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Who makes the most reliable new cars?

consumerreports.org

361–370 of 1001 posts

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#361

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…

went from a MT 3rd gen 4runner to a MT 3rd gen 2022 tacoma - aside from the 4wd shifter being electronic no complains!

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#362
post #285
post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Keep the 4Runner and buy something new for a family hauler. New vehicles are much safer from a structural standpoint than older ones. Modern high strength steels form the safety cage of the vehicle, and greatly reduce the risk of injury in offset frontal impacts, side impacts, and rear impacts. And then you have the multitudes of air bags. Finally, the various electronic gizmos that further reduce risk of injury. The…

To expand... - Improved FEM makes modern crumple zones deeper and smoother - Heavy use of composites dramatically improve the raw amount of energy absorbed by the car instead of the passengers - Better manufacturing methods mean parts can be shaped/placed to be less likely to enter the cabin - Better placement of more airbags means you're more likely to hit something soft - Better seats and better placements of bette…

I've disabled ESC and it's pretty amazing how much of a difference it makes in my car. But I can still make it go crazy by driving over a small bump while turning and accelerating (like, out of a driveway onto a busy street)

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The message is clear: steer clear of Subaru if you want a reliable engine.

Would you say this is still true? I’m about to receive the 2023 Subaru Forester. It seems like it has good reliability from all the reviews.

Thank you both for the replies!

I’ll be driving it in snowy conditions in Canada. Ontario , Quebec, and New Brunswick in the dead of winter trips :)

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#364
post #304

What the hell happened to Mercedes? 29th out of 30 on the list. Truly awful. I've never driven one (let alone owned one) but by the marketing (and price) you'd think it was the greatest vehicle on earth.

Nothing happened. They have always had a terrible reputation for quality, and the results show it. People buy it for the brand name, and that's about it.

Tell that to the all the ~80s w118's etc. around the world still working as taxis and running off vegetable oil

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#365
post #330

Funny how Kia ranks so highly above others. But I'm dubious because Mini is near the top. And are Porsche and BMW known to be reliable? You can't even get your oil changed except at slecialized centers. I assume they're reliable in the same way airplanes are: lots of maintenance intervals.

We have a Hyundai (Kia’s sibling). It’s hands down the best car we’ve ever owned. Absolutely no issues 4 years in.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#366
my 2001 honda accord stared getting on (took a few too many hits) - i installed a very good after market system in it - with hefty subs/amps.

the replacement 2013 accord euro...absolutely impractical to do the same DIY...the dash computer integrated console with A/C controls is a nightmare to replace with fascia which has space for double DIN...

i wonder if i should downgrade again to a classic Honda integra, or pre-smart Civic...

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#367

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…

> extremely mechanical 4Runner Same sentiment for my washer/dryer. Bought an older (used) set for $300, They have lasted 7 years so far, which is in addition to however long they were in use before: I would guess at least 7 more. Seems like lots of people lament how things like cars, refrigerators, washers, etc. are becoming less mechanical and more electronic. Maybe there's a market for "bespoke" mechanical items.

Electronic stuff is still reparable. Probably even more cheaply, in some regards (certainly material cost). We've just been made to become accustomed to viewing electronic devices as disposable/primarily replaceable. And while most people have turned a wrench before, knowing how to use a soldering iron/heat gun/magnifier effectively is not a common skill. Could be, though.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#368

Is ranking by brand necessarily the most useful ranking? How does the Toyota Prius (with 19 potential trouble areas, per the article) compare with a non-hybrid (say a Mazda 3)? The first graph indicates that Toyotas are, on the whole, more reliable than Mazdas, and the second graph indicates that hybrid drivetrains (despite having more trouble points) are marginally more reliable than purely gas powered vehicles. Tak…

Here is a similar ranking from Germany where you can sort by class of car and than compare car models instead of manufacturers (just scroll down a bit to get to that part and have it translated by your browser): https://www.adac.de/rund-ums-fahrzeug/unfall-schaden-panne/a...

This is really good. "Number of breakdowns per 1,000 registered vehicles per first registration year:"

Funny how the order is almost the opposite of the rather opaque consumerreports one. While looking at actual breakdowns is more telling of major issues, looking at only the first year isn't going to reveal much beyond glaring manufacturing defects. I'd be interested in more long term issues (although understandably this would be more of a past performance based on previous models metric). Although long term all cars reliability (especially ICE) is an AND operation with maintenance and care, but with a large enough sample size there's a hope this noise should average out.. ignoring the annoying issue of buyer bias.

The article also points out the vast majority of breakdowns are from dead batteries - Whether that's user error or parasitical leaks, or bad batteries is not clear, but sticking in a bigger battery with high cold cranking amps is a very cheap fix for that. Parasitical leaks are more of a pain to solve, especially since fitting a kill switch tends to make the computers in modern cars very upset.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#369
What is the most reliable isnt really the right question. Reliability vs cost is the correct question. I.e In my case the kia carnival was 12k cheaper than the sienna or the odyssey so going with tenth place vs second place was a no brainer for me, especially when i am not limely to need that extra repair money for 5 to ten years and can invest it so it is really more like 15 to 19k by the time i need it if invested at 5% return.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#370
post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Keep the 4Runner and buy something new for a family hauler. New vehicles are much safer from a structural standpoint than older ones. Modern high strength steels form the safety cage of the vehicle, and greatly reduce the risk of injury in offset frontal impacts, side impacts, and rear impacts. And then you have the multitudes of air bags. Finally, the various electronic gizmos that further reduce risk of injury. The…

>New vehicles are much safer from a structural standpoint than older ones. Perhaps if you compare the same model 15 years ago and now that is true, but people rarely buy the same model used as they would new. At least among my aquitances it is common to consider a higher class used car, or a much cheaper lower class new car. I doubt a 6 years old lexus rx350 is less safe than 2023 Toyota Yaris for example. Two cars o…

> I doubt a 6 years old lexus rx350 is less safe than 2023 Toyota Yaris for example.

Ok, but those two vehicles are significantly different sizes regardless of year, are they not? And that’s usually very relevant where safety is concerned.

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