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1999 Chevrolet Prizm

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 1999 Chevrolet Prizm do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 21.5.

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

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Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.

What owners reported most

All reported categories

Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.

When problems were reported

Mileage at the reported incident

Limited mileage data: 13 of 36 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.

NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.

What to inspect

Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.

  • Air Bags. Review the 11 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Electrical System. Review the 5 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Engine And Engine Cooling. Review the 5 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

8 crash reports2 fire reports4 injury reports

Structure complaints

2 reports
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240,000 miles · Dec 3, 2018
Exterior LightingSteeringStructureCrash

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 …

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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. *TR *JS *JS *TT CONSUMER STATED I SENT ONE LETTER TO THE OFFICE OF DEFECTS INVESTIGATION ON 12/3/2018 WITH 7 QUESTIONS AND ANOTHER LETTER ON 9/27/2019 WITH 3 MORE QUESTIONS TO YOU. I HAVE SENT COPIES OF THESE LETTERS, PER ATTACHMENT. CAN I GET SPECIFIC ANSWERS TO EACH QUESTION FROM YOU AND YOUR PHONE # SO I CAN CALL YOU AFTER MY REVIEW. IT SEEMS TO ME GENERAL MOTORS HAS ALWAYS DESIGNED ITS' VARIABLE POWER STEERING ASSISTS, WHEN THEY BREAK, TO GO INTO FULL, OPEN POWER ASSIST , ALL THE TIME AND AT ALL SPEEDS. THIS IS SOO MUCH MORE DANGEROUS THAN MANUAL STEERING ESPECIALLY WITHOUT LOW SPEED WARNING THAT THE POWER STEERING ASSIST HAS BROKEN. WHAT HAS NHTSA DONE TO PREVENT THIS SAFETY RISK TO DRIVERS OF EXCESS, INAPPROPRIATE MAGNIFICATION OF HIGH SPEED STEERING. *JB

NHTSA ODI #11155706

70,000 miles · Jul 20, 2013
Air BagsExterior LightingStructureCrash

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 S…

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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. AFTER I REAR ENDED HER I LOOK AHEAD AND NOTICE A 4 CAR BUILD UP WITH THE 5TH CAR AHEAD MAKING AN ILLEGAL U TURN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET. MY ENTIRE FRONT OF MY CAR WAS PRETTY MUCH DESTROYED WITH ALL NEW PARTS HAVING TO BE BOUGHT. BECAUSE MY CAR IS FRONT WELL DRIVE THE FRONT DIPPED AND DID NOT DO MUCH DAMAGE TO THE OTHER PERSONS VEHICLE (1999 HONDA ACCORD COPE) EXCEPT SCRATCHED HER BUMPER. I ONLY HAVE LIABILITY SO HER CAR IS BEING FIXED AND I HAVE TO PAY FOR MINE OUT OF POCKET. BECAUSE THE LEFT FENDER WAS BADLY DENTED, IT HINDERED THE FRONT DOOR FROM BEING ABLE TO OPEN AND I REMAINED PINNED INTO MY CAR FOR A WHILE. I NOTICED THAT MY AIR BAGS NEVER EVEN WENT OFF WHICH COULD HAVE PREVENT THE LITTLE WHIP LASH I RECEIVED. I AM CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING SLIGHT PAINS BEHIND MY NECK. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10525904

Official recalls

0

No recalls in this snapshot.

Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗

NHTSA investigations

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.