1994 Geo Prizm problems
Owners have filed 173 complaints with NHTSA about the 1994 Geo Prizm. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 32% of complaints. Next are seat belts (13%) and brakes (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 173 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 32% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 50 and 7
- Injuries and deaths
- 44 and 2
- Typical mileage
- 108,000 miles 12 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 | 1 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 1 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 0 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 1 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 2 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 2 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 4 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 12 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 108,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 50 complaints mention a crash; 7 complaints mention a fire; 44 injuries reported; 2 deaths reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 98% 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 1994 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 9 model years of the Geo Prizm with enough data (90 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
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.
Be advised that this is a fatality. Consumer was driving on the highway and another vehicle had veered into her and she ran into the guardrail. Upon impact, passenger airbag deployed and killed her instantly.
Violent deployment of air bag during collision resulted in death of consumer due to a broken neck sustained from deployment. (attorney for estate) *mjs
Tl*the contact owns a 1994 geo prizm. On february 19, 2009, the driver's side air bag deployed while the contact was turning the vehicle. She suffered second degree burns on her neck, chest, and face. In addition, her nose and finger were swollen. The failure occurred without warning. The contact feels that this is a manufacturer defect and would like the issue investigated. The speed was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 23,902.
While driving 45 MPH driver side airbag deployed inadvertently. As a result, driver sustained head and neck lacerations, and temporary loss of hearing in the left ear.
Tl*the contact owns a 1994 geo prizm. When the contact placed the key into the ignition, the air bags immediately deployed without warning. She suffered minor injuries and cuts to the left side of her face. Her face was swollen and she complained of a severe burn-like injury to her chest area. The manufacturer had not been notified. The failure and current mileages were less than 238,975.