Total Complaints
15 filings
SUZUKI INTRUDER · model year
15 NHTSA complaints, 1 crash report for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 1999SUZUKIINTRUDER carries 15 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 1 crash, 2 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 1999 INTRUDER is power train:manual transmission with 4 filings, followed by service brakes, hydraulic:foundation components:disc (2) and suspension:rear (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 1 investigation file overlapping the 1999 INTRUDER. 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
15 filings
Crashes Reported
1 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION | 4 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC | 2 |
| SUSPENSION:REAR | 1 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:CRUISE CONTROL | 1 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS | 1 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:CALIPER | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM | 1 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS | 1 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC | 1 |
| POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | 1 |
1999 SUZUKI INTRUDER 1500 TRANSMISSION JUMPS OUT OF 4TH GEAR REGULARLY UNDER NORMAL RIDING SUZUKI SAYS THERE IS NO PROBLEMS. *AK
1999 SUZUKI VL-1500LC. HAS HAD SHIFTING ISSUES SINCE IT WAS PURCHASED WITH FALSE NEUTRAL BETWEEN 4TH ADN 5TH GEARS. JULY 23, 2003 THE MAIN TRANSMISSION DRIVE SHAFT FAILED/BROKE WHILE DRIVING DOWN I-90 LEAVING SEATTLE. *LA
Mileage: 15,000
TRANSMISSION FAILURE. THE BIKE WILL NOT STAY IN 4TH GEAR UNDER LOAD. IT POPS OUT LEAVING THE TRANSMISSION BETWEEN 3 & 4TH. THIS COULD BE A MAJOR A SAFETY ISSUE IF IT EVER DOES IT WHILE I'M PASSING VEHICLES. THIS HAS BEEN ON GOING SINCE THE BIKE WAS FIRST PURCHASED. *PH
Mileage: 1,000
1999 SUZUKI VL 1500LC MOTORCYCLE HAS TERRIBLE FRONT BRAKES. THEY FADE REAL BAD AFTER ONE MODERATE STOP FROM NORMAL FREEWAY SPEEDS. MANY OWNERS ARE HAVING TO DO AFTER MARKET MODIFICATIONS TO BRING FUNCTIONALITY TO AN ACCEPTABLE LEVEL. SUZUKI MUST HAVE KNOWN THIS AS THEY THOROUGHLY REDESIGNED THE SYSTEM FROM YEAR MODEL 2002 TO PRESENT. I HAVE COME CLOSE TO HAVING SEVERAL ACCIDENTS DUE TO BRAKE FADE DURING A HARD PANIC STOP. *NLM
Mileage: 200
BOTH FRONT AND REAR BRAKES ARE NOT WORKING, THEY WEAR OUT PREMATURALLY, 5500 MILES OF PADS ON REAR DISK (DISK SCORED) AND ONLY 11000 OFF FRONT.
CONSUMER DIDN'T KNOW THAT THERE WAS A FLAW IN THE CASTING. THE MANUFACTURER WAS GOING TO REPLACE THE CRANKCASE WHEN AN OIL LEAK DEVELOPED FROM THIS PROBLEM. TO DO THE REPAIRS, THEY WOULD HAVE TO CRACK THE MOTOR OPEN, AND IT WOULD NEVER SEAL THE WAY IT DID FROM THE FACTORY. *AK
AT EVERY 2400 MILES REAR BRAKES WILL WEAR OUT, POSSIBLY DUE TO CALIPERS STICKING. *AK
PLEASE GO TO THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE TO READ MULTIPLE COMPLAINTS ON THIS VEHICLE, HTTP://UNDERWRITE.COM/SUZUKI/PAGE4.HTML
WHILE IDLING, REAR BRAKE LINE CAUGHT ON FIRE. MANUFACTURER WARRANTY REP CLAIMED THAT IT IS NORMAL FOR THIS BIKE TO OVERHEAT IF LEFT IDLING TOO LONG. THIS INCIDENT HAPPENED AFTER IDLING FOR 15 MINUTES IN 30 DEGREE WEATHER.
WHILE IDLING, REAR BRAKE LINE CAUGHT ON FIRE. MANUFACTURER WARRANTY REP CLAIMED THAT IT IS NORMAL FOR THIS BIKE TO OVERHEAT IF LEFT IDLING TOO LONG. THIS INCIDENT HAPPENED AFTER IDLING FOR 15 MINUTES IN 30 DEGREE WEATHER.
THERE ARE QUIT A FEW OF THESE MOTORCYCLES OUT THERE WITH FAILING BACK BRAKES BECAUSE THE POISTON IN THE CALIPPER HANGS UP AND CAUSES WARE AND THE BRAKE TO LOCK UP. IT IS ALL OVER THE INTERNET ON THE 1500LC FORUM AND WE CAN'T GET THE MANUFACTURE TO DO ANDTHING ABOUT THE PROBLEM. I THINK THE FIX IS OUT THERE BUT THEY WON'T RECONISE THE PROBLEM.THIS COULD LEAD TO SOMEONE LOSING CONTROL AND NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED BY SUZUKI
TRANSMISSION IS MAKING LOUD NOISE. SUZUKI MECHANIC CLAIMS WRONG SIZE GEARS WERE INSTALLED, CAUSING NOISE WHICH COULD RESULT IN TRANSMISSION LOCKING UP. *AK
WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 30-35 MPH REAR BRAKES COMPLETELY FAILED TO OPERATE. FRONT BRAKE SLOWED IT DOWN UNTIL THE MOTORCYCLE CAME TO A STOP. DEALER NOTIFIED. *AK
THERE IS A LOUD NOISE THAT OCCURS WHEN TRANSMISSION IS IN 4TH AND 5TH GEAR. ALSO, THERE IS A RATTLING NOISE IN THE TRANSMISSION ITSELF. DEALER SAYS IT'S NORMAL. WHEN VEHICLE WAS DELIVERED, THERE WAS NO OIL IN THE REAR DRIVE LINE; WAS FILLED BY CONSUMER. *AK
WHILE INSPECTING THE REAR BRAKE, I NOTED THAT THE BRAKE SHOES WERE WORN NEARLY TO THE BACKING PLATE. IN MY OPINION THIS CONSTITUTES ABNORMAL WEAR. ADDITIONALLY, IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THIS CONDITION WAS DISCOVERED 1025 MILES BEFORE THE NEXT NORMALLLY SCHEDULED INSPECTION (4000 MILES). IF THIS CONDITION HAD REMAINED UNDISCOVERED UNTIL THE NEXT SCHEDULED INSPECTION IT WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN A COMPLETE FAILURE OF THE REAR BRAKING SYSTEM. NUMEROUS OTHER INTRUDER OWNERS HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM. (SEE WWW.INTRUDERALERT.COM AND HTTP://WWW.UNDERWRITE.COM/SUZUKI/PAGE2.HTML). THIS CERTAINLY HAS THE FLAVOR OF A GENERIC PROBLEM THAT SUZUKI WILL NOT ACKNOWLEDGE.
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.