- The problem
- Indian Motorcycle Company (Indian) is recalling certain 2014-2019 Chief, Chieftain, Roadmaster, and Springfield motorcycles. The gear position switch contacts may oxidize, causing the gear position display to inaccurately show that the motorcycle is in neutral when it is actually in gear.
- The risk
- If the transmission is not in neutral when the motorcycle is started, the motorcycle may move unexpectedly, increasing the risk of a crash.
- The fix
- Dealers will replace the switch free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 16, 2020. Owners may contact Indian customer service at 1-877-204-3697. Indian's number for this recall is I-19-03.
Electrical system
2017 Indian Roadmaster Electrical problems
Owners have filed 6 complaints about the 2017 Indian Roadmaster's electrical system with NHTSA - 67% of all its complaints, most recently on June 3, 2023. Dead batteries, warning lights, wiring, alternators, infotainment and electronic module failures.
- Complaints
- 6
- Recalls
- 2
- Crashes
- 0
- Fires
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Deaths
- 0
Electrical recalls for the 2017 Indian Roadmaster
- The problem
- Indian Motorcycle Company (Indian) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Roadmaster motorcycles. Water may enter the trunk wiring harness, potentially causing the brake light to remain illuminated even when the brakes are not applied.
- The risk
- If the brake light remains illuminated when the brakes are not applied, a vehicle behind the motorcycle may not know when the motorcycle is actually slowing, increasing the risk of a crash.
- The fix
- Indian will notify owners, and dealers will replace the trunk wiring harness with an updated harness that contains sealing plugs in the connectors, free of charge. The recall began on January 30, 2018. Owners may contact Indian customer service at 1-877-204-3697. Indian's number for this recall is I-18-01.
Electrical complaints
My motorcycle went in a couple of years ago for a check because it would show neutral but be in gear and vice versa. The dealer cleaned the contacts and pins. It was fine for a bit and now at 55K miles it's back to doing the same thing. It will show neutral and I'm on the highway doing 65 mph. The. Third gear and I'm stopped with the clutch out. The dealer is now saying we have to pay for this to be checked during routine servicing? 1.8 hours at $165.00 and hour? That's bs. They know the problem are the pins...
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and springs but they, the dealer, won't change them. Because parts, to me, are $130 then $$300 in labor. They're making a huge profit of their mistake. I've included a photo of the parts for the repair and the inflated prices for them.
The clutch switch has failed open. If the engine stalls while in traffic, the rider is required to shift the transmission into neutral before the engine will restart. This could be a dangerous situation depending on what terrane the bike and rider are on. The normal operation for restart of the engine in a stall situation is to simply pull the clutch lever in and hit the start button. The starter should engage regardless of where the gear selector is as long as the clutch lever is pulled in. When researching this problem on YouTube and the Indian Motorcycle Forum, it is wide spread.
I just had my recall replaced 3 TIMES because it was reading neutral in 6th gear and dropping me out of cruise AND NEVER start while in neutral ever
Tl* the contact owns a 2017 indian roadmaster. The contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 19v776000 (electrical system, power train) however, the parts to do the repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. An unknown dealer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Vin tool confirms parts not available.
Tl* the contact owns a 2017 polaris indian road master. The contact stated that there was an issue with the infotainment system. The touchscreen was not functioning properly, which affected the gps system, radio, vehicle status, and tire pressure readings. Indian motorcycle of libertyville (416 n milwaukee ave, libertyville, il 60048, (847) 984-2542) submitted a goodwill warranty claim to the manufacturer since the warranty had expired. The request was denied by the manufacturer. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 10,000.
Polaris case # 4018942. On february 3, 2017 at about 5:00 ' 5:30pm est, my 2017 indian roadmaster (the 'bike') returned three computer errors and failed to start while I was parked in a parking lot located at 4260 peachtree rd ne in brookhaven, ga. The information center on the bike directed me to 'contact dealer' (the 'incident'). At the time of the incident, the bike had 837 miles on it. I contacted dealer as instructed, who referred me to dealer's service department partner ("service"). Service instructed me...
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that there were known issues with the engine control module ('ecm') and main wiring harness ('main harness') disconnect through vibration, but such issues are repaired ostensibly by a nylon zip-tie as a temporary solution awaiting manufacturer actions. The ecm has no positive latching component on it to secure the main harness to the ecm and thus maintain a solid connection. The main harness vibrates loose over time, in my case 837 miles, from the ecm and thus kills the bike, just as I experienced. Dealer reported that my incident is one of at least two that have occurred with the ecm and main harness on a brand-new chieftain and my roadmaster (dop 12/2/2016), since on or about october, 2016; dealer having sold about 20 motorcycles since october, 2016. That is a failure rate of 10% from dealer alone over a roughly 1/3 of a year. It is noteworthy that the bike is completely powered off when the main harness disconnects from the ecm: the engine dies, no turn signals function, no emergency flashers, no headlights or taillights. I happened to be in a parking lot at the time of occurrence. However, were this to happen at speed on a freeway, or on a two-lane highway on which there is no shoulder, a frequent occurrence in this part of georgia, such failure could have more dire consequences. In my view, lives are at risk.
Indian Roadmaster electrical complaints by year
Roadmaster electrical problems, every yearSource: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data