1999 Chevrolet Prizm problems
Owners have filed 47 complaints with NHTSA about the 1999 Chevrolet Prizm. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 23% of complaints. After that come electrical system (13%) and lighting (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 47 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 23% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 13 and 5
- Injuries and deaths
- 5 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 78,000 miles 22 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 0 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 0 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 2 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 11 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 1 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 1 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 4 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 3 |
What the data shows
Among the 22 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 78,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 13 complaints mention a crash; 5 complaints mention a fire; 5 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 97% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1999 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 4 model years of the Chevrolet Prizm with enough data (20 complaints in that window).
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
I was in a car accident driving a 99 chevy prizm going approximately 45 MPH. I was rear-ended on the passenger right side rear corner and then immediately again on the passenger front right corner. The driver's seat broke. It was all the way back in the reclined position. The only injury I experienced was whiplash.
While driving on icy roads, the vehicle was rear ended. The vehicle was pushed into a embankment and hit a tree. The driver's side seat belt failed to restrain the consumer. Upon impact, the frontal air bags failed to deploy. The driver's head went through the windshield and the consumers chest hit the steering wheel. The driver sustained spinal/facial, and head injuries. The vehicle was inspected, it was noted that frontal air bag sensors had been damaged in the crash. *scc
I was driving to help a friend move about 4 block from my apartment complex on thursday 18th july at approximately 12:20pm. About two blocks from my apartment, I looked over to my right shoulder to check my blind spot to merge into the next lane and when I turned back the car in front of me slammed on their brakes and stopped suddenly. By this time I was within two car lengths away and slammed my brakes. My car began slowing down but slid straight into the back of her vehicle.
At 70 miles/hour my general motors power steering assist was on full assist and caused an accident. General motors secretly removed the power assist, replaced it and then jimmied the entire car to present false evidence that the accident was caused by bad driver car maintenance. They then denied the claim based on photographs they had taken of my car after they had changed everything. The accident on 7/20/2018, occurred on a highway during a sunny late morning. The car was totaled.