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It seems that nowadays, you can pretty safely expect the power train of even the cheapest car to last well into 6 figures, and probably at least 200,000 miles, even with fairly casual attentiion to fluid levels..
But what about the rest of the car? Reliability ratings rise and fall with things like electrical, body hardware, sterring/suspension, brakes, cooling. Would it be possible for an automaker to produce a reasonably-priced model in which those components would stand up as well as the engine and transmission? If they could, why don't they? How much more would such a car cost?
It seems that nowadays, you can pretty safely expect the power train of even the cheapest car to last well into 6 figures, and probably at least 200,000 miles, even with fairly casual attentiion to fluid levels..
But what about the rest of the car? Reliability ratings rise and fall with things like electrical, body hardware, sterring/suspension, brakes, cooling. Would it be possible for an automaker to produce a reasonably-priced model in which those components would stand up as well as the engine and transmission? If they could, why don't they? How much more would such a car cost?
Brakes, suspension, some hardware are all wear items. They wear out because they are doing their job. I would argue that most main makers have succeeded in doing just that. Provided you do your job and replace the brake fluid, replace the coolant, and keep the undercarriage coated in paint they should last quite a while.
It seems that nowadays, you can pretty safely expect the power train of even the cheapest car to last well into 6 figures, and probably at least 200,000 miles, even with fairly casual attentiion to fluid levels..
But what about the rest of the car? Reliability ratings rise and fall with things like electrical, body hardware, sterring/suspension, brakes, cooling. Would it be possible for an automaker to produce a reasonably-priced model in which those components would stand up as well as the engine and transmission? If they could, why don't they? How much more would such a car cost?
Case in point, cooling. The most helpless car dweeb knows that engine oil, at least, needs to be changed periodically, and if they can't DIY, they go to "professionals" (Well, they may actually go to a truly professional shop, but most dweebs will go to a "Stupid Lube" chain and get what they pay for and deserve - but I digress).
But that same dweeb expects the coolant, the radiator hoses, etc. to last the life of the car. They won't, and most better manufacturers specify replacement of these items by age if not by mileage. But the uninformed car "user" (not a driver by a long shot) ignores this.
They already do. Go get a Prius and drive it conservatively and there's not much that needs replacing. Spark plugs are a scheduled maintenance item at 100k on the the Prius. We'll see, I replaced spark plugs at 80k on the Mazda. Maybe I could have cleaned them off, sharpened and regapped. Given how little a spark plug actually costs, however, there's no point to it. Just buy new ones for $10. It isn't worth the time to clean, sharpen the ends, and regap. Regenerative brakes take care of needing to replace brake pads although you can make a huge difference just by adjusting driving habits. It's entirely possible to do the majority of driving without using the friction brakes much at all. Many people go 100-200k without changing brake pads with a combination of driving style and doing a lot of freeway miles. Even if you do a lot of stop and go urban driving while you won't hit the same miles as someone doing most freeway, you can go much longer than someone doing the same type of driving without regenerative brakes. Oil/water/power steering pumps all last a long time. At 140k on the Mazda I replaced none of those. Fluids and filters need replacing. Supposedly the Prius is good for life for transmission fluid. I'm not sure I buy that. Given how easy it is to crack the transmission housing though if you take it to a mechanic it probably causes more harm than good which is personally why I believe Toyota does not recommend touching the transmission fluid. If I touch it, I'll just do a simple drain and refill.
Suspension biggest thing would be to invest in proper road maintenance. They take a beating because most of the roads in this country are crap. If you go somewhere like Pleasanton which is one of the few places that has adequate money as it's got a lot of new development and has no issue charging developers tens of thousands of dollars in development impact fees, roads are fantastic. Easiest way would be to just raise the gas taxes and start charging government agencies those gas taxes rather than waiving them as is usually done.
Skip all the fancy electronic and infotainment stuff as much as possible. Basic cars already do better there as they don't have things like adaptive/leveling suspension. Take Mercedes ABC (Active Body Control). It's amazingly good but also not very reliable and very expensive. It's not something that is necessary anymore than the all-in-one infotainment systems are. That said, infotainment systems can be reliable especially if more basic and not tied into critical electrical systems that need to function like adaptive suspension. 2nd generation Prius has problems with headlights turning off intermittently, 3rd generation likes to burn oil which is common with cars using 0-20w oil. They're otherwise very reliable. I have a friend that's just rolled over 300k and it's still working. Water pump is starting to make noise and probably will need to be replaced. The car was bought used with 180k on it, so it's possible (probably likely) it's on its second water pump. 3rd gen uses an electrical rather than mechanical belt driven pump so it's no longer an issue. The inverter was problematic and recalled on the 2nd generation Prius and hasn't been much of an issue with 3rd generation cars.
Of course, all of those things CAN be done, and will increase the reliability of even a Yugo.
Are you implying that for the past couple of decades, it is the owners of Toyotas and Hondas that are more conscientious, and that is why those makes give the illusory impression that they are more reliable?
Supposedly the Prius is good for life for transmission fluid. I'm not sure I buy that. .
I have seen this on a few cars. Cadillac being one. It was an automatic transmission made in France.
Whew ! Lifetime transmission fluid. Who in their right mind buys a Cadillac with an automatic transmission made in France? Good luck with that.
The Saturn Ion had "lifetime" automatic transmission fluid. No dip stick. But READ the manual.
60,000 to change if hard use - whatever that means. Higher miles on odometer if "normal" use.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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There are many more parts that could be made in a manner that would last a lot longer, such as radiator hoses, belts and suspension parts. In fact some, such as Urethane bushings are available that last longer than rubber. The problem is twofold. First, with higher quality parts the cost would be higher and cars would become much more expensive. The other problem, of course, is that the dealers would lose a lot of revenue from parts and service.
Planned obsolesce is the name of the game. I know only one company that build cars "to last 100 years". At least, they were, till they got bought out and now who knows.
The cost would be astronomical to build a vehicle that lasts a lifetime. And why would any automaker want to do that anyway? Less vehicles being bought is not a good business plan. People don't even want to pay more for quality products that are made in the USA that last longer. They like buying china made products over and over and over again. So where would these buyers of such an expensive vehicle coming from? Unless you are just trying to target the rich.
You must be a young person. In my generation, if a car lasted 75.000 miles you had an incredible car. Most were near junk by 50,000 miles and needed a major over haul. The engine issue was the lead in the gas was also a wear agent that got washed into the oil. Kinda like throwing a hand full of sand in the oil with every tank of gas. Brakes lasted about 20-25,000 miles as did water pumps and generators. But if you knew yer stuff, they were all rebuildable at home. Tune ups like points and condenser were 12-15,000 miles if you had a normal car. My 34 Coupe was every 5,000 miles. Tires lasted about 18-20,000 miles on most cars. Batteries were 2 years tops.The cars of today are the best built and longest lasting that have ever been made. You're looking a gift horse in the mouth thinking that todays cars are a short life vehicle. There's a lot of things that we didn't have back then. Like air conditioning, power brakes, power steering, electric windows, electric door locks, electric trunk release, navigation, back up cameras and radio. Yeah, some of the high end cars had the power stuff but the average Joe couldn't afford those. Geez, I even remember when a heater was an option. Mirrors on both sides of the cars were optional otherwise it was on the drivers side only. Even full size hubcaps were an option while today most come with mag style wheels. Most radios were AM only and had one speaker in the dash, and it was an option, not a standard. Be glad you have the reliability of the cars today. A lot of the cars from my era wouldn't even start when the weather got damp. You'd be walking if you hit a puddle the wrong way and water splashed up on the engine. Yeah, you must be a young person.
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