Total Complaints
11 filings
GEO PRIZM · model year
11 NHTSA complaints, 1 crash report. A VIN lookup is required to determine whether a specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 1998GEOPRIZM carries 11 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 1 crash, 0 fires, 1 injury, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
The most frequently selected component label in reports for the 1998 PRIZM is suspension:front:stabilizer bar with 1 filings, followed by air bags:frontal (1) and service brakes, hydraulic:foundation components (1). Complaint categories reflect owner reports and intake categorization; they do not establish a defect pattern or cause.
No open NHTSA investigation overlaps the 1998 PRIZM in the current dataset. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should read the complaint-by-year trend as report volume, not a causal diagnosis. Use the related-complaint feed and the official recall lookup when researching a specific vehicle.
Total Complaints
11 filings
Crashes Reported
1 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| SUSPENSION:FRONT:STABILIZER BAR | 1 |
| AIR BAGS:FRONTAL | 1 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS | 1 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:PEDALS AND LINKAGES | 1 |
| CHILD SEAT | 1 |
| SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR | 1 |
| VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | 1 |
| AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE | 1 |
| STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR | 1 |
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH | 1 |
| STRUCTURE:BODY | 1 |
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 GEO PRIZM. THE ROOF HEADLINER IS DRY ROTTED, CORRODED, AND HANGING DOWN IN THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. THE DOOR GASKETS ON EACH DOOR HAVE CRACKED, MELTED, AND HARDENED. THE ENTIRE EXTERIOR OF THE VEHICLE HAS WHITE HAZE SPOTS, WHERE THE PRIMER IS COMING THROUGH THE PAINT. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURES BEGAN RIGHT AFTER THE THREE YEAR WARRANTY ENDED ON THE VEHICLE. HE ALSO STATED THAT THERE WAS A SAFETY RECALL ON THE BLACK METALLIC PAINT. THE RECALL WAS GOOD FOR THREE YEARS AND THEN IT WAS EXTENDED TO FIVE YEARS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT CHEVROLET GAVE HIM THE RUN AROUND UNTIL THE SAFETY RECALL EXTENSION EXPIRED. HE WAS ABLE TO GET THE ROOF OF THE VEHICLE PAINTED UNDER THE RECALL, HOWEVER, THE PAINT JOB FAILED SHORTLY AFTERWARDS. THE CONTACT HAS PICTURES OF THE VEHICLE, IF NEEDED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE AND RECALL NUMBER WERE UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 52,000.
ALL OF THE HANDLES INSIDE THE VEHICLE DO NOT WORK. NO ONE CAN EXIT THE VEHICLE. CURRENTLY, THE PASSENGER'S SIDE HANDLES DO NOT WORK, AND ONE CANNOT OPEN THE VEHICLE FROM THE OUTSIDE.*AK
Mileage: 96,200
THE DRIVER SIDE DOOR CAUGHT THE CONSUMER ON THE HEEL TAKING PART OF HER HEEL. THE BOTTOM OF THE DOOR WAS VERY SHARP. *JB
Mileage: 78,000
AIR BAG SENSOR LIGHT STAYS ON. DEALER STATES WIRE HARNESS NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. *AK *MR
Mileage: 69,000
I WAS TOLD BY MY TRANSMISSION/MECHANIC EXPERT THAT EVEN THOUGH CHEVROLET MADE THE PRIZM IT HAD A TOYOTA ENGINE WHICH IS WHY I BOUGHT THE CAR TO BEGIN WITH. THEN WHEN THE THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR WENT OUT HE WAS SURPRISED BECAUSE USUSALLY THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN UNTIL YOU HAVE A LOT OF MILES LIKE 200,000 MILES ON A CAR. I EXPECTED BETTER THAN THE FACT THE THIS WENT OUT ON MY CAR AND I BASICALLY HAD 55,000 MILES. *AK
THE SEAT BELT SENSOR DOES NOT ACTIVATE DASH LIGHT WHEN THE SEAT BELT IS NOT IN USE. WHEN THE SEAT BELT IS IN USE BY PEOPLE WHO DO NOT NEED TO PULL THE BELT OUT VERY FAR (I.E. SLENDER, TALL PEOPLE WHO LEAVE THE SEAT AT THE BACK OF THE TRACK), THE DASH LIGHT MISTAKENLY IS LIT.*AK
WE HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO FIND THE HARDWARE NEEDED TO ATTACH THE TETHER TO THE CAR. THE ANCHOR NUTS APPEAR TO BE WELDED TO THE REAR SHELF OF THE CAR BUT NEITHER THE OWNERS MANUAL OR THE CAR DEALERSHIP HAS ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THE ADDITIONAL HARDWARE NEEDED TO CREATE A TETHER ATTACHMENT POINT. WE WOULD REALLY LIKE TO USE THE TETHER STRAP ON OUR CAR SEAT, BUT AT THIS POINT WE ARE UNABLE TO DO SO.
BRAKE PEDAL HEIGHT IS HIGHER THAN THE GAS PEDAL WHICH CAUSES OCCUPANT'S FOOT TO GO UNDERNEATH THE BRAKE PEDAL, AND CAUSES PEDAL MISAPPLICATION. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK
AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY UPON IMPACT. VEHICLE WAS HIT FROM THE RIGHT REAR AT APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH. DEALER NOT AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. *AK
BRAKES ARE DEFECTIVE. WHEN BRAKES ARE APPLIED, EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE OCCURS BECAUSE THE BRAKES LOCK UP. DEALER NOT AWARE OF THE PROBLEM, PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. *AK
VEHICLE HAS NO STABILIZER BARS. ACCORDING TO CONSUMER REPORT, TOYOTA WILL INSTALL STABILIZER BARS ON ALL PRIZMS/COROLLAS.
Data vintage: August 2026. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. This year-specific record is rendered from NHTSA ODI, recall, and NCAP rows for the 1998 GEO PRIZM; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.