2008 Harley-Davidson Vrscaw
Safety record from NHTSA: recalls, owner complaints, investigations and service bulletins.
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Vehicles › Harley-Davidson › Vrscaw › 2008
These records cover every 2008 Harley-Davidson Vrscaw. To see whether one car still needs a recall repair, decode its VIN or check it with NHTSA.
Owner complaints
6 complaints1 involved a crash1 injuries
What owners report most
Latest complaints
- Service brakes · Suspension
Rear brake light switch failure (crack in plastic housing) causing complete loss of braking. Brake switch failure could have started a fire due to electrical contact with brake fluid. front fork seal failure at 14K miles causing loss of steering.
- Service brakes
After leaving my house & driving down the street I had complete failure on my front brakes, due to the front brake was in hydraulic lock, luckily the back brakes were still usable. The front wheel was free to spin but no brakes could be applied to it, it did work moments before while in my…
After leaving my house & driving down the street I had complete failure on my front brakes, due to the front brake was in hydraulic lock, luckily the back brakes were still usable. The front wheel was free to spin but no brakes could be applied to it, it did work moments before while in my driveway. I am concerned because most of your stopping power IS at the front brake & if one needs it at the wrong moment, that could be fatal, especially if your not expecting it. This bike has ABS brakes & it's the hydraulic control unit that went bad. After putting it in the shop, I was also told the ABS electronic control that controls the hcu needed replacing as well.if the valves stick in the hcu, this IS the cause of the hydraulic lock at the brake lever or pedal. HD claims this happens when you fail to change your brake fluid every 2 years but the repair shop my bike was in claimed they have gotten police cruisers with the same issue less than 2 years old.these repairs cost me over 1100.00 & all I can do now IS make sure I change such fluid at an authorized repair shop so if this happens to hurt, maim, or kill me that I will have some recourse. Only option IS to sell bike or strip all ABS equipment & replace with standard brake system. Internet claims from others have reported complete failure on front & rear brakes as well, but this IS usually a rare occurrence. In conclusion, I believe failure of the ABS braking system should not result in complete failure of brakes. I'm not sure, but vehicles are designed this way, so when the ABS system fails, the standard breaking system IS still usable.
- Fuel/propulsion system
The gas gauge does not work properly. the gauge will go from 100% full, to empty, to a 1/4 filled within minutes. the problem occurs when sitting or moving. the gauge IS unpredictable and unreliable. I just purchased the bike in october. *tr
- Fuel/propulsion system
The fuel gauge IS defective and has never worked correctly. It will sometimes display a 1/2 tank and then go down to complete empty after traveling 10-15 miles from a complete fill up. *tr
- Fuel system, gasoline
TL* the contact owns a 2008 harley-davidson vrscaw motorcycle. The contact stated that the fuel gauge failed and would not register if the fuel tank was full or empty. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the fuel sensor was replaced however, the failure recurred shortly thereafter. The…
TL* the contact owns a 2008 harley-davidson vrscaw motorcycle. The contact stated that the fuel gauge failed and would not register if the fuel tank was full or empty. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where the fuel sensor was replaced however, the failure recurred shortly thereafter. The manufacturer was contacted and advised the contact that the warranty was expired and denied any assistance with the repair. The vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 700 and the current mileage was 2,800.
- Service brakes, hydraulic › Pedals and linkages · Structure › Frame and members
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 harley davidson vrscaw motorcycle. while slowing down to pull off the road, the passenger side brake foot peg separated from the frame of the motorcycle. the failure caused a crash and the contact was injured. there were no prior issues with the foot peg. his attorney…
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 harley davidson vrscaw motorcycle. while slowing down to pull off the road, the passenger side brake foot peg separated from the frame of the motorcycle. the failure caused a crash and the contact was injured. there were no prior issues with the foot peg. his attorney attempted to contact the manufacturer, but received no response. the vehicle was still able to be driven. a police report was filed. the speed was unknown. the current mileage was 5,889 and failure mileage was approximately 5,850.
Defect investigations
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened these reviews into vehicles including this one.
- Sudden Brake Failure - Motorcycle
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…
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 determined that deposits were forming on the valves in the Hydraulic Control Unit (HCU) of the Antilock Braking System (ABS). These deposits could prevent the proper function of the HCU and render the brakes ineffective.To understand why deposits were forming in the HCU, Harley Davidson completed an analysis of the Dow 460 brake fluid used as original equipment on the subject motorcycles and determined that it had stability issues if left in the brake system for an extended period of time.Harley Davidson found that if a brake fluid flush was not conducted as outlined in the owner?s manual for the motorcycles, and was left in the system for a period of time beyond their recommendation; deposits could form in the HCU.Through further testing, Harley Davidson identified an alternate, commercially available, brake fluid that did not have the same stability issues as the original fluid and could stop the proliferation of any current brake system deposits.ODI sent Information Request (IR) letters to Harley Davidson and Dow Chemical (the supplier of the brake fluid on the subject motorcycles) to collect information about the subject bikes and the alleged defect.Harley Davidson responded in full on Sept 30, 2016 and Dow responded with a confidential submission on October 25, 2017.ODI analyzed the information contained in both IR responses and concluded that motorcycles manufactured during Model Years (MY) 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 were failing at a rate greater than their peers.Based on this analysis and the brake fluid study conducted by Harley Davidson, a group of motorcycles was identified that were potentially affected by the instability of the original brake fluid.2008 marked the introduction of ABS on Harley Davidson motorcycles and a change in the Dow 460 brake fluid used in the 2012 MY vehicles provided the bases for the scope of the affected population.With recall action 18V-076 taken by Harley Davidson this investigation is closed as further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.The ODI reports cited above can be reviewed at: https://www.nhtsa.gov/ using the complaint identification numbers attached to this resume.
Service bulletins
Technical service bulletins and other communications the manufacturer sent dealers about this vehicle. Ask a dealer for the full document by its number.
- 11007544SERVICE BULLETIN M1490 (V 24.8.8): DIGITAL TECHNICIAN II - UPDATES AND RELEASE NOTES. PURPOSE: This bulletin informs dealers that Harley-Davidson has made a software update to Digital Technician II (DT II). DIGITAL TECHNICIAN II (PART NUMBER: HD-48650). Version 24.8.8. Release Date: Week of August 5, 2024. New Features for Harley-Davidson vehicles: Advanced Module Replace for 2021 and later Revolution Max; 2023 and later CVO Touring; and 2024 Street Glide (FLHX), Road Glide (FLTRX). New Features for LiveWire vehicles: Updated calibrations for 2024 S2DM EV1/ EV6; 2024 S2MH EV1; and 2024 S2DM, S2MH. Changes: Added Hand Control Module (HCM) (Part No. 71500522A and 71500536A) for reflash support.
- 11001293SERVICE BULLETIN M1490 (V 24.6.4): DIGITAL TECHNICIAN II - UPDATES AND RELEASE NOTES. PURPOSE: Revision. This bulletin informs dealers that Harley-Davidson has made a software update to Digital Technician II (DT II). DIGITAL TECHNICIAN II (PART NUMBER: HD-48650). Version 24.6.4. Release Date: Week of May 1, 2024. New Features for LiveWire S2DM and S2MH, 2024 Revolution Max, and 2024 Touring.
Every Harley-Davidson Vrscaw model year
Bars are owner complaints, dots mark years with recalls. Select a year to open its report.