2003 Honda VTX1800 Transmission and drivetrain Problems
- Complaints
- 18about this part
- Share
- 34%of 53 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 9,468miles
- Trend
- StableComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are within 25% of the 3 years before.
NHTSA recorded 18 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2003 Honda VTX1800, 34% of the 53 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 9,468 miles.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“(1) 2003 Honda vtx 1800c motorcycle rear driven flange bearing failure. When removing tire/wheel assembly for tire replacement, (2) I discovered the small bearings pressed into the driven flange (mounted on rear wheel) were very rough and hard to spin, using my index finger in the axle hole. …”
NHTSA complaint #10161113, filed 2006-06, 9,468 miles“1. Bearing failure was found in the drive flange assembly during rear tire replacement at just under 8,000 miles on motorcycle. 2.bearing was turning rough and trying to sieze up, but was found before any damage or accident was caused. 3.Honda only shows replacement of whole drive flange (approximately $180). However I have located replacement bearings and I am in the process of getting them pressed into the drive flange. I will keep old bearings.”
NHTSA complaint #10122372, filed 2005-05, 7,856 miles“I was removing rear wheel on my 2003 Honda vtx c model to replace worn tire and with the wheel off I did a check of the wheel bearings. I frequently visit the Honda vtx owners site to keep up on maintenance issues and have found that many other owner have had a failure of this one particular bearing assembly referred to as final driven flange a , Honda part number 42630-mch-000. I did a check of the bearing and found that it would barely rotate, it had completely failed. Considering this is on a motorcycle, I think this is a serious safety issue. …”
NHTSA complaint #10241257, filed 2008-09, 9,500 miles“During routine inspection of rear wheel assembly while doing a tire change, I identified a bad pair of bearings. The motorcycle has only 7,000 miles on it. I replaced with new bearings.”
NHTSA complaint #10130724, filed 2005-07, 7,000 miles“2003 Honda vtx1800c motorcycle rear drive unit bearing failure. The motorcycle was two years old with 13k miles on it. During a routine rear wheel removal, the two radial ball bearings p/n: 6304uu (20x47x20.9) (toyo) were found to be severly damaged. This can result in a catastrophic rear drive failure while operating the motor vehicle with death and injury as a result.”
NHTSA complaint #10112273, filed 2005-02, 13,000 milesTransmission and drivetrain: other model years
Other parts of the 2003 Honda VTX1800
17 complaintsWheels
11 complaintsTires
3 complaintsEngine cooling
2 complaintsExterior lighting
2 complaintsFuel system
2 complaintsSteering
2 complaintsBody and structure
1 complaintsVehicle speed control
1 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2003 Honda VTX1800
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology