Greatest/worst 3.5/3.6 24-valve V6 of the late 2000s?

I’m going to have to put a recommendation in for the “Lambda” Kia/Hyundai 3.8L. I have this engine in my 2008 Sedona. It’s port injected, 24v. Mine has 204,000 miles and still runs fantastic. I rely on it daily as a work van, and have for nearly 10 years. Plenty of power, smooth, sounds decent, and any minor issues I’ve had from this van have not been from the engine (or the transmission, for that matter, which is also original). Actually, the van itself has been amazing and is probably my favorite vehicle I’ve ever owned.
 
Another vote for Nissan... The VG33 in my first vehicle, a 2001 Frontier which I had long enough to do 2 timing belts on is still driving around here with what I presume is over a half million miles on it. Hated all the hoses and plumbing around it but solid. Had a couple maximas with the 3.5 that were by far the most enjoyable sedan to drive in comparison to the big 3 here and other overseas competitors of equal price point.
 
chris719 said:
It’s funny because I think the VQ37 was the worst iteration of that engine in some ways. It was kind of harsh and coarse at the top of its range IMO, like it seemed happier at smaller displacements. I owned a G35 coupe with VQ35DE and thought it was smoother than the 370Zs I drove. However, neither hold a candle to the BMW S54 or Porsche M97 in terms of actual feel and performance, but those aren’t Vees and aren’t in the same price bracket. Still, miles ahead of the other crap most manufacturers were selling at the time.
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An old acquaintance of mine has a 2010 G37 XS sedan. It has every bolt on imaginable, headers/catless mid-pipe/high flow mufflers etc ect. His Infiniti/Nissan group flew in a tuner from Houston on a group buy and the tune totally transformed the car. It made 300 AWD horsepower at the wheels ~400'ish+ at the crank. Car sounds deadly and even with his 300lbs in the driver seat it was running 13.00 @104-105mph. The tune raised the redline from 7600 to 8000rpm's so it's a screamer.

With me driving for the weight reduction it's a high 12 car easy. Not bad for a 13 year old 4 door family sedan. He's probably sent it down the track 100 times, still runs like a champ, no oil usage or leaks.
 
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i was leary of the mitshibishi 3.5 in my first year sorento but its made it to 161 k with very few engine issues -just minor and expected wear items. still runs like new and makes good power for a heavy suv. its a pain to work on tho but better engine thani expected
 
92saturnsl2 said:
You sure about that? I'm certain I drove a 5.4L 3 valve in an Econoline. It sticks out in my mind because it was the first 3V Triton I'd ever driven and I remember thinking how much an improvement in power there was over the old design.

It was a 2007 IIRC, larger one that seated 8-10+ passengers
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E-series never got the 3 valve engines. I think that's what made them so reliable over the years. What's also weird is that the van / wagon versions got the old 4 speed automatic (4R70/75) and the cab/chassis trucks got the 5R110 behind the 2 valve engine. A combination that never came in the superduty trucks.

If it was a cab/chassis (uhaul box truck, etc), the extra pep you felt was probably from it having a decent 1st gear. Helps a lot with the 2v engines that need revs to be able to get out of their own way.
 
brages said:
Didn't Toyota have a 3.5 liter in this era? Are they problematic for some reason, or why is nobody mentioning them?
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Is your gauge of "best" purely reliability, or also performance? It's a vanilla engine, just like the Honda SOHC. I'm pretty sure there are a lot of VQs out there still running, too.
 
SC Maintenance said:
"The Nissan 3.5-liter VQ V6 engine has been named to the annual "Ward's Ten Best Engines" list for the 10th straight year by Ward's Communications, Inc. It is the only engine that has been part of the list every year the award has been presented."

2004 article - https://www.autoserviceworld.com/carsmagazine/nissan-s-vq-awarded-best-engine-for-tenth-year/
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Making "Ward's Ten Best Engines" means about as much as winning a Motor Trend "...of the year" award.
 
I vote the GM 3.6 and the FWD Ford 3.5/3.7 for worst. The Pentastar would be here too - the oil cooler/filter housing.

Best would be the RWD Ford 3.5/3.7, updated Toyota GR, as long as it’s not a 2GR-FKS in a Tacoma. Nissan’s VQ35/37 as well. Honda’s J35 is everything you expect from Honda but with torque.
 
ESP9935 said:
Making "Ward's Ten Best Engines" means about as much as winning a Motor Trend "...of the year" award.
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What a contribution to this thread!

I own 2 VQ's - one has 387,000 miles on it - all mine. Several others have also commented on their positive experience on the VQ's. Perhaps you have data that indicates Ward's was wrong?

I have also learned about other great V6 engines from comments on this thread, and I believe those that were kind enough to add that information.

So perhaps you have something to contribute - other than Ward's sucks?
 
I've owned a few engines that made the Ward's list multiple years-- and after driving them long term. there's definitely a reason.

Never owned an engine that popped up in Wards that I didn't like. I trust them.
 
brages said:
I think the GM 3.6 is the worst of the time period, at least that's what Car Wizard says, supposedly the timing chains are a time bomb.
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They finally got that sorted out but they burn oil still - even the new ones. I have a 3.6DI in an 08 CTS that i have had since new. Chains were replaced while under warranty around 45-50k miles. It has 202k miles now on those chains. Car has seen Mobil 1 every 5-6k miles since new. Runs great but gotta watch the oil level.
 
Another vote for the VQ35. Had it in my ‘02 QX4. I beat on that thing and it served me faithfully for about 65-70k miles. Got rid of it because the PO had neglected the vehicle and there were some very concerning rust holes that were starting to form.
Currently have a VQ40 which has also been stellar. It’s a gas hog but I’d take that over an unreliable fuel efficient turd.
 
I've had three of the Chrysler 3.5s and I swear by them. The main thing is you got to change the water pump and timing belt which isn't too expensive compared to the timing chain driven water pump job in the Ford cyclone 3.5 and 3.7. My deceased 15 Taurus had the 3.5 cyclone which compared to my brothers 11 Taurus had more peak power but it didn't have it down low. Overall with the cyclone v6s the only real Achilles heel is the water pump. I just wish they had an easier way to maintain it and I wish it was a bit more strong down low.

For the worst I would say the early GM high feature V6. I've known about 10 people that have had engine failures. Some people claim that they fixed it but I'm not entirely sure. It doesn't help that we've been burned so many times with GM Even with legendarily reliable engines like the 3800 series 2 that I don't really trust them.

The Toyota 3.5 has a good reputation but like everything you got to be realistic. Toyota still made by humans. You can have the problem with the variable valve timing oil line that can burst which happened to my aunt recently and her RX 350. They use the plastic filter housing which can break which puts it in a similar department as the Chrysler pentastar V6 which most give it a pass because it's a Toyota and they don't give a pass to Chrysler because it's a Chrysler. I will say that the versions used in the late 2000s through mid-2000s feel pretty weak. They aren't quite as powerful as with the numbers would make you believe.

The Honda J engine had a great start but over the years they've added so many complications with VCM, GDI, and so forth that I would be very concerned about longevity of the engine long-term. I considered buying one at one point but I was too worried about those things. Plus you still have to change a water pump and timing belt on an interference engine.

The VQ Nissan from what I've heard is reliable but doesn't it have a chain driven water pump as well?

The Pentastar engine I'm on the fence on. It seems like either you get a good one or you get a bad one. You have to be very careful with the engine with the hengst plastic oil filter housing. They used a lot of plastic for various parts that should be made of metal. Her have been some issues with heads and cams If I'm remembering correctly. Having said that, I only know one person that has had an engine failure personally and that was at 150,000 miles. Given the people that I know that have the engine I think it's okay and mine has been okay so far. On the plus column it has a lot of low end torque..
 
Enthusiast said:
The VQ Nissan from what I've heard is reliable but doesn't it have a chain driven water pump as well?
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It does, but it doesn't seem to cause issues. Lots go 300K with no water pump problems. I have heard of water pump problems only a few times. Also, the water pump even though embedded, is fairly easy to change. There are access covers and a way to release the timing chain tension without taking anything else apart.

A few units - based on year - had timing chain issues, but that was traced back to improper QC by the outfit that stamped the links. Chains outside of that window seem to be fine. Mine were in that window and did wear out the guides due to burrs on some of the links, but even that took 200K miles. The Cam advance mechanism - the name escapes me at the moment, will give problems if you don't change your oil regularly.
 
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