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2018 HARLEY-DAVIDSON Flhr

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Limited comparison data

There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 4 of 5 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Power Train. Review the 3 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine. Review the 2 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

0 crash reports0 fire reports0 injury reports

What owners actually said

5 reports
Mileage unknown · Jul 12, 2026
Engine

I have oil in my breather which is a result from engine sumping problems, I have had Harley Davidson to check recalls and there were none., the bike has 22853 miles on it. Also Harley Davidson checked maintenance records to see if my oil pump had been replaced, they said it had not. The sumping problems could cause a catastrophi…

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I have oil in my breather which is a result from engine sumping problems, I have had Harley Davidson to check recalls and there were none., the bike has 22853 miles on it. Also Harley Davidson checked maintenance records to see if my oil pump had been replaced, they said it had not. The sumping problems could cause a catastrophic failure and an accident

NHTSA ODI #11749847

6,100 miles · Apr 15, 2022
Power Train

The contact owns a 2018 Harley-Davidson FLHR Road King. The contact stated that upon start of the motorcycle there was an abnormal grinding sound coming from the motorcycle without warning. The contact had taken the motorcycle to a dealer where he was informed that the gears inside of the transmission were breaking apart and tha…

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The contact owns a 2018 Harley-Davidson FLHR Road King. The contact stated that upon start of the motorcycle there was an abnormal grinding sound coming from the motorcycle without warning. The contact had taken the motorcycle to a dealer where he was informed that the gears inside of the transmission were breaking apart and that the transmission needed to be replaced. The dealer was able to order a new transmission and replaced the transmission under warranty; however, despite the repair, the failure returned and the contact returned the motorcycle back to the dealer. The contact had attempted to reach the manufacturer on numerous occasions but was unsuccessful after each attempt. The motorcycle had not been repaired and remained in the possession of the dealer. The failure mileage was approximately 6,100.

NHTSA ODI #11460871

17,000 miles · Jun 18, 2020
Power Train

THIS IS A DESCRIPTION OF THE DRIVABILITY PROBLEMS CAUSED BY THE EXCESSIVE PRIMARY CASE FLUID. WHILE IN MOTION ON A CITY STREET THE MOTORCYCLE WOULD SOMETIMES NOT SHIFT DOWN FROM 3RD-2ND OR FROM 2ND TO 1ST GEARS. THIS CAUSES PROBLEMS WHEN TURNING AND WANTING TO USE ENGINE BREAKING TO SLOW DOWN DURING THE TURN. I COULD NOT USE TH…

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THIS IS A DESCRIPTION OF THE DRIVABILITY PROBLEMS CAUSED BY THE EXCESSIVE PRIMARY CASE FLUID. WHILE IN MOTION ON A CITY STREET THE MOTORCYCLE WOULD SOMETIMES NOT SHIFT DOWN FROM 3RD-2ND OR FROM 2ND TO 1ST GEARS. THIS CAUSES PROBLEMS WHEN TURNING AND WANTING TO USE ENGINE BREAKING TO SLOW DOWN DURING THE TURN. I COULD NOT USE THE ENGINE BREAKING AND WOULD HAVE TO USE THE BRAKES QUICKLY AS TO NOT CAUSE AN ACCIDENT. ALSO, WHEN SITTING STILL WITH ENGINE RUNNING IN NEUTRAL AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT, THE TRANSMISSION WOULD SOMETIMES NOT SHIFT FROM NEUTRAL TO 1ST GEAR. THE DELAY IN TRYING TO PROCEED CAUSES OTHER MOTORISTS TO ALMOST RUN INTO THE BACK OF MY MOTORCYCLE. THIS WAS MOST DANGEROUS WHEN TRAVELING IN A GROUP OF MOTORCYCLES RIDING CLOSE TOGETHER. ALSO, DURING AN EMERGENCY STOP CONDITION WHEN TRAVELING ON A CITY STREET ABOUT 50 MPH IN 5TH GEAR, IT IS VERY DIFFICULT GET OUT OF THE WAY FROM CARS OR TRUCKS BEHIND ME. THIS IS BECAUSE YOU MUST BE IN A LOWER GEAR THAN 3RD TO GET OUT OF THE WAY ONCE YOU HAVE COME CLOSE TO STOPPING. MOTORCYCLES CAN STOP MUCH QUICKER THAN CARS OR TRUCKS. IF I CAN'T GET OUT OF THE WAY, I COULD BE INJURED OR KILLED. HARLEY-DAVIDSON TRIED TO FIX THIS ISSUE IN OCT '19. UNDER WARRANTY THEY ADDED A BREATHER KIT PART# 26500027. MY DRIVABILITY ISSUES STARTED ABOUT 6,000 MILES AFTER HARLEY-DAVIDSON SAID IT WAS FIXED. AFTER DRIVING ABOUT 6,000 MILES THE DRIVABILITY PROBLEMS STARTED. AT THAT TIME, I CHANGED THE PRIMARY FLUID AND FOUND 7 EXTRA OUNCES OF OIL. WHEN PUTTING IN THE CORRECT 30 OUNCES OF FLUID THE DRIVABILITY ISSUES STOPPED. SEE ATTACHED TA0022 HARLEY-DAVIDSON KNOWS THE ISSUE. # DEAD? THIS IS FROM PAGE 149 OF MY HARLEY-DAVIDSON OWNER'S MANUAL. NOTICE: DO NOT OVERFILL THE PRIMARY CHAINCASE WITH LUBRICANT. OVERFILLING CAN CAUSE ROUGH CLUTCH ENGAGEMENT, INCOMPLETE DISENGAGEMENT, CLUTCH DRAG AND/OR DIFFICULTY IN FINDING NEUTRAL AT ENGINE IDLE. *TR

NHTSA ODI #11329656

800 miles · May 28, 2019
Power Train

SAME ISSUE WITH 2017-2017 RECALL ON HARLEY CLUTCHES PURCHASED A 2019 ROAD KING BY HARLEY AND THE CLUTCH WILL NOT RELEASE THE GEAR IN 1ST/ BIKE CREEPS FORWARD WHEN CLUTCH HANDLED IS PULLED IN. WONT GO INTO NEUTRAL WITH OUT DOUBLE CLUTCHING THE CLUTCH HANDLE.OUT OF TOWN DEALERSHIP INSPECTED AND FOUND MASTER CYLINDER COVER GASKE…

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SAME ISSUE WITH 2017-2017 RECALL ON HARLEY CLUTCHES PURCHASED A 2019 ROAD KING BY HARLEY AND THE CLUTCH WILL NOT RELEASE THE GEAR IN 1ST/ BIKE CREEPS FORWARD WHEN CLUTCH HANDLED IS PULLED IN. WONT GO INTO NEUTRAL WITH OUT DOUBLE CLUTCHING THE CLUTCH HANDLE.OUT OF TOWN DEALERSHIP INSPECTED AND FOUND MASTER CYLINDER COVER GASKET SUCKED DOWN AND NOT FLUID. THEY FLUSHED THE CLUTCH SYSTEM AND REFILLED. WORKED FOR TEST DRIVE BUT WHEN I HAD PUT 100 MORE MILES ON THE BIKE ISSUES CAME BACK. THIS BIKE HAD A LITTLE OVER 800 MILES ON IT.

NHTSA ODI #11210265

100 miles · May 24, 2018
Engine

ENGINE GETS HOT AND STALLS OUT IN TRAFFIC DUE TO ENGINE CASE FILLING WITH OIL, HARLEY CALLS THIS WET SUMPING, HUNDREDS OF BIKE ENGINES ARE BLOWING UP ALL OVER THE WORLD, ITS ALL OVER THE INTERNET, WITH HARLEYS NEW M8 ENGINE, THE BIKE STALLS OUT WITH NO WARNING, IVE HAD CARS AND TRUCKS ALMOST RUN ME OVER.

NHTSA ODI #11097743

Official recalls

1

18V734000 · Power Train:clutch Assembly

Oct 18, 2018

Harley-Davidson Motor Company (Harley-Davidson) is recalling certain 2017-2018 Police Road King (FLHP), Road King (FLHR), Road King Special (FLHRXS), Electra Glide Ultra Classic (FLHTCU), Ultra Limited (FLHTK), Ultra Limited Low (FLHTKL), Ultra Limited Shrine (FLHTK SHRINE), Police Electra Glide (FLHTP), Street Glide (FLHX), Street Glide Special (FLHXS), Road Glide Ultra (FLTRU), Road Glide (FLTRX), Road Glide Special (FLTRXS), Freewheeler (FLRT), Tri Glide Ultra (FLHTCUTG), CVO Limited (FLHTKSE) and CVO Street Glide (FLHXSE) motorcycles, 2017 Softail Slim S (FLSS), Fat Boy S (FLSTFBS) and CVO Pro Street Breakout (FXSE) motorcycles, 2018 115th Anniversary Ultra Limited (FLHTK ANV), 115th Anniversary Street Glide (FLHX ANV), 115th Anniversary Street Glide Special (FLHXS ANX), 115th Anniversary Tri Glide Ultra (FLHTCUTG ANV), 115th Anniversary CVO Limited (FLHTKSE ANV) and CVO Road Glide (FLTRXSE) motorcycles. The secondary clutch actuator cylinder may leak fluid internally and the clutch master cylinder may lose the ability to generate enough lift to disengage the clutch.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the clutch cannot be disengaged it can result in a loss of control, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: Harley-Davidson will notify owners, and dealers will install a new secondary clutch actuator piston assembly, free of charge. The recall began November 5, 2018. Owners may contact Harley-Davidson customer service at 1-800-258-2464. Harley-Davidson's number for this recall is 0173.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.