2008 Harley-Davidson Flhtcu problems & reliability
81 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2008 Harley-Davidson Flhtcu, alongside 2 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
6 complaints report injuries (8 injured).
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes | 30 | 37% |
| Power Train | 9 | 11% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 7 | 9% |
| Electrical System | 6 | 7% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 6 | 7% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 6 | 7% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 4 | 5% |
| Engine | 3 | 4% |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 3 | 4% |
| Suspension | 3 | 4% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 26,532 miles (middle 50% between 14,625 and 43,500 miles), based on 66 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“I was riding my motorcycle with a group of bikes and had to make an emergency stop. When the brakes were applied, as directed in the owners manual, the ABS failed and caused the rear tire to lock and skid. The resulting skid caused a loss of control of the motorcycle and ultimately laying the bike down on the asphalt…”
Service Brakes · filed Aug 8, 2021
“I was traveling about 35mph and approaching an intersection near my home. I had to stop quickly as a car turned into my lane just a head of me. I applied the front and rear brakes of my motorcycle but the front brake lever did not move at all. It was as if it was frozen in place. I had no control of the front brakes…”
Service Brakes · filed Apr 25, 2020
“Tl* the contact owns a 2008 harley davidson electra glide ultra flhtcui. The contact received notification of nhtsa recall number: 18v076000 (service brakes, hydraulic). The vehicle was taken to greeley harley-davidson and wild west motorsports, inc. Located at (3010 29th st, greeley, co 80631 (970) 351-8150) to…”
Service Brakes · filed Mar 11, 2020
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- Sudden Brake Failure - Motorcycle
Preliminary Evaluation PE16009 · opened Jul 6, 2016 · closed Apr 23, 2018 · led to recall 18V076000
- MOTORCYCLE STALLING
Preliminary Evaluation PE08043 · opened Jul 17, 2008 · closed Aug 8, 2008 · led to recall 08V357000
Technical service bulletins
13 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2008 Harley-Davidson Flhtcu. The 10 most recent:
SERVICE BULLETIN M1684: MARKET SPECIFIC BATTERY INTRODUCTION. PURPOSE: Initial Release. This bulletin informs dealers of the availability of new batteries for new Original Equipment (OE) vehicle production and in the…
M1684 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 16, 2025
SERVICE BULLETIN M1650: MILWAUKEE EIGHT AND TWIN CAM CAMSHAFT DRIVE GEAR RETENTION KIT CHANGES. PURPOSE: This bulletin informs dealers that changes have been made to the Camshaft Drive Gear Retention Kit and service…
M1650 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 24, 2025
SERVICE BULLETIN M1555 (REV E): BATTERY WARRANTY GUIDELINES. PURPOSE: Revision E. Added: Added procedures for the DCA-8000 E Battery Tester.* Updated: All sections. This bulletin informs the dealership network that…
M1555 · Warranty Program/Extension · issued Sep 12, 2024
SERVICE 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…
M1490 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Aug 8, 2024
GENUINE MOTOR PARTS AND MOTOR ACCESSORIES BULLETIN PAB1158: OIL FILTER PACKAGING AND CASE QUANTITY UPDATE. PURPOSE: To inform dealerships that Harley-Davidson has made updates to oil filters including new part numbers…
PAB1158 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 10, 2024
SERVICE 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)…
M1490 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 1, 2024
SERVICE BULLETIN M1612 (REV A): MILWAUKEE-EIGHT AND TWIN CAM TRANSMISSION GEAR PACKS. Purpose: Revision. Update: Notes for Table 3 and 4. * Updated: Part Numbers. This bulletin informs dealers that all: Twin Cam gear…
M1612 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Apr 4, 2024
GENUINE MOTOR PARTS AND MOTOR ACCESSORIES BULLETIN PAB1146: 68193-95 BULB WEDGE, FENDER TIP LAMP. Purpose: To inform dealers of an issue with the bulb wire terminals not being to specification. The light bulbs were used…
PAB1146 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 21, 2023
SERVICE BULLETIN M1612: MILWAUKEE-EIGHT AND TWIN CAM TRANSMISSION GEAR PACKS. Purpose: This bulletin informs dealers that all: â ¢ Twin Cam gear packs on CVO, Dyna, Police, Softail, Touring & Trike models and â ¢…
M1612 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 4, 2023
SERVICE BULLETIN M1612: MILWAUKEE-EIGHT AND TWIN CAM TRANSMISSION GEAR PACKS. Purpose: This bulletin informs dealers that all: â ¢ Twin Cam gear packs on CVO, Dyna, Police, Softail, Touring & Trike models and â ¢…
M1612 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Dec 4, 2023
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2008 Harley-Davidson Flhtcu has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2008 Harley-Davidson Flhtcu?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 26,532 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.