2009 Harley-Davidson FLHX problems & reliability
28 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2009 Harley-Davidson FLHX, alongside 3 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Sep 25, 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 components.
1 complaint report injuries (1 injured).
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical System → | 10 | 36% |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 6 | 21% |
| Service Brakes | 6 | 21% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 6 | 21% |
| Power Train | 3 | 11% |
| Engine | 2 | 7% |
| Steering | 2 | 7% |
| Wheels | 2 | 7% |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 1 | 4% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 1 | 4% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
All 12 reported components →Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Among the 27 complaints that included a usable odometer reading, the median reported incident mileage was 25,600 miles (middle 50% between 17,631 and 40,133 miles).
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“The contact owns a 2009 Harley Davidson HLFX equipped with Shinko Tire Line: Shinko Tires E705, Tire Size: 180/65/R16, DOT Number: (N/A). The contact stated that while riding 20-25 MPH in the rain, the rear tire began to skid while rounding a curve and the contact lost control of the motorcycle. The contact continued…”
Tires · filed Sep 27, 2023
“I took my bike in to Myrtle Beach Harley Davidson for the repair as described in the recall. My bike had no issues with brakes or ABS light. The service department hooked it up to their computer and the ABS light was triggered. The service caused the ABS Module to fail. They refuse to repair the damage they caused…”
Service Brakes · filed Oct 28, 2022
“The contact owns a 2009 Harley-Davidson Street Glide (FLHX). The contact stated while driving out of his driveway at 10 MPH, the front hand-brake pedal was depressed, however felt hard. The contact stated no warning lights were illuminated. There was no crash. The contact stated he researched the failure online and…”
Service Brakes, Hydraulic · filed Nov 23, 2021
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 FLHX. 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 FLHX 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 FLHX?
- · 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.
- · Among complaints with usable mileage, the median reported incident mileage was 25,600 miles. This does not predict when a particular vehicle will develop a problem.