AI Damage2009 Harley-Davidson Fltr: common problems
Owners of the 2009 Harley-Davidson Fltr filed 16 complaints with NHTSA, most often about service brakes and vehicle speed control. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 16
What fails most often
- 1 Service brakes 50% of all complaints
- 2 Vehicle speed control 25% of all complaints
- 3 Electrical system 19% of all complaints
- 4 Fuel/propulsion system 13% of all complaints
- 5 Engine 6% of all complaints
- 6 Engine and cooling 6% of all complaints
- 7 Fuel system 6% of all complaints
- 8 Steering 6% of all complaints
- Service brakes: 8 complaints (50% of all).
- Vehicle speed control: 4 complaints (25% of all).
- Electrical system: 3 complaints (19% of all).
- Fuel/propulsion system: 2 complaints (13% of all).
- Engine: 1 complaints (6% of all).
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 16 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service brakes | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel/propulsion system | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel system | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels | 1 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
ABS Module failed for rear brake. The rear brake locks up due to failure from the module. Safety of myself and any passenger is at risk by not having any braking ability while riding the motorcycle.
While driving various speeds, the vehicle started to overheat, smoke, and a knocking noise was coming from the engine. There were no warning indicators illuminated. The failure recurred numerous times.
Engine loses power and goes into an idle mode. This has occurred a number of times the last being on a freeway which put me in grave danger do to the sudden lose of power and having car close behind and this occurs without any warning.
No brakes in the front. Hard lever again. Frightening experience. Took bike home and let sit in garage. Started bike the next morning and backed out of garage. Hit front brake to slow bike down and lever was froze up again. Took bike to harley dealer and they replaced the abs hcu part number 48343-09.
While driving various speeds, the front brakes failed while attempting to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the abs module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 27,000.
These bikes can go into "limp mode" which will cause the electronic throttle not to respond. Besides being frustrating, this problem is very dangerous. The problem has occurred for me after changing lanes in front of a big rig truck causing me to swerve off the highway to avoid being hit by the truck, for example.
In one of the pictures the brown seen is not lube but rust. The bearing exploded on a thursday and I didn't take a picture of it until that following wednesday. How can hd get away with selling such defective parts and not even think they need to replace it. Let alone how incredibly dangerous this is.
The handle bars go into a terrible wobble. I have a bad wobble at 40- 45 mph and harley knows about this as they put a bulletin out to service departments # m-1246. But think the consumer needs to just suck it up .
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 9,040 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 25% most complained about).
On average one model year of the Fltr has 8 complaints (5 years in the data). This year has 16, above average.
What to check before buying
- Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
- Vehicle speed control. Accelerator pedal, cruise control, throttle codes.
- Electrical system. Scan all modules, test the battery and alternator, inspect connectors near the impact zone.
- Fuel/propulsion system. Fuel smell, leaks, rough running, fuel-system codes.
Other years of this model
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 2009 Harley-Davidson Fltr?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: service brakes, vehicle speed control, electrical system. Total complaints: 16. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: loss of power / limp mode (19%), brake failure (13%), knocking, grinding or other noise (6%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 2009 Harley-Davidson Fltr?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 2009 Harley-Davidson Fltr from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 2009 models
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.