Faults:

I needed to replace the clutch at 195,000 miles. ($550)

The rear passenger side door will not open. This happened at about 210,000 miles.

The starter is now going. My brother is a mechanic and with a phone consultation with me he believes it is probably just the starter solenoid. The engine started to be inconsistent in turning over at about 215,000 miles, I have yet to replace the starter solenoid as the car will start after 2-3 cranks.

General Comments:

I love this car!

The gas mileage is great (35-40mpg).

It costs very little to maintain. As you can see from the previous section, all of the parts that have needed to be replaced have happened at a very high mileage.

I am going to drive this car until it refuses to go any farther!

Faults:

My alternator failed at 142,000 miles.

Starter failed at 110,000 miles.

General Comments:

This car is amazingly durable. 144,000. miles and it is still running like a new car with only a slight loss of power at this point. Amazing.

The ONLY complaint is that the seats are too hard, they're like a park bench on a long trip. Wish it had softer seats.

Faults:

New alternator at around 90,000 miles.

Exhaust Manifold at 105,000 miles.

You really have to stretch in order to adjust the radio controls.

Cup holders block the radio controls.

Cheap speakers, hard to replace them.

Extremely hard to replace headlight bulbs.

3speed auto trans gave up at 112,000 miles.

General Comments:

I gave the car to my little cousin who had the automatic fixed. I think its running at about 120K miles right now. The reason it gave up is because I drove like a maniac most of the time, basically beat the crap out of it. I'm surprised the engine is still holding (quiet as brand new). Very good on mileage, kind of a weak four banger, but very very reliable.

Faults:

Nothing had gone wrong with my car before I was hit head on.

General Comments:

I dearly loved my car. It was comfortable, very reliable, never gave me any problems at all. I would go out jump in it and off I went. The sunroof was an extra added comfort.

I lost my car due to being hit head on by a woman who was drunk, and the doctors couldn't believe that myself or my husband made it out alive, due to the damage of my car. I would suggest this kind of car to everyone!

Faults:

Altenator has gone out twice, but that's it.

General Comments:

This my second Prizm, my other 89 model has 235,885 miles on it and it still runs rather well. I only bought this newer one because I travel a lot. I think the 89 is a better performer but the 94 has held up better as far as the interior goes. I hope to get a 2001 model if it's available, the Chevy dealer wasn't sure if the car was returning next year or not.