1997 GEO PRIZM — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 48 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: SEAT BELTS (16 complaints · 33.3%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 12
  • Fires 2
  • Injuries 7
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1996 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution SEAT BELTS appears in 16 of 48 owner complaints (33.3%) in this vehicle snapshot. SEAT BELTS: 16 complaints, 33.3% of reports SEAT BELTS 16 · 33.3% · 1 crash reports AIR BAGS: 13 complaints, 27.1% of reports AIR BAGS 13 · 27.1% · 10 crash reports STEERING: 5 complaints, 10.4% of reports STEERING 5 · 10.4% SERVICE BRAKES: 4 complaints, 8.3% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 4 · 8.3% · 1 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 2 complaints, 4.2% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 · 4.2% · 2 fire reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 2 complaints, 4.2% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 · 4.2% ENGINE: 1 complaints, 2.1% of reports ENGINE 1 · 2.1% PARKING BRAKE: 1 complaints, 2.1% of reports PARKING BRAKE 1 · 2.1% POWER TRAIN: 1 complaints, 2.1% of reports POWER TRAIN 1 · 2.1% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 42 complaints, 87.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 42 · 87.5% · 10 crash reports 2 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
SEAT BELTS 16 33.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 13 27.1% 10 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 5 10.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 4 8.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 4.2% 0 crashes · 2 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 4.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 1 2.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
PARKING BRAKE 1 2.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 1 2.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 42 87.5% 10 crashes · 2 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Apr 1997; the first recall shown was reported in Mar 1997. 1997-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2000-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2000-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2001-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2001-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Mar 1997 Jul 2011 Recall campaign 97V043002 ◆ Recall campaign 97V043002 Recall campaign 10E002000 ◆ Recall campaign 10E002000
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1997-Q2 Owner reports 1
1997-Q4 Owner reports 1
1998-Q1 Owner reports 1
1998-Q2 Owner reports 2
1998-Q3 Owner reports 2
1998-Q4 Owner reports 1
1999-Q1 Owner reports 2
1999-Q2 Owner reports 1
1999-Q3 Owner reports 2
1999-Q4 Owner reports 6
2000-Q2 Owner reports 1
2000-Q3 Owner reports 4
2000-Q4 Owner reports 2
2001-Q1 Owner reports 1
2001-Q2 Owner reports 5
2001-Q3 Owner reports 1
2002-Q2 Owner reports 2
2002-Q4 Owner reports 2
2003-Q1 Owner reports 1
2003-Q2 Owner reports 1
2003-Q3 Owner reports 2
2003-Q4 Owner reports 1
2004-Q1 Owner reports 1
2004-Q2 Owner reports 1
2004-Q4 Owner reports 1
2005-Q2 Owner reports 1
2005-Q4 Owner reports 1
2011-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 97V043002
Recall campaign 1 10E002000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 10E002000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    THE ABSENCE OF THE WELD CAN ALLOW THE STRUT TO COME OUT OF ITS MOUNTING POSITION UNDER CERTAIN EXTREME DRIVING CONDITIONS WHICH COULD CAUSE DAMAGE TO SURROUNDING VEHICLE COMPONENTS INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
    Remedy:
    RIDE CONTROL WILL NOTIFY OWNERS OF RECORD AND REPLACE THE AFFECTED PARTS FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MARCH 15, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT RIDE CONTROL AT 1-248-458-1396.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 97V043002

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    UNEXPECTED AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT CAN RESULT IN OCCUPANT INJURY.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPAIR THE AIR BAG COMPUTER.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 48 complaints · page 1 of 2

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources