Farewell, family civic, 375,000 miles

[paulri]

Interesting. Twice in the article, the typical life target was given as 150K, Hyundai's current target was 180K, and the news was that the Hyundai-led partnership was using an engine that had a target of 300K.

Here’s a good article about the Hyundai, Chrysler, Mitsubishi GEMA engines.

Hyundai develops long-life 4-cylinder engine

A high-tech engine family with a planned 300,000-mile life span will replace nearly all four-cylinder engines at the Chrysler group, Hyundai Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp.

www.autonews.com

 

[Tman220]

Im actually pretty impressed a D17 would go that far before the first head gasket went?! I did the head gasket in my civic around 150K and what little cross hatch that was left would not make me believe that thing has 400k in it. Although mine still runs strong at 200K, still makes good power and gets good mileage, in the age of covid, working from home, it will now surely rust out before it wears out sadly.

 

[NJC]

I've had 3 Accords, and hope to buy another Honda product (Civic?). I bought my 1993 Accord SE with 348K KM's and drove it until 449K KM's (~280K miles). Great and cheap car - very bland but inexpensive and reliable.

 

[14Accent]

Is 150k really all that's expected out of a vehicle? I have to say, I'm a bit surprised. Of the many many vehicles I've owned, I have to say the majority of them were somewhere between slightly over and massively over that milestone. Sure, they were "tired" in the literal sense, as in worn interiors... blown struts... electrical accessories that had given up the ghost. However, they all ran just fine. Just off the top of my head:

'99 Corolla: 245k miles, drank oil like a sailor drinks whiskey on shore leave but it was rock solid reliable. Coldest AC I've ever experienced.

'01 Grand Cherokee: 256k miles and rode like a Cadillac. Perfect? Far from it. But utterly reliable.

'07 Impala: 200k miles and the most grief it ever gave was the constant failure of HVAC actuators and a seized AC compressor at 180k. $35 from the recycler and it was back to blowing ice cold.

'96 Aurora: picked up somewhere around 150k and put at least 30k more on it. Keep in mind, it's a Northstar we're talking about here. If I remember right, all I had to do to that car was rear shocks and a wheel bearing.

'91 Buick Regal: purchased around 140k, again put something like 30k on it with very minimal work. Water pump, one bearing, a set of brakes. All basic maintenance.

Current '14 Chrysler 200 flip I'm driving: 153k miles and it's mostly fine. Sure, it needs a condenser and a few odds and ends, however it's 99% solid and runs like a bat out of you know what.

I'm of the opinion that any vehicle can easily last 200k with minimal generic maintenance and care. Look at my old lady's '08 Aveo. 175k miles and other than the things you would expect... aka brakes, a control arm, clutch and water pump, it's been just fine. Talk about a car that was never designed to last that's pretty impressive IMO.

 

[supton]

150k is just what they are targeting when they design something. They don’t design TO fail at 150k, but they hope that some high percentage will get there. In your own words: “they feel tired but run”. Well, that’s about it. They made 150k, they made it past, and they feel like it’s time to replace as they are not functioning to spec. Or not replace if you feel it is good enough, no one (including the OEM) is thinking that 150k is a drop-dead mileage.

 

[Jetronic]

They sure want you to feel the upside to trading in at that mileage. So if the vehicle looks or feels a bit tired that helps...

 

[PWMDMD]

150k miles? Who said that? Considering it costs BILLIONS of dollars, yes that’s billions with a B to design a new vehicle, it makes absolutely no sense to design it with a 150,000 lifespan. Most owners manuals are limited to 150,000 miles to reassure people that they did good but attaining that mileage, and to encourage them to purchase another vehicle.

GM and Toyota validate their vehicles to last 300,000 miles. I’m not sure about the other mainstream players.

It makes perfect sense! The manufacturer designing for 150K miles could sell twice as many vehicles in the same time frame. Yes, I know not everyone goes back to the same manufacture and I know it would be nowhere close to twice under the best circumstances but since most people never keep their vehicles past 100k miles it makes sense from a business POV. What's the goal? Long enough to not be an issue for most people but not so long that you're pouring $$$ into a vehicle that will likely be discarded before the engineering lifespan is up. Long enough to be trouble-free for the first owner and not sour the brand's image but not so long that the buyer doesn't need a new vehicle before 300K miles.

 

[twouvakind]

150k expected? YMMV.