How reliable or unreliable are your vehicles?

[Sam_Julier]

I've owned 9 Volvo's, 2 Acuras, 2 Hondas, 2 Mecedes-Benz. With the exception of the 2000 MB C240 (a nightmare) all have been reliable. In fact, in the 30 years of driving as a salesman not once did I have a breakdown. Regular fluid changes, preventative maintenance is all it took.

 

[Subdued]

All vehicles in my sig have been extremely reliable...

...yes, even the Chrysler.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: gman2304
Originally Posted By: 2015_PSD

2003 Chevy Tahoe
45K...steering column replaced
67K...steering column replaced
96K...steering column replaced
125K...steering column replaced

^ My 2005 Chevy Avalanche was recalled for this, and repaired free.
All were repaired under warranty except the one at 125K, but the service writer gave me a courtesy repair due to the long history. The design by GM was a total POS and the 16" wheels would trap rocks between the wheel and brake caliper all the time. I changed them for 17s early in its life. I was glad to be rid of it.

 

[dblshock]

with all the information available today why would anyone take good solid money and buy a problem with it?

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: dblshock
with all the information available today why would anyone take good solid money and buy a problem with it?

Not many vehicles are perfect, so its more a choice of picking your problems, balanced with price, and what vehicle you actually want to drive.
There are a few vehicles IMO that are clear losers, offering nothing I want and the slightly lower price doesn't pay for their deficiencies.
I'm always surprised how much some of these cars go for, but I guess someone buys them, and maybe some people do very well with them?

 

[RooflessVW]

Originally Posted By: dblshock
with all the information available today why would anyone take good solid money and buy a problem with it?


Do you actually have anything to contribute to this thread, or...?

 

[dblshock]

people are so gullible, buy junk cause they like to look at it.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: dblshock
people are so gullible, buy junk cause they like to look at it.


Curious as to what constitutes "junk" in your book? The only car we've owned that I would consider junk was that Olds wagon, everything else has given us fantastic service life.

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL

Curious as to what constitutes "junk" in your book? The only car we've owned that I would consider junk was that Olds wagon, everything else has given us fantastic service life.


Me too; I have my suspicions...

 

[SwampSurvivor]

The most unreliable vehicle we ever had was the 08 Wrangler. When it was let go at 80K miles it had the following issues:
- Multiple sets of front and rear axle seals, including a rebuild of the rear differential
- 2 TIPMs
- Massive oil consumption that was deemed "normal" by Chrysler - 1 quart every 650 miles
- Could not use 6th gear, simply not enough power. Was not modified. Stock Rubicon with 4.10 gears
- Engine knocked horribly
- CV driveshaft blew out one day for no reason

There were a few other issues but they were somewhat minor.

What's currently in "the fleet" has been pretty good.

2013 Escape 2.0L - Warrantied rear brake pads and rotors at somewhere around 30K miles and my parents shut something in the hatch and broke the trim panel ... that was warrantied as well. It has 50k miles on it now.

2001 F-350 with 60K miles. Apart from SEVERE rust, it's been pretty good. Ford really wants to replace the nonexistent cruise control switch. It has blown a few coils without setting the check engine light ... but most fords of that era that used COP had a lot of issues.

2000 Cherokee. It's named the Green PoS. I got it with 95K, now somewhere around 150K.

I don't treat it nice. It's an off road toy. It's been tipped over and sunk up to the windows in water. So there are a few electrical gremlins. Aside from routine maintenance I have done:

- Flexplate (yet to do, it's cracked)
- Alternator (caused by water up to the windows ...)
- Rear main seal - water intrusion from said swim
- Replace front differential ,pinion bearing went out. Normal for the low pinion dana 30
- Replace engine and transmission mounts
- Replace gauge cluster that would "freak out" and eventually reset itself to 0 miles.


2011 Focus With 62K miles
- Front rotors rusted up so new rotors and pads in the frotn
- Passenger side engine mount
- End Links

And it now needs strut mounts/bushings.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
Very reliable actually. Just regular wear items occasionally. Put over 40k on my 87 f250 with zero problems since I bought it 4 yrs ago. Just brakes and the radiator on her Tahoe with 151k on it now. Jeep is the worst of the bunch.it has had a few sensors over the years.now the rear end is getting a growl @160k


The rear axle in my Cherokee has been howling since I got it 6 years ago - I even ran it dry once by mistake. I do have a spare to replace it when it finally dies.

I have the chrysler rear axle, not the Dana 35 though

 

[GenSan]

This is over 5 decades of vehicle manufacturers owned within my family and how they rank from Most to Least reliable top to bottom: (Number in parentheses indicates # of vehicles)

Toyota/Lexus (6/4)
Ssangyong (Musso SUV) (1)
Subaru (2)
GM (3)
Mazda (1)
Ford (2)
Mercedes Benz (1)
BMW (1)
Chrysler (3)
Jaguar (1)

 

[MCompact]

My 1999 Wrangler TJ has been pretty decent; I've had most all the standard problems occur, so I've replaced the radiator, exhaust manifold(with a Banks Torque Tube), the front ARB links, the steering damper, the track bar, one wheel bearing, and one front u-joint. It's just hit 109k miles.
I still love it; I've owned it for 14 years and I've upgraded it just a bit: Bilstein HDs, MB Quarts, Hella E-Codes- at this point about the only 4x4 that I might like more would be a Defender 90.

 

[grampi]

I'd say my '04 Corolla is pretty reliable...270K and the engine's never been opened, it has the original water pump, and exhaust, and the only things that have been replaced are normal wear and tear items such as tires, brakes, plugs, and the serpentine belt has been replaced once...

 

[dblshock]

nice grampi

 

[cjcride]

Originally Posted By: grampi
I'd say my '04 Corolla is pretty reliable...270K and the engine's never been opened, it has the original water pump, and exhaust, and the only things that have been replaced are normal wear and tear items such as tires, brakes, plugs, and the serpentine belt has been replaced once...

I have same 04 Corolla with 163,000 Miles. Bought it used, no problems except for an annoying rattle from front passenger door/glass when driving on bumpy roads. Had the inner door panel off and everything seems snug and tight. Any fixes for this?

 

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted By: 2015_PSD
Originally Posted By: gman2304
Originally Posted By: 2015_PSD

2003 Chevy Tahoe
45K...steering column replaced
67K...steering column replaced
96K...steering column replaced
125K...steering column replaced

^ My 2005 Chevy Avalanche was recalled for this, and repaired free.

All were repaired under warranty except the one at 125K, but the service writer gave me a courtesy repair due to the long history. The design by GM was a total POS and the 16" wheels would trap rocks between the wheel and brake caliper all the time. I changed them for 17s early in its life. I was glad to be rid of it.


You mean the Lower Column Bearing was replaced along the Intermediate Steering Shaft?? For Knocking Noises over rough pavement?

Very common on GMT800 Trucks & SUV's with a steering gear box, Less likely on Rack & Pinion 2wd Pick-ups.

The main issue was the Collapsible Intermediate Steering Shaft. The assembly grease gets forced out between the 2 shafts, Then the shafts have slack between them & that's where the noise comes from.

I have 2 effective solutions...
1. Disconnect the Intermediate Steering shaft from the Lower Steering shaft, Fully stroke the Intermediate shaft in & out a good 20 times, This will redistribute the original grease & quiet things down for 15,000 to 25,000 miles.

2. Install a Grease Zerk At the end of the Intermediate Steering Shaft, (Directly rear of the pinch bolt holding the Lower shaft to the Intermediate), GM 19257121 High Temperature Special Lubricant seems to be the best.

I do agree, GM should have got it right, They did redesign it a few times & never got it right.

I wish my Toyota had such small issues, It marks its territory at 8X,000 with a pretty good oil leak at the Timing Cover, The overall build quality is pretty bad.

 

[Tomioka]

01 Toyota Tundra: It's starting to show old age where the wear items are needing to be replaced. Some of the major stuff:

Lower control arm bushings
Radiator
Starter and associated parts getting to the starter (IM gaskets)
Front struts. Originals where Bilstein and wish it would last forever but the lower bushings split open.
Timing belt, water pump, cam/crank seals, idler pulleys, fan belt as part of the 90,000mi TB maintenance. Didn't like the notion being a timing belt driven interference engine.
Lower ball joints and tie rod ends. Those pictures of failed LBJ's are stuffs of nightmares.
Exhaust manifolds along with O2 sensors (replaced with ebay headers)
Front brake rotors/calipers/pads (with the updated caliper design)
Rear pinion seal

02 Chevy Silverado: Bought it with low miles with signs of abuse of somewhat being offroaded or mostly driven on dirt roads. Unknown maintenance history kinda made me unnecessarily replace parts on this truck. Did a bunch of mods to it too. Only stranded me once though.

Fuel pump. Was one of the first things I replaced on this truck when I bought it after it left me stranded.
Alternator (to a 145A unit)
Electric fans replacing clutch fan (hence the need for a higher amp alt)
Water pump, res tank, coolant and heater hoses
Belts, pulleys and tensioners
Power steering pump
Power steering rack
Upper ball joints, inner and outer tie rods.
Shocks
Brakes front and rear (originals lasted almost 100,000mi)
Valve cover
Radiator (to a 34" core size to fit electric fans)
Knock sensors
O2 sensors
A/C blower motor resistor and harness
Rear pinion and AT tailshaft seal
EVAP purge valves
Pass side door lock

 

[dlundblad]

Originally Posted By: 2015_PSD
Originally Posted By: gman2304
Originally Posted By: 2015_PSD

2003 Chevy Tahoe
45K...steering column replaced
67K...steering column replaced
96K...steering column replaced
125K...steering column replaced

^ My 2005 Chevy Avalanche was recalled for this, and repaired free.
All were repaired under warranty except the one at 125K, but the service writer gave me a courtesy repair due to the long history. The design by GM was a total POS and the 16" wheels would trap rocks between the wheel and brake caliper all the time. I changed them for 17s early in its life. I was glad to be rid of it.


Very interesting. My dad had a 2001 Z71 Tahoe (bought new) and mom had a 2002 Z71 (bought with 25k). The only issue I can recall in their 100k of ownership is the water pump in hers going out.

Funny you mention the rocks. Their road used to be dirt back in the day and I recall a rock getting stuff in the brakes 1 time. They had 17's though.

 

[carguy996]

Worst vehicle I have owned, 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT 4.0. Too many problems to list. Bought new in January 2011, it was in for service 127 times between January 6, 2011 and January 26, 2016 when it was replaced with a Honda Odyssey. Only had 55,000 miles on it. Next was a 2001 Pontiac Grand Am, had the 2.4 Motor replaced at 1800 miles from a bad head gasket and the transmission went out at 6000 miles. Had all sorts of electrical issues. Traded it in at 10,000 miles.

Best vehicles have been:

1991 Eagle Talon 2.0, 100K with a timing belt replaced at 60K and the idle control motor at 80K
2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse 3.0, zero issues, traded at 36K
2007 Mitsubishi Outlander 3.0, zero issues, traded at 55K
2006 Mazda 3, only issue was the factory camber on the rear wore the rear tires quickly. Mazda replaced under Warranty. Traded at 21K.
2006 Mazda 6 3.0V6, only issue was the flex pipe came loose while driving. Owned form 2006-2012, traded at 39K