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Who makes the most reliable new cars?

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Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#231

Post by yaomtc »

sharkweek wrote: post #213

My 3rd Gen Toyota 4Runner is old enough to drink and outside of routine maintenance requires almost no thought. "It's time to get a new car" given that car safety has drastically improved and I have two younger kids in that thing a few times a week but I'm honestly having a really hard time giving it up, something so reliable and plainly functional. New cars with all their computers and smart technology only look lik…

> car safety has drastically improved

Safety between cars, and within cars, has improved. However, due to the increasing size of the average vehicle on the road, among other factors, car safety for pedestrians/cyclists has decreased.

https://www.npr.org/2023/06/26/1184034017/us-pedestrian-deat...

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#232

Post by webel0 »

sharkweek wrote: post #213

My 3rd Gen Toyota 4Runner is old enough to drink and outside of routine maintenance requires almost no thought. "It's time to get a new car" given that car safety has drastically improved and I have two younger kids in that thing a few times a week but I'm honestly having a really hard time giving it up, something so reliable and plainly functional. New cars with all their computers and smart technology only look lik…

Yes, I keep on thinking that a premium market will develop for Toyota and Honda cars from roughly ~2006-2010. Those cars were the height of internal combustion technology without all of the electronics.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#234

Post by TacticalCoder »

whatever1 wrote: post #171

No way BMW is that high. I literally saw the past 2-3 weeks two X7s and an X5 stranded on the highway, on my way to work. I remember because I was joking yesterday with my partner that we should never buy a Beamer.

> No way BMW is that high.

AFAICT certain models have been highly problematic but overall they're very reliable things as shown by these numbers in TFA!?

Wife's BMW 3-series: it only started having electrical issues once it got very old and it was nothing too bad (heck, some I even fixed myself). Then she got a Toyota CHR hybrid: great car, but not for highway driving (at least not at speeds on european highways). She now bought a 4-series, used, five years old. One year and absolutely zero issue. A friend of mine at the same time bought a used 5-series (24 months old): zero issues.

I don't hear many people around me complaining about reliability issues on their BMWs (in the country where I used to live, Belgium, it's literally the brand the most sold, before Volkswagen and then Mercedes [1] and in the country where I live now it's the 3rd most sold brand).

> I remember because I was joking yesterday with my partner that we should never buy a Beamer.

They're good cars however I'm not sure I'd buy a german car if I was living in the US again. I did it and, well, it's my experience that german cars are easier to service/fix in europe (especially when you live in germany or close to germany) than in the US.

I'd probably go for a japanese car.

[1] Numbers for 2023: https://www.focus2move.com/belgium-auto-sales

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#235

Post by ethbr1 »

kyleblarson wrote: post #227

I have had 5 Toyota trucks and only replace them because I get antsy every few years for the newest thing. Never had a single problem with one and my current 19 taco at 70k miles just feels like a break in period. Each time the trade is is quite close to what I paid for it. Have been looking at getting a late 80's 4runner as a fun second rig and don't anticipate any issues with that either.

I drove a Tacoma that started at 125k miles with a leaking cylinder and a torn CV joint boot.

Kept waiting for something to stop working and need fixing... 70k+ miles later, I was still driving and waiting.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#236

Post by Moto7451 »

rwmj wrote: post #169
bluemax wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My Toyota hybrid reliably does not start after 4 weeks not driving. The 12 volt (1 year old) battery is drained too much after such a period of inactivity. I was not expecting this from Toyota, pretty disappointing.

One thing I never understood is why hybrids have the 12 volt battery at all. Couldn't the entertainment system etc be powered from the 200V EV battery (after stepping it down obviously)?

Even if they don’t have a 12v battery they still have to have a 12v system for reasons others mentioned and because it’s a requirement to sell cars in the USA. My Porsche Taycan has jump start lugs for the benefit of other cars and so I can have my low voltage systems operate with some help from another car.

My mild hybrid Audi is the same way. Gas engine, 48v accessory belt run battery, and that 48v battery works in tandem with a small 12v battery for the low voltage system.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#237

Post by andrewxdiamond »

paxys wrote: post #216
laurencerowe wrote: post #199

Note that these stats only account for reliability in the first three years: > Then the brand reliability score was calculated by averaging results from 2021 to 2023. As someone who usually buys ~10 year old cars and drives them into the ground I'm much more interested in long term reliability. It may correlate but these stats are not that!

> Who Makes the Most Reliable New Cars? > CR ranks the brands and reveals how their new models are likely to hold up Literally the title and subtitle of the article, as well as the HN submission.

The parent commenter is calling out a bias inherit to the study.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#238

Post by mulmen »

Johnny555 wrote: post #211
bluemax wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My Toyota hybrid reliably does not start after 4 weeks not driving. The 12 volt (1 year old) battery is drained too much after such a period of inactivity. I was not expecting this from Toyota, pretty disappointing.

My Honda Hybrid is the same way, sometimes I go weeks between drives and if I park it for more than a couple weeks, I plug it into a 12V battery charger to keep the 12V battery topped up. But I blame the car's smart features (that use the cell modem to allow remote start, etc) rather than it being a hybrid. I suspect that the non-hybrid model would be the same.

My 1991 Honda motorcycle does this too. I can promise you that it has no smart features. It doesn’t even have a fuel pump. Lead acid batteries just don’t have long shelf lives.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#239

Post by avar »

tricky wrote: post #98
michalf6 wrote: post #54

BMW got much better since the switch to B series engines, N series era was horrible. Timing chains between the engine and gearbox are a pain point though, they need to be replaced with mileage.

Not all N series engines are awful. The N52, while not as amazing as the previous M52/M54 engines, is a fantastic, reliable engine. However, the 4 cylinder N20 used between 2011-2017 is the worst. Faulty timing chain guides often fail and immediately grenade the engine. They were so bad there was even a class action lawsuit

The N53 is even better, BMW phased out the N52 in favor of it, except in developing economies with subpar fuel standards.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#240

Post by paxys »

andrewxdiamond wrote: post #237
paxys wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Who Makes the Most Reliable New Cars? > CR ranks the brands and reveals how their new models are likely to hold up Literally the title and subtitle of the article, as well as the HN submission.

The parent commenter is calling out a bias inherit to the study.

What is the bias?
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