2009 Harley-Davidson Vrscf problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Service Brakes (5) · Fuel/Propulsion System (3) · Power Train (1)
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 (3)
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 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 2024-05-01 · 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
Vehicle Speed Control 2023-12-04 · M1612 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin m1612: milwaukee-eight and twin cam transmission gear packs. purpose: this bulletin informs dealers that all: ⢠twin cam gear packs on cvo, dyna, police, softail, touring & trike models and ⢠milwaukee-eight gear packs on cvo, police, softail, touring & trike models ordered afte
What owners report
2021-08-19 · Service Brakes · 19,000 mi“the contact owns a 2009 harley-davidson vrscf. the contact stated while riding approximately 20 mph and attempting to stop the motorcycle, the contact stated that the front brakes were functional however, the rear brakes failed to operate as designed. the contact stated no warning light was illuminated. the vehicle was diagnosed and repaired; howev…”
2018-05-09 · Service Brakes · 20,603 mi“my abs brakes quit working. i could skid the tires. also, front brake lever intermitantly freezes. concurrently, i received nhtsa safety recall 18v-076 for brake system flushing. 4-13-2018, i took the motorcycle to southeast harley-davidson for h-d recall no. 0171. after the h-d flush, i was told abs braking still not working and a paid diagnost…”
2017-06-13 · Service Brakes · 9,000 mi“while on a ride my rear brakes pedal just locked up therefore i was unable to use the stopping power of my rear brake. after some research it seems that this is a common problem on harley and that abs module frequently fails. this was very scary moment for me on a motorcycle.…”
2016-11-06 · Fuel/Propulsion System · 7,500 mi“the fuel sensor has failed twice, the first time causing me to run out of gas while on a desert highway (over 100f outside). fortunately there was no-one behind me that might have hit me from sudden deceleration. after the first incident, i replaced the sensor with the same part number from harley davidson. oddly, the same part number is a differ…”
2016-11-06 · Unknown Or Other · 21,000 mi“the bolt that holds the shifter and left foot pedal breaks, allowing the foot pedal to rotate down and become unusable and also allows it to come out and become fod on the roadway. when this happens, the riders left foot falls to the pavement. mine has broken twice, both times at highway speeds. after the first incident, i repaired using the sam…”
2016-10-15 · Service Brakes · 9,885 mi“while exiting my driveway and attempting to use the rear brake pedal, i found that i could not press it and had only the front brakes. i found that while the motorcycle was stationary if i forced the pedal all the way down, it would work normally, but would seize up again without warning while riding. i took the motorcycle to a dealership for servi…”
2016-07-14 · Service Brakes · 68,000 mi · 💥 crash“while driving on a surface street approximately 40mph i was cut off. applied both front and rear brakes. abs engaged normally. without incident but after that the front brake lever became extremely stiff. and only got stiffer until it was impossible to get any stopping action on the front wheel. ..updated 02/10/17 *bf the abs actuator was rep…”
2015-10-30 · Power Train · 3,600 mi“i noticed the engine oil light flickering after the engine is warmed up. i decided to talk to my locl harley dealership and they informed me that it was a known issue and could cause me to wreck if the engine seized. as a quality engineer by trade, i investigated the issue and found similar complaints from others on various harley forums. the issue…”
2014-05-23 · Fuel/Propulsion System · 5,850 mi“the fuel gauge provided on my motorcycle does not operate correctly. it is intermittent and can drop from 3/4 tank to e without any warning.this seems to be a on going problem on almost all the vrod from harley davidson. *tr…”
2012-08-14 · Fuel/Propulsion System · 2,600 mi“fuel gauge does not work correctly. it will go from full to empty to half a tank and everywhere in between no matter how much fuel is actually in the tank. the only way to know if i am getting close to empty is to watch my odometer. *tr…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.