Total Complaints
9 filings
HONDA GL1500 · model year
9 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2001HONDAGL1500 carries 9 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2001 GL1500 is power train with 4 filings, followed by engine and engine cooling:cooling system (3) and engine and engine cooling:cooling system:fan (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.
NHTSA currently has 77 investigation files overlapping the 2001 GL1500, and 9 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
9 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | 4 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM | 3 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM:FAN | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM:RADIATOR ASSEMBLY | 1 |
SPEEDOMETER IS 8% FAST AND ODOMETER IS 6% FAST ,THE SPEEDOMETER BEING 8% FAST CAUSES A SAFETY PROBLEM WHEN DRIVING ON TURNPIKES AND INTERSTATES ( THIS IS A TOURING MOTORCYCLE). WHEN REPORTED TO HONDA I WAS TOLD THAT HONDA WAS WITHIN THE LEGAL LIMITS AND HAD NO INTENTION OF CORRECTING THIS PROBLEM. IS THERE A LEGAL LIMIT THAT A SPEEDOMETER CAN BE INCORRECT, EVEN IF IS A SAFETY PROBLEM?*AK
DURING CONTINUED LOW SPEED OPERATION SUCH AS STOP AND GO TRAFFIC THIS MOTORCYCLE, ALONG WITH OTHERS OF THIS MAKE AND MODEL HAS AN EXTREME TENDENCY TO SERIOUSLY OVERHEAT. THE MANUFACTURER CONTENDS THAT THE MACHINE WAS DESIGNED FOR OPERATION OTHER THAN STOP AND GO WHICH, OF COURSEE, IS NOT ALWAYS POSSIBLE. THE MANUFACTURER HAS OFFERED NO FIX FOR THIS PROBLEM.*AK
MOTORCYCLE OVERHEATS BETWEEN 10 - 20 MPH.
1. DEALER LISTED IS NOT THE SELLING DEALER 2. MANUFACTURER REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE PROBLEM EXISTS. 3. THIS IS SAFETY RELATED IN THAT IT OCCURS AT SLOW SPEEDS TYPICALLY IN CONGESTED TRAFFIC CAUSED BY ROAD CONSTRUCTION, ACCIDENTS AND HIGH VOLUME. IN CASES WHERE THERE IS NO PLACE TO GET OUT OF THE TRAFFIC OR STOP THIS COULD RESULT IN INJURY OR EVEN DEATH. THIS COULD BE CAUSED BY ESCAPING STEAM FROM THE RADIATORS JUST IN FRONT OF THE RIDERS LEGS. OR IT COULD BE THE RESULT OF A FALL CAUSED BY ENGINE SEIZURE LOCKING UP THE DRIVE TRAIN CAUSING THE REAR WHEEL TO SKID. COMPOUNDING THIS WOULD BE THE SURROUNDING CONGESTED TRAFFIC MOVING BUMPER TO BUMPER AND MORE CONCERNED WITH THE HOLDUP INSTEAD OF ATTENTION TO THEIR IMMEDIATE SURRONDINGS. *AK
MOTORCYCLE CONSISTENTLY OVERHEATS AND LEAVES ME STRANDED ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. HONDA SAYS THAT THERE IS NO PROBLEM WITH THEIR OTORCYCLES DOING THIS.*AK
SPEEDOMETER IS 6%TO 7% FAST THIS MEANS THAT THE DRIVER HAS TO COMPUTE HIS/HER ACTUAL SPEED, WHEN RIDING ON A TWO LANE ROAD AND YOU ARE TRAVELING AT THE SPEED LIMIT ACCORDING TO THE SPEEDOMETER CARS ARE RIDING YOUR ON YOUR BACK FENDER OR TRYING TO PASS BECAUSE YOU ARE TRAVELING WELL BELOW THE SPEED LIMIT. THIS CAN CAUSE A VERY SERIOUS ACCIDENT. AT AN INDICATED 65 MPH THE ACTUAL SPEED IS 60/61 MPH, THE FASTER YOU GO THE LARGER THE DIFFERANCE. IN THIS AGE OF ELECTRONICS THERE IS NO REASON THE SPEEDOMETER SHOULD BE 6% TO 7% FAST OR SLOW, AND THE DRIVER HAS TO COMPUTE THE ACTUAL SPEED. DRIVERS HAVE ENOUGH TO DO TO STAY SAFE. THIS IS A PROBLEM ON ALL GL1800'S.
SPEEDOMETER BEING 6.1% FAST MEANS THE DRIVER HAS TO COMPUTE HIS/HER ACTUAL SPEED, WHEN RIDING TWO LANE ROADS AND YOU ARE DOING THE SPEED LIMIT CARS ARE PASSING YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE ACTUALLY BELOW THE SPEED LIMIT. THIS CAN CAUSE A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. AT AN INDICATED 65 THE ACTUAL SPEED IS 60/61, THE FASTER YOU GO THE LARGER THE DIFFERANCE. IN THIS AGE OF ELECTRONICS THERE IS NO REASON THE SPEEDOMETER SHOULD BE 6.1% FAST AND THE DRIVER HAS TO ACTUALLY COMPUTE HIS/HER ACTUAL SPEED. DRIVERS HAVE ENOUGH TO DO TO STAY SAFE. THIS IS A PROBLEM ON ALL GL1800'S. *AK
SPEEDOMETER BEING 6% TO 7% FAST MEANS THAT THE DRIVER HAS TO COMPUTE HIS/HER ACTUAL SPEED, WHEN RIDING ON A TWO LANE ROADS AND YOU ARE TRAVELING AT THE SPEED LIMIT ACCORDING TO THE SPEEDOMETER CARS ARE PASSING YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE WELL BELOW THE SPEED LIMIT. THIS CAN CAUSE A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. AT AN INDICATED 65MPH THE ACTUAL SPEED IS 60/61 MPH, THE FASTER YOU GO THE LARGER THE DIFFERANCE. IN THIS AGE OF ELECTRONICS THERE IS NO REASON THE SPEEDOMETER SHOULD BE 6%TO 7% FAST AND THE DRIVERS HAVE TO COMPUTE THE ACTUAL SPEED. DRIVERS HAVE ENOUGH TO DO TO STAY SAFE. THIS IS A PROBLEM ON ALL GL1800,S.*AK
RADIATOR FANS BLOW FORWARD INTO THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL CAUSING THE ENGINE TO OVERHEAT AT SPEEDS BELOW 15 MPH AT WHICH TIME THEY TURN OFF AND ALLOW NATURAL AIRFLOW THROUGH. WHILE DRIVING AT LOW SPEEDS, 10 TO 15 MPH, IN A CITY NEIGHBORHOOD THE ENGINE REPEATEDLY OVERHEATED WITH THE GAUGE IN THE RED ZONE. IN ORDER TO COOL OFF THE ENGINE THE MOTORCYCLE HAD TO BE DRIVEN AT OVER 30 MPH TO GAIN AIR FLOW OVER THE TWO RADIATORS. WHEN THIS PROBLEM WAS REPORTED TO THE HONDA DEALER SERVICE MANAGER I WAS INFORMED THAT HONDA'S STAND IS THAT THE 2001 GOLDWING GL-1800 IS NOT MENT TO BE OPERATED AT LOW SPEEDS BY DESIGN. THE PROBLEM ORIGINATES WITH THE FANS OPERATING AGAINST NORMAL AIR FLOW IN THE SPEED RANGE BELOW 15 MPH. WITH THE FANS TRYING TO BLOW AIR FORWARD AND NORMAL AIR PUSHING AGAINST THEM THERE IS NO AIR FLOW OVER THE RADIATORS WHICH CAUSES THE COOLANT TO REACH THE RED ZONE OF 250 DEGREES IN ABOUT 10 MINUTES. THIS OVERHEATING CONDITION CAN CAUSE THE COOLANT OVERFLOW TANK TO VENT COOLANT ONTO T
Inaccurate Rear Passenger Seat Belt Warning Status
Loss of Motive Power
Inadvertent Deployment of Side Air Bags
Engine failure
No Restart After Auto Start/Stop Engages
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.