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1997 Geo Prizm

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

Similar to other model years

Owner complaints for the 1997 Geo Prizm do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 46.

About this comparison →
50Owner complaints

Model-year median: 46

1Recall campaigns

View recall details →

0Investigations

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How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

Other model years Selected year
134
199496
199561
199650
199711
199824
19997
2000
Compare all Prizm years →

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

What owners reported most

Seat Belts
17Air Bags
15Steering
5Service Brakes, Hydraulic
4Suspension
3
All reported categories
Electrical System
2Equipment
2Exterior Lighting
2Power Train
2Tires
2Child Seat
1Engine And Engine Cooling
1Parking Brake
1

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: 11 of 50 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.

  • Seat Belts. Review the 17 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Air Bags. Review the 15 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Steering. 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.

13 crash reports2 fire reports4 injury reports

Equipment complaints

2 reports
Clear category filter
112,650 miles · Jul 7, 2006
Air BagsEquipmentSeat BeltsCrashInjury

ON 4/19/05 I WAS IN AN ACCIDENT WITH MY 97 GEO PRISM. THE VEHICLE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY AND THE SEAT BELTS FAILED TO OPERATE CORRECTLY CAUSING ME TO HIT THE STEERING WHEEL AND DASH CAUSING SEVERE INJURY TO MYSELF AND MINOR PASSENGERS IN THE VEHICLE. I ORIGINALLY FILED COMPLAINT THROUGH MY ATTORNEY KENNETH MILLER, JR. BATON…

Read full complaint

ON 4/19/05 I WAS IN AN ACCIDENT WITH MY 97 GEO PRISM. THE VEHICLE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY AND THE SEAT BELTS FAILED TO OPERATE CORRECTLY CAUSING ME TO HIT THE STEERING WHEEL AND DASH CAUSING SEVERE INJURY TO MYSELF AND MINOR PASSENGERS IN THE VEHICLE. I ORIGINALLY FILED COMPLAINT THROUGH MY ATTORNEY KENNETH MILLER, JR. BATON ROUGE, LA. I WANT TO SETTLE THIS CASE ASAP. *NM

NHTSA ODI #10161797

Mileage unknown · May 1, 2001
Equipment

OWNERS MANUAL STATES TOP TETHER HARDWARE IS AVAILABLE FOR FORWARD FACING CHILD RESTRAINT, HOWEVER BOTH DEALER AND MANUFACTURE DENIES KNOWLEDGE OF SUCH HARDWARE. WE ARE CONCERNED THAT WITHOUT TOP TETHER IF A CRASH OCCURS THIS MAY CAUSE NEEDLESS HEAD MOVEMENT TO OUR CHILD AND LIKELY CAUSE NEEDLESS INJURY.*AK

NHTSA ODI #744812

Official recalls

1

97V043002 · Air Bags

Mar 20, 1997

IF THE AIR BAG COMPUTER IN A SUBJECT VEHICLE EXPERIENCES A MECHANICAL SHOCK (I.E., RAPIDLY MOVING THE FRONT SEAT BACK AGAINST THE STOPS OR A SUDDEN RELEASE OF THE PARKING BRAKE) WITHIN A VERY SHORT TIME AFTER THE ENGINE IS STARTED, THE AIR BAG CAN DEPLOY INADVERTENTLY.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: UNEXPECTED AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT CAN RESULT IN OCCUPANT INJURY.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPAIR THE AIR BAG COMPUTER.

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.