U.S. public vehicle records

Harley-Davidson FLHTCUL problems and owner complaints

Explore the records behind recurring owner reports.

Key facts

3 owner complaints analyzed

4 distinct recall campaigns

16,500 mi median reported failure mileage

Scope: 2015 to 2019 model years. Data updated: 2026-10-01 (October 1, 2026). 3 complaints include usable failure mileage. View data status.

This selection has limited data. It remains available for lookup but is excluded from search indexing.

Owner-reported patterns

Most common problems

Fuel/Propulsion System is the most frequently named component, appearing in 1 of 3 complaints (33.3%). A complaint can name multiple components.

Recurring terms in complaint narratives
Topic	Matching reports	Share of complaints
Transmission and shifting	1	33.3%

Topic matches use published keyword rules. They describe mentions, including negations or comparisons, and do not confirm a diagnosis. Read the matching rules.

Component breakdown

Number of unique complaints naming each component. Top eight shown.

Fuel/Propulsion System

Power Train

Wheels

Fuel/Propulsion System: 1; Power Train: 1; Wheels: 1

Reported problems by failure mileage

Complaint counts in mileage bands. These are not failure rates per vehicle or mile.

Under 25,000

25,000 to 49,999

50,000 to 74,999

75,000 to 99,999

100,000 to 149,999

150,000 and above

Under 25,000: 3; 25,000 to 49,999: 0; 50,000 to 74,999: 0; 75,000 to 99,999: 0; 100,000 to 149,999: 0; 150,000 and above: 0

Under 25,000 miles has the most reports with usable mileage (3). 0 complaints have missing, zero or invalid mileage.

Complaints over time

Year the complaint was filed, not the vehicle model year or incident year. The snapshot year is partial.

2015

2017

2018

2015: 1; 2017: 1; 2018: 1

Pattern summary

Fuel/Propulsion System leads the component reports. Transmission and shifting appears in 1 complaint narratives. Use these patterns to inspect individual reports and prepare questions for a mechanic.

Calculated from recorded counts. An AI narrative has not been published for this selection.

Complaint evidence

Examples provide context, not a representative sample or a verified diagnosis.

Owner report 11021581 · 2017-09-05 (September 5, 2017)

DRIVING MY BIKE WHICH I PURCHASED NEW IN FEBRUARY 2015 AND CURRENTLY HAVE 18,000 MILES ON IT I LOST CONTROL OF SHIFTING GEARS. TURNS OUT TO BE THE SHIFTER SHAFT AND CONTROL LEVER WERE STRIPPED. THE GEARS WERE WORN DOWN SO BAD THAT THE SHIFTER WAS NOT ACTIVATING THE CHANGE OF GEARS. I WAS IN MILWAUKEE AND HAD TO LIMP THE BIKE OUT OF BUSY TRAFFIC TO DIAGNOISE THE PROBLEM. THEN I HAD TO DRIVE IN SECOND GEAR FOR OVER 8 MILES AT 25 MPH ON ROADS THAT WERE 45 MPH. VERY UNCOMFORTABLE AND NOTHING I COULD DO. SIMPLE FIX, REPLACE SHAFT AND SHIFT LEV…

Owner-reported narrative. 18,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 11021581 at NHTSA ↗

Compare model years

Recalls by model year

All campaigns in the snapshot affecting each model year, including recalls announced years later.

From yearThrough year

Recall campaigns

Shared campaigns appear once in each affected model year.

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2015: 2; 2016: 1; 2017: 1; 2018: 1; 2019: 1

First model yearSecond model year

Year-by-year records

Harley-Davidson FLHTCUL model-year comparison
Model year	Complaints	Recalls	Change in recalls
2015	3	2	Not available
2016	0	1	-1
2017	0	1	0
2018	0	1	0
2019	0	1	0

Explore the data

Vehicle analysis explorer

Inspect model-year patterns, reported mileage, monthly activity and the evidence behind each signal.

Data completeness

3 unique complaints in this selection. Analysis snapshot: 2026-10-01.

100.0%Usable mileage3 / 3 records

100.0%Valid incident date3 / 3 records

100.0%Valid filing date3 / 3 records

100.0%Ordered incident and filing dates3 / 3 records

Missing, zero and invalid mileage is excluded. Dates after the snapshot are excluded. Examples are limited selections, not a representative sample.

Problems by model year

Model-wide comparison of the eight most reported components across the model. Cells show counts and shares within each model year. Open a cell for source examples.

From model yearThrough model year

Component complaint heatmap
Component	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Fuel/Propulsion System	133.3% ODI 10807450 · 20 mi I PURCHASED A 2015 ULTRA CLASSIC LOW IN JUNE 2015 A GREAT MACHINE AND ABOUT 4500 MILES ON IT ALREADY BUT I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT. WHEN I TAKE OFF FROM A STOP AT AN INTERSECTION OR TRAFFIC LIGHT THE ENGINE STUMBLES AND KNOCKS, SORT OF LIKE WHEN YOU TRY TO TAKE OFF IN 2ND GEAR. I HAVE TAKEN IT TO ADIRONDACK HARLEY-DAVIDSON 106 BELLEN RD, BROADALBIN, NY 12025 AND JOE'S MOTORCYCLE REPAIR, DYNO TUNING, DYNO PERFORMANCE, 124 N CENTRAL AVE, MECHANICVILLE, NY 12118 TO HAVE THIS PROBLEM CORRECTED. I WAS TOLD BY BOTH PLACES THAT THE REASON THE MOT… Look up ODI 10807450 at NHTSA ↗	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.
Power Train	133.3% ODI 11021581 · 18,000 mi DRIVING MY BIKE WHICH I PURCHASED NEW IN FEBRUARY 2015 AND CURRENTLY HAVE 18,000 MILES ON IT I LOST CONTROL OF SHIFTING GEARS. TURNS OUT TO BE THE SHIFTER SHAFT AND CONTROL LEVER WERE STRIPPED. THE GEARS WERE WORN DOWN SO BAD THAT THE SHIFTER WAS NOT ACTIVATING THE CHANGE OF GEARS. I WAS IN MILWAUKEE AND HAD TO LIMP THE BIKE OUT OF BUSY TRAFFIC TO DIAGNOISE THE PROBLEM. THEN I HAD TO DRIVE IN SECOND GEAR FOR OVER 8 MILES AT 25 MPH ON ROADS THAT WERE 45 MPH. VERY UNCOMFORTABLE AND NOTHING I COULD DO. SIMPLE FIX, REPLACE SHAFT AND SHIFT LEV… Look up ODI 11021581 at NHTSA ↗	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.
Wheels	133.3% ODI 11098226 · 16,500 mi FRONT WHEEL BEARING FAILURE AT 17,200 MILES. FRONT WHEEL WAS NOISY AND WHILE CHANGING TIRES DEALER NOTIFIED ME BEARINGS WERE FAILED AND NOT IN WARRANTY. Look up ODI 11098226 at NHTSA ↗	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.	0Unavailable No examples available for this selection.

Darker cells indicate a larger share of submitted complaints. Components overlap. This measures complaint composition, not failure probability.

Failure mileage by component

Median and middle 50% of usable owner-reported mileages. Ranges require at least five records.

Component failure mileage distribution
Component	Mileage range (25th–75th percentile)	Median	Usable records	Examples
Fuel/Propulsion System	Too few reports for a range	20 mi	1 (sparse)	ODI 10807450 · 20 mi I PURCHASED A 2015 ULTRA CLASSIC LOW IN JUNE 2015 A GREAT MACHINE AND ABOUT 4500 MILES ON IT ALREADY BUT I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT. WHEN I TAKE OFF FROM A STOP AT AN INTERSECTION OR TRAFFIC LIGHT THE ENGINE STUMBLES AND KNOCKS, SORT OF LIKE WHEN YOU TRY TO TAKE OFF IN 2ND GEAR. I HAVE TAKEN IT TO ADIRONDACK HARLEY-DAVIDSON 106 BELLEN RD, BROADALBIN, NY 12025 AND JOE'S MOTORCYCLE REPAIR, DYNO TUNING, DYNO PERFORMANCE, 124 N CENTRAL AVE, MECHANICVILLE, NY 12118 TO HAVE THIS PROBLEM CORRECTED. I WAS TOLD BY BOTH PLACES THAT THE REASON THE MOT… Look up ODI 10807450 at NHTSA ↗
Power Train	Too few reports for a range	18,000 mi	1 (sparse)	ODI 11021581 · 18,000 mi DRIVING MY BIKE WHICH I PURCHASED NEW IN FEBRUARY 2015 AND CURRENTLY HAVE 18,000 MILES ON IT I LOST CONTROL OF SHIFTING GEARS. TURNS OUT TO BE THE SHIFTER SHAFT AND CONTROL LEVER WERE STRIPPED. THE GEARS WERE WORN DOWN SO BAD THAT THE SHIFTER WAS NOT ACTIVATING THE CHANGE OF GEARS. I WAS IN MILWAUKEE AND HAD TO LIMP THE BIKE OUT OF BUSY TRAFFIC TO DIAGNOISE THE PROBLEM. THEN I HAD TO DRIVE IN SECOND GEAR FOR OVER 8 MILES AT 25 MPH ON ROADS THAT WERE 45 MPH. VERY UNCOMFORTABLE AND NOTHING I COULD DO. SIMPLE FIX, REPLACE SHAFT AND SHIFT LEV… Look up ODI 11021581 at NHTSA ↗
Wheels	Too few reports for a range	16,500 mi	1 (sparse)	ODI 11098226 · 16,500 mi FRONT WHEEL BEARING FAILURE AT 17,200 MILES. FRONT WHEEL WAS NOISY AND WHILE CHANGING TIRES DEALER NOTIFIED ME BEARINGS WERE FAILED AND NOT IN WARRANTY. Look up ODI 11098226 at NHTSA ↗

Complaint and recall timeline

Explore monthly filing activity alongside recall announcements. Up to ten years of monthly history is available.

ComponentPeriod

Solid line: filed complaints. Dashed amber lines: recall announcement dates for this vehicle selection; markers include all recall components. The latest month is partial. Temporal proximity does not establish causation.

Monthly counts, recall campaigns and complaint examples

Monthly complaint and recall timeline
Month	Campaigns announced	Examples
2024-11	None	No examples available for this selection.
2024-12	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-01	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-02	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-03	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-04	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-05	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-06	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-07	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-08	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-09	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-10	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-11	None	No examples available for this selection.
2025-12	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-01	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-02	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-03	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-04	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-05	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-06	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-07	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-08	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-09	None	No examples available for this selection.
2026-10 (partial)	None	No examples available for this selection.

Emerging complaint spikes

Complete months in the latest six months with at least 10 complaints, at least twice the preceding 12-month average, and at least three square-root deviations above that average.

This is a descriptive screening rule, not a statistical defect finding. Publicity and reporting changes can increase submissions.

No complete months meet the spike thresholds for this selection.

Equal-age model-year comparison

Model-wide cumulative reports during the first three or five calendar years, starting with the model year (age 0). Only fully elapsed windows are compared.

Observation windowFirst model yearSecond model year

2018: 0 complaints · 2019: 0 complaints

Equal observation windows
Model year	Through age 0	Through age 1	Through age 2
2018	0	0	0
2019	0	0	0

Date coverage across each selected cohort

Date basis for all complaints in selected model years
Year	Incident dates used	Filing date fallbacks	Excluded dates
2018	0	0	0
2019	0	0	0

Incident date is preferred when valid and no later than filing; otherwise filing date is used. Model year approximates age. Equal observation time does not adjust for sales, distance driven or reporting delays. One complaint linked to multiple model years can appear in each cohort.

Components reported together

Each cell counts unique complaints naming both components. Open a nonzero cell for examples.

Component co-occurrence matrix
Component	Fuel/Propulsion System	Power Train	Wheels
Fuel/Propulsion System	—	0	0
Power Train	0	—	0
Wheels	0	0	—

Co-reporting does not establish that one component caused another concern.

Recurring narrative patterns

Specific keyword mentions beyond broad component labels. Matching includes negations and comparisons and does not confirm a diagnosis.

Search patterns

0 patterns with matching reports.

No narratives match the published patterns.