Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Who makes the most reliable new cars?

consumerreports.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

431–440 of 1001 posts

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#431

Post by smoyer »

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…

I have a 2006 Toyota Sienna that's approaching 300k miles and a 2001 Mercedes that's got about 220k miles. That's almost the top and bottom of the list and IMHO it's all about regular maintenance. I have a 2008 Honda FIT with under 100k and it constantly needs something.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#432

Post by Tool_of_Society »

BenjiWiebe wrote: post #418
underlipton wrote: post #367

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Electronic stuff can be incredibly hard to repair, when the manufacturer doesn't share any information or even actively encrypts/locks it down.

Really it just depends. Depends on who made it what it it is where it is etc.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#433

Post by imrehg »

timbit42 wrote: post #160
jansan wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hybrid motors take a lot of stress from the ICE during load changes. This makes the ICEs potentially live much longer. A lot of taxis areound here are older hybrid Toyotas. They must have at least 400,000km mileage already.

A taxi driver in Vancouver had a 2004 Prius and drove it 1 million kilometres with only regular maintenance and no failures. Toyota bought it back from him and took it to Japan to study it.

This sounded interesting, so looked it up, some more details in https://www.vanmag.com/city/people/vancouver-taxi-driver-wor...

It looks like it wasn't the 1+M km version that they bought back, but the chap was an early adopter of Prius in that taxi role, and they bought back (exchanged?) his first one from 2001:

> For those working on the next generation Prius 2004 model, Grant’s taxi held invaluable information about wear and tear.They struck a deal: Grant sent his 2001 model back to Japan for testing and had a brand new 2003 model delivered.

Still excellent story, and good on him!

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#435

Post by smoyer »

_yb2s wrote: post #394
SkyPuncher wrote: post #346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW, the computers don’t tend to break. The things that do break are essentially the same as they were 20 years ago. The bells and whistles are mostly for creatures comfort. The mechanical components haven’t changed much. The only thing that I couldn’t fix on my own in my 2020 vs my 2006 was re-alignment of lane keep system after replacing the windshield.

As a car nerd, a popular opinion is to avoid cars with computers because they could fail anytime, and can't be macgyvered into a repair roadside.... but after ~50 years of computerized cars, it seems that simple solid state computers, ruggedized and often potted in epoxy essentially never fail. And moreover, they can both give early warnings before you're stranded, and diagnostic data that can be used to pinpoint and…

I have a couple of '71 VWs and you can fix almost anything on the with toothpicks and Scotch tape. They just run because they're so simple ... You can actually count the wires in the harness and read the color codes! Thing thing that drives me nuts are the mechanical voltage regulator - they are finicky and today's hardened solid state devices near them in every way.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#436

Post by nwellinghoff »

webel0 wrote: post #232
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.

Agreed. It was a time where the computer did all the important stuff of fuel trim, timing etc. but none of the bullshit. 2005-2010 was peak ICE. And the parts are dirt cheap!

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#437

Post by emodendroket »

matt_heimer wrote: post #421
emodendroket wrote: post #349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think all that many people really feel this way in the end. A significant majority of new car buyers feel very strongly about having Apple CarPlay for instance. And hey, me too.

Adding Apple CarPlay or Android Auto to older vehicles is easier than adding it to a newer one. On a newer vehicle you have to worry about car systems like the AC, seat controls, etc being integrated into the infotainment system. On an older car with a single din radio (w/ cassette deck or cd) you can just buy an off the shelf radio that has CarPlay and Android Auto.

Yeah but that’s just one example. As much as I like to imagine myself as a practical driver who might want to do performance driving or whatever, in reality I like all the creature comforts of a modern car.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#438

Post by saulrh »

mike_hock wrote: post #429
saulrh wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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'm guessing you sell ESC systems.

Not even slightly. I wouldn't touch a human-safety-critical system like that if you paid me twice what I'm currently making. No, I just would really like it if people didn't die in car accidents, I think that modern controls theory is Really Neat, and I'm entirely willing to evangelize for modern safety technology when it has the potential to prevent ONE THIRD of all deaths in automotive accidents in the US.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#439

Post by GoodDreams »

rapind wrote: post #410
SkyPuncher wrote: post #346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW, the computers don’t tend to break. The things that do break are essentially the same as they were 20 years ago. The bells and whistles are mostly for creatures comfort. The mechanical components haven’t changed much. The only thing that I couldn’t fix on my own in my 2020 vs my 2006 was re-alignment of lane keep system after replacing the windshield.

The thing most likely to cause an accident with my car is the horrible Apple Car Play system via USB. I don't know if it's a VW problem, Apple problem, or just a bad combination of the two. It can be so frustrating and fiddly that I'll just pull over to deal with it. I've been considering going old school with a mount and just use the car speakers via bluetooth instead.

Not sure if I had the same issues but my situation was resolved by cleaning my lightning port and using a quality cable.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#440

Post by mrmincent »

calamari4065 wrote: post #416

I've had a regrettably excellent experience with my 2015 Mazda. Easily the most reliable machine I've owned. Which is unfortunate because it's a soulless, joyless shitbox and I hate it. It just starts every single time, but it's not fun to drive. I see dozens of the exact same model on the road every day and they're all boring. The interior is fine, the handling is pretty good, the power is fine, fuel economy is fine…

I’m absolutely not a car guy, and Mazdas are my perfect car :D We’ve got a 2008 mazda3 that is still running perfectly that we’re hoping to replace with a slightly larger CX-30 or PHEV equivalent once they sort out that product line.

They really do seem to just be super reliable and are taking over the “I’m not a car person” market.

Post reply on HN