RoadVitals

2001 Harley-Davidson Softail 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.
2
Latest Nov 6, 2004
Components namedHow many of our component categories appear on at least one report for this model year. One report can name several.
1
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

What this page shows

Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 2001 Harley-Davidson Softail, 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

  • Engine2100.0%

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.

2
reports

From owner reports, verbatim

I FILED A COMPLAINT ON 9/14/2004, ODI 10091015. THIS IS SUPPLEMENTAL TO THAT COMPLAINT. ADDITIONAL RESEARCH TURNED UP INFORMATION ABOUT AN OIL DELIVERY PROBLEM INHERENT IN THE HARLEY-DAVIDSON TWIN CAM 88 AND TWIN CAM 88B ENGINES. AN ARTICLE IN THE MARCH 2003 EDITION OF EASY RIDERS MAGAZINE OUTLINES HOW TO REPAIR A FACTORY-DEFECTIVE OIL PUMP RELIEF VALVE. THE OIL PUMP RELIEF VALVE STICKS AND DEPRIVES CRITICAL ENGINE COMPONENTS OF LUBRICATION. IF THE RELIEF VALVE STICKS LONG ENOUGH, THE ENGINE WILL DETONATE, CAUSING THE RIDER TO LOSE CONTROL OF THE MOTORCYCLE. ACCORDING TO THE MAGAZINE ARTICLE, THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN KNOWN ABOUT SINCE JUST AFTER THE INTRODUCTION OF THESE ENGINE MODELS, APPROXIMATELY IN 1999. FORTUNATELY, THE ENGINE ON MY MOTORCYCLE FAILED AT LOW SPEED, AND I DID NOT CRASH. HOWEVER, A HIGH-SPEED ENGINE FAILURE ON A MOTORCYCLE WOULD CERTAINLY BE DANGEROUS TO THE RIDER. *JB

NHTSA ID 10098381 · filed Nov 6, 2004

WORN OUT ENGINE AT 3.5 YEARS OLD AND 43,000 MILES

NHTSA ID 10091015 · filed Sep 14, 2004

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 .