2012 Victory Cross Country problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Structure:body (5) · Power Train (4) · Exterior Lighting (2)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Victory Cross Country model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (2)
Engine And Engine Cooling:engine 2017-10-12 · campaign 17V647000 · 26,182 vehicles
Defect: Polaris Industries, Inc. (Polaris) is recalling certain 2010-2017 Victory Cross Country, Cross Country Tour, Cross Roads, Magnum, and Hard Ball motorcycles. If the engine misfires, continued riding may result in heat from the catalytic converter melting the rear brake line and nearby wiring.
Risk: A melted rear brake line can reduce braking performance, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Polaris will notify owners, and dealers will re-route the brake line away from the exhaust catalyst, free of charge. The recall began on November 8, 2017. Owners may contact Polaris customer service at 1-877-737-7172. Polaris' number for this recall is V-17-02.
Equipment 2012-09-18 · campaign 12V457000 · 6,618 vehicles
Defect: Polaris is recalling certain model year 2012-2013 Victory motorcycles manufactured from January 3, 2012, through August 15, 2012. A torqueing procedure may have been missed on some throttle cable retention nuts. On certain motorcycles, the throttle cable retention nuts for either the pull or push throttle cable may have not been torqued correctly.
Risk: If the torqueing is missed and the retention nuts are loose, the retention nuts closest to the throttle body can become dislodged and interfere with the throttle function, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Victory will notify owners and dealers will correctly torque the fasteners free of charge. The safety recall began on October 4, 2012. Owners may contact Victory consumer service department by calling 1-888-704-5290.
Service bulletins (5)
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.
Latches/Locks/Linkages 2017-07-15 · VSA-15-01 R01 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
victory motorcycle has learned that a potential issue may exist in some 2010-2015 victory cross country / cross roads / magnum / hard-ball saddlebag lock assemblies. this service advisory has been released to communicate a process which enables dealers to assist customers and repair qualified motorc
Service Brakes 2017-06-20 · V-17-02 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
victory engineering has determined that some cross country, cross country tour, cross roads, magnum and hard ball models may experience damage to the rear brake line. motorcycles experiencing prolonged misfire conditions may produce increased catalytic converter temperatures causing the retention cl
Equipment:other:owners/Service/Other Manual 2016-08-16 · SAF-16-01 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
a stop ride means the consumer must not operate their vehicle until the repair is complete. we have been made aware that some dealers are incorrectly communicating the importance of stop ride communications.
Latches/Locks/Linkages 2016-03-23 · VSA-15-01 R02 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
victory motorcycle has learned that a potential issue may exist in some 2010-2016 victory cross country / cross roads / magnum / hard-ball saddlebag lock assemblies. this service advisory has been released to communicate a process which enables dealers to assist customers and repair qualified motorc
Equipment 2014-05-12 · TSB-V-14-01 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
victory mc: a defect in chassis mounting point, may crack when used with accessory luggage rack of passenger backrest and would lose support for passenger to remain on motorcycle. *pe
What owners report
2023-08-04 · Power Train“my victory just shuts off for no reason no matter how fast you are moving, causing the bike in one instance for me to drop the bike.…”
2016-09-07 · Engine · 37,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2012 victory cross country. when the vehicle turned right, an abnormal noise was heard from the lower part of the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the retaining clip was fractured and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the …”
2016-06-20 · Power Train · 25,000 mi“when pulling in the clutch to shift the cable snapped right at the clutch arm going into the transmission this happen as i was coming out of a rotary starting to shift up on a secondary rd. when i started looking into this problem it seems to be a very common problem. i feel that this could be a serious issue if you had to make an emergency stop an…”
2015-10-06 · Engine · 17,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2012 victory cross country. while driving approximately 70 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning. the vehicle was restarted. the vehicle was taken to a dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the vin was unknown. the failure mileage was 17,000. …”
2015-07-22 · Equipment“2012 victory cross country motorcycle. consumer writes in regards to lock & ride back rest recall due to lack of parts. *smd…”
2015-04-21 · Structure · 2,750 mi“the right-side saddlebag latch is misaligned to the latch bracket. this misalignment causes the bracket to rub the latch to where the latch eventually breaks. should the latch break, the saddlebag lid will be loose and can cause instability while riding and potentially danger to vehicles behind should anything be sucked out of the saddlebag. this i…”
2014-12-20 · Structure:body · 1,500 mi“victory motorcycles have a defective latch on their right ?saddlebags? that renders the right storage compartment useless. the faulty locking mechanism has appeared since 2010 on several victory models. my right bag will pop open from time to time. it also happens when the lid pops open at very high speeds when leaned over in gusty conditions. a…”
2014-12-09 · Latches/Locks/Linkages · 20,000 mi“right saddle bag latch is wearing , no adjustment . when latch wears thru bag will fly open scattering contents and possibly causing a crash to following vehicles. i believe this is a manufacturing defect as i have heard this is an across the board problem. *tr…”
2014-11-05 · Power Train · 12,000 mi“i was riding on an interstate highway at about 60-65 mph and pulled in the clutch, to downshift from 6th to 5th gear. in mid-shift like this, i then decided that maybe traffic wasn't slowing that much, after all, and was just about to release the clutch and continue to ride in 6th gear. in that second or two, the engine stalled, presumably because …”
2014-10-14 · Structure:body · 10,000 mi“there is a misalignment between the right side saddlebag latch mechanism and the hoop that it captures when the lid is closed. there is no adjustability built into the design so this a manufacturing defect. the resulting problem is that the softer metal of the latch mechanism is worn away by the harder metal of the hoop, eventually resulting in f…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.