1990 Geo Prizm problems
Owners have filed 54 complaints with NHTSA about the 1990 Geo Prizm. Seat belts is the most reported problem area, at 13% of complaints. Next are body & structure (13%) and engine (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 54 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Seat belts 13% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 5 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 6 and 0
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%.
What the data shows
Safety-related details: 5 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 6 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 82% 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 1990 ranks 9th most-complained-about out of 9 model years of the Geo Prizm with enough data (22 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.
Auto-tran: while driving 60 MPH, transmission froze; wheels locked up; started making unfamiliar sound; several loud thumps, then froze. Tt
Plastic cover female portion which holds buckle in place has detached from seat belt, rendering passenger side seat belt inoperative.
Dt*: the contact stated the driver's side seat belt will not retract. This occurs every time the seat belt is used. The vehicle was not involved in any accidents that would have caused this failure. The manufacturer and dealer were contacted; the seat belt could no longer be replaced due to the availability of the parts. There are no after market parts available. When the consumer did find a part, no one was willing to install the lap belt for fear of liability. Updated 05/30/06.