The 2012 Harley-Davidson Flhxse3 has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 250,757 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 2 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the service brakes. Last updated July 5, 2026.
HARLEY-DAVIDSON IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2009-2012 TOURING, CVO TOURING AND TRIKE VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM JUNE 6, 2008, THROUGH SEPTEMBER 16, 2011. SEE THE ABOVE LIST FOR THE MODELS INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. THE REAR BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH MAY BE EXPOSED TO EXCESSIVE HEAT FROM THE EXHAUST SYSTEM.
Consequence
THE EXCESSIVE HEAT MAY CAUSE THE SWITCH TO NOT ACTIVATE THE BRAKE LAMP OR ACTIVATE THE BRAKE LAMP WHEN NO BRAKE IS APPLIED AND/OR CAUSE A BRAKE FLUID LEAK AT THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH, AFFECTING REAR BRAKE PERFORMANCE. EITHER CONDITION MAY INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH.
Remedy
HARLEY-DAVIDSON WILL NOTIFY OWNERS, AND DEALERS WILL A INSTALL A REAR BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH KIT, FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING OCTOBER 31, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT HARLEY-DAVIDSON AT 1-414-343-4056.
Complaints by component
SERVICE BRAKES
2
Total complaints2
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Received a notice from hd that I needed to have my abs brakes bled and flushed. After doing so, my brakes are exhibiting the notice was meant to avoid. First the front brakes were hard and could not be applied almost causing an accident! Now they are slow to respond and will pull back to the bars…”
“Three months ago I pulled out of my driveway and the rear brake peddle woiudl not depress or engage the rear brake. My cvo is a 2012 which means the it was made in 2011. Their is a recall for the abs brake module failure on multiple models from 2007- 2011. It's not a fluid issue as I have had the…”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2012 Harley-Davidson Flhxse3 as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.