2002 Chevrolet Prizm: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2002 Chevrolet Prizm
On the 2002 Chevrolet Prizm, the failure owners report most often is other body or interior problem, with 4 reports on file. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 65,000 miles. Overall it scores 60 out of 100, elevated risk for a 2002.
Elevated risk for a 2002 — 308th riskiest of the 328 2002 vehicles we can rate. 20 owner reports; no fleet size estimate, so rates are unavailable.
The failures owners actually file about
Owners have reported 12 named failure modes on the 2002 Chevrolet Prizm, and the three most-reported carry 45% of everything filed.
Other body or interior problem leads with 4 reports.
Other engine problem follows with 3 reports, median 70,000 miles.
Misfire or rough idle follows with 2 reports.
By system, the reports fall mostly into engine (6), body (4) and steering (3).
The mileage the reports cluster at
13 of the reports on the 2002 Chevrolet Prizm came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 65,000 miles.
Cumulatively, 15% by 50,000 miles, 77% by 100,000 miles and 92% by 150,000 miles of the dated reports had been filed.
The busiest stretch is between 60,000 and 70,000 miles, which alone holds 23% of the dated reports.
0% of the dated reports were filed below 36,000 miles, so this is mostly a story about older, higher-mileage cars.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
- Dashed the median reported mileage
How bad it is when it goes
Across the named modes, 1 mentions a crash. Those are the words owners used in their own complaints, and NHTSA does not verify them, but they are the closest thing in this data to a measure of what a failure actually did.
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 3.60, where a stalled engine or a failed airbag weighs many times more than a rattling trim panel, and a figure this high means the reports are dominated by failures with safety consequences rather than annoyances. The weighting is set out in full on the methodology page.
What the top failures cost to put right, as editorial estimates for an independent US shop rather than figures from NHTSA: other body or interior problem at $200–$2,000, other engine problem at $300–$4,000, misfire or rough idle at $250–$1,600 and other steering problem at $350–$2,400. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
30% of the reports on this year sit in the engine, transmission, drivetrain or cooling systems — the four where a repair bill is usually four figures.
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other body or interior problem | body | 4 | 4 | — | 124k | — | — | $200–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Other engine problem | engine | 3 | 3 | — | 72k | — | — | $300–$4,000 | High |
| Misfire or rough idle | engine | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | $250–$1,600 | Moderate |
| Other steering problem | steering | 2 | 1 | — | 56k | — | — | $350–$2,400 | High |
| Complete engine failure or seizure | engine | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | $4,500–$12,000 | Critical |
| Steering column or shaft failure | steering | 1 | 1 | — | 73k | — | — | $600–$2,500 | Critical |
| Exhaust leak or fumes in the cabin | emissions | 1 | 1 | — | 45k | — | — | $250–$2,000 | High |
| Other electrical problem | electrical | 1 | 1 | — | 50k | — | — | $250–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Other suspension problem | suspension | 1 | 1 | — | 60k | — | — | $350–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Other wheel or tire problem | wheels | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | $200–$1,500 | High |
| Other lighting problem | lighting | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | $120–$1,200 | Moderate |
| Other visibility problem | glass | 1 | 1 | — | 43k | — | — | $150–$1,400 | Moderate |
| Unclassified problem | other | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | Moderate |
No fleet-size estimate is available for this year, so only raw counts are shown. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
How often, against how many were built
There is no usable estimate of how many 2002 Chevrolet Prizm were built, so this page reports counts and not rates. 20 reports on a car that sold in millions and 20 on a car that sold in thousands are not the same finding, and without a denominator there is no honest way to say which this is.
No fleet-size estimate is available for this year, so only raw counts are shown.
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The odometer reading is the one the owner gave.
Other body or interior problem
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 chevrolet prizm. While driving approximately 55 MPH, the hood automatically detached from the latch. The hood slammed against the windshield, which shattered the inside and outside glass. There was no warning prior to the failure. The contact observed that the windshield wipers were malfunctioning after the failure. The vehicle was taken to a local independent auto shop for the windshield replacement. Recently, the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and they stated that the hood latch was not malfunctioning. The failure mileage was 118,144 and current mileage was 118,244. Updated 1/9/09 *cn updated 01/14/09. *jb
Hood latch completely broke so that either it could not be closed completely, or, when finally closed, it was impossible to open. This, coupled with other hood latch problems reported by others seems to indicate a definite hood latch problem. *tr
Other engine problem
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 chevrolet prizm. Two years ago, the emissions control box failed at 41,000 miles and caused the check engine light to illuminate. At 72,000 miles, the engine has a piston knock. Two different mechanics stated that the engine needed to be replaced. The engine knocking has worsened. The repair has not been made. The contact stated that he was a licensed mechanic and had regular maintenance performed on the vehicle every 3,000 miles. The purchase date and speed were unknown. The current and failure mileages were 72,000.
Purchased car july '09 with 64,000 on engine. Vehicle purchased with 90 day warranty. 2700 miles after purchase, engine emitted blue smoke after highway driving. Vehicle taken to repair shop, pistons hold no compression, one valve shot, repair shop and warranty company state vehicle not drivable, needs replacement engine, potential valve damage., engine could cease if driven. *tr
How it ranks in the 2002 field
The score at the top of the page, placed among its peers. The zones are the same thresholds the scorer applies, read out of the scorer itself, so the picture and the band word cannot disagree.
Scores are ranked within the model year, never across years, because an older car has had longer to accumulate reports.
- Left fewer and less serious reports
- Right more, or worse
- Marker this vehicle
Where 2002 sits in the model line
Elevated risk for a 2002 — 308th riskiest of the 328 2002 vehicles we can rate. The comparison is always within the same model year, so an older car is never penalised for having had longer to break.
Across the 5 model years of this car that carry enough reports to score, 2002 comes out best at 60 and 2000 worst at 72, with 2002 itself at 60.
No other year of this model scores meaningfully better than 2002, so if this generation is what you want, the year is not the lever.
Within the 1998–2002 generation specifically, 2002 is the strongest year at 60 and 2000 the weakest at 72.
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
Within the 1998-2002 generation, 2002 Chevrolet Prizm scores best at 60 and 2000 Chevrolet Prizm worst at 72.
Where these figures stop being useful
20 owner reports; no fleet size estimate, so rates are unavailable. Every count on this page is therefore a floor: it is the number of owners who went to the trouble of filing with a federal agency, which is a small and self-selected fraction of the owners who had the fault.
Of those 20 reports, 13 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 65% of the sample rather than all of it. Owners also round: readings pile up on multiples of ten thousand, which is why this site publishes "about 90,000 miles" and not "91,438".
The failure modes are assigned by software reading the owner's own words, which is accurate in bulk and wrong in individual cases. A mode with a handful of reports may contain a misfiled one.
And nothing here predicts what one car will do. These are other people's complaints, filed years apart, on cars maintained by strangers. Read the page as a map of where this model year has previously gone wrong, then have the specific car in front of you inspected.
Questions this page answers
What are the most common problems with the 2002 Chevrolet Prizm?
The most-reported failures are other body or interior problem (4 reports, median 125,000 miles), other engine problem (3 reports, median 70,000 miles) and misfire or rough idle (2 reports). Counts come from owner complaints filed with NHTSA, which are voluntary, so they show what owners bothered to report rather than every fault that occurred.
Is the 2002 Chevrolet Prizm reliable?
It scores 60 out of 100 on our risk index, which is elevated — 308th riskiest of the 328 2002 vehicles we can rate. The score is a comparison against other 2002 vehicles, not a prediction about any individual car, and it is built from complaint rates, severity and how early failures appear.
Which year of the Chevrolet Prizm is best?
Within the 1998–2002 generation, 2002 scores best at 60 out of 100 and 2000 worst at 72. Same body, same engines, different luck.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed