Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade:
A
B
C
D
F
ungraded
What breaks on a 2009 Harley-Davidson Vrscf
Every complaint is filed against a part. Follow any row for the complaints about that part alone.
Brakes
538.5%
1 crashes, 0 fires · median 19,000 mi
Fuel & Propulsion
430.8%
Median failure at 4,225 miles
Other & Unspecified
215.4%
Median failure at 10,712 miles
Electrical System
17.7%
Median failure at 2,600 miles
Transmission & Drivetrain
17.7%
Median failure at 3,600 miles
When it fails
Odometer readings owners gave when they filed. About half of all
complaints include one.
Under 1,000 miles
215.4%
1,000 – 9,999 miles
753.8%
10,000 – 24,999 miles
323.1%
50,000 – 74,999 miles
17.7%
When owners complained
A spike years after the car went on sale usually means a part wearing
out on schedule across the whole fleet — the kind of pattern no single
owner can see from inside their own car.
Nov 2011peak 2Aug 2021
NHTSA investigations into the 2009 Harley-Davidson Vrscf
An investigation is the step before a recall: the agency has seen enough
complaints to look into a pattern itself. An open one means it thinks
something may be wrong and nothing has been fixed yet.
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) opened this investigation in July 2016 based on forty-three (43) Vehicle Owner Questionnaires (VOQ).During the course of this investigation ODI received a total of 145 VOQs related to the alleged defect on the subject motorcycles.Owners allege they experience a sudden and complete loss of brakes on one or both wheels.To better understand the cause of the braking issue on the subject motorcycles, ODI requested NHTSA's Vehicle Research and Test Center (VRTC) conduct inspections and testing of affected vehicle braking systems.Through its work, VRTC determ...
Complaints that involved harm
Reports where the owner recorded a crash, a fire, an injury or a death.
at 68,000 milesPhoenix, AZCrash
SERVICE BRAKES
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 REPLACED, NORMAL BRAKING RETURNED. APPROXIMATELY A YEAR LATER AGAIN ON SURFACE STREET AT APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME BEGAN TO PULL AWAY THEN PANIC STOPPED. I APPLIED BOTH BRAKES, THE ABS ENGAGED. UNTIL THERE WAS A SMALL BUMP IN THE ASPHALT. THEN THE BRAKES RELEASED THEN RENGAUGED.....THE INCREASED STOPPING DISTANCE CAUSED ME TO REAREND THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME. I CAN FIND EXACT DAYS BOTH INCIDENTS OCCURRED IF NECESSARY. FOR NOW I'M USING AN APPROXIMATE DATE FOR THE FIRST INCIDENT.
NHTSA complaint #10884850 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The most recent complaints
In the owners' own words, exactly as filed with NHTSA.
at 19,000 milesBrownstown, MI
SERVICE BRAKES
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; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 19,000.
NHTSA complaint #11429734 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 20,603 milesMayfield Hts., OH
SERVICE BRAKES
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 DIAGNOSTICS WOULD BE REQUIRED TO DETERMINE THE PROBLEM. HARLEY-DAVIDSON CLAIMS THAT THE BRAKE SYSTEM SHOULD HAVE BEEN FLUSHED AND FLUID CHANGED EVERY TWO YEARS! WHAT OTHER VEHICLES BRAKE SYSTEM REQUIRES THAT MUCH ATTENTION? SHOULD H-D BE RESPONSIBLE TO DIAGNOSE THIS PROBLEM FURTHER AT THEIR EXPENSE? 5-9-2018, THE BRAKES ARE STILL INTERMITTENT AND DISFUNCTIONAL. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE!
NHTSA complaint #11092660 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 9,000 milesClifton, NJ
SERVICE BRAKES
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.
NHTSA complaint #10994988 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 21,000 milesColleyville, TX
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
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 SAME DESIGN EXCEPT WITH A STRONGER BOLT. THE SECOND TIME, I ALTERED THE DESIGN AS CAN BE SEEN ON THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO I MADE TO HELP OTHERS. HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=O6SDDFQILG8. IF YOU WATCH THROUGH THE FIRST 1:20 YOU WILL SEE EXACTLY WHAT THE PROBLEM IS AND THE RESULT. THERE IS A HARLEY VROD FORUM ON-LINE THAT DOCUMENTS MANY SIMILAR INSTANCES. THIS IS JUST A POOR DESIGN AND THERE IS AN EASY FIX. SHIFTING TO THE NEXT HIGHER GEAR SEEMS TO BE WHAT FORCES THE ISSUE AS A RIDER WILL PULL UP WITH THE TOE AND THAT ACTION IS REACTED BY THE HEAL.
NHTSA complaint #10924475 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 7,500 milesColleyville, TX
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
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 DIFFERENT CONFIGURATION THAT THE ORIGINAL (INDICATIVE OF A DESIGN ISSUE BEING CORRECTED ON-THE-SLY). THE SECOND FUEL SENSOR WORKED WELL FOR ABOUT 1 YEAR, THEN IT TOO FAILED. BECAUSE I WAS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM (MANY, MANY SIMILAR STORIES ON THE V-ROD ON-LINE FORUM) I DID NOT RUN OUT OF FUEL. RUNNING OUT OF FUEL ON A FUEL INJECTED VEHICLE CAN CAUSE ENGINE DAMAGE. IT IS ALSO DANGEROUS BECAUSE OF THE RAPID DECELERATION THAT OCCURS ON MOTORCYCLES (ENGINE BRAKING) WITHOUT THE WARNING DRIVERS EXPECT OF A BRAKE LIGHT.
NHTSA complaint #10924479 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 9,885 milesLouisville, KY
SERVICE BRAKES
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 SERVICE, AND THEY RECOMMENDED CHANGING THE REAR BRAKE PADS, WHICH I DID. THEY THEN CALLED BACK LATER STATING THAT THE "ABS MODULE" NEEDED TO BE REPLACED, WHICH I COULD NOT AFFORD AT THE TIME. CURRENTLY THE REAR BRAKE PEDAL CAN BE DEPRESSED, BUT IT HAS NO EFFECT WHATSOEVER. THIS IS APPARENTLY BECAUSE THE ABS SYSTEM IS INTEGRAL TO THE BRAKING SYSTEM, WITHOUT THE ABS MODULE WORKING, RATHER THAN HAVING BRAKES WITH NO ABS, THERE ARE SIMPLY NO BRAKES AT ALL.
NHTSA complaint #10916224 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 68,000 milesPhoenix, AZCrash
SERVICE BRAKES
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 REPLACED, NORMAL BRAKING RETURNED. APPROXIMATELY A YEAR LATER AGAIN ON SURFACE STREET AT APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME BEGAN TO PULL AWAY THEN PANIC STOPPED. I APPLIED BOTH BRAKES, THE ABS ENGAGED. UNTIL THERE WAS A SMALL BUMP IN THE ASPHALT. THEN THE BRAKES RELEASED THEN RENGAUGED.....THE INCREASED STOPPING DISTANCE CAUSED ME TO REAREND THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME. I CAN FIND EXACT DAYS BOTH INCIDENTS OCCURRED IF NECESSARY. FOR NOW I'M USING AN APPROXIMATE DATE FOR THE FIRST INCIDENT.
NHTSA complaint #10884850 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 3,600 milesLakewood, CA
POWER TRAIN
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 IS THE TRIPLE SPROCKET BOLT BACKS OUT DUE TO POOR DESIGN AND CAUSES LOW OIL PRESSURE CONDITION AND OVERHEATING. IF THE ENGINE SEIZED ON ONE OF THESE BIKES WHILE RIDING, THIS COULD CAUSE THE REAR TIRE TO SKID RESULTING IN A FATAL CRASH. IF THERE WAS NO CRASH AND YOU WERE ABLE TO SAVE YOURSELF FROM FALLING, YOU WOULD HAVE OVER A $6000 REPAIR TO REPLACE THE ENGINE. I HAVE FOUND MULTIPLE CLAIMS ONLINE FOR THIS ISSUE AND WOULD VENTURE TO SAY, HARLEY DAVIDSON IS ALLOWING A DANGEROUS KNOWN ISSUE HAPPEN.
NHTSA complaint #10787163 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 5,850 milesClifton, NJ
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
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.
NHTSA complaint #10593685 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 2,600 milesCharlotte, NC
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
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.
NHTSA complaint #10470524 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 2,600 milesCharlotte, NC
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
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.
NHTSA complaint #10470524 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 425 milesMinneapolis, MN
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
FUEL GAUGE READS ANYWHERE FROM EMPTY TO FULL AT RANDOM TIMES - REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE ACTUAL FUEL LEVEL IN THE TANK IS. EXAMPLE: #1. I FILLED THE FUEL TANK, AS I DRIVE AWAY FROM THE GAS STATION, THE GAUGE SUDDENLY GOES TO "E", AND LOW FUEL INDICATOR COMES ON; #2. THE GAUGE FLUCTUATED FROM FULL TO EMPTY WITHIN 4 MILES OF FILLING UP. #3. AFTER FILLING THE TANK, I DRIVE DOWN THE ROAD, AND THE GAUGE READS "E" AND THE LOW FUEL INDICATOR COMES ON, I STOP TO FILL, AND ONLY 1 GALLON GOES IN BEFORE IT IS AT THE TOP; AS I DRIVE AWAY THE GAUGE READS "E", AND 118 MILES DOWN THE ROAD IT CHANGES TO "F", ON THE SAME TANK OF GAS. ALL OF THIS OCCURS REGARDLESS OF ELEVATION, SPEED, OR ANGLE OF THE BIKE.
NHTSA complaint #10435616 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 425 milesMinneapolis, MN
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
FUEL GAUGE READS ANYWHERE FROM EMPTY TO FULL AT RANDOM TIMES - REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE ACTUAL FUEL LEVEL IN THE TANK IS. EXAMPLE: #1. I FILLED THE FUEL TANK, AS I DRIVE AWAY FROM THE GAS STATION, THE GAUGE SUDDENLY GOES TO "E", AND LOW FUEL INDICATOR COMES ON; #2. THE GAUGE FLUCTUATED FROM FULL TO EMPTY WITHIN 4 MILES OF FILLING UP. #3. AFTER FILLING THE TANK, I DRIVE DOWN THE ROAD, AND THE GAUGE READS "E" AND THE LOW FUEL INDICATOR COMES ON, I STOP TO FILL, AND ONLY 1 GALLON GOES IN BEFORE IT IS AT THE TOP; AS I DRIVE AWAY THE GAUGE READS "E", AND 118 MILES DOWN THE ROAD IT CHANGES TO "F", ON THE SAME TANK OF GAS. ALL OF THIS OCCURS REGARDLESS OF ELEVATION, SPEED, OR ANGLE OF THE BIKE.
NHTSA complaint #10435616 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.