Chevrolet (Geo) Prizm

jim1940 · May 2001

What brand of tires is everyone complaining about. Just picked up a used 98 has GoodYear Integrity's on it. Are these the same ones that is causing all the concerns. Please advise.

wtan · June 2001

My Prizm has GoodYear Integrity tires on it. I wonder if a different model would muffle the road noise somewhat.

hethmarie · June 2001

I bought my '01 Prizm in January and have loved every minute of it (got rid of a horrible Plymouth for it). The only problem that I have is with the tires. I also have the Good year Integrity tires. I don't know if they are what is causing the road noise, but the tire in and of itself is not great. My car slides on dry pavement at low speeds. I consider myself to be a good driver (i.. no heavy braking or harsh accelerations). These tires just don't grip. I was wondering if anyone could suggest a better tire. I am trying to avoid Freestone as I live in Middle Tennessee where some of the "questionable" tires were produced. Any advice would be great. I drive mostly in the city on interstate, but also take the car through snow in the mountains frequently in the winter, so I am looking for a good all-weather tire. Thanks guys.

hethmarie · June 2001

That should say Firestone in the last message. Sorry.

britton2 · June 2001

I have a new '01 Corolla that came with the same Goodyear Integrity tires - I find them to be adequate - but plan to replace them probably at 30,000 miles - go to Tirerack.com and you can read what others recommend - I used to only purchase Michelins and were happy with those - I have not noticed any gripping problems/road noise with my Integrity's so far - but I haven't had my car that long...enjoy your new Prizm - good car!

ken126 · June 2001

I was wondering if you can expain the type of noise you are hearing because I just bought a new prizm that has integritys on it. The car is making a noise like a washing machine beginning its spin cycle when I drive over 30 mph, so far the dealer has not found anything yet, but there is no way it is a normal noise.

timothy777 · June 2001

Does anyone know if the '02 Prizm will have the front fascia (grill) change that the Corolla now has? I was looking to porder/urchase one via the GMO program and I noticed something in 'Exterior' description referring to a 'black radiator grill'. Any info appreciated. Thx,

cpzhang · June 2001

Does any one know how to qualify for the GM loyalty rebate? I am currently driving a 97 Geo Prizm, bought used, and thinking of getting a 2001 Prizm. Do I qualify for the $400 rebate?

hethmarie · June 2001

If I had to pick an easy way to describe it, I would have to agree with you on the washing machine stuck on a spin cycle or an off balance washing machine with an occasional thump or thwap from the tires at over 65 mph. I have had two mechanics road test and examine the car. Both told me that the only way to get rid of the noise is to change tires. I could live with the noise, but the slipping and loss of traction on dry pavement is downright terrifying in traffic.

This is actually my second attempt to eliminate the noise. The first attempt that was somewhat successful was to have the undercarriage re-sealed. I don't know if you had that done to your Prizm or not, but I had it done shortly after purchasing the car. While initially, I had some road noise from the tires, the undercarriage treatment actually increased it. (Surprising since this is billed to decrease noise). The dealership did a sloppy job on the undercarriage and didn't get a smooth surface. One spot in particular was responsible for the increase in noise. I had it redone, so now I am left with the washing machine noise at the volume it initially was on the car... loud instead of super loud.

akb1 · June 2001

I have a 96 Prizm with 49K miles. Do Prizms have timing belts or chains? And when they should be replaced?

Is there a lot of damage to the engine if timing belt/chain breaks down?

Thanks for sharing info.

eneth · June 2001

The 96 Prizm has a belt, whether with the 1.6 or 1.8L engine. The 98s were the first to use a timing chain.

Toyota says to inspect the belt at 60,000 miles - may as well replace it, since inspection requires pretty much the same disassembly.

There will be no damage if the belt breaks, but the car will stop. Toyota uses chains on engines were a belt break could damage the valves (unlike Honda, which uses a belt for interference engines).

ken126 · June 2001

I wish I had my 90 prizm back!!!!!!I purchased my prizm a month ago and is now sitting at the dealer for the past 5 days and has had six trips to the dealer already. I have filed with the better business bureau. The quality is alot lower than the older ones. My story is too long, if GM doesnt fix my problem this time I am refusing to pick up the car and will keep driving my Malibu rental until they refund my purchase. I should have bought a flippin Hyundai!!!!!!

kywingnut · June 2001

I am considering buying a 94 prim with 94k miles. It is a 1.6 engine. My concern is that I am told it uses a qt. of oil per 1000 miles. The car is in excellent shape and priced well. I am looking to keep the car approx. 2 years and will put about 20,000 miles on it during this time. This oil consumption seems excessive but others I have talked too have said it shouldn't be a concern for a while yet. I'm not sure what a while is and do not have much experience with car engines. Any input on this would be appreciated. Thanks.

hethmarie · June 2001

Sorry to hear that your Prizm is in the shop. If it has been in six times in the last month and has currently been there at least five days, you may want to look at your state's lemon laws. It sounds like the problems you have been having and the dealers inability to correct them would qualify. I would start by hitting the web and looking for your state's lemon laws. Good luck and I hope you get this resolved!

ken126 · June 2001

I got my car back today, all seems well mechanically. It had a defective left axle. While at the dealer for 2 weeks someone swung their door into mine and took a chunk out of the black molding, that was a nice way to end this mess. GM is going to pay 2 months of my car payment and is giving me a 6 year 100,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty for my aggravation. Hopefully I wont have to use it......

ken126 · July 2001

Is it just me or does the car handle like a 77 cadillac? Other than that the car seems to be fine now. I am getting 41 mpgs (all highway) which is NICE......

tundradude · July 2001

For those of you that have the sorry tires to come on your car that make lots of noise and handle like a 72 Buick.

Tires make a big difference in ride, handling, and noise.

My 95 Corolla had firestone junk on it when I got it. Those were quickly replaced.

For the money, endurance, and handling. Buy Yokohama AVID T4. This tire not only sticks i the dry, it sticks in the wet. Here is the website:

http://www.yokohamatire.com/04b1b.html

I have had two sets of the T4 on my 95.

matherson · July 2001

Are these tires really any good? I checked the Tire Rack and there only $44.

tundradude · July 2001

Not only they're cheap in price but they do the job.

regfootball · July 2001

they any good in snow?

tundradude · July 2001

We had a lack of snow this past season (01), but we had alot last year (00). I don't remember having any problems with them in the snow. I live in NC.

samsvr6 · July 2001

Hi all,
I am about to tow a 4'x8' U-Haul trailer with my 99 Prizm 4-speed auto. Here are the specs. for the trailer from U-haul website.
Empty weight: 780 lbs.
Max load: 1,220 lbs.
Towing vehicle curb weight: 2,000 lbs. min
Hitch required: Class 1 min

Do you think the Prizm is capable of towing this trailer?
Thanks in advance.

tundradude · July 2001

The max towing is 1500lbs.

sculder · July 2001

I have found a 1994 Geo Prizm for $2175 with 177,000 miles on it. How much longer will this car last, and is this a good deal? I don't want to blow money on a car that won't last at least another five years. Please put your input.

tazereli · July 2001

a vehicle with that many miles should be thoroughly cheked by a reputable mechanic before purchasing. an honest seller should not have a problem letting you do this. Take it to your mechanic, not his/hers. Also check to see if the seller has kept good records of maintenence and repairs. bad recordkeeping could mean spotty maintence in which this is a car to avoid. this is a high mileage vehicle as it has been drven an average of 25K a year. now that may be all hiway miles and if that is the case all the better. hat many mile of city driving or mixed driving could have put a lot of wear on the car. Good luck

squeak6 · July 2001

the AC went out on my 98 Prizm... just like that , without warning... ( very strange) I took the car to 3 different places and the average price is around $950.00 to get fixed... they all have said I need a new compressor... is it possible for me to just go to the junk yard and get one for the time being... I just don't have $950 @ this time... I live in Miami... its too hot to be without air....

Boris2 · July 2001

Not only Prizms/Corollas come with bad quality original tires (like most of the other cars) but also base Prizm comes with 175/65-14 if I'm not mistaken. As soon as it was time for me to replace the stock Firestones on my 98 Prizm, which happened after about 20K mi, I put 185/60-14 instead. The difference is HUGE!!! I drove my mom's Corolla with 175/165-14 a year after that and it felt like I was driving a Geo Metro handling-wise.
I was a little bit concerned about the speedometer reading, but if there was a difference it wasn't notisable at all.

squeak6, you might have really hard time trying to find a Prizm on a junk yard. It seems like there are not too many of them are there, and even if you find one, it would probably cost you about the same amount to put it in, unless you are going to do that yourself. The parts are not that expensive: when I installed an aftermarket A/C on '89 Tercel, it costted me around $1,000 while all the parts were less then $200.

ecornwall · July 2001

I already own 2 Prizms ( a 94 and a 97) which my two sons drive, and am looking at replacing my Wife's Ford Windstar with a new Prizm before they go out of production. We are so satisfied with the Prizms that despite the small size, it remains the vehicle of choice. On a recent trip to Canada, I swapped the Van for my son's Prizm, since it is a better handling vehicle by far, and is a lot more economical to run! Believe me, when you are running 4 vehicles in a household, having the Prizms with essentially no maintenance costs other than oil every 3K and Timing belts every 60K miles and 35- 40 mpg is a godsend. Contrast this with the cost of running my full size GMC 4x4 at about 15 mpg and you get the idea. I just don't see how the average American with multiple vehicles to operate is going to be able to afford the care and feeding of the gas guzzling SUV's and Pick'emups much longer or is it just me??

eneth · July 2001

Production of Prizms will likely wind down as production of the Vibe-Matrix ramps up. If you buy a 2002 Prizm, no more timing belt changes - they have chains (and have had them since 1998).

cpzhang · July 2001

I am looking at buying a new Prizm now. Could anyone recommend a good dealer in Northern Virginia/DC area?

Also, I have a question about the remote entry and power lock option. Since they are not standard on the base model, can I ask the dealer to special install one or go to other stores to get one? If yes, how much does it cost roughly?

alpha01 · July 2001

Which tires are standard on the Prizm? Are they Goodyear Integrity? On our 99 Corolla I thought they were great little tires, though they wore far too quickly, I was happy with the handling/braking/noise etc. Our new 2002 has them as well.... does Chevy go cheaper on the Prizm?

Interesting note- In the September 2002 edition of Consumer Guide, it states that BOTH the Prizm AND COROLLA are being discontiued after the 2002MY. Does anyone have qualms as to the vailidity of that statement? How could Toyota cancel their 2nd best selling car?

ecarmack · July 2001

will be completely redesigned after '02. And I believe the Matrix/Vibe will use the same platform as the new Corolla.

Boris2 · August 2001

alpha01,
I'm not sure what Chevy does now, but they used to put Firestones (I'm sure the cheapest ones) on Prizms in 1998.
I had to change them at about 17K mi. The protector was still pretty good, but the excessive shaking and poor handling was killing me. After about 5 balances I decided to trade them in for $10 each.

almagg · August 2001

I can get a 2000 Prizm sedan(or maybe it is really a LSi model) with ALL the options: 4spd auto, power everything, cruise control... and only 11,000 miles - for $12,000.
This sounds like a good deal and I am going to go check it out.
Now I like the 4spd, but for me the power windows, locks etc... is just more stuff to break down, but maybe I am just being paranoid and these items are not a major problem nowadays.
Any comments on their reliability?
Thanks.

ken126 · August 2001

My 01 prizm is not half as good as my 90 was. About the tires, I have the goodyears and in my opinion they are very loud. Also my car rattles especially somewhere by the passenger door. I'm afraid to say that the prizm is NOT what it used to be.....

dechristopher · August 2001

I have a 90 Geo Prizm with 134xxx miles and it is still going strong!
I have only owned the car since 120,000, but it appears that the timing
belt has never been replaced.

Does anyone know if this car will do itself severe damage if the timing belt
breaks, or, is it the kind where the belt will break but no extra damage to
the engine will occur?

tundradude · August 2001

toyota uses engines that the belt will not hurt it if the belt breaks

squeak6 · August 2001

I went ahead and got the A/C fixed @ firestone... this was the first major problem with the car... other than that all is fine... I need to get the breaks checked and the tires aligned and balanced... once that is done everything should be ok... I'm going to wash it for the first time in about 2 months... I just felt so discouraged when the A/C went out... I am still getting around 33MPG ( city& highway ) that's good considering I drive no less than 75MPH on the open road... I guess I could get more if I slow down... { MY 98 now has 108,000K on it -- when I got her in September of 98' she only had 7 miles on her }

** any suggesting on what I can do to keep her running.... **

csandste · August 2001

My daughter still drives a 90 Prizm. I was driving an 87 Nova (formerly my mother-in-laws) which died suddenly a couple of weeks ago.

Before buying a new Elantra I test drove a number of cars, including a '01 Corolla S. I was shocked that the car had actually regressed in eleven years. Nothing like the Elantra in packaging or execution. Hopefully the new Corolla will get things back in shape and the new Matrix/Vibe will make good use of Fremont. The best Prizm was the 93-96 (do I have that generation right?) IMHO. It was significantly nicer than the Corolla of the same generation.

csandste · August 2001

I purchased a Cavalier in 1997 because I had a GM gold card. Almost bought a Prizm and still kind of wish I had, although the Cav. has given me reliable, if not inspired service.

Just curious as to what most of the Prizm owners will do once the Fremont plant switches to Vibes?

--Buy a Vibe?
--Buy a next generation Corolla?
--Buy the Opel inspired Cav. replacement?
--Something else?

In other words, is your loyalty to the plant? The car? The dealership? The card?

alpha01 · August 2001

the past four generations for the nova/prizm have been:
85-88(nova), 89-92(geo prizm), 93-97, 98-02(chevy prizm), discontinued.

but the corolla sedan ran a bit differently, after the intial joint venture, as follows:
84-87, 88-92, 93-97, 98-02, 03 all new car.

IMO, the most interesting by far were the Geo Prizm GSi models, and the many versions of the 88-92 iteration Corolla, including the SR5 All-Track Wagon, the GT-S coupe, and the FX16 hatchbacks.

csandste · August 2001

that the Prizm's last generation ran from 93-97, since I almost bought a 97 Prizm rather than my 97 Cav. Do you agree that the current car is a step backward from 93-97?

Boris2 · August 2001

csandste,

I don't think the new generation of Prizms is the step back. They might not be as popular as the old generation, simply because tastes changing all the time, but mine was incredibly reliable...
It did have some minor issues, but other than that I didn't have any serious problems. I had it for almost 3 years (bought new in '98) and had to take it back to dealer couple of times because of the light knocking somewhere in the rear when backing up during very cold temperatures. Dealer wasn't able to find anything but the problem fixed itself after I tightened everything I could find on the rear suspension. I had about 40K mi on it at that time. Also one time I got check engine light warning and it turned out to be the faulty censor that controls the gas & air mix (at about 55K mi) - covered under extended warranty. Other than that, I sold it with 69K mi on it in perfect condition in '01.

csandste · August 2001

IMHO the first three generations of Nova/Prizm were all a cut above the corresponding Corollas. The original Nova was a Corolla Sprinter and was (if I remember correctly) shipped from Fremont back to Japan.

Other than slight differences in tail lights the stacking of radio/HVAC and instrument panel the new cars are identical, except that the Corolla was facelifted in '01.

I just think the last generation car was more graceful, altho. beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

As for reliability, that's always been there, I won't argue that with you.

Boris2 · August 2001

Well, I can't say I'm too thrilled about the way Corolla looked until the recent face lift... I think Prizm's rear looked better than Corolla's, but front was not that appealing. The new Corolla's nose is much better than Prizm's on my opinion. As far as interior goes, even though Prizm and Corolla are pretty much the same on the inside, I think Chevy did a better job designing (or should I say refining) the interior, but that's just me... :-)

jim1940 · August 2001

My Daughter just bought a 98 Prism standard beige interior. Anyone know where we can get a armrest?

Bought it used 35,000 miles on it. Great shape.

moparbad · September 2001

I want to replace the rear speakers in 95 Prizm.
5 1/4" is the size for replacement speakers and I would like to use the same grill/cover as stock. Anyone know how to go about getting the old speakers out? How do I remove the grill cover and how do I remove the old speakers?

hawkbert · October 2001

Yeah, what is the deal with these belts? I checked a website that listed repair intervals and it said that for a 1995 Geo Prizm the manufacturer did not specify a replacement interval. I just bought said prizm with 81,000 miles on it. If the timing belt will last for 134,000 that'd be great, but that sure sounds like a long time. Anyone know more about this?

tundradude · October 2001

Timing Belts supposed to be done in 60,000 mile intervals. They can last longer if you want to play "when is the belt going to break game". If it does break, you will NOT damage the engine of a prizm.

It only costs $140 to get it done anyway.

hethmarie · October 2001

I drive a 2001 Prizm with 6200 miles on it. Recently it has developed a rattling that starts as the RPMs increase right before the automatic transmission shifts. The transmission shifts fine and doesn't seem to be slipping. The transmission fluid is okay. We have checked the exhaust as well and everything appears to be okay. The noise is coming from the front of the car. Does anyone have any ideas on what this could be? It is also idling fast.

Ken126, I can sympathize with you on the passenger door rattling. Mine does too. It stops when I pull the inside handle towards the center of the car. I think it is just bad construction.

Chevrolet (Geo) Prizm

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