2009 Harley-Davidson Flhtcu problems & reliability
70 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2009 Harley-Davidson Flhtcu, alongside 3 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.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes → | 35 | 50% |
| Electrical System → | 11 | 16% |
| Vehicle Speed Control → | 11 | 16% |
| Engine | 6 | 9% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 6 | 9% |
| Power Train | 5 | 7% |
| Wheels | 4 | 6% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 3 | 4% |
| Unknown OR Other | 3 | 4% |
| Exterior Lighting | 1 | 1% |
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 28,200 miles (middle 50% between 16,000 and 36,000 miles), based on 57 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“While riding my 2009 ultra classic cvc Harley davidson motorcycle the front brake level became stiff and eventually did not compress, no front brakes, while attempting to stop. The rear brake still operated normally. In an emergency, this could cause serious injury or death with front brake failing and possible rear…”
Service Brakes · filed Mar 17, 2026
“ABS Module failure. Brake pedal solid when depressed with no brakes available. I will request the bad module from the dealer. No brakes is an extremely dangerous condition. The motorcycle is in a Harley Davidson getting the module replaced. This catastrophic failure happened with no warnings or symptoms.”
Service Brakes · filed Jun 5, 2025
“The guard/spring housing locater on the rotor behind the drive sprocket developed a fatigue crack, it propagated approximately half way around the circumference before separating and then being pulled thru between the drive chain and sprocket . this caused the drive train to seize up locking up the engine and rear…”
Unknown OR Other · filed Jun 29, 2022
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
Technical service bulletins
14 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2009 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 2009 Harley-Davidson Flhtcu has 3 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 2009 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 28,200 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.