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Who makes the most reliable new cars?

consumerreports.org

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Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#111

Post by davidw »

contact9879 wrote: post #92
davidw wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and they lagged years behind everyone else on selling electric cars I thought part of that was that they were big believers in hydrogen?

after learning about how conservative Toyota is in general, their interest in hydrogen seems blown out of proportion solely because every other manufacture was so quick to move to electric. Toyota is still in the "figure out what works best long term" phase

I am more of a bike guy, so it was just something I recall reading. I don't have any deep insights into the car industry. I do have a Toyota though and it seems to run pretty well and gets me from place to place when needed.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#112

Post by tehnub »

Exoristos wrote: post #87
mlhpdx wrote: post #21

I’m perennially baffled by CR’s ratings. They are a lagging indicator at best, and skewed/biased at worst. Does anyone actually use this information any more?

They're still widely used and highly regarded -- outside of Silicon Valley, anyway.

What do Silicon Valley people use? Just this https://www.tesla.com/compare ?

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#113

Post by saiya-jin »

kspacewalk2 wrote: post #32
nonethewiser wrote: post #12

Lexus is toyota. Accura is honda. So it’s really like: 1. Toyota 2. Mini 3. Honda 4. Subaru 5. Mazda Congratulations Japan.

It's incredible how the Japanese carmakers were able to perfect the auto manufacturing process and then proceed to hold that advantage for what, 30+ years now? It's not a secret how they did it, it's been studied to death, every manner of technology/expertise/management transfer has been tried, and still no one comes quite close enough to threaten their position.

Maybe they are too stubborn to succumb to 'the race to the bottom' cost (and correspondingly quality) wise, since these things do bite back after longer time than current year exec bonuses materialize.

Or maybe they have different approach to beta testing, see say Zelda come out basically flawless and how say Betshesda or many others can deliver their stuff (beta testing months after release with fixes have 1000+ rather basic items).

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#114

Post by neogodless »

stouset wrote: post #107
Tactical45 wrote: post #53

I wonder if hybrid being more reliable than gasoline cars is simply a function of most of those being Toyota, versus any effect stemming from the car being Hybrid.

I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s a component. But I would be surprised if that’s a primary reason. There’s just a lot more to go wrong with an ICE vehicle. You need oil and regular oil changes. A radiator, tubing, and antifreeze. An alternator. A carburetor and a catalytic converter. Timing belts. A exhaust system. None of this (as far as I know, IANAM) is needed for an electric vehicle. A disproportionate amount of…

You may have misread the parent comment, which talked about HYBRID vehicles being more reliable than ICE-only vehicles. Hybrid vehicles include all of the comments of an ICE vehicle, plus they have electric batteries and motors, and may have a system of transferring power from either system to the wheels. Overall they have higher complexity than either ICE or electric-only vehicles.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#115

Post by prepend »

brookside wrote: post #99

I have never understood how the Consumer Reports model of self(reader)-reported reliability can produce can statistically valid results. There are many biases build in to self-reporting surveys. Longtime Consumer Reports readers who buy a Toyota because they believe it is the most reliable make want their choice to have been correct. Their answers about problems with their car will reflect that.

CR also uses their own tests and maintenance records.

There are definitely flaws with self reporting but it’s just a data source with its limitations.

Statistical validity is based on what is done with the data, not whether it’s self reported or measured accurately. What you may be thinking of is whether their study or logic is sound.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#116

Post by [deleted] »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #82
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #72

Would love to see this scattered against maintenance cost. Having to take my Subaru in for an oil change every six months is annoying, even if it means I’ve only ever had one serious issue. (Computer flipped out because someone didn’t close the gas cap tightly enough, leading to a service visit requirement, which is absurd.)

I do my own oil change, but how much can it cost? Surely not more than $50 and 20min I hope.

[deleted]

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#117

Post by ajross »

agloe_dreams wrote: post #40
raajg wrote: post #7

I don't see how 'Tesla' is not top of the list here. For the 'Trouble Areas' I suspected they're normalizing over the 'length of ownership' which would bias the scores towards older car companies.

Tesla's reliability scores have always been pure and utter trash. This is the best result they have ever had. While other companies have a higher failure rate of major drivetrain components, Tesla is stuck somewhere between reinventing everything (thus lacking legacy knowledge) and not fixing things because they don't have the time/manpower for it. A great example of this is Model 3 Suspension failures. The Model 3 u…

> Tesla's reliability scores have always been pure and utter trash.

Linked article is literally reliability score that puts them dead center in the middle of the pack.

I'm amazed at the investment people have on arguments about Tesla, and this particular canard especially. I mean, they're cars? Sometimes they break? But not often? Some other brands are better. But some are worse!

It's a boring story about boring facts. Why is it so important to you (and so many other people) that this be a hyperbolic affront to all humanity and not just... a car company?

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#118

Post by c22 »

neogodless wrote: post #114
stouset wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s a component. But I would be surprised if that’s a primary reason. There’s just a lot more to go wrong with an ICE vehicle. You need oil and regular oil changes. A radiator, tubing, and antifreeze. An alternator. A carburetor and a catalytic converter. Timing belts. A exhaust system. None of this (as far as I know, IANAM) is needed for an electric vehicle. A disproportionate amount of…

You may have misread the parent comment, which talked about HYBRID vehicles being more reliable than ICE-only vehicles. Hybrid vehicles include all of the comments of an ICE vehicle, plus they have electric batteries and motors, and may have a system of transferring power from either system to the wheels. Overall they have higher complexity than either ICE or electric-only vehicles.

They have higher complexity, but also more redundancy. Likely neither of the powertrains experiences the same rate of wear and tear as either would experience on ther own.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#119

Post by sertbdfgbnfgsd »

UberFly wrote: post #110
sertbdfgbnfgsd wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given the media reports about the cars quality, I would expect them to be much lower. Then again, I don't know anything about cars.

Media reports are sadly about as reliable as that story from uncle Bob.

To pick a random example, I just saw one saying tesla touch screens overheat, leading glue to leak inwards into the screen and making them unresponsive. Are you saying this isn't true then?

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#120

Post by buildsjets »

me_smith wrote: post #96
nonethewiser wrote: post #12

Lexus is toyota. Accura is honda. So it’s really like: 1. Toyota 2. Mini 3. Honda 4. Subaru 5. Mazda Congratulations Japan.

I’ve been driving my Toyota Tacoma for 22 years now and currently at 245k miles (with some off-roading thrown in there). With regular upkeep, it’s amazing how much abuse these can take and still run fine. I haven’t had any major problems. My next car will definitely be a Toyota.

Anecdotally, my wife has owned her Toyota Celica since new in 2002. In that time, other than oil changes / tires / brake pads, the only thing that has failed is an air conditioning relay, twice. The second time around there was a new improved replacement part number, which has worked fine for 10 years now.

I also have an Audi A4 and S4. Something is always breaking on them, but they are very enjoyable to drive compared to the Celica. It has such terrible torque steer that we avoid driving it in any kind of rain. With an open diff, it's essentially a one wheel drive vehicle on any kind of low traction surface. Specifically, the front left wheel.

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