What are the common problems with the 2008 Harley-Davidson FLHTCU?
Owners of the 2008 Harley-Davidson FLHTCU have filed 81 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the brakes (30) and the powertrain (9). In NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026, 70 of them list a mileage; a complaint is an owner's report, not a proven defect.
Buying this 2008 FLHTCU? Enter its VIN.
Complaint figures describe the model year, not one vehicle. The decode is free; the original ClearVIN PDF is $14.99 one time, with no account: odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for that VIN.
Title brands · Odometer records · Auction history, where reported
No subscription. No charge to check the VIN. Report contents vary by vehicle; applicable tax is shown at checkout.
See what the paid report includes →NHTSA's file holds 81 owner complaints on the 2008 Harley-Davidson FLHTCU. Owners named the brakes most often: 30 complaints, and half of the 28 that list a mileage came after 35,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 81 complaints, 6 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 6 report an injury (8 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Check the records on file before you buy
VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2008 Harley-Davidson FLHTCU.
One VIN. One $14.99 history report.
For $14.99, VIN Lookup delivers an original ClearVIN vehicle-history PDF for the 2008 Harley-Davidson FLHTCU VIN you enter: title brands, odometer readings, accident and auction records on file. ClearVIN is on the U.S. Department of Justice’s list of approved NMVTIS data providers; VIN Lookup sells that original report. The records returned vary by VIN.
The VIN decode is free. No card is needed until you choose to buy; applicable tax is shown at checkout. A missing record is not proof that an event never happened.No account · Refund reviewed if not delivered, unopenable or wrong VIN by our error · Sold by VIN Lookup (SH LLC, Sheridan, WY)Original provider PDF
One time, no subscription
Common problems with the 2008 FLHTCU
NHTSA's file holds 81 owner complaints on the 2008 Harley-Davidson FLHTCU. Owners named the brakes most often: 30 complaints, and half of the 28 that list a mileage came after 35,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes | 30 | 28 | 35,102 |
| Power Train | 9 | 8 | 20,000 |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 7 | 4 | Under 5 mileages |
| Electrical System | 6 | 3 | Under 5 mileages |
| Engine And Engine Cooling | 6 | 5 | 17,000 |
Of the 81 complaints, 6 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 6 report an injury (8 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Mileage when owners reported a problem with the 2008 FLHTCU
The 70 mileages owners gave run from 117 to 80,000 miles. A quarter are at or under 13,000 miles, half at or under 25,212, three quarters at or under 42,000 and nine in ten at or under 56,000; none came after 100,000 miles, none after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2008 FLHTCU wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Most of these reports came early in the vehicle's life: all 70 came at or under 100,000 miles, so they say nothing about how many miles a 2008 FLHTCU can cover.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 117 miles |
| 25th percentile | 13,000 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 25,212 miles |
| 75th percentile | 42,000 miles |
| 90th percentile | 56,000 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 80,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | none |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | none |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | none |
Is the 2008 FLHTCU a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2008 is a good or a bad FLHTCU: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2008 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 81 complaints, the 2008 drew the most of the 4 Harley-Davidson FLHTCU model years from 2007 to 2010 with 10 or more complaints. The fewest: the 2010 (31).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 FLHTCU | 48 | 40 | 600 |
| 2008 (this page) | 81 | 70 | 25,212 |
| 2009 FLHTCU | 70 | 61 | 26,000 |
| 2010 FLHTCU | 31 | 29 | 17,900 |
2008 Harley-Davidson FLHTCU recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 2 recall campaigns that name the 2008 Harley-Davidson FLHTCU. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 18V076000 | Jan 29, 2018 | SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP |
| 08V357000 | Jul 30, 2008 | FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY:FILLER PIPE AND CAP |
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2008 FLHTCU lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2008 FLHTCU.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 11 of the 81 complaints on the 2008 Harley-Davidson FLHTCU give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA name counted: FLHTCU. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only this one.
- Recall-file name matched: FLHTCU.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2008 Harley-Davidson FLHTCU questions
What are the most common 2008 Harley-Davidson FLHTCU problems?
NHTSA's file holds 81 owner complaints on the 2008 Harley-Davidson FLHTCU. Owners named the brakes most often: 30 complaints, and half of the 28 that list a mileage came after 35,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 81 complaints, 6 report a crash, 1 reports a fire and 6 report an injury (8 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
At what mileage do owners report problems with the 2008 Harley-Davidson FLHTCU?
Of the 70 complaints on the 2008 Harley-Davidson FLHTCU that list mileage, the middle half came between 13,000 and 42,000 miles; none came after 100,000 miles, none after 150,000 and none after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem; they do not say how many miles a 2008 FLHTCU can cover.
Is the 2008 Harley-Davidson FLHTCU a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2008 is a good or a bad FLHTCU: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2008 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 81 complaints, the 2008 drew the most of the 4 Harley-Davidson FLHTCU model years from 2007 to 2010 with 10 or more complaints. The fewest: the 2010 (31).
How many recalls does the 2008 Harley-Davidson FLHTCU have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 2 recall campaigns that name the 2008 Harley-Davidson FLHTCU. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2008 Harley-Davidson FLHTCU before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2008 Harley-Davidson FLHTCU.