The 1996 Harley-Davidson Flht has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 55,013 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 7 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system. Last updated July 5, 2026.
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: FL TOURING MOTORCYCLES. A LOSS OF ELECTRICAL POWER THROUGH THE IGNITION SWITCH CAN OCCUR DUE TO EXCESSIVE CURRENT AND OTHER FACTORS.
THIS CONDITION CAN CAUSE THE ENGINE TO FAIL TO START, OPERATE ERRATICALLY, OR STALL.
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE IGNITION SWITCH/CIRCUIT BREAKER AND INSTALL A RELAY KIT.
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.
“H-d redesigned the tappets in the evo big twin motor. My motor had 3 of the new style tappets and one of the old tappets installed in it. The rollers in the old style tappet disintegrated, causing metal shavings pumped throughout the engine. A piece of metal got into the oil pump ,and caused a…”
“The amount of repair kits for ignition switch that are being shipped from the manufacturer to the dealers are greatly insufficient. The dealer has been contacted seven times, and cannot obtain the kits and cannot determine when they will be in. *ak”
“Consumer received nhtsa recall 98v158000 concerning ignition switch failure. On 28 jul 98. On above date contacted dealer to honor recall. Dealer informed consumer that parts would be available in august or october 30 1998. However, recall has still not honored at this time. *ak”
“Ignition switch failure, while operating the motorcycle, causing the motorcycle to come to a schreeching halt while driving. The dealer was contacted and would replace the switch , stated that they were aware of the problem and many had been replaced for a fee. *ak”
“Ignition switch has failed several times.”
“Ignition switch experiences intermittent failure, recall notice sent however unable to be repaired due to lack of parts.”
“Owner has received a recall notice july 22 1998. Consumer has contacted dealer several times and the problem has not been taken care off.”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1996 Harley-Davidson Flht as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.