS SYSTEM, RADIO, VEHICLE STATUS, AND TIRE PRESSURE READINGS. INDIAN MOTORCYCLE OF LIBERTYVILLE (416 N MILWAUKEE AVE, LIBERTYVILLE, IL 60048, (847) 984-2542) SUBMITTED A GOODWILL WARRANTY CLAIM TO THE MANUFACTURER SINCE THE WARRANTY HAD EXPIRED. THE REQUEST WAS DENIED BY THE MANUFACTURER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 10,000.

Power Train
Filed Jun 13, 201913,000 milesAE

LORS DE FORTE PLUIE , LE MOTEUR TOURNE SUR UN SEUL CYLINDRE ET CALE PARFOIS.

Unknown or Other
Filed Apr 8, 20181,100 milesIA

THE CLUTCH CABLE RUBS THE DASH CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE DASH AND CABLE IN TIME THE CABLE COULD BRAKE AND LOOSE CONTROL BY NOT BEING ABLE TO STOP

Unknown or Other
Filed Mar 2, 2018NE

2017 BUICK ROADMASTER. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO VARIOUS SAFETY ISSUES ON VEHICLE. *LD THE CONSUMER STATED THERE WERE SAFETY DEFECTS CONCERNING UN ECE REGULATION 10/ CAR 1CES-002,PART 15/FCC RULES AND CAR LICENSE EXEMPT RSS 210,PN: 9925933, AND DEALERSHIP AND RECALL ISSUES. *JS

Electrical System
Filed Feb 28, 2017837 milesGA

POLARIS CASE # 4018942. ON FEBRUARY 3, 2017 AT ABOUT 5:00 ' 5:30PM EST, MY 2017 INDIAN ROADMASTER (THE 'BIKE') RETURNED THREE COMPUTER ERRORS AND FAILED TO START WHILE I WAS PARKED IN A PARKING LOT LOCATED AT 4260 PEACHTREE RD NE IN BROOKHAVEN, GA. THE INFORMATION CENTER ON THE BIKE DIRECTED ME TO 'CONTACT DEALER' (THE 'INCIDENT'). AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT, THE BIKE HAD 837 MILES ON IT. I CONTACTED DEALER AS INSTRUCTED, WHO REFERRED ME TO DEALER'S SERVICE DEPARTMENT PARTNER ("SERVICE"). SERVICE INSTRUCTED ME THAT THERE WERE KNOWN ISSUES WITH THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE ('ECM') AND MAIN WIRING HARNESS ('MAIN HARNESS') DISCONNECT THROUGH VIBRATION, BUT SUCH ISSUES ARE REPAIRED OSTENSIBLY BY A NYLON ZIP-TIE AS A TEMPORARY SOLUTION AWAITING MANUFACTURER ACTIONS. THE ECM HAS NO POSITIVE LATCHING COMPONENT ON IT TO SECURE THE MAIN HARNESS TO THE ECM AND THUS MAINTAIN A SOLID CONNECTION. THE MAIN HARNESS VIBRATES LOOSE OVER TIME, IN MY CASE 837 MILES, FROM THE ECM AND THUS KILLS THE BIKE, JUST AS I EXPERIENCED. DEALER REPORTED THAT MY INCIDENT IS ONE OF AT LEAST TWO THAT HAVE OCCURRED WITH THE ECM AND MAIN HARNESS ON A BRAND-NEW CHIEFTAIN AND MY ROADMASTER (DOP 12/2/2016), SINCE ON OR ABOUT OCTOBER, 2016; DEALER HAVING SOLD ABOUT 20 MOTORCYCLES SINCE OCTOBER, 2016. THAT IS A FAILURE RATE OF 10% FROM DEALER ALONE OVER A ROUGHLY 1/3 OF A YEAR. IT IS NOTEWORTHY THAT THE BIKE IS COMPLETELY POWERED OFF WHEN THE MAIN HARNESS DISCONNECTS FROM THE ECM: THE ENGINE DIES, NO TURN SIGNALS FUNC

9 of 9 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 2017
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20240200Routine
20230100Routine
20222000Routine
20211000Routine
20190200Routine
20182200Routine
2017 — this page9300Routine
20164500Routine
20153500Routine
20140300Routine
20110300Routine
20100300Routine

Compare every Roadmaster 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: Oct 29, 2019. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.