1999 Geo Prizm

Routine

Owners filed 24 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the air bags. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Air Bags7
101
Air Bags › Frontal5
411
Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip3
000
Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline2
000
Tires1
000
Suspension › Front › Control Arm1
000
Steering1
101
Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Foundation Components1
101
Power Train › Automatic Transmission1
000
Exterior Lighting › Headlights1
000

What owners reported

Newest filings
Air BagsCrash1 injured
Filed Jan 9, 2014125,000 milesCA

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 CHEVROLET PRIZM. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING 30 MPH AND BECAME INVOLVED IN A CRASH. THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY. THE DRIVER'S SEAT WAS PUSHED BACKWARD, CAUSING THE CONTACT TO SUSTAIN INJURIES TO THE BACK. THE CONTACT WAS WEARING THE SEATBELT AT THE TIME OF THE SEAT FAILURE. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED AND THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 125,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

Exterior Lighting › Headlights
Filed May 19, 2005WI

VEHICLE OWNERS MANUAL DOES NOT PROVIDE SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS AS TO HOW TO ADJUST THE HEADLAMP ALONG THE HORIZONTAL AXIS(HORIZONTAL ADJUSTMENT) OR VERTICAL AXIS (VERTICAL ADJUSTMENT) IF THE HEADLAMP DEVIATES FROM THE NOMINAL ADJUSTED POSITION OR THE CORRECT AIMED POSITION. THIS MAY PROVE TO BE FATAL IF THE VEHICLE OWNER DRIVES THE VEHICLE WITH HEADLAMPS UNADJUSTED ESPECIALLY IN RURAL AREAS OF THE COUNTRY.

Air Bags › FrontalCrash
Filed Nov 27, 2002TN

CONSUMER STATE WHILE TRAVELING 25-35 MPH IN RESULT OF REAR ENDING ANOTHER VEHICLE CONSUMER AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY AT ANY TIME. DEALER AND MANUFACTURE HAS BEEN CONTACTED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. TS

Power Train › Automatic Transmission
Filed Sep 17, 2002PA

SOMETIMES KEY WON'T TURN IN IGNITION, AND STEERING WHEEL WONT MOVE AND GEAR SHIFT WON'T MOVE. CAUSE UNKNOWN. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline
Filed Feb 5, 2002CO

WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH AND WITHOUT ANY INDICATION VEHICLE WOULD STALL OUT. ALSO, WHEN TRAVELING AROUND CURVES ENGINE WOULD STALL. DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED, BUT COULD NOT DUPLICATE PROBLEM. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK

Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip
Filed Jan 22, 2002FL

ABS BRAKING LIGHT COMES ON DASHBOARD WHEN APPLYING BRAKES. PEDAL GOES ALL THE WAY TO THE FLOOR, AND VEHICLE WILL SLIDE WHEN BRAKING AND PULSATING. DEALERSHIP IS AWARE OF PROBLEM.*AK

Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Foundation ComponentsCrash1 injured
Filed Aug 23, 2001FL

WHILE DRIVING ON A RAINY DAY THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE STRUCK ANOTHER VEHICLE AND DRIVER AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY.*JB

Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip
Filed Aug 5, 2001ME

I HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT A LOSS OF BRAKES SEVERAL TIMES WITH GM. THIS TIME, I MANAGED TO JERK THE STEERING WHEEL AROUND AND A LARGE LOG TRUCKL MISSED ME BY INCHES. GM CANNOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM, I HAVE A VEHICLE I DON'T DARE TO DRIVE ANYMORE.

Air Bags
Filed Jul 3, 2001NY

AIRBAG LIGHT STARTED BLINKING. DEALER CHECKED FLASH CODES. FLASH CODE 44 CONFIRMED. NEW ABS HARNESS ON ORDER.*AK

Suspension › Front › Control Arm
Filed Jul 2, 2001UT

DRIVER'S SIDE BALL JOINT COMPLETELY DRY. DEALER REPLACED. STILL CREAKING WHEN GO OVER BUMPS OR REVERSE AND TURN WHEEL.

Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip
Filed Jun 13, 2001ME

I HAVE INCONSISTANT, "INTERMITENT" LOSS OF BRAKES. 3 PEOPLE HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS PROBLEM WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE. THE SERVICE DEPARTMENTS AT 2 DIFFERENT DEALERSHIPS HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. THE BRAKES WILL TAKE AT FIRST, DISAPPEAR FOR A COUPLE OF SECONDS, THE PEDAL GOES ALMOST TO THE FLOOR AND THE BRAKE RETURNS (SO FAR). THE LOSS HAPPENS IN BOTH COLD/HOT WEATHER & WET/DRY CONDITIONS WITHOUT WARNING. I AM TOLD THE CAR IS 'SAFE' TO DRIVE, ALTHOUGH I CONSIDER THIS PROBLEM 'UNSAFE'.

Electrical System › Wiring › Interior/Under Dash
Filed May 29, 2001IL

THE DRL MODULE FAILED, CAUSING SEVERAL LIGHTING ANOMILES AND ODD ENGINE REVVING FOLLOWED BY THE ENGINE STOPPING. FOLLOWING THAT, THE ENGINE STARTED NORMALLY BUT DIED WHEN THE LIGHTS WERE MANUALLY ACTIVATED. AFTER THAT,THE CAR STARTED AND THE SAME LIGHTING ANOMOLIES REPEATED, THE ENGINE DIED AND THE LIGHTS WOULND'T TURN OFF. WITH THE DRL MODULE DISCONNECTED, THE LIGHTS DID NOT OPERATE. THE PART WASN'T IN STOCK AT THE DEALERSHIPS IN MY AREA AND IT HAD TO BE ORDERED. I WAS WITHOUT MY CAR FROM 5/17 UNTIL THE AFTERNOON OF 5/21.*AK

Air Bags › Frontal
Filed Jan 8, 2001CA

WHILE TRAVELING AIR BAG INDICATOR LIGHT WOULD FLASH THROUGH TRAVEL. VEHICLE HAS BEEN REPAIRED FOUR TIMES, BUT PROBLEM RETURNED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK

Air Bags
Filed Jan 8, 2001IN

AIRBAG LIGHT INDICATING DEFECT/FAILURE OF AIRBAGS ILLUMINATES. INTERMITTENT PROBLEM. DEALER UNABLE TO DUPLICATE. OCCURRED 12 DIFFERENT TIMES FROM 36,600 TO 36,700. *AK

Air Bags › FrontalCrashFire1 injured
Filed Oct 13, 2000OH

I WAS REARENDED IN AN ACCIDENT ON 10-11-00 AT A STOP LIGHT, WHICH IN TURN PUSHED ME INTO THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME, I WAS HIT AT 45 MILES AN HOUR, MY TRUNK WAS COMPACTED TO 6 INCHES. THE FRONT RIGHT SIDE HAS A 2 FOOT AREA THAT IS MISSING AND THEN CAUGHT ON FIRE, AND YET MY AIR BAGS DIDN'T DEPLOY. EITHER THE PASSENGER OR DRIVERS. THE CAR WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY AND HAD NO PROBLEMS WITH THE AIR BAGS THAT COULD BE SEEN OR CHECKED. THIS IS VERY TRUBBLING TO ME.*AK

Air Bags
Filed Jul 31, 2000AL

AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT REMAINS ILLUMINATED, INDICATING A MALFUNCTION WITHIN THE SYSTEM. DEALER REPLACED THE AIR BAG WIRING AND THE MODULE WHICH DID NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEM. *AK

Air Bags › FrontalCrash
Filed Jun 15, 2000GA

CONSUMER WAS INVOLVED IN A FRONTAL COLLISION IN WHICH DRIVER'S/PASSENGER'S AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY, AND SEAT BELTS DID NOT LOCK . PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK

SteeringCrash1 injured
Filed Mar 31, 2000LA

THE DRIVER WAS TRAVELING AT 50MPH ALONG A STRAIGHT HIGHWAY WHEN SUDDDENLY THE STEERING WHEEL STARTED MOVING VIOLENTLY FROM SIDE TO SIDE. THE DRIVER WAS UNABLE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL, LEFT THE ROAD AND FLIPPED THE CAR SEVERAL TIMES LANDING UPSIDE DOWN. THE DRIVER REMOVED HER SEATBELT AND WAS ATTEMPTING TO EXIT THROUGH THE BACK BROKEN WINDOW WHEN THE FRONT AIRBAGS VERY SLOWLY STARTED TO INFLATE. THE AIRBAGS NEVER FULLY INFLATED. THE SIDE AIRBAGS NEVER INFLATED. WE ARE ANXIOUS TO FIND OUT IF THERE IS A WAY TO DETERMINE WHETHER A STEERING DEFECT LEAD TO THE ACCIDENT.

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline
Filed Mar 23, 2000WV

ON 4 OCCASSIONS WHEN GOING APPROX. 40-45 MPH, ENGINE SEEMED AS IF THE POWER JUST SORT OF DROPPED OUT FOR SEVERAL SECONDS. ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASSIONS, WHEN STOPPED AT A STOPLIGHT, WHEN LIGHT TURNED GREEN & I PUSHED ON GAS PEDAL TO ACCELERATE, CAR COMPLETELY TURNED ITSELF OFF. DEALER COULD NOT RE-CREATE PROBLEM AND OFFERED NO EXPLANATION. *AK

Tires
Filed Mar 8, 2000CA

CONSUMER STARTED HEARING A NOISE AT 18,000 MILES. IT WAS A CUPPING NOISE COMING FROM TIRE LOCATED ON THE INSIDE EDGE OF THE REAR TIRES DUE TO THE ANGLE OF THE VEHICLE. *AK

20 of 24 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 1994
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20023000Routine
20016000Routine
20007000Routine
1999 — this page24010Routine
199811000Routine
199750220Routine
199661120Routine
199596310Routine
1994134362Fatalities reported
199377220Routine
199250100Routine
199146230Routine
199037110Routine

Compare every Prizm year →

Reading this record

No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.