1996 Geo Prizm: raw data

Every record we hold for this vehicle, as plain tables, with nothing added. The consumer page shows the same records with the maintenance schedule, price ranges and nearby shops around them.

vehicle	1996 / geo / prizm
known issues	4 clusters (reviewed 2026-10-08)
complaints	64 on file (1996-07-24 → 2019-04-01)
recalls	1
investigations	1
fars	not identifiable in FARS
indexed	yes
license	CC BY 4.0 (derived)

Known Issues clusters all years →

Seat belt latching, locking and retraction failuresSEAT BELTS14 complaints1997-07 → 2004-06prizm-1996-seat-belt-latch-retract

10074626 THE SEAT BELTS LOCK IN THE RETRACTED POSITION THEY ARE UNABLE TO BE USED
864473 REAR LAP SEAT BELT WOULD NOT LATCH AND REAR DRIVER SIDE SHOULDER BELT WOULD NOT RETURN TO RETRACTOR
561094 CONSUMER STATES DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT WOULD LOCK UP AND NOT RELEASE PROHIBITING ONE FROM PUTTING IT ON, IT WOULD ALSO LOCK UP WHILE WEARING IT RESTRICTING MOVEMENT

Brake pedal and hydraulic component failuresSERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC5 complaints1997-02 → 1999-11prizm-1996-brake-pedal-hydraulic

808932 WHILE DRIVING APPLIED THE BRAKE AND THE BRAKE PEDAL LOCKS UP
807073 AFTER STARTING THE VEHICLE, SOMETIMES BRAKE PEDAL DOES NOT ALWAYS ENGAGE WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES
549749 ABS BRAKE MODULE ASSEMBLY FAILED CAUSING ABS BRAKE LIGHTS TO ILLUMINATE, SB ISSUED CONCERNING ABS LIGHT

Air bags not deploying in collisionsAIR BAGS14 complaints1996-09 → 2002-09prizm-1996-airbag-no-deployment

887519 FRONTAL COLLISION WITH A TREE AT 35 MPH. UPON IMPACT, BOTH AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY
812353 VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A FRONTAL COLLISION, IMPACT 12:00 POSITION, SPEED 20MPH, DUAL AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY
864689 WHILE DRIVING ON BACK ROADS CONSUMER DIDN'T SEE THE STOP SIGN. THERE WAS A CURVE IN THE ROAD, AND VEHICLE WENT OFF THE ROAD AND FLIPPED OVER. UPON IMPACT, NEITHER AIRBAG DEPLOYED

Unintended or low-speed air bag deploymentAIR BAGS6 complaints1997-03 → 2019-04prizm-1996-airbag-unintended-deploy

545344 FALSE DEPLOYMENT OF AIR BAG CAUSED INJURIES TO CONSUMER
811147 WHILE DRIVING THE DRIVER'S AND PASSENGER'S SIDE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED WITHOUT REASON, CAUSE UNKNOWN
809884 OWNER STATES WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE SHE HIT THE CURB AT NO MORE THAT 8-10MPH AND THE DRIVER'S SIDE AIRBAG DEPLOYED

NHTSA complaints (summary) all years →

count	earliest_date	latest_date	crash_flagged	fire_flagged	top_components
64	1996-07-24	2019-04-01	24	2	AIR BAGS:22; SEAT BELTS:14; SERVICE BRAKES:5; HYDRAULIC:5; STEERING:3

Recalls all years →

campaign_number	report_received_date	component	summary	consequence	remedy
10E002000	11/02/2010	SUSPENSION	RIDE CONTROL IS RECALLING CERTAIN FRONT STRUT MOUNTS BRANDED AS GABRIEL RIDE CONTROL OR ARVINMERITOR, P/NOS. 142435, 142193, 142305, 142303, SOLD AS REPLACEMENT EQUIPMENT FOR THE VEHICLES LISTED ABOVE. THE AFFECTED FRONT STRUT MOUNTS DID NOT CONTAIN A WELD JOINT BETWEEN THE BEARING HOUSING AND THE RATE PLATE.	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.	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.

Investigations all years →

action_number	status	subject	components	opened	closed	recall_campaign	summary
EA97015	closed	TURN SIGNAL FAILURES	EXTERIOR LIGHTING	1997-07-22	1998-09-21	·	There is no summary currently available

FARS occupant deaths all years →

not identifiable in FARS (absent, not zero)

Cite this

Derived data is CC BY 4.0. Link back to the page you used. Text and BibTeX below.

Wrench.Pro (2026). 1996 Geo Prizm vehicle data [dataset]. https://www.wrench.pro/data/vehicles/1996/geo/prizm

@misc{wrenchpro_1996_geo_prizm_2026,
  author = {Wrench.Pro},
  title = {Wrench.Pro vehicle data: 1996 Geo Prizm},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://www.wrench.pro/data/vehicles/1996/geo/prizm}},
  note = {Derived from NHTSA public records. CC BY 4.0.}
}

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