NHTSA Complaint #11113923 — 2008 HARLEY-DAVIDSON FLHTCU

KNOWN DEFECT IN THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR WIRING IS NOT BEING CORRECTED BY LOCAL DEALERS WHEN PROBLEM VEHICLES ARE PRESENTED FOR SERVICE. I BELIEVE A RECALL IS WARRANTED TO ENSURE CORRECTIVE ACTIONS ALREADY IDENTIFIED BY THE MANUFACTURER ARE IMPLEMENTED BEFORE MORE OPERATORS/RIDERS ARE PLACED IN DANGER. THIS DEFECT CAN BE EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS AS THE MOTORCYCLE INSTANTLY REDUCES THE ENGINE POWER AVAILABLE WITHOUT PREVIOUS NOTICE TO THE RIDER, WHICH CAN RESULT IN THE MOTORCYCLE FAILING TO MAINTAIN ADEQUATE SPEED TO MAINTAIN STABILITY IN A TURN. THIS SO-CALLED "LIMP MODE" CONTINUES UNTIL THE MOTORCYCLE IS BROUGHT TO A COMPLETE STOP AND THE ENGINE IS TURNED OFF AND THEN RESTARTED. THIS "LIMP MODE" BEHAVIOR MAY IN AND OF ITSELF ALSO CAUSE A HAZARD TO BOTH THE MOTORCYCLE OPERATOR AND NEARBY VEHICLES SHOULD THE FAILURE OCCUR WHILE THE MOTORCYCLE IS ON A ROADWAY WITH LIMITED OR NON-EXISTENT EMERGENCY OR BREAKDOWN AREAS. (A WEB SEARCH FOR "LIMP MODE HARLEY" RESULTS IN OVER 400,000 RESULTS, MOST OF WHICH WILL REFER TO THIS ISSUE.) TO HELP TECHNICIANS RESOLVE THE INTERMITTENT PROBLEM NATURE OF THIS DESIGN ISSUE (BY REPLACING TERMINALS IN THE WIRING HARNESS WITH A MORE RESILIENT TYPE) THE MANUFACTURER ISSUED MULTIPLE THEORY AND DIAGNOSTICS PAPERS (TT418 IN 2009 AND TT418A IN 2011) DESCRIBING ACTIONS TO REMEDY THE PROBLEM. OF NOTE IS THAT THE DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLE CODES (DTC) WHICH IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM ARE UNIQUE AND CAN ONLY BE REMOVED FROM THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE (ECM) MANUALLY. MY MOTORCYCLE HAS HAD NUMEROUS EPISODES OF THIS FAILURE OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS. IN THE LATEST CASE, I ALMOST DROPPED THE BIKE LEAVING A PARKING LOT AS THE LIMP MODE KICKED IN. ALTHOUGH THE DTC CODES (P2135 AND P1511) WERE PRESENT IN THE ECM THE DEALER CHARGED ME FOR THEIR TECHNICIAN TIME WITHOUT ADDRESSING THE REPAIRS CLEARLY IDENTIFIED IN THE TT418A PAPER.