RoadVitals

2003 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.
3
Latest Jul 24, 2014
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 Jan 25, 2005

What this page shows

Our database holds 3 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2003 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 1–3 of 3

EnginePowertrain (other)
Filed Jul 24, 2014

AFTER A LONG DAY OF RIDING WHEN SHUTTING OFF MOTOR HEARD A NOISE IN THE PRIMARY CHAIN AREA REMOVED COVER TO FIND THAT THE ENGINE COMPENSATOR NUT WAS EXTREMELY LOOSE ABOUT TO FALL OFF I HAVE NEVER TOUCHED THIS AREA AND HAVE PERFORMED THE ROUTINE MAINTENANCE ON THE BIKE IE OIL CHANGES AND INSPECTION AS I'VE READ SEVERAL MODEL YEAR BIKES HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM IF THE NUT WOULD HAVE COME OUT COMPLETELY THIS SURELY WOULD HAVE CAUSE AN ACCIDENT EVEN DEATH IF I WAS GOING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. *TR

NHTSA ID
10615996
Incident
Jul 24, 2014
Fuel system
Filed Jan 25, 2005

THIS IS A MODIFICATION TO COMPLAINT 10107892 WHICH HAD THE WRONG PHONE NUMBER. MY 2003 HARLEY FXDWG WAS RIDDEN TO ORANGE COUNTY HARLEY DAVIDSON AND SAT IN THE SUN FOR 1 HOUR. THE TEMP WAS 64-70. I HAD HALF A TANK OF GAS, WHICH WAS CHEVRON 91 OCT. GETTING BACK ONTO THE 405 FREEWAY AT 70 MPH THE BIKE FELT AS IF IT LACKED POWER. AFTER 30 SEC THE BIKE STARTED SPUTTERING AS IF IT WAS NOT GETTING ENOUGH GAS OR WAS VAPOR LOCKING CAUSING ME TO LOSE SPEED AND POWER. THIS SPUTTERING CONTINUED FOR 3-4 MILES, AFTER WHICH I COMPLETELY BACKED OFF THE THROTTLE AND JUST BARELY OPENED IT, WHICH AFTER APPROXIMATELY. 30 SEC THE BIKE REGAINED FULL POWER (GOT THE GAS IT NEEDED) AND I HAD NO MORE TROUBLE. THIS IS THE THIRD TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED. THE FIRST TIME, APRIL 04 THE BIKE COMPLETELY STOPPED RUNNING 5-6 TIMES ON THE FREEWAY BUT STARTED AGAIN ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE SECOND TIME JULY 2004 THE BIKE SPUTTERED AND BACK FIRED. THE CAUSE ALWAYS SEEMS TO BE THE SAME, THE BIKE SITS IN THE SUN 1-2 HOURS AND THEN ACCELERATING ONTO THE FREEWAY AT A HIGH SPEED THE BIKE DOES NOT GET ENOUGH GAS AND LOSES POWER. WESTMINISTER HARLEY DAVIDSON IN CA HAS TALKED WITH THE FACTORY AND TRIED TWICE TO FIX THIS PROBLEM. I CONSIDER THIS LOSS OF POWER AT FREEWAY SPEEDS A SAFETY ISSUE WHICH COULD LEAD TO A CRASH OR DEATH. *NM

NHTSA ID
10107893
Incident
Jan 22, 2005
Mileage
8,240 mi
Fuel system
Filed Jan 25, 2005

MY 2003 HARLEY FXDWG WAS RIDDEN TO ORANGE COUNTY HARLEY AND SAT IN THE SUN FOR 1 HOUR. THE TEMP WAS 64-70 AND I HAD HALF A TANK OF GAS, WHICH WAS CHEVRON 91 OCT. GETTING BACK ONTO THE 405 FREEWAY AT 70 MPH THE BIKE FELT AS IF IT LACKED POWER. AFTER 30 SEC THE BIKE STARTED SPUTTERING AS IF IT WASN'T GETTING ENOUGH GAS OR WAS VAPOR LOCKING CAUSING ME TO LOSE SPEED AND POWER. THIS SPUTTERING CONTINUED FOR 3-4 MILES. I FINALLY COMPLETELY BACKED OF THE THROTTLE AND JUST BARELY OPENED IT, WHERE AS AFTER ABOUT 30 SEC THE BIKE REGAINED FULL POWER (GOT GAS IT NEEDED) AND I HAD NO MORE TROUBLE. THIS IS THE THIRD TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED. THE FIRST TIME, APRIL 04 THE BIKE COMPLETELY STOPPED RUNNING 5-6 TIMES ON THE FREEWAY BUT STARTED AGAIN ON THE SIDE OF THE FREEWAY. THE SECOND TIME JULY 2004 THE BIKE SPUTTERED AND BACK FIRED. THE CAUSE ALWAYS SEEMS TO BE THE SAME, IT SITS IN THE SUN 1-2 HOURS AND THEN ACCELERATING ONTO THE FREEWAY AT A HIGH SPEED THE BIKE DOES NOT GET ENOUGH GAS AND LOSES POWER. WESTMINISTER HARLEY DAVIDSON IN CA HAS TALKED WITH THE FACTORY AND TRIED TWICE ALREADY TO FIX IT. I CONSIDER THIS LOSS OF POWER AT FREEWAY SPEEDS A SAFETY ISSUE WHICH COULD LEAD TO A CRASH OR DEATH. *NM

NHTSA ID
10107892
Incident
Jan 22, 2005
Mileage
8,240 mi

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 .