2016 Harley-Davidson Fltrxs problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Electrical System (5) · Vehicle Speed Control (3) · Tires (1)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Harley-Davidson Fltrxs model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (1)
Power Train:clutch Assembly 2016-06-27 · campaign 16V471000 · 27,232 vehicles
Defect: Harley-Davidson Motor Company (Harley-Davidson) is recalling certain model year 2016 Electric Glide Ultra Classic (FLHTCU), Electra Glide Ultra Classic Low (FLHTCUL), Ultra Limited Low (FLHTKL), Ultra Limited (FLHTK), CVO Street Glide (FLHXSE), Street Glide (FLHX), Street Glide Special (FLHXS), Road Glide Special (FLTRXS), Road Glide (FLTRX), Police Electra Glide (FLHTP), Road Glide Ultra (FLTRU), Fat Boy S (FLSTFBS), Softail Slim S (FLSS), and CVO Softail Pro Street Breakout (FXSE) motorcycles.
Risk: When the engine is running and the motorcycle is in gear, if the clutch cannot be fully disengaged, the motorcycle may move unexpectedly, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Harley-Davidson will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the clutch master cylinder for the presence of gas in the fluid, if so, the dealer will flush the clutch system and rebuild the clutch master cylinder, free of charge. The recall began July 19, 2016. Owners may contact Harley-Davidson customer service at 1-800-258-2464. Harley-Davidson's number for this recall is 0169.
Service bulletins (52)
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 2026-09-17 · M1490 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin m1490 (v 26.9.4): 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). new software update. note: the tech
Wheels 2026-07-25 · M1490 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin m1490 (v 26.8.3): 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 version 26.8.3, release dat
Fuel/Propulsion System 2026-06-11 · M1490 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin m1490 (v 26.7.3): 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 26.7.3. release date:• week
Unknown Or Other 2026-04-25 · M1727 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin m1727: big twin inner primary seal changes. purpose: initial release. this bulletin informs dealers of changes to the inner primary seal (part no. 12052). the seal part number was changed from (part no. 12052a, black in color) to (part no. 12052b, brown in color). a new inner prima
Vehicle Speed Control 2026-04-24 · M1490 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin m1490 (v 26.6.2): 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 26.6.2. release date: week
Vehicle Speed Control 2026-03-31 · M1490 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
service bulletin m1490 (v 26.5.2): 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 26.5.2 release date: week of
Showing the 6 most recent of 52 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2023-06-23 · Vehicle Speed Control“got caught in bad rain and both speedo and tach filled up with water. bike completely shut down on highway doing 60mph (70 mph highway) and if i did not pull in on clutch, bike would have went down and i could have possibly lost my life. i believe a less experienced rider would have not been so fortunate. it is clear this is a manufacture defect as…”
2023-05-05 · Vehicle Speed Control“during a ride my speedometer/tachometer failed due to water intrusion. from what i have seen this is a very common issue. when this happened it caused me to loose my abs, loss all other gauges. this was a huge saefty concern as i could not monitor anything and could have been potentially dangerous or deadly! this is a huge safety concern that i fee…”
2020-09-16 · Tires · 2 mi“purchased a michelin commander 3 front tires for my 2016 harley davidson road glide special. riding home after the installation there was a buzz/vibration in the handlebars from 30 mph to 40. i called michelin and they said to have the balance checked and the wheel bearings checked. both were fine. i put 100 miles on the tire and the problem co…”
2020-07-10 · Electrical System · 9,000 mi“while driving home stop for gas. started motorcycle back up speedometer, rpm gauge, voltage regulator gauge and gas gauge and neutral light indicator all went off. blinker indicators we're not working as of the cruise control also. was read in a forum that this is a regular problem with this certain bike and i should come here to make a complaint t…”
2019-05-12 · Electrical System · 8,237 mi“my speedometer gauge (all gauges) has gotten wet from rain and all of my instrumentation has quit working. i have no warning lights, no speedometer, fuel, battery, nothing. this is a safety issue as i have no idea what speed i am travelling at or if there is an immediate problem with my motorcycle's abs, engine, etc.…”
2019-04-10 · Vehicle Speed Control · 25 mi“i was riding home from work and got stuck in a rain storm and my tach speedo and fuel and amp gauges all quit working i have checked fuses and are all good i talked to the harley dealer and they sad it needs a new speedo and tachometer cluster they say when it gets wet it will short out. so i feel that is a major safety hazard and there should b…”
2018-09-16 · Electrical System · 8,000 mi“after motorcycle getting wet riding in the rain i lost all power to my speedometer cluster do to moisture getting inside…”
2018-06-27 · Electrical System · 10,000 mi“gauge cluster quit working!! was getting ready to take a couple day ride and the speed, tach, fuel, and battery gauge all quit working!!! no way to tell how much fuel or how fast i was going. i was just pulling out of the driveway when this happened.…”
2018-04-13 · Power Train · 6,000 mi · 💥 crash“complete failure of hydraulic clutch. recall for clutch problem was performed in august of 2017. on february 24th 2018, motorcycle was started in my garage and upon shifting into first gear, the motorcycle lunges forward uncontrollably, causing damage to the motorcycle, personnel belongings and bodily injury.…”
2017-06-08 · Steering · 1,200 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2016 road glide special (na). while driving 15 mph, the steering wheel seized without warning. the vehicle was taken to harley-davidson of long island city, new york where the cause of the failure was yet to be determined. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the vin was invalid. the failure mileage was 1,200.…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.