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.
1999 Geo Prizm
Owners filed 24 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the air bags. No safety recall has been issued.
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Bags | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Air Bags › Frontal | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tires | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Suspension › Front › Control Arm | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Steering | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Foundation Components | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Power Train › Automatic Transmission | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Exterior Lighting › Headlights | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
What owners reported
Newest filingsVEHICLE 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.
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
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
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
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
WHILE DRIVING ON A RAINY DAY THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE STRUCK ANOTHER VEHICLE AND DRIVER AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY.*JB
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.
AIRBAG LIGHT STARTED BLINKING. DEALER CHECKED FLASH CODES. FLASH CODE 44 CONFIRMED. NEW ABS HARNESS ON ORDER.*AK
DRIVER'S SIDE BALL JOINT COMPLETELY DRY. DEALER REPLACED. STILL CREAKING WHEN GO OVER BUMPS OR REVERSE AND TURN WHEEL.
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'.
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
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
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
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 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
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
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.
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
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: 1994Other Geo models
All Geo models →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.