1999 Geo Prizm Owner Complaints

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.

NHTSA ID

10559215

Incident

Dec 7, 2013

Mileage

125,000 mi

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.

NHTSA ID

10121649

Incident

May 19, 2005

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

NHTSA ID

8023420

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

NHTSA ID

8018845

Incident

Feb 21, 2001

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

NHTSA ID

8003525

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

NHTSA ID

8002630

Incident

Dec 1, 2001

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

NHTSA ID

895098

Incident

Jul 21, 2001

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.

NHTSA ID

749887

Incident

Aug 4, 2001

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

NHTSA ID

747762

Incident

Jul 2, 2000

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

NHTSA ID

747675

Incident

Jun 18, 2001

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'.

NHTSA ID

746815

Incident

Jan 28, 2001

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

NHTSA ID

746043

Incident

May 17, 2001

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

NHTSA ID

877613

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

NHTSA ID

739026

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

NHTSA ID

734225

Incident

Oct 11, 2000

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

NHTSA ID

866341

Incident

Jun 1, 2000

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

NHTSA ID

863619

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.

NHTSA ID

720824

Incident

Mar 28, 2000

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

NHTSA ID

720520

Incident

Feb 25, 2000

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

NHTSA ID

858200

Incident

Feb 12, 2000

AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT FLASHES PERIODICALLY. THIS HAS BEEN AN ONGOING PROBLEM FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS. DEALER WAS NOT ABLE TO FIX THE PROBLEM. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK

NHTSA ID

858065

Incident

Feb 14, 2000

AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY IN ACCIDENT. I HAVE HAD THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT ON SINCE I BOUGHT THE VEHICLE. THE DEALERSHIP SAID IT WAS DUE TO A DEFECTIVE DRIVER SIDE AIRBAG SENSOR, AND THIS WOULD NOT PREVENT THE FRONT AIRBAGS FROM DEPLOYING. DEALER STATED THAT THEY COULD NOT FIX THE DEFECT, BECAUSE IT WOULD NOT CORRECT THE WARNING LIGHT PROBLEM, AND THEY REMOVED THE SENSOR THAT WAS BAD (FOR THE SIDE AIR BAG), BUT DIDN'T HAVE ONE TO REPLACE IT WITH. I CONTACTED THE MANUFACTURER ABOUT THIS PROBLEM, AND THEY COULD NOT RESOLVE THE ISSUE. DANIEL'S TOLD ME THEY HAVE THREE OTHER PRIZMS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM THAT THEY CANNOT FIX. I FEEL THAT I COULD HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED DUE TO THE NON-FUNCTIONING SAFETY COMPONENT (FRONT AIR BAG) AND THAT OTHER PEOPLE MAY BE INJURED FROM THE SAME PROBLEM. THE POLICEMAN THAT INVESTIGATED THE ACCIDENT ALSO RECOMMENDED THAT I FIND OUT WHY THE AIR-BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. *AK

NHTSA ID

718442

Incident

Feb 5, 2000

AIR BAG LIGHT COMES AT ANY RANDOM TIME AND WILL NOT CUT OFF. DEALER WAS CONTACTED AND PART WAS REPLACED. *AK

NHTSA ID

845238

Incident

Aug 11, 1999

AIR BAG LIGHT ILLUMINATES INTERMITTENTLY. NLM

NHTSA ID

546241

Incident

Mar 17, 1999