There are 29 stored owner reports matching the air bags & restraints leading-label group for the 1997 Geo Prizm in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 29 of 29 matching reports. The list controls page through the loaded reports only.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)DT: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE TRAVELING AT 60 MPH THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A COLLISION WITH ANOTHER VEHICLE. IT WAS A FRONTAL IMPACT. UPON IMPACT, THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THE MANUFACTURER HAS NOT BEEN CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOTALED.*AK
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
DURING AN ACCIDENT THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY AND THE SEAT BELT EQUIPMENT FAILED TO LOCK.*MR EVERYONE INSIDE THE VEHICLE SUSTAINED SOME TYPE OF INJURY (GEO PRIZM). *NM UPDATED 12/22/05 *JB
REAR SEAT BELTS ARE INOPERATIVE, MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR CONSUMER TO INSTALL ANY TYPE OF CHILD SEAT. *AK
THE SEAT BELTS LOCK IN THE RETRACTED POSITION THEY ARE UNABLE TO BE USED. THIS USUALLY STARTS WITH THEM STICKING WHEN YOU TRY TO PULL THEM DOWN TO BUCKLE. I HAVE TWO GEO PRIZMS A 1996 AND A 1997 THEY BOTH HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM FOR A LONG TIME. *AK
I HAVE A 1997 GEO PRIZM. THE DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT WILL NOT FULLY EXTEND AND LOCKS UP MULTIPLE TIMES WHEN TRYING TO PULL IT OUT TO LOCK IN PLACE FOR SAFE DRIVING. THIS IS MY SECOND GEO PRIZM THAT HAS HAD THIS PROBLEM. I FEEL THERE SHOULD BE A VOLUNTARY RECALL BY THE MANUFACTURER TO GET THIS FIXED ON ALL THEIR CARS. *AK
THE DRIVER SEAT BELT LOCKED UP AND DID NOT RELEASE. (THE LOCK MECHANISM WAS BROKE) *TS. THE REAR SEAT BELT ALSO EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM. *JB
NO SUMMARY. DT
WHILE DRIVING DOWN MAJOR HIGHWAY, REARENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE AT ABOUT 25MPH. RESULTING IN MAJOR DAMAGE TO FRONT END, AND NO AIRBAGS DEPLOYED!
DRIVER'S SEAT BELT LOCKS AND DOESN'T RETRACT AS NORMAL. CONSUMER HAS TO PULL, INCHING THE STRAP OUT SO THAT IT WON'T LOCK UP. THIS WAS SECOND TIME SEAT BELT WAS REPAIRED.*AK
A FRONTAL COLLISION WITH A PONTIAC VEHICLE IN WHICH BOTH AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. DEALER / MANUFACTURER WERE NOTIFIED, AND UNWILLING TO ASSIST IN THIS MATTER. *AK *JB
AN INADVERTENT AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT UPON STARTING VEHICLE. MANUFACTURER NOTIFIED, AND INFORMED CONSUMER OF A REPRESENTATIVE BEING SENT TO INSPECT VEHICLE. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO PROVIDE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
WHEN VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A FRONTAL CRASH AIR BAG ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE DID NOT DEPLOY FAST ENOUGH, CAUSING DRIVER TO HIT HEAD ON STEERING WHEEL. VEHICLE WAS NOT TOTALLED. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK
DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT LOCKING UP. *AK
VEHICLE WAS HIT FROM A STOP POSITION AND FORCED INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE IN FRONT. SPEED OF IMPACT WAS UNDETERMINED, BUT BOTH AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPOLY. NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED. DEALER/MANUFACTURER WERE NOT CONTACTED AT THE TIME. *AK
SEAT BELT WON'T PULL OUT TO RESTRAIN DRIVER . *AK
VEHICLE WAS IN A HEAD-ON COLLISION AND AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPOLY . CONTACTED DEALER, AND DEALER DID NOT DO ANYTHING. ALSO, OWNS A 1996, GEO, PRIZM, AND SAME THING HAPPENED TO THAT VEHICLE. *AK *JB
DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT BELT RETRACTOR FAILED AT 12,611 MI (3/29/99) AND AGAIN AT 24,000 MI. (OUT OF WARRANTY TIME BY A FEW MONTHS). CENTRAL CHEVROLET IN FREMONT, CA FIXED BOTH TIMES. 2ND TIME COST $200+ AND RENTAL CAR CHARGE. CENTRAL ADVISED THEY WOULDN'T REDUCE THE COST OF 2ND FAILURE BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE MY MAINTENANCE SERVICE WORK DONE BY THEM. BACK SEAT, PASSENGER SIDE SEAT BELT RETRACTOR HAS ALSO FAILED (WON'T RETRACT). CAN'T AFFORD TO HAVE FIXED. ONLY HAVE 2 USEABLE SEAT BELTS IN BACK SEAT. ISN'T THIS A SAFETY ISSUE?*AK
WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH THE VEHICLE HIT A DEER AT A FRONTAL IMPACT WHICH CAUSED SERIOUS DAMAGE TO FRONT END. DRIVER'S AND PASSENGER'S AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY, WHICH DID NOT PROTECT THE OCCUPANT. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK
CONSUMER HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH DRIVER'S SIDE SAFETY BELT. SEAT BELT BUCKLE FAILED TO RELEASE, THEY TEND TO JAM UP IN THE RETRACTED POSITION. MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. *AK *ML
Showing 1-20 of 29 loaded complaints
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Sep 11, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.