2008 Harley-Davidson Flhx problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Service Brakes (8) · Vehicle Speed Control (5) · Power Train (3)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Harley-Davidson Flhx model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
23 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (1)
Service Brakes, Hydraulic:antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip 2018-01-29 · campaign 18V076000 · 174,636 vehicles
Defect: Harley-Davidson Motor Company (Harley-Davidson) is recalling all 2008-2011 Touring, CVO Touring and VSRC motorcycles equipped with anti-lock brakes (ABS), including Road King (FLHR), Road King Police (EFI) (FLHP), Road King Police (EFI) (FLHPE), Electra Glide Standard Police (EFI) (FLHTP), Electra Glide Classic (EFI) (FLHTC), Electra Glide Ultra Classic (EFI) (FLHTCU) and Street Glide (EFI) (FLHX), 2008 VROD (VRSCAWA), CVO Road King 4 (FLHRSE4), Night Rod (VRSCDA), CVO Ultra Classic 3 (FLHTCUSE3
Risk: These deposits may cause a valve within the ABS Hydraulic Control Unit to stick, reducing braking ability and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Harley-Davidson will notify owners, and dealers will flush the entire brake system with new Platinum Label DOT 4 brake fluid, free of charge. The recall began on February 14, 2018. Owners may contact Harley-Davidson customer service at 1-800-258-2464. Harley-Davidson's number for this recall is 0171.
Service bulletins (13)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2025-08-16 · M1684 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin m1684: market specific battery introduction. purpose: initial release. this bulletin informs dealers of the availability of new batteries for new original equipment (oe) vehicle production and in the parts and accessories (p&a) catalog. availability of the new absorbed glass mat (ag
Vehicle Speed Control 2025-01-24 · M1650 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin m1650: milwaukee eight and twin cam camshaft drive gear retention kit changes. purpose: this bulletin informs dealers that changes have been made to the camshaft drive gear retention kit and service proceduresfor the milwaukee-eight and twin cam applications. in an effort to increas
Unknown Or Other 2024-09-12 · M1555 · Warranty Program/Extension
service bulletin m1555 (rev e): battery warranty guidelines. purpose: revision e. added: added procedures for the dca-8000 e battery tester.* updated: all sections. this bulletin informs the dealership network that harley-davidson has provided guidelines for battery warranty.
Unknown Or Other 2024-08-08 · M1490 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin m1490 (v 24.8.8): digital technician ii - updates and release notes. purpose: this bulletin informs dealers that harley-davidson has made a software update to digital technician ii (dt ii). digital technician ii (part number: hd-48650). version 24.8.8. release date: week of august 5
Unknown Or Other 2024-07-10 · PAB1158 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
genuine motor parts and motor accessories bulletin pab1158: oil filter packaging and case quantity update. purpose: to inform dealerships that harley-davidson has made updates to oil filters including new part numbers, packaging design, and bulk case quantity changes.
Unknown Or Other 2024-05-01 · M1490 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin m1490 (v 24.6.4): digital technician ii - updates and release notes. purpose: revision. this bulletin informs dealers that harley-davidson has made a software update to digital technician ii (dt ii). digital technician ii (part number: hd-48650). version 24.6.4. release date: week
Showing the 6 most recent of 13 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-04-02 · Service Brakes“after harley davidson performed the recall, the brakes are now lock up due to deposits in brake hydraulic control unit making the motorcycle unsafe to ride. they are stating this is not part of the recall, in the first paragraph of the recall it states that that is the problem that happens from the defective brake fluid. this is exactly why the rec…”
2023-01-17 · Service Brakes“i hit my brakes and i felt the abs system kick in and after i let off the brakes the next time i attempted to use the rear brake the pedal was extremely hard to push and i had no braking power on the rear of the motorcycle. …”
2021-08-28 · Fuel/Propulsion System“motorcycle goes in to limp mode . no throttle response …”
2021-07-07 · Service Brakes“abs module failed causing loss of all brakes on motorcycle. brakes were working. brought cycle to harley dealer for brake fluid flush as part of recall. upon mechanic using digitech to perform service it caused abs module to fail. because of failure motorcycle was left with zero brakes. had to pay out of pocket for new abs module. due to design of …”
2020-09-24 · Power Train · 31,000 mi“while riding on the freeway at 65 mph the check engine light came on and the bike went into a 'limp' mode all of a sudden and would not go over 15-20 mph. had to cut across traffic without getting hit to get to the side of the road. turned off bike and it reset was able to make it home. researched problem on line and have seems similar problems wi…”
2020-09-15 · Unknown Or Other · 52,000 mi“when riding the throttle goes into limp mode. on the freeway while changing lanes lost my throttle in front of cars going 75 mph this is very dangerous!…”
2019-04-23 · Service Brakes“rear pedal became to hard to press abs module fail while in motion on the highway…”
2018-02-27 · Service Brakes · 68,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2008 harley-davidson flhx. the contact received a recall notice for nhtsa campaign number: 18v076000(service brakes). the motorcycle was taken to redding harley-davidson (1268 twinview blvd, redding, ca 96003) for service. after the recall service was performed, the mechanic indicated that the abs indicator remained illuminat…”
2017-09-12 · Unknown Or Other · 25,000 mi“riding my flhx the other day and bike started making noise from my primary and i pulled over and checked noise and comfirmed it was coming from the left side(primary). made it home safe; wasn't far from home. took off the primary cover and checked over the inner primary components. the compensator and adjuster were bad. did some research and found …”
2016-07-20 · Wheels · 24,000 mi · 💥 crash“2008 harley davidson anti lock brake failure investigation-- unable to stop safely when anti lock brakes failed to work properly. brakes were applied mc skidded and lost control and i was ejected from the mc. mc sustained roll over damage which consisted of broken forks, broken front fairing, broken front windscreen, scratches to the left side, b…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.