RoadVitals

2014 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.
3
Latest Apr 12, 2015
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 Nov 13, 2014

What this page shows

Our database holds 3 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2014 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 1–3 of 3

Body & structure
Filed Apr 12, 2015

DRIVING DOWN FREEWAY AT 60MPH AND BATTERY COVER GOES FLYING OFF NARROWLY MISS HITTING A VEHICLE BEHIND ME. APPARENTLY THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM THAT HAS YET TO BE FIXED PROPERLY AND NO FOREWARNING OR DISCLAIMER IS GIVEN. THROUGH FORUMS I HAVE DISCOVERED THIS PROBLEM IS KNOWN TO HARLEY AND YET THEY CONTINUE TO NOT INFORM THERE BUYERS SENSE 2004. THIS IS A FLAW IN THERE DESIGN. ONLY KNOWN FIX IS TO ZIPTIE IN PLACE. DUE TO THERE CLIPS NOT PROPERLY PERFORMING. THEY NEED TO INSTALL ZIP TIES BEFORE WE PURCHASE THEM OR INSTALL A STRAP TO ENSURE THIS DOES NOT CONTINUE. THERE REDESIGNING OF CLIPS IS NOT WORKING. THIS COULD POTENTIALLY CAUSE A FATALITY. *TR

NHTSA ID
10705170
Incident
Apr 9, 2015
Mileage
1,012 mi
Body & structure
Filed Feb 11, 2015

THE LEFT SIDE BATTERY COVER COMES DOWN AND IMPAIRS THE OPERATORS ABILITY TO SHIFT AND MANAGE THE MOTORCYCLE. THE LEFT SIDE COVER BREAKS FREE AT THE TOP AND HANGS DOWN ON THE LOWER HOOK BRACKET. THE BARREL CLIPS "ON THE COVER" AND SOCKET CLIPS "ON THE FRAME" DO NOT SECURE THE COVER CORRECTLY. ACCORDING TO DEALERSHIP TECHNICIANS, THE ISSUE HAPPENS FROM ENGINE HEAT, VIBRATION, AND INTERNAL MOTORCYCLE COMPONENTS PUSHING AGAINST THE COVER. HARLEY DAVIDSON UPGRADED THE CLIPS IN 2013; HOWEVER, THE ISSUE MADE NEWER 2014 MODELS WORSE. THE COVER COMES FREE AT VARIABLE SPEEDS OVER 25 MILES PER HOUR. THE CLIPS WERE REPLACES AT THE DEALSHIP AND THE ISSUE WAS NOT RESULVED. *TR

NHTSA ID
10682754
Incident
Oct 6, 2014
Mileage
1,165 mi
Visibility
Filed Nov 13, 2014

MIRRORS WILL NOT ALLOW VISION TO THE REAR WITHOUT LEANING YOUR BODY OUT OF THE WAY FIRST ON EITHER SIDE YOU SEE ONLY A SMALL PART OF ROAD IF YOU DO NOT LEAN FIRST BEING AVERAGE 5 FOOT 8 INCH TALL AND NO MATTER HOW MIRRORS ARE ADJUSTED I MOSTLY SEE MYSELF, HAVE BEEN RIDING HD AND OTHER MOTORCYCLES FOR OVER 50 YEARS I DO THINK HD HAS MADE A DESIGN AND SAFETY ERROR ON THESE XL883L MOTORCYCLES. *TR

NHTSA ID
10654881
Incident
Sep 22, 2014
Mileage
3 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 .