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Who makes the most reliable new cars?

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Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#661

Post by fomine3 »

giobox wrote: post #350
Syonyk wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A standard hybrid (of the sort that a range of companies make, handwavingly a parallel hybrid with creep capability, which a PHEV is just a supersized version of) eliminates a huge swath of things that go wrong with ICEs. First and foremost, the transmission replaces the rather staggering pile of complexity of a modern automatic transmission, typically, with "a few motor/generators, some planetary gears, maybe a band…

> "First and foremost, the transmission replaces the rather staggering pile of complexity of a modern automatic transmission, typically, with "a few motor/generators, some planetary gears, maybe a band that only engages when a motor is already stopped, and some power electronics." Compared to the 9+ speed automatics, this is dramatically simpler. Quite a few hybrids don't even have a mechanical reverse gear, it's jus…

Toyota and US brands tend to adopt Series-Parallel hybrid system. European tend to adopt Parallel hybrid system like you listed, and Mazda/Hyundai want to be like an European. Japanese tend to adopt Series hybrid system.

Series-Parallel and Series hybrid remove transmission so possibly there's an reliability advantage. For Parallel hybrid, it's electric addon so I don't know there are reliability advantage.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#662

Post by hasoleju »

First thing I did was searching for the car brand (Volkswagen) of my car in the list. I was surprised to find it way down in the yellow area of medium reliability. After all, I choosed that brand specifically because I wanted to have a reliable car. It should at least last 20 years.

After reading into the details of the rank and some comments here I came up with the following explanation for me:

- Reliability is only related to the first 2-3 years of the car

- Long term reliability of engine and gears or chassis is not related to some minor issues of other parts in the first years of life of a car

I'm currently in year 3 and so far only had 2 issues caused by external factors:

- Electric cables damaged by animal bite (marten)

- Rear drive shaft gear broken because workshop forgot to refill oil after change

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#663

Post by dzhiurgis »

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…

Do you have to waste time filling gas in it and drive yourself? Sounds like cool hobby /s

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#664

Post by [deleted] »

hasoleju wrote: post #662

First thing I did was searching for the car brand (Volkswagen) of my car in the list. I was surprised to find it way down in the yellow area of medium reliability. After all, I choosed that brand specifically because I wanted to have a reliable car. It should at least last 20 years. After reading into the details of the rank and some comments here I came up with the following explanation for me: - Reliability is only…

[deleted]

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#665

Post by [deleted] »

winrid wrote: post #658

The fact that BMW and Mini are at the top of this list should make you ignore this data. First off, the Mini is just a smaller BMW, second the BMWs are complicated and designed to be maintained a certain way because that is how german cars are designed. You don't accidentally go 10k over an oil change on a higher mileage BMW and expect nothing bad to happen, but that would probably be okay on a Honda/Toyota/some Amer…

[deleted]

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#666

Post by RcrdBrt »

hasoleju wrote: post #662

First thing I did was searching for the car brand (Volkswagen) of my car in the list. I was surprised to find it way down in the yellow area of medium reliability. After all, I choosed that brand specifically because I wanted to have a reliable car. It should at least last 20 years. After reading into the details of the rank and some comments here I came up with the following explanation for me: - Reliability is only…

It's safe to say that the bathtub curve applies to cars, too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathtub_curve

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#667

Post by gabeio »

wimp wrote: post #651
Mountain_Skies wrote: post #490

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Replacing old style headlight bulbs with LEDs in housings not designed for them is an increasing problem too, making driving at night often something that is best done with a pair of sunglasses.

I cannot see the road safely at night anymore, so I avoid driving at night entirely. Complete failure of government to regulate and enforce headlight position and brightness. Since I don’t drive an 8ft tall truck with permanent high beams, I eventually got forced off the road.

> Complete failure of government to regulate and enforce headlight position and brightness.

In my state the only thing they check is the diagnostics to make sure your car isn’t polluting too much otherwise you can drive around just about anything that starts…

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#668

Post by lnsru »

thsksbd wrote: post #456
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 wish my cars were merely boring. One car (KIA) has electrical problems, probably the CAN bus. Parking shifter has to be overridden with a screwdriver to shift, the ABS sensor is on, and the cruise control doesn't disengage when I press the brake. This car has a glove box of recalls letters Im going to have done when I finally have an appointment w/ the dealer. The other one a VW, otherwise the "reliable one", had a…

Obviously you can check coolant level by yourself. Roundish coolant container has min indicator. And looks similar for all VW cars.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#669

Post by borissk »

katbyte wrote: post #547
Mountain_Skies wrote: post #490

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Replacing old style headlight bulbs with LEDs in housings not designed for them is an increasing problem too, making driving at night often something that is best done with a pair of sunglasses.

Some new vehicles come way to bright too, the absolute worst for this seem to be teslas and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was poor qa on bulb alignment

Hmmm, the worst I've seen are german cars with laser and matrix LED lights. Followed by cars fitted with chinese lights off ebay, whose manufacturers don't care about any local regulations.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#670

Post by e-_pusher »

elsonrodriguez wrote: post #583
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 absolutely incredible how Subaru can be so high on this list with their choice of engine style and transmission. With that sort of handicap it's either a testament to how great Subaru is or how terrible every other automaker is.

What do you mean by this? What is wrong with the engine and transmission choice of Subaru that makes it a handicap?
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