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Who makes the most reliable new cars?

consumerreports.org

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Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#971

Post by jxramos »

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.

what's the reference to running lights?

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#972

Post by matwood »

sethammons wrote: post #797
matwood wrote: post #717

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not quite as old, but I drive a 2007 Tundra. Does all the things I need it to do. About a year ago I replaced the foggy headlamps and people thought I had gotten a new car lol I was at the Toyota dealership not long ago and the mechanic says, “we’re not supposed to say this, but if you just do basic maintenance these cars will go for 20+ years. No way would I sell this for a new one. They cost too much now.”

I had one of those and it turns out they don't have true four wheel drive, but rather an antilock rear differential. It is controlled by a sensor that can freeze in icy conditions and fail to engage. Living in Montana, we had to sell the otherwise perfect truck for something that could reliably get up our driveway in winter.

Mine didn't have 4WD at all - don't need it where I live. My use case was hauling stuff in the bed and towing a boat. When I purchased the truck, it was one of the cheapest trucks with the towing capacity required for my boat.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#973

Post by dzonga »

what no one ever tells you is when you try buy a used lexus & premium toyota's you gonna pay a premium for it. since they're so reliable. the used values never really go down.

whereas a used bmw or benz after 5 years the value is in the gutter. even though there might be a good car to go on.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#974

Post by thsksbd »

sentientslug wrote: post #955
thsksbd wrote: post #456

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Genuinely never understood why anyone would buy a Kia or Hyundai product. Year after year after year there are constant problems and recalls. What drove you to buy one? (no pun intended)

Id gotten rear ended in a compact car when my newborn daughter was discharged from the hospital. Nothing happened, but I didn't like being the smallest participant in a crash with my little girl.

So I bought the biggest, heaviest car I could afford at the time.

Mechanically the car has been alright. Not great, but nothing big. But the electrical... what a shit show.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#975

Post by badpun »

stephen_g wrote: post #518
denvaar wrote: post #343

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Maybe our family have just been lucky with the brands we pick, but I definitely haven't found this... My Electrolux fridge has been 100% solid for over seven years now, which I bought because my parents had had one for eight or nine years at the time (which is still going). My Bosch Series 8 front-loader washing machine has also been a tank, same age, no signs of anything going wrong, same story - I bought it because…

It's sad that we're at a point where you consider a washer lasting 7 years to be something worthy posting about. Not long ago, applicances routinely lasted for decades.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#976

Post by thsksbd »

lnsru wrote: post #872
thsksbd wrote: post #855

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's why I know it's low ;) In fact, after picking up some G12, I can even refill it myself! But why is it low? Is it because the seals in the cap are getting old and slightly out gassing? Or is it because I have a hairline crack in a gasket that's about to be a catastrophic crack? There's almost two orders of magnitude difference in price between those two repairs!

That’s a very good question. How often is it too low? Once in 2 year? I could live with that. Once a week? Time to visit repair shop.

The lower bound of the leak is a pint over four years. I don't know the upper bound because I don't know the last time the level was ok.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#977

Post by beacham »

rthomas6 wrote: post #920
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…

This is exactly what I want in a car, unironically. I really dislike car culture. I think it is ruining America. This is like wanting a bus to be fun and exciting. Why are daily driver cars supposed to be fun? We are spending all our infrastructure money building and maintaining massive roads at the expense of everything else.

>Why are daily driver cars supposed to be fun?

I think it’s just a matter of preference. Just like you might prefer to spend money and time on some other form of entertainment, some people who have to drive every day prefer to get some enjoyment out of it. Regardless of your judgement on “car culture”, it is enjoyment and happiness for that people nonetheless.

>I think it is ruining America.

This is not an America thing. And it’s not new. Many modern societies, ever since cars have been invented, have had this “car culture” you speak of.

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#978

Post by underlipton »

raxxorraxor wrote: post #911
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.

We also know that any electronic stuff is very often designed to not be reparable at all. While there are standard interfaces for standard diagnostic data, you rarely can skip dealing with a very closed stack of software, intellectual property around a thick shield of armor. This is why you get things like heatable seat DLC.

I would like people to get into the habit of spinning up homebrew firmware/software to deal with this. Rockbox for your Ford. It's a heated seat, Michael, how much could it cost? Ten hundred lines of code?

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#979

Post by notyofriend »

bane wrote: post #479
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.

One thing that years and years of looking at CR has attuned me to is that car electronics break all the time and are the reason why many brands have poor reliability scores even though the engines run, the lights turn on, and the doors open and close (most of the time). German and American cars seem to have a very frustrating time with reliable electronics compared to Asian brands for some reason, and the problems pe…

Asian brands use more simple and time tested systems. They are about 3-5 years behind in most cases but it pays off in reliability

Re: Who makes the most reliable new cars?

#980

Post by uneoneuno »

BeetleB wrote: post #417
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.

Do computers last 20+ years in cars? As others have mentioned, sensors and stuff related to safety fail all the time. I recently paid $800 to re-enable the safety systems in my (newer) car after a part failed. I've never had such expensive repairs on my 20 year old car.

My 1989 Bronco II has a computer ignition system. Even an OBDI diagnostic capability. You can count the pulses and it tells you the error code. It still works fine. Most brands of cars were using solid state computers at least in some capacity like this since the late 1970s
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