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2018 Harley-Davidson Flhtkse Problems

Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
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Latest Feb 20, 2020
Components namedHow many of our component categories appear on at least one report for this model year. One report can name several.
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Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
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What this page shows

Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 2018 Harley-Davidson Flhtkse, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Reports by component

Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category

  • Engine1100.0%

Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.

Each component in detail

What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words

Engine

Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components.

1
report

From owner reports, verbatim

ENGINE SUDDENLY LOST POWER AND BECAME VERY HOT AFTER SUSTAINED HIGHWAY SPEEDS (75MPH), WHEN SHIFTED DOWN TO PASS ANOTHER VEHICLE. IN ADDITION TO THE LOSS OF POWER VEHICLE FUEL CONSUMPTION INCREASED DRAMATICALLY. DEALER FOUND ENGINE EXPERIENCED ENGINE OIL SUMPING, WHEREBY THE ENGINE OIL PUMP WAS NOT RETURNING SUFFICIENT OIL TO THE OIL TANK. EXCESS OIL WAS COLLECTING IN THE BOTTOM OF THE CRANK CASE. THIS OIL WOULD BUILD UP TO THE POINT THAT THE CRANK WOULD COME INTO CONTACT WITH THE EXCESS AND CAUSE FOAMING. THE RESULTING LACK OF LUBRICATION HAS CAUSED SIGNIFICANT INTERNAL ENGINE DAMAGE. HARLEY DAVIDSON HAS KNOWN ABOUT THIS PROBLEM SINCE THE INTRODUCTION OF THEIR 2017 MODELS. THEY HAVE COME OUT WITH NUMEROUS DESIGN CHANGES TO THE OIL PUMP, HOWEVER, THE SUMPING HAS CONTINUED THROUGH THE 2017, 2018, AND 2019 MODEL YEARS. IN 2020 THEY HAVE NOW COME OUT WITH YET ANOTHER PUMP DESIGN WHICH THEY CONTEND WILL FIX THE PROBLEM. IN THE MEAN TIME HARLEY HAS NOT CONDUCTED A RECALL ON THE PRIOR MODELS, LEAVING THE ENTIRE 3 YEARS OF PRODUCTION OF TOURING MODELS SUBJECT TO LOSS OF POWER DURING CRITICAL PERIODS, SUCH AS ACCELERATING TO PASS ANOTHER VEHICLE. HARLEY RECOMMENDS THAT THE OIL PUMP BE REPLACED AT OWNER COST IF ENGINE UPGRADES ARE ADDED, BUT THEY WILL NOT REPLACE THE PUMP AT THE COMPANY'S EXPENSE UNTIL INTERNAL ENGINE DAMAGE OCCURS. IT APPEARS THAT THEY ARE ATTEMPTING TO WAIT OUT FOR THE EXPIRATION OF THE MANUFACTURERS ORIGINAL 2 YEAR WARRANTY.

NHTSA ID 11310386 · filed Feb 20, 2020

Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .