1997 Geo Prizm: Reliability Data

63
Total Complaints
112,650mi
Median Mileage
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
Top Issue
16
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

96,000 25th Percentile
112,650 Median Mileage
130,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
13
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
7
SEAT BELTS
5
AIR BAGS
2
STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST:PUMP
2
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS
2
TIRES
2
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE
2
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
2
SEAT BELTS:REAR/OTHER
2

Severity Assessment

16
Crashes
3
Fires
23
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"RECALL REPAIR NOT PERFORMED ON AIR BAGS DUE TO UNAVAILABILITY OF PART."
"RECALL REPAIR NOT PERFORMED ON AIR BAGS DUE TO UNAVAILABILITY OF PART."
"VEHICLE WAS TOTALED FROM RUNNING INTO A WALL AND GUARDRAIL AT 60MPH, AND DRIVER'S AND PASSENGER'S SIDE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. *AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL 13 complaints
Median: 112,650 mi
SEAT BELTS 5 complaints
Median: 130,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 16 NJ: 7 LA: 4 MD: 3 MS: 3 NM: 3 OH: 3 WI: 2 AR: 2 IA: 2

Who Files Complaints?

49.2%
Original Owners
50.8%
Second+ Owners

Geo Prizm — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
1990545
1991723
19927512
19939525
199417350
199513040
19966827
19993314

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28