2015 Harley-Davidson Fxdb: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2015 Harley-Davidson Fxdb
Only 4 defect reports have been filed with NHTSA about the 2015 Harley-Davidson Fxdb, which is too few to compute mileage percentiles or a risk score. The reports reported master cylinder or brake booster failure.
When each failure gets reported
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
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Master cylinder or brake booster failure | brakes | 1 | 1 | — | 8k | — | 9.3 | $450–$2,200 | Critical |
| Other steering problem | steering | 1 | 1 | — | 11k | — | 9.3 | $350–$2,400 | High |
| Other suspension problem | suspension | 1 | 1 | — | 11k | — | 9.3 | $350–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Unclassified problem | other | 1 | 1 | — | 11k | — | 9.3 | — | Moderate |
This year had no usable recall paperwork, so the fleet-size estimate is the median of other years of the same model. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The odometer reading is the one the owner gave.
Master cylinder or brake booster failure
I was driving on city streets coming up to a stop light. I gently grabbed the front brake to start my stop when I heard a loud pop. The bolt that connects the brake line to the master cylinder came loose and brake fluid sprayed all over. As of that moment, I had no more use of my front break and because the fluid sprayed all over it got on the right footpeg and rear brake pedal. It was difficult to keep my foot on the peg and utilize the rear break. When I got home and was able to inspect the issue closer I found that the threads in the master cylinder that hold the nut in had corroded away. The brake fluid in the reservoir was gray from the metal and it appears the problem has been getting worse over time. The bike has only 8k miles on it, and I do not believe this type of defect should have happened. I now have to replace the master cylinder in order to safely operate the motorcycle.
Every year of the Harley-Davidson Fxdb
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.
What the reports on file say
The complaints recorded against the 2015 Harley-Davidson Fxdb are master cylinder or brake booster failure (1 report, around 8k miles), other steering problem (1 report, around 11k miles) and other suspension problem (1 report, around 11k miles). With a sample this size these are anecdotes rather than a pattern, and they are shown because somebody looking at this exact car would rather see them than nothing.
Why this page is short
A model year needs about 8 reports before percentiles mean anything, and this one does not have them. Complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road, so a thin page usually means a rare car, a new car, or a car whose owners do not file.
Other years of the same model do have enough: 2009. The mechanical parts are often shared across those years, so their pages are the better guide to what this one is likely to do, with the caveat that a shared part is not a shared production line.
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