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

521–530 of 1001 posts

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#521

Post by uoaei »

vondur wrote: post #453
yaomtc wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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...

People drive horrible now. Running lights, crazy lane changes, excessive speeding etc. Here in the US is started during the pandemic and hasn’t improved.

I've been driving a drinking-age Jeep Cherokee and the acceleration and top speed make me remember how it felt to drive 20 years ago. The street and road design makes a lot more sense at those speeds. We've gotten used to faster and peppier cars over the years but meanwhile the roads haven't changed to accommodate that.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#522

Post by kyrra »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #502
kyrra wrote: post #473

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a reminder, the increase of vehicle size has little to do with consumer choice but rather fuel efficiency standards. https://www.resources.org/common-resources/how-much-do-regul... Increasing fuel efficiency standards has outsized impact on the price of small cars, so fewer of them are made.

If consumers wanted smaller cars, they would buy more of them. A car is still much less expensive than a larger vehicle. The data clearly indicates people want bigger vehicles. Anecdotally, I have personally heard many people say they want to sit up higher, or have a bigger vehicle because it is safer for them.

I think you miss my point. When CAFE standards drastically increase the price of small cars, it impacts choice.

It's similar to house prices. The more regulations you pile on, the more things cost. While those things are seen as "good", it removes choice and increases cost.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#523

Post by calamari4065 »

julianlam wrote: post #513
MikeTheGreat wrote: post #424

Earlier quoted context omitted.

2015 Mazda, you say? If you could also include the model I'd be grateful, because this all sounds great. We're talking about a car that gets you to and from work, not about dating in your 20's :)

A reliable soulless Mazda sounds like a 6 sedan. Larger and weightier than the engine can handle, but otherwise a solid car.

Bingo.

Honestly the engine handles the load just fine. It's not nearly as fast as the tiny 5-speed Ford focus I had before, but I wouldn't say it's slow either.

It's fine, and nothing more.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#524

Post by jancsika »

riku_iki wrote: post #475
jancsika wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As someone who usually buys ~10 year old cars and drives them into the ground I'm much more interested in long term reliability. That's a much simpler list: 1: Toyota Corolla 2 to end: you're not really serious about running it into the ground. :)

I thought hybrid powertrains are simpler and more reliable in long run, so prius should be #1.

From what I've heard the hybrid powertrains are way more complex and prone to extra problems on top of ICE problems. But it's a testament to Toyota's engineering that the Prius makes it seem that this isn't the case.

In any case, on the much higher bar of running a car into the ground I think the Prius would get priced out on repairs for the last 20% of the run time. You've got both the regular battery and the hybrid battery, the regenerative braking system, and probably a lot more little dingles and dangles that would cause arguments with a spouse if you dug your heels in and kept paying for them just to run the car all the way to the finish line.

With the Corolla you just might just have to decide when you've had enough of driving the damned thing.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#525

Post by FinnKuhn »

tomxor wrote: post #368
FinnKuhn wrote: post #325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Not sure if you noticed, but you can see the issues for each car by the year it was first registered in, so if a model is out for a few years you will be able to say more about long term reliability.

If I had to guess it is partially due to user error, but the majority probably stems from people not replacing them when they should and being one of the few things in newer cars where you need to actually call help and can’t wait a few days to have it repaired.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#526

Post by fsckboy »

saulrh wrote: post #438
mike_hock wrote: post #429

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I remember when ABS braking was introduced, with all the fanfare of your enthusiasm. ABS braking was supposed to reduce accidents but actual statistics said it didn't. It made people write articles that said "it's almost as if humans have a built-in riskiness gauge, and as we make cars safer, they drive more recklessly" (and not "wreck"lessly haha).

I just checked wikipedia and there is a paucity of info showing actual effectiveness, and some showing what I just mentioned. It's a little suspicious that there is not overwhelmingly positive data https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-lock_braking_system#Effec...

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#527

Post by lotsofpulp »

kyrra wrote: post #522
lotsofpulp wrote: post #502

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If consumers wanted smaller cars, they would buy more of them. A car is still much less expensive than a larger vehicle. The data clearly indicates people want bigger vehicles. Anecdotally, I have personally heard many people say they want to sit up higher, or have a bigger vehicle because it is safer for them.

I think you miss my point. When CAFE standards drastically increase the price of small cars, it impacts choice. It's similar to house prices. The more regulations you pile on, the more things cost. While those things are seen as "good", it removes choice and increases cost.

I understand what you are saying, but I predict removing or fixing those regulations will not change anything (other than increased fuel or weight taxes), because the underlying reason remains the same. People (in general) prefer sitting higher up and being in bigger vehicles.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#528

Post by calvinmorrison »

1-6 wrote: post #392
metadat wrote: post #351

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The littany of sensors begin to go bad after 6-7 years in many newer cars.

I’ve had malfunctioning servos that can’t seem to keep still. It affects the recirculation and air controls but that’s about it.

That's not a new problem. My experience is the most reliable actuators are simple vacuum spring design but they're so much more complex to route and take up space.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#529

Post by jancsika »

BenjiWiebe wrote: post #423
jancsika wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As someone who usually buys ~10 year old cars and drives them into the ground I'm much more interested in long term reliability. That's a much simpler list: 1: Toyota Corolla 2 to end: you're not really serious about running it into the ground. :)

When I worked in a tire shop, the highest mileage vehicle I saw was a 500k mile Corolla, driven by the original owners. It was a mid 90s model IIRC. This was in 2018 or so.

Ha! I just posted this above:

> With the Corolla you just might just have to decide when you've had enough of driving the damned thing.

I've got a 95 Honda Civic with a bit over 200k. And the prospect of having to finally change out the belts is making me decide it's probably time to call it quits.

But honestly, I don't think I'd go for Corolla because it has too much longevity at this point. It'd be like buying a gas-powered parrot.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#530

Post by calamari4065 »

bichiliad wrote: post #422
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…

out of curiosity, what was your prior car?

'05 Ford Focus with a 5-speed manual. My first, and unfortunately last manual transmission. It had the sporty red trim interior and I replaced the CD changer with an android head unit and gave it a matching red theme.

Then I wrecked it, and the cops stole it by forcibly towing it to one of those scam tow yards that charge $500 a day. I had to bribe the guy at the yard just to get my personal belongings out of it.

Post reply on HN