RoadVitals

2003 Harley-Davidson XL883 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.
1
Latest Sep 2, 2006
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 Sep 2, 2006

What this page shows

Our database holds 1 NHTSA owner-reported complaint for the 2003 Harley-Davidson XL883. 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 1–1 of 1

Electrical
Filed Sep 2, 2006

WHILE RIDING (IN MOTION) THE MOTORCYCLES ENGINE COMPLETELY STOPS RUNNING, WITH NO SPARK TO THE ENGINE, CAUSING NO ACCELERATION SPEED CONTROL OF THE MOTORCYCLE (YOUR BASICALLY COASTING WITHOUT THE ENGINE RUNNING). THIS CAN BECOME A VERY DANGEROUS EXPERIENCE TO SAY THE LEAST, ESPECIALLY WHEN OTHER VEHICLES ARE AROUND YOU. I HAVE HEARD OF MANY OTHER PEOPLE EXPERIENCING THIS SAME PROBLEM. WHILE THE MOTORCYCLE WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY I HAD THE DEALER INVESTIGATE THIS PROBLEM AND THEY SAID THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE BIKE. NOW THAT THE ORIGINAL WARRANTY HAS EXPIRED MY LOCAL HARLEY DEALER STATED THEY FOUND THE PROBLEM AND THE CAUSE IS A BAD IGNITION MODULE, BUT REFUSES TO REPLACE IT AT NO CHARGE (PART & LABOR OVER $400) BECAUSE THERE MANUFACTURERS "EMISSIONS COMPONENTS" WARRANTY IS 18,000 MILES OR 3 YEARS. MY BIKE NOW HAS 36,000 MILES ON IT AND IS 3 YEARS OLD. I HAVE ALSO FOUND THAT THE PART NECESSARY TO REPAIR THIS PROBLEM IS CURRENTLY ON NATIONAL BACKORDER THROUGH HARLEY DUE TO AN OVERWHELMING DEMAND FOR REPLACEMENTS (HARLEY PART # 32466-98A). THEY BIKE WAS PURCHASED NEW IN CALIFORNIA IN AUGUST OF 2003. I WAS INFORMED BY THE EPA THAT, IN CALIFORNIA, ANY NEW VEHICLE PURCHASED IN CALIFORNIA SINCE 1995, THAT HAS AN EMISSIONS RELATED COMPONENT FAIL, MUST BE REPAIRED BY THE DEALER AT NO COST TO THE CONSUMER FOR 8 YEARS OR 80,000 MILES WHEN THE REPAIR COST IS MORE THAN 2% OF THE ORIGINAL PURCHASE PRICE OF THE VEHICLE. THIS PROBLEM IS AT ABOUT THE 5% MARK. *NM

NHTSA ID
10167262
Incident
Aug 5, 2006
Mileage
36,000 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 .