1996 Geo Prizm problems
Owners have filed 68 complaints with NHTSA about the 1996 Geo Prizm. Air bags is the most reported problem area, at 32% of complaints. Next are seat belts (21%) and brakes (7%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 68 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 32% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 27 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 29 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: 27 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 29 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 99% 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 1996 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 9 model years of the Geo Prizm with enough data (40 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.
Was driving vehicle from utah to boston; road & weather was good & clear; axle broke & left rear wheel separated from vehicle; rolled over twice onto median, also no deployment of driver's/passenger's air bags, resulting in injuries.
Tl* the contact owns a 1996 geo prizm. While driving various speeds over a bump in the road, the vehicle pulled to the left. The failure recurred two or three times per day. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed, but not repaired. While driving at an unknown speed, there was an abnormal noise coming from the front passenger side of the vehicle. Also, at 40,000 miles, the tires became worn out within 10,000 miles.