RoadVitals

1999 Harley-Davidson Fxdwg Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints 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.
6
Latest Jul 21, 2016
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.
0
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Dec 6, 2000

What this page shows

Our database holds 6 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1999 Harley-Davidson Fxdwg. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

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

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–6 of 6

EngineFuel system
Filed Jul 21, 2016

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.

NHTSA ID
10887548
Incident
May 10, 2016
Mileage
14,000 mi
Engine
Filed Aug 15, 2008

TOTAL ENGINE FAILURE. TERRIBLE GRINDING NOISE INSIDE THE ENGINE. *TR

NHTSA ID
10238353
Incident
Apr 25, 2008
Mileage
11,500 mi
Engine
Filed Nov 21, 2005

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

NHTSA ID
10143375
Incident
Nov 7, 2005
Mileage
20,250 mi
Engine
Filed Oct 10, 2002

ABNORMAL WEAR--CAMS HAD FAILED--CAM BOLT BREAKING(WHICH ALSO RESULTS IN SUDDEN ENGINE FAILURE

NHTSA ID
9004948
Incident
Apr 7, 2001
Engine
Filed May 30, 2001

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE MENTIONED MOTORCYCLE. *AK

NHTSA ID
746137
Incident
Sep 13, 2000
Engine
Filed Dec 6, 2000

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.

NHTSA ID
737423
Incident
Dec 6, 2000

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.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .