Gasoline Engine Lifespan

[Earl Filter]

Having been the fleet manager of a limo company that had 45 Town Cars ('99-'03, at the time), we had several of them with over 300k. They usually had new timing chains/guides at around 150k-200k, and other replacement items as necessary. In addition to the mileage, these things also idled in Houston, Tx heat for another 15-20 hours PER WEEK, on average! We did 3k intervals (bosses orders!) using whatever bulk oil our shop was using that week.

And no, I'm not even a Ford guy. I don't hate 'em, but lean towards GM cars. Not because they're better, just because that's what I know.

 

[mormit]

2.4 million

http://www.vcoa.org/irv-o-meter/dis...ll&id=1129619337&archive=&start_from=&ucat=4&

 

[mechtech]

It 's not usually the engine that goes out - it's the body, interior, suspension, and trans.
That's why we don't see many 300,000 mile vehicles still driving around.

 

[Titan]

My brother ran a Toyota Previa Van over 250,000 miles. No work done on the engine. Wife wrecked it...didn't take much damage to "total" it....but it ran great!

 

[Jimbo]

quote:

---

Originally posted by ekrampitzjr:


The upshot is that normally it isn't the engine lifespan that determines vehicle life. The transmission is the weak link in most of today's vehicles. Another reason to get a manual transmission!

---

Bingo!

 

[1sttruck]

In something like a pickup you'll probably see more variation, where some get 300k out of their gas engines, some don't get to 100k. Load will tend to be more consistent in a car, less in a minivan.

 

[Katmandu]

Originally Posted By: MC5W20
Over the years I have heard several people claim mileage's of 600,000 to 800,000 without engine rebuilds. I have never seen the odometer on any of these claims.
I've never heard of this either on gasoline car/pickup engines.

However, that type mileage is not uncommon for Diesels in cars/pickups. Most large semi diesels reach 1,000,000 no problem.

I recently sold a 94 BMW 530i with 3.0L V8 (yes, a tiny DOHC V8) that had 254k miles on it and was running strong.

On the other hand, I've had (3) different GM Vortec V6 4.3 go bad. All under 120k miles. Two of those spun rod bearings (extremely common in these 4.3 V6 engines) and the other completely froze up backing out of my driveway. Rod bearings seized up.

 

[Katmandu]

So the consensus here would be gasoline engines can "usually" obtain around 200k miles and on borrowed time after that ?

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: road_rascal
Just talked to the courier- 566,000 on the 1994 Chevy- original engine and transmission

.




Don't believe it........

 

[eljefino]

A new car at the start of this thread could be up to 400k if driven to today

 

[GMFan]

My brother put 195k miles on his 08 Honda Accord with the Honda 2.4L. He ran bulk Valvoline for 7-10k OCIs. The engine was burning about 1qt every 3k miles when he traded it. Engine otherwise ran great. My sister has an 03 Honda CRV also with the 2.4L except hers uses no oil. She has 185k miles on her car and other than it likely needed the valves adjusted (it's gotten noisy) it has run fine also on bulk oil.

Most friends and family I've known with high mileage cars got rid of them around 200k miles due to other issues such as bad transmissions, needing extensive repairs, rust, etc. I don't know anyone who junked the car at that mileage strictly due to an engine issue. This includes Honda, Ford, and GM cars.

 

[CT8]

Originally Posted By: MC5W20
At a minimum any engine should go 150k. At the far end 250k should be easily attainable if maintenance is performed on schedule. After 250k you are being paid back on your investment. Over the years I have heard several people claim mileage's of 600,000 to 800,000 without engine rebuilds. I have never seen the odometer on any of these claims.
I have seen several 400.00 and 500,000 mile vehicles . They were courier vehicles. Engine wear is minimal once operating temps are reached and stabilized.

 

[Robenstein]

Far too many variables. The quality of the materials, the quality of the build, and the quality of the design will be the ultimate limiting factors.

When I was selling cars I saw a Ford v10 with over 700k on the original engine. I also routinely saw 4.6 SOHC engines north of 300k on them.

There is an inherent potential to an engine, but how it is treated will limit how close to that potential if comes. Kind of a machine version of nature vs nurture.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Katmandu
So the consensus here would be gasoline engines can "usually" obtain around 200k miles and on borrowed time after that ?

As Robenstein said, there are too many variables. Gasoline fleet vehicles, such as taxis, routinely go much longer than that. While the engines occasionally fail on gasoline cars, note that what usually drives them out to pasture are things like nickling and diming owners or death, body rust, massive suspension issues, and transmissions.

In something that accumulates a lot more mileage more quickly, like fleet vehicles, regardless of fuel type, some of those problems can be more manageable, since time is on one's side, if not the miles.

 

[Excel]

my buddys Silverado 5.3 engine has over 540K on it
oil was always changed with cheap store brand oil its whole
life . So much for giving your engine the best

 

[Doog]

I think most can go 200-250k with simple maintenance until accessory parts start going. I trade at 200k now unless my dealer buys me out of one with rebates and serious discounts (over 20%)etc. (that has happened twice)

 

[hatt]

Originally Posted By: Excel
my buddys Silverado 5.3 engine has over 540K on it
oil was always changed with cheap store brand oil its whole
life . So much for giving your engine the best
The number one rule is to actually change the oil on a regular basis. Slight nuances of oil performance are off in the distance. What were his intervals?

 

[asand1]

My Maxima is over 330,000 with Supertech 5W30 at 4&5K OCIs.

Mechanics don't see high mileage cars because only competent diyers are able to obtain these numbers. Your average end user that needs a mechanics services kill them earlier than that.

 

[Kurtatron]

Originally Posted By: Titan
My brother ran a Toyota Previa Van over 250,000 miles. No work done on the engine. Wife wrecked it...didn't take much damage to "total" it....but it ran great!


I love those old Previa's. Those 4 cyl 90s toyota engines were as tough as nails. Just look on autotrader. One previa for sale with 380k miles and another with 400k miles

http://m.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=409719991&zip=48334&endYear=2017&pageLayout=list&sortBy=distanceASC&startYear=1981&searchRadius=0&mmt=%5BTOYOTA%5BPREVIA%5B%5D%5D%5B%5D%5D

I still think Japanese cars from the 90s were the pinnacle of automotive design. Simple. Affordable. Reliable. Low cost to operate. And fun.

 

[Katmandu]

Originally Posted By: Excel
my buddys Silverado 5.3 engine has over 540K on it
oil was always changed with cheap store brand oil its whole
life . So much for giving your engine the best
No engine work ? What was it's maintenance schedule ?