7th Apr 2005, 16:57

The griding noise you hear when you take a turn is almost certainly an outer CV joint.

29th Apr 2005, 22:17

I have a 96 Geo Prism (Toyota Corolla) with 137K with no problems until a worn tire from a bent rim destroyed a wheel bearing. The loose wheel bearing allowed the rotor to twist and rub against the brake pads when turning. This caused a grinding noise. I replaced the bearing and tires and the car is perfect once again.

7th Feb 2006, 10:17

I am the original poster of this Geo Prizm. I thought I would give an update. My son checked the transmission in which he found little metal shavings in the fluid. So to all those that said I don't know what I am talking about. Also the ABS light sometimes stays on when I start the car, and will not go off for a couple of days. Then all of a sudden it will go off. Does anyone know what that could be?

7th Feb 2006, 18:36

Maybe you should change your tranny fluid every once and awhile. All engines have small bits of metal in the oil, its inevitable as engines are bound to rub to metals together somewhere even in the tranny. Those clunking noises are probably bearings in the wheels or cv joints. If one of the cv joint rubber boots is ripped then you need a new one. If your tranny was screwy in turns, wouldn't it be screwy going straight? You have to think about these things logically. If the tranny goes fine forwards then its not the problem during turns. Look to the part that connects to the turning wheels... etc...

If more people thought logically, they wouldn't get ripped off by mechanics.

8th Feb 2006, 14:19

To the smart guy up top. I do think very logically. I however do not know a lot about cars. I am in my mid 50's and do not do any work on my car or do I intend to. I know the mechanic that I talked about in the beginning was full of it because I replaced all my front brakes in the front and the grinding noise went away. The mechanic who replaced the brakes said that the brakes were wearing very uneven, so he fixed them and that is that. I do get regular transmission fluid changes every other year. Then after the grinding noise went away I could then hear a very loud knocking noise coming from the engine or transmission every once in a while. The sound sometimes lasts for days and then goes off. And yes I do get my oil changed every 3 months or 3,000 miles. Despite the engine noises, honestly should the air conditioning stop working, door handles breaking off in your hand, climate control knobs popping off, hole in the gas tank, alternator, starter, 2 batteries, air leaking out of all 4 tires to be told that all alloy wheels leak a little, and paint burning off to nothing, but primer. Maybe I just have a lemon because no one else seems to have these problems. And for the last time I do baby my car, I am just very disappointed in it.

8th Feb 2006, 20:14

Well you sound very correct now.

It might have helped if you had explained all your problems at once instead of leading us on with vague descriptions and then throwing it in our faces with detailed problems.

My last comment about logic in dealing with mechanics, didn't apply to you. In general, people get ripped off and often get one problem fixed, only to go home with 3 more.

Would climate affect your car? Like auto trannys don't shift nor do they move fluid well in cold weather, same with snow, salt, and rust which is to be expected when living in northern regions. If you live in florida or some warm place, well, your car is a lemon. Sell it and buy something else.

21st Feb 2006, 17:44

I have a 1993 Geo Prizm LSi, and I have a few problems myself. The paint on my roof is almost completely gone; I have spots like that, also, on my hood and trunk. My gas sensor is beginning to not work; my 'low gas level' light doesn't come on anymore. My door open and lights on sensor doesn't work anymore. My airbag light is on constantly, which probably means there is something wrong with the airbags, but I don't have the money to get that fixed right now. My aunt had drove it for 11 years, and never got an oil change unless the car broke down because of lack of oil! It has 157,000+ miles, so I guess it runs good under those circumstances! So, overall, it is a pretty good first car.

13th Mar 2006, 20:34

I have a 1993 Geo Prizm. 197K freeway miles. It has been running great. About 2 months ago I had a tune-up (spark plug, wires, rotor cap) done. Brake light comes off and on sometimes, but still runs fine. 2 days ago I'm driving and it just dies. I parked it for about 15 minutes. and started back up fine. Drove about 15 minutes. then dies. Parked it for a few minutes, started back up fine. Drove another 10-15 minutes and dies. I can drive it for about 10-15 then it dies. When it dies the "Check Engine Light", "Oil Light", and "Battery Light" come on. I had no prior problems besides the brake light off and on problem and a leak in the power steering. Any suggestions/help/etc. will be much appreciated. HELP!

-thanks.

5th Apr 2006, 22:19

Sounds like an electrical problem to me, check for shorts/loose wires/things grounding out where they shouldn't be.

22nd Apr 2006, 13:55

Hey can someone please tell me:

I am 16 and I don't have my first car yet. For some reason these are the only requirements I have for my first car:

1. Under $6,000

2. Under 100,000 miles

3. Turquoise/Teal in color

4. 4 door

5. Automatic.

I found a car which SEEMS to look perfect, a 1993 Geo Prism Lsi 4 door... it has 86,000 miles on it, and it meets all my other requirements...

Unfortunately my dad won't let me get it because he doesn't want to have to keep up with the maintenance of it. He thinks it is too old and has too many miles.

Please someone help me convince my dad that it will be fine... or convince me that he's right!

Thank-you.

24th Apr 2006, 15:40

I too have a 93 Geo Prizm LSI that I absolutely adore - but just recently started having problems with it.

It currently has 73,000 miles on it. I just got the front rotor, caliper, pads done on it ($900.00). The back brakes were good - so fortunately didn't have an added expensse there.

About 2,000 miles after I got my brake job done, my ABS light started randomly appearing. I talked to the shop that did the job, and they said since the light isn't always on, it might be difficult to track down. I waited another week, and now the ABS light comes on almost immediately after the car starts moving. I know ABS is seperate from the normal brakes, and can drive it - so I wasn't in a hurry to get it into the shop. I do want to get it fixed however because I want to keep the maintenance up on the car (and frankly anything regarding brakes scare me :-) )

I set up an appointment to drop it off later this week, and yesterday something new happened. When I started my car, and started moving - my ABS light didn't turn on. The ABS active light did instead (when ABS wasn't needed) and my car in the front right side made a horrible grinding noise. It went away about 5 minutes later - so now the car is getting dropped off tonight. I figure this is more than just an ABS sensor...

On a side note - I also have some other minor issues with the car - my gas tank too has a "hole". Bought it that way - just can't fill it up all the way because the auto detect thing that stops the gas flow doesn't work and then I get overflow from under my car. I think it could be the gas tank overflow valve - but aren't sure. Never took it in - been driving it for over a year like that. I guess I should though :) I've heard others with this issue as well on other internet Geo/Prizm boards - anyone have any ideas?

Air conditioning is dead. The motor runs - although noisy, so I think this is just a freeon issue. At least I hope... Thoughts?

Driver side door handle is broken - anyone know where to get replacements? Broke off while trying to get out of the car.

My front right tire area started making a "springy/grinding" sound on occasion. I assume this to be problems with wheel barrings or CV joint. Planning on having the shop take a looksie at it.

Other than that - I surely hope to get some miles out of this car. I bought it low mileage at almost 60k, and I've heard of folks really driving these cars "into the ground".

I put 200k on my old sentra, so I'm hoping to get similar out of this one.