Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Foundation Components:Hoses, Lines/Piping, And Fittings
THIS CONDITION COULD ALLOW THE LINE TO LEAK BRAKE FLUID, WHICH COULD CAUSE LOSS OF THE REAR BRAKE FUNCTION, POSSIBLY WITHOUT WARNING, raises the risk of A CRASH.
Remedy & full details
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE REAR BRAKE LINE. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON FEBRUARY 17, 2003. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT HARLEY-DAVIDSON AT 1-414-342-4680.
ON CERTAIN MOTORCYCLES, THE REAR BRAKE LINE ASSEMBLIES COULD FRACTURE INTERNALLY.
Complaint volume
Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.
What owners reported happened
2Crashes
0Fires
2Injuries
2Deaths
Across 5 complaints. Severity Index 6.40.
Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.
What owners report most
Fuel System, Other:Storage:Fuel Gauge System — 1 reports
Fuel System, Gasoline:Carburetor System — 1 reports
Power Train:Driveline — 1 reports
Structure:Frame And Members — 1 reports
Suspension — 1 reports
What to do
Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.
Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.
Questions
Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?
Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.
Do I pay for recall repairs?
No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.
Why are there complaints but no recalls?
Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.
From the same data desk
Independent sites, same maintainer, same open-data standards.