RoadVitals

1994 Geo Prizm Seat belts Problems

Owner-reported complaints naming the seat belt system, filed with NHTSA

Data refreshed

Seat belts reportsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
23
Latest Oct 6, 2005
Share of all reportsThis category as a share of every owner report on file for this model year. One report can name more than one component, so the categories overlap.
17%
of 134 total
Crash or fire reportedReports in this category whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. The reporter's own answer on the NHTSA form, not a verified finding.
1
Injuries or deaths reportedTotals the submitters entered on their own reports in this category. Not verified by NHTSA and not a casualty statistic.
0

What this page shows

Reports naming seat belts, buckles, retractors and pretensioners. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1994 Geo Prizm submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 23 reports on file name it.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Owner reports naming seat belt

Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed

Seat belts
Filed Oct 6, 2005

DT: THE CONTACT TRIED TO ORDER A NEW DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT FROM A DEALER FOR 1994 GEO PRIZM. THE GM DEALER DID NOT HAVE IT AND COULD NOT GET ONE. THE CONSUMER ORDERED IT FROM TOYOTA. THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE WAS COMPATIBLE WITH A TOYOTA COROLLA. THE CONTACT WANTED TO COMPLAIN THAT HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET A SEAT BELT FOR HIS CAR FROM GENERAL MOTORS. ALSO, HE WAS CONCERNED THAT OTHER PEOPLE WILL NOT KNOW THERE WAS AN ALTERNATIVE FOR THIS.*AK

NHTSA ID
10135441
Incident
Aug 24, 2005
Mileage
92,000 mi
AirbagsSeat belts
Filed Jul 8, 2003

NEVER INFORMED OF RECALLS FOR AIR BAG LIGHT AND DRIVER RESTRAINT SYSTEM. FOUND RECALLS ON NHTSA WEBSITE. NOTIFIED GM, WAITING ON RESPONSE.*AK

NHTSA ID
10025614
Incident
Jul 7, 2003
Seat belts
Filed Sep 30, 2002

THE SEAT BELT ANCHORS ON CONSUMERS VEHICLE BROKE. CONSUMER RESEARCHED AND FOUND OUT THAT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF RECALLS DUE TO THE DEFECTIVE BELTS FOR THIS VEHICLE. CONSUMER SPOKE TO A GEO REPRESENTIVE WHO EXPLAINED THAT THERE WAS NO RECALL FOR THE ANCHOR STRAPS. THE REPRESENTATIVE WOULD NOT CONFIRM IN WRITING WHAT WAS TOLD TO THE CONSUMER. *JG

NHTSA ID
567684
Seat belts
Filed Aug 21, 2002

AT APPROXIMATELY 120,000 MILES DRIVER SIDE SEATBELT FAILED TO RETRACT AND WAS REPLACED BY OWNER. AT 170,000 MILES BOTH REAR RETRACTABLE SEATBELT'S STARTED JAMING BECAUSE THE BELT ITSELF FOLDS IN HALF WHILE RETRACTING, CAUSING SEATBELT TO "LOCK" UP. SEATBELT CAN BE REMOVED AND UN AMMED, BUT PROBLEM CONTINUES TO REPEAT ITSELF.*AK

NHTSA ID
765970
Incident
Aug 19, 2002
Seat belts
Filed Jun 15, 2001

DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT DOESN'T WORK. SEATBELT IS PULLED ALL THE WAY OUT, AND WILL NOT RETRACT. CONSUMER HAS YET TO CONTACT DEALER. *AK

NHTSA ID
890477
Incident
Jun 14, 2001
Seat belts
Filed Jun 9, 2000

DRIVERS SIDE BELT RETRACTOR FAILED AND IS TOO LOOSE. NLM

NHTSA ID
552552
Incident
May 9, 2000
Seat belts
Filed Apr 14, 2000

SEAT BELT BEHIND DRIVER'S SEAT HAD BEEN REPLACED BEFORE. CURRENTLY, WHEN CHILD SEAT IS PLACED IN REAR SEAT, SEAT BELT WON'T RESTRAIN THE CHILD SEAT, IT WOULD NOT LOCK. *AK

NHTSA ID
860399
Incident
Apr 14, 2000
Seat belts
Filed Mar 15, 2000

CONSUMER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF RECALL FOR THE SEAT BELT WHICH FAILED PRIOR TO NOTICE. DEALER ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THE SEAT BELTS WILL NOT RETRACT BUT REFUSES TO REPAIR THEM BECAUSE OF THE MILEAGE (84483) OF THE VEHICLE. NLM

NHTSA ID
551471
Seat belts
Filed Mar 9, 2000

CONSUMER DENIED RECALL REPAIR DUE TO MILEAGE OF THE VEHICLE. *MJS

NHTSA ID
551297
Incident
Feb 16, 2000
Seat belts
Filed Nov 24, 1999

LEFT/REAR SEAT BELT IS INOPERATIVE-WILL NOT RETRACT OR PULL OUT. DEALER REPLACED SEAT BELT AND RETRACTOR. *AK

NHTSA ID
851484
Incident
Sep 1, 1999
Seat belts
Filed Apr 2, 1999

SEAT BELT DOES NOT LOCK. PRIOR BELT SIEZED-LOCKING IN EXTENDED POSITION. *AK

NHTSA ID
705212
Incident
Apr 2, 1999
Seat belts
Filed Mar 19, 1999

SEAT BELT DESIGN MAKES PROPER CHILD SEAT INSTALLATION IMPOSSIBLE, AS VERIFIED BY SEVERAL POLICE OFFICERS, MECHANICS, ETC, USING SEVERAL DIFFERENT CHILD SEATS. THE STRAP ON THE FEMALE BUCKLE IS TOO LONG, AND THE BUCKLE IS TOO LARGE, INTERFERING WITH PROPER CHILD SEAT INSTALLATION.

NHTSA ID
704631
Incident
Jan 14, 1999
Seat belts
Filed Feb 26, 1999

NO SUMMARY

NHTSA ID
703754
Incident
Feb 13, 1999
Seat belts
Filed May 1, 1998

DEFECT IN FRONT SHOULDER SEAT BELT RETRACTOR DOES NOT PROPERLY RETRACT, RESULTING IN LOSS OF PROTECTION, AND EXTRA PORTION THAT DID NOT RETRACT WILL ALSO GET CAUGHT IN DOOR, NOT ALLOWING THE DOOR TO SHUT PROPERLY. *AK

NHTSA ID
822998
Seat belts
Filed Apr 23, 1998

BOLTS NOT ATTACHED TO SEAT BELT ANCHORS.

NHTSA ID
534647
Seat belts
Filed Mar 17, 1998

SEAT BELT BUCKLE CRACKED WHILE ATTACHING CHILD SAFETY SEAT.

NHTSA ID
532702
Incident
Feb 10, 1998
Seat belts
Filed Dec 27, 1995

SEATBELT RETRACTOR FAILED, SEATBELT WILL NOT GO IN OR BE PULLED OUT. TT

NHTSA ID
977042
Incident
Feb 4, 1995
AirbagsBrakesSeat belts
Filed Oct 18, 1995
Crash reported

CONSUMER WAS IN AN ACCIDENT AND THE ABS ANTI-LOCK BRAKE FAILED AND PASSENGERS AIR BAG DIDN'T DEPLOY AND THE DRIVER AND PASSENGER SEAT BELT DIDN'T RESTRAIN . TT

NHTSA ID
973546
Incident
Jul 1, 1994
Seat belts
Filed Sep 22, 1995

THE DRIVER SEAT BELT RETRACTOR WILL NOT COME OUT . TT

NHTSA ID
972325
Seat belts
Filed Jun 23, 1995

RIGHT REAR SEAT BELT RETRACTOR DOES NOT WORK AND LEFT REAR IS MALFUNCTIONING. TT

NHTSA ID
967627
Incident
May 12, 1995
Seat belts
Filed Apr 25, 1995

DRIVERS SIDE SEAT BELT WILL NOT RELEASE FROM THE RETRACTOR HOUSING. TT

NHTSA ID
964328
Incident
Jan 25, 1995
Seat belts
Filed Apr 18, 1995

DRIVER'S HEAD REST FAILS TO LOCK DOWN, CAUSING HEAD REST TO POP UP UNEXPECTEDLY. *SKD

NHTSA ID
482299
Incident
Apr 18, 1995
Seat belts
Filed Mar 1, 1995

REAR SEAT BELT FAILED TWICE. *SKD

NHTSA ID
479353
Incident
Jun 1, 1994

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Other components reported on this vehicle

Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own

Airbags50Brakes15Visibility12Interior & seats8Electrical8

Elsewhere on this vehicle

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .