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FaultScore report

2001 Indian Chief problems

Owners have filed 10 complaints about the 2001 Indian Chief with NHTSA between 2001 and 2003. The largest single group is the suspension. Across this model's run it ranks 3 of 3 worst.

Read the complaints What breaks Worst years for the Indian Chief All 2001 cars
A

FaultScore 11/100

Higher is worse. Measured against the other years of the Indian Chief.

How this is worked out

The numbers

10

Complaints

0

Crashes reported

0

Fires reported

0

Injuries reported

What kind of bad

The letter says how bad. This says what kind — whether this year drew an unusual number of complaints, unusually dangerous ones, or failures that arrived unusually early.

Complaint volume 18 vs 50 Severity 0 vs 50 Early failure not reported
The dashed ring is 50 — the national norm. Further out is worse.
Complaint volume — 18
Against the median year of the Indian Chief. 50 means typical for this model; 100 means roughly double.
Severity — 0
0% of these complaints involved a crash, fire, injury or death, against a national rate of 9.7%.
Early failure — not reported
Too few complaints recorded a mileage to measure this.

How 2001 compares with every other Indian Chief

Click any bar to open that year's report.

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks on a 2001 Indian Chief

Every complaint is filed against a part. Follow any row for the complaints about that part alone.

Suspension 3 30.0%
Brakes 2 20.0%
Engine & Cooling 2 20.0%
Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 1 10.0%
Fuel & Propulsion 1 10.0%
Electrical System 1 10.0%

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.

Jul 2001 peak 3 Jun 2003

NHTSA investigations into the 2001 Indian Chief

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.

PE01039 Opened 21 Nov 2001 Closed 30 Apr 2002 SUSPENSION

REAR SUSPENSION COLLAPSE

SIX MANUFACTURER INCIDENTS OF BROKEN REAR SUSPENSION SHOCK ABSORBER MOUNTING BRACKETS AND FORTY-TWO OF BROKEN SHOCK BOLTS.THE ORIGINAL SWAY-AWAY REAR SHOCK ABSORBERS (IDENTIFIED BY A BLACK HOUSING) ARE NOT ADEQUATE FOR THE SUBJECT BIKES' GVWR.SHOCK BOTTOMING (I.E., COIL BIND) CONSEQUENTLY OCCURS AT THE UPPER RANGE OF THE MACHINE'S WEIGHT CARRYING CAPACITY AND THE RESULTING LOADS BREAK THE SHOCK MOUNTING BRACKETS AND/OR BOLTS.INDIAN IS RECALLING THE SUBJECT MOTORCYCLES TO INSTALL SHOCK ABSORBERS FROM PROGRESSIVE SUSPENSION.THE PROGRESSIVES HAVE A GREATER LOAD CARRYING CAPABILTY AND MAY BE IDENT...

Recalls on the 2001 Indian Chief

A complaint is one owner's allegation. A recall is the point at which the manufacturer or a regulator agreed the defect is real and dangerous enough to fix for free — however old the car is.

Canada — Transport Canada

Canada runs its own recall programme, and its campaigns do not always mirror the American ones.

Recall 2003302 68 units in Canada

Electrical

On certain motorcycles equipped with Compufire brand series type voltage regulators, if damaged, the voltage regulator can become stuck in an open mode that allows battery voltage to flow back through the regulator. This condition can potentially cause the regulator to catch on fire. Correction: Since Indian Motorcycles is no longer in business, no correction is available.

Recalls cover specific build ranges, so check your own vehicle by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls or, in Canada, Transport Canada.

The most recent complaints

In the owners' own words, exactly as filed with NHTSA.

Stockton, CA

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

CONSUMER STATES WHILE TRAVELING 60 MPH AND WITHOUT ANY INDICATION VEHICLE STALLED.

NHTSA complaint #10024953 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Stockton, CA

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

CONSUMER NOTICED AN ELECTRICAL SHORT IN VEHICLE CAUSING DAMAGE TO BATTERY. DEALER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED.

NHTSA complaint #10024952 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Port Huron, MI

VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD

THE DEALER REFUSED TO HONOR THE RECALL FOR THE WINDSHIELD. *NLM

NHTSA complaint #10017452 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Merced, CA

FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:CARBURETOR SYSTEM

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE MENTIONED MOTORCYCLE.

NHTSA complaint #763225 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Cotati, CA

SUSPENSION:FRONT

FRONT FORK SEALS WERE LEAKING, REPAIRED UNDER WARRANTY.

NHTSA complaint #898945 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Cotati, CA

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC

REAR BRAKES WORE OUT AT 1800 MILES, DEALER REPLACED ROTORS.

NHTSA complaint #898944 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Cotati, CA

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

PRIMARY CASE IS BLOWING OUT OIL. DEALER CANNOT REMEDY.

NHTSA complaint #898942 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Chicago, IL

SUSPENSION

AT 75 AND 80 MPH MOTORCYCLE WILL BEGIN TO WOBBLE. HERE WAS NO CONTROL, AND CONSUMER HAD TO SLOW IT DOWN TO STOP SHAKING. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.

NHTSA complaint #894297 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Cotati, CA

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:PADS

REAR BRAKES WENT OUT ON MOTORCYCLE. BRAKE PADS WERE COMPLETELY WOREN OUT.

NHTSA complaint #893917 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.

Renton, WA

SUSPENSION:FRONT

FORK SEALS WERE LEAKING. SHOCK ABSORBERS FOR FRONT END OF MOTORCYCLE. CONTACT DEALER.

NHTSA complaint #892168 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.