2018 Harley-Davidson Flhx: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2018 Harley-Davidson Flhx
On the 2018 Harley-Davidson Flhx, the failure owners report most often is other powertrain problem, with 5 reports on file. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 500 miles.
What breaks on the 2018 Harley-Davidson Flhx
Owners have reported 6 named failure modes on the 2018 Harley-Davidson Flhx, and the three most-reported carry 64% of everything filed, so the trouble here is concentrated rather than scattered.
Other powertrain problem leads with 5 reports and about 1.0 per 1,000 vehicles.
Alternator or charging system failure follows with 1 report, median 15,000 miles.
Other engine problem follows with 1 report, median 5,000 miles.
By system, the reports fall mostly into transmission (5), electrical (2) and engine (1).
When these failures get reported
9 of the reports on the 2018 Harley-Davidson Flhx came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 500 miles.
The busiest stretch is between 0 and 10,000 miles, which alone holds 89% of the dated reports.
100% of the dated reports were filed below 36,000 miles, which is early enough that a fair number of these cars were still under a factory warranty when the owner complained.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
- Dashed the median reported mileage
Severity, and what it costs
Across the named modes, 1 mentions a crash and 1 an injury. Those are the words owners used in their own complaints, and NHTSA does not verify them, but they are the closest thing in this data to a measure of what a failure actually did.
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 4.73, where a stalled engine or a failed airbag weighs many times more than a rattling trim panel, and a figure this high means the reports are dominated by failures with safety consequences rather than annoyances. The weighting is set out in full on the methodology page.
What the top failures cost to put right, as editorial estimates for an independent US shop rather than figures from NHTSA: other powertrain problem at $400–$4,500, alternator or charging system failure at $450–$1,600, other engine problem at $300–$4,000 and other electrical problem at $250–$2,000. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
55% of the reports on this year sit in the engine, transmission, drivetrain or cooling systems — the four where a repair bill is usually four figures, so more than half of what owners complained about here is expensive.
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other powertrain problem | transmission | 5 | 4 | — | 2k | — | 1.0 | $400–$4,500 | High |
| Alternator or charging system failure | electrical | 1 | 1 | — | 16k | — | 0.2 | $450–$1,600 | High |
| Other engine problem | engine | 1 | 1 | — | 4k | — | 0.2 | $300–$4,000 | High |
| Other electrical problem | electrical | 1 | 1 | — | 500 | — | 0.2 | $250–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Other steering problem | steering | 1 | 1 | — | 25 | — | 0.2 | $350–$2,400 | High |
| Other wheel or tire problem | wheels | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.2 | $200–$1,500 | High |
| Unclassified problem | other | 1 | 1 | — | 15 | — | 0.2 | — | Moderate |
Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
How often, against how many were built
Scaled by an estimate of how many of these cars exist, the 2018 Harley-Davidson Flhx draws about 2.2 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 78th percentile of complaint rates among 2018 vehicles we can rate.
That denominator is the weakest number on the page and it is fair to say so plainly. Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound.
The working figure is 4,934 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 2018 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The odometer reading is the one the owner gave.
Other powertrain problem
Transmission is losing oil into primary. It over fills the primary while draining the transmission of needed lubrication. An overfilled primary can cause hard shifts, and could potentially damage the clutch.
Other engine problem
Transmission is losing oil into primary. It over fills the primary while draining the transmission of needed lubrication. An overfilled primary can cause hard shifts, and could potentially damage the clutch.
Recalls on the 2018 model year
NHTSA has issued 1 recall campaign covering the 2018 Harley-Davidson Flhx, affecting an estimated 4,934 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.
The campaigns cover power train:clutch assembly. Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.
Recalls also distort complaint counts. Publicity about a campaign reminds owners that complaining is possible, so reports for a recalled component often spike after the recall rather than before it.
POWER TRAIN:CLUTCH ASSEMBLY
177,636 vehicles 2018-10-18- Defect
- 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…
- 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.
Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.
Better and worse years of the same car
Across the 6 model years of this car that carry enough reports to score, 2012 comes out best at 77 and 2010 worst at 80.
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
The limits of complaint data
11 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork. Every count on this page is therefore a floor: it is the number of owners who went to the trouble of filing with a federal agency, which is a small and self-selected fraction of the owners who had the fault.
Of those 11 reports, 9 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 82% of the sample rather than all of it. Owners also round: readings pile up on multiples of ten thousand, which is why this site publishes "about 90,000 miles" and not "91,438".
Named failure modes come from matching phrases in the complaint text, so a badly worded complaint can land in the wrong bucket. The effect washes out across hundreds of reports and does not wash out across five.
And nothing here predicts what one car will do. These are other people's complaints, filed years apart, on cars maintained by strangers. Read the page as a map of where this model year has previously gone wrong, then have the specific car in front of you inspected.
Questions this page answers
What are the most common problems with the 2018 Harley-Davidson Flhx?
The most-reported failures are other powertrain problem (5 reports, median 2,000 miles), alternator or charging system failure (1 report, median 15,000 miles) and other engine problem (1 report, median 5,000 miles). Counts come from owner complaints filed with NHTSA, which are voluntary, so they show what owners bothered to report rather than every fault that occurred.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed