NHTSA — Electrical System: Wiring: Front Underhood Problems

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 2
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
52,331 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

1997 Geo Prizm electrical problems

electrical problem

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1997 Geo Prizm Owner Comments

problem #2

Mar 072004

Prizm 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 104,662 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

A few minutes after I started my 1997' Geo Prizm on the evening of 3/7/04, it began to make a strange noise. I drove the car about six blocks to a service station; by the time I pulled in and popped the hood, it started to smell hot- although temp gauge was still normal. I popped the hood, saw smoke coming from fuel injection system, and tried to turn vehicle off. I removed the key from the ignition, but the car kept running, and trying to continuously restart itself. I searched the trunk for tools to disconnect the battery; at this point the engine ignited, and there was so much smoke that I could not get close to the vehicle safely any longer. I called 911 on my cell phone, and less than ten minutes later, a fire truck came and put the fire out. I am told that there is about a thousand dollars worth of damage in parts alone: My starter, ignition system, two out of four fuel injectors, the entire wire harness, computer, positive cable to the battery, and possibly the battery itself will all need to be replaced. Prior to this incident, there was no indication that anything was wrong with my car. All maintenance was current.

- Chico, CA, USA

problem #1

Mar 172001

Prizm

  • miles
Under hood fire due to an electrical short. Manufacturernotified, and informed consumer that vehicle was out of its warranty, and nothing could be done. Please provide any further details on this matter.

- Birmingham, AL, USA

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