NHTSA vehicle safety data

2016 Indian Chief Dark Horse Recalls & Complaints

The 2016 Indian Chief Dark Horse has 1 NHTSA recall campaign and 4 owner complaints on file as of November 3, 2026. Recall repairs are usually free at an authorized Indian dealer.

NHTSA recall and complaint data for the 2016 Indian Chief Dark Horse. Recall data is refreshed daily from NHTSA.

2016 Indian Chief Dark Horse owner complaints

Owners have filed 4 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Indian Chief Dark Horse, describing incidents dated April 20, 2018 to July 13, 2025.

Most-cited components

Electrical System 2 complaints
Exterior Lighting 1 complaint
Power Train 1 complaint
Service Brakes 1 complaint
Unknown or Other 1 complaint
Vehicle Speed Control 1 complaint

Of the 4 complaints on file, 1 reports a crash; across all 4 complaints, owners report 1 injury (owner-reported, not verified by NHTSA).

Newest complaints

ODI #11673515 · Filed July 14, 2025
This vehicle has an issue with the gear position switch, which causes the wrong gear to display on the info screen intermittently. Sometimes at highway speed, with cruise control engaged, the bike will think it's in neutral, which cancels the cruise abruptly. The bike has been in for service for…
ODI #11465722 · Filed May 23, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Indian Motorcycle Chief Dark Horse. The contact stated while riding approximately 55-60 MPH on a rainy night, the motorcycle headlight turned off inadvertently. The high beam indicator warning light illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road. The contact's son…
ODI #11111420 · Filed July 15, 2018
CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON & OFF WHILE IN FL IN MARCH, CODES 598 & 2348, CRUISE QUIT WORKING. JULY 12, 2018 TURNED OFF ONE RD ONTO ANOTHER, GETTING UP TO SPEED OF TRAFFIC. DOING ABOUT 55 MPH WHEN NOTICED DEER IN RD, APPLIED BRAKES ONLY TO HAVE IT LOCK UP RATHER THAN ABS WORK. BIKE STARTED IN SLIDE/FISH…

Read all 4 complaints

Fuel Rail may Chafe and Leak

NHTSA #16V877000 · Fuel System, Gasoline · NHTSA notice

Reported December 6, 2016 · Indian Motorcycle Company

Potentially affected: 23,761 vehicles

Repair completion: 78.47% (latest rate the manufacturer reported to NHTSA; dataset updated November 3, 2026)

Indian campaign I-16-03 · Owners notified December 12, 2016 · Vehicles built April 15, 2013 – July 15, 2016 (per NHTSA)

Defect description

Indian Motorcycle Company (Indian) is recalling certain model year 2014-2017 Chief Classic, Chief Dark Horse, Vintage, Chieftan, Chieftan Dark Horse, Springfield and Roadmaster motorcycles manufactured April 15, 2013, to July 15, 2016. In the affected motorcycles, the fuel rail may contact other components and result in a fuel leak.

Safety consequence

A fuel leak in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.

Manufacturer remedy

Indian will notify owners, and dealers will install a bracket that will limit movement of the fuel rail, free of charge. The recall began on December 12, 2016. Owners may contact Indian customer service at 1-877-204-3697. Indian's number for this recall is I-16-03.

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

try.vin has no NCAP crash-test rating on file for the 2016 Indian Chief Dark Horse. NHTSA rates some vehicles by body style — pickups by cab, vans by roof height — so check nhtsa.gov/ratings.

4 owner complaints have been filed with NHTSA for the 2016 Indian Chief Dark Horse.

Electrical System

ODI #11673515

Incident: July 13, 2025 · Filed: July 14, 2025

This vehicle has an issue with the gear position switch, which causes the wrong gear to display on the info screen intermittently. Sometimes at highway speed, with cruise control engaged, the bike will think it's in neutral, which cancels the cruise abruptly. The bike has been in for service for this issue many times, including a recall, but the issue persists, and the manufacturer has no more interest in trying to fix it on their dime. This is a huge safety issue and I think they should continue to pay to service the bike until this problem is fixed once and for all.

Exterior Lighting

ODI #11465722

Incident: May 22, 2022 · Filed: May 23, 2022

The contact owns a 2016 Indian Motorcycle Chief Dark Horse. The contact stated while riding approximately 55-60 MPH on a rainy night, the motorcycle headlight turned off inadvertently. The high beam indicator warning light illuminated. The contact veered to the side of the road. The contact's son met him at the scene and brought an electrical wire that the contact connected to the light bulbs, and the headlights started working as needed. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The motorcycle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000.

Vehicle Speed Control; Unknown or Other; Service Brakes

ODI #11111420

Incident: July 12, 2018 · Filed: July 15, 2018

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON & OFF WHILE IN FL IN MARCH, CODES 598 & 2348, CRUISE QUIT WORKING. JULY 12, 2018 TURNED OFF ONE RD ONTO ANOTHER, GETTING UP TO SPEED OF TRAFFIC. DOING ABOUT 55 MPH WHEN NOTICED DEER IN RD, APPLIED BRAKES ONLY TO HAVE IT LOCK UP RATHER THAN ABS WORK. BIKE STARTED IN SLIDE/FISH TAIL, LET OFF AND RECOVERED. NOW ABS LIGHT ON AND NOT WORKING. BIKE HAS JUST 17,265 MILES ON IT.

Power Train; Electrical System

ODI #11096400

Crash 1 injury

Incident: April 20, 2018 · Filed: May 16, 2018

M/C WAS PARKED, KICKSTAND DOWN, ENGINE OFF, TRANSMISSION IN FIRST GEAR. BEFORE STARTING, ELECTRICAL ON/OFF BUTTON, LOCATED ON GAS TANK, WAS ENGAGED. GEAR IDENTIFICATION LIGHT SHOWED FIRST GEAR, CLUTCH LEVER RETRACTED, TRANSMISSION FOOT PEG WAS SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL, LIGHT SHOWED NEUTRAL. ENGINE START BUTTON, LOCATED NEAR RIGHT HAND CONTROL, WAS ACTIVATED. ENGINE STARTED, M/C MOVED FORWARD AT RAPID SPEED, CAUSING THE RIDER TO RELEASE HOLD OF HANDLEBARS. RIDER IS EVENTUALLY ABLE TO REACH AND DEPRESS THE ELECTRICAL ON/OFF BUTTON, TURNING OFF THE ENGINE. THE M/C CONTINUES FORWARD AT SPEED, FALLS TO ITS RIGHT AND SLAMS THE RIDER AGAINST THE PARKING LOT ASPHALT PAVEMENT. THE M/C RIGHTS ITSELF, CONTINUES FORWARD, FALLS TO ITS LEFT SIDE THROWING THE RIDER TO THE PAVEMENT. RIDER SUSTAINED A CONCUSSION, ONE BROKEN RIB, BROKEN COLLARBONE, COLLAPSED LUNG ON HIS RIGHT SIDE. RIDER WAS WEARING A FULL FACE HELMET, PADDED MOTORCYCLE JACKET, PADDED MOTORCYCLE PANTS, PADDED RIDING GLOVES, 8 INCH LEATHER LACE UP BOOTS. INDIAN MOTORCYCLES HAVE A SAFETY SWITCH ON THE KICKSTAND WHICH DO NOT ALLOW THE M/C TO START IF THE STAND IS DOWN AND THE TRANSMISSION IS IN GEAR. THE M/C WILL NOT START IF IT IS IN GEAR, WITHOUT THE CLUTCH LEVER BEING PULLED IN. THE TRANSMISSION LIGHT SHOWED NEUTRAL, WHEN THE TRANSMISSION WAS STILL IN FIRST GEAR, WHICH ALLOWED THE START BUTTON TO ENGAGE. IN THIS CASE, BOTH THE KICKSTAND SAFETY AND THE TRANSMISSION INDICATOR WERE FAULTY, WHICH ALLOWED THE STARTER BUTTON TO ENGAGE. PROGRESSIVE CLAIM NUMBER...18-4423966, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL REPORT NUMBER...9650-2018-01420. INDIAN MOTORCYCLE HAS ISSUED A RECALL ON ALL 2018 MOTORCYCLES STATING THAT THEIR MOTORCYCLE MAY START UNEXPECTEDLY.

Other Indian Chief Dark Horse model years

Check your 2016 Indian Chief Dark Horse VIN

Not every recall applies to every VIN in a given year. Enter the 17-character VIN from your Indian Chief Dark Horse at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether your specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.

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