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German engines: Not as good as you think.

German cars lose out in reliability survey - Telegraph

Quote:

German cars are not as reliable as their reputation suggests. That's according to one warranty provider, which has studied its database to reveal the makes of cars most and least likely to have engine problems. Warranty Direct, which with 50,000 policies on its books, claims that Audis, BMWs and Volkswagens have some of the least reliable engines available.

Indeed, among the cars owned by its policy holders, the only engines to have failed more than Audis were those from the now defunct MG Group. In total 1 in 13 of MG Rover motors failed in the past year, and problems presented themselves in 1 in every 27 Audi engines. Mini was the third least reliable with a failure rate of 1 in 40, while BMW finished seventh (1 in 45) and Volkswagen ninth (1 in 52).

The most reliable engines came from Honda, with a failure rate of just 1 in 344, with Toyota in second (1 in 171) and, maintaining some honour for the German brands, Mercedes in third (1 in 119).

The company also pointed out the high cost of repair that can be associated with engine problems. In its highest claim, which was for a Range Rover Vogue, an engine failure cost $20,000.

Engine failures are the biggest fear for any motorist as they're the ones that can lead to the most astronomical costs because of the parts and hours or labour required to fix them. The number of failures may be low compared to areas such as axle and suspension damage but engine repairs almost always result in costs reaching the thousands for motorists who aren't covered by a warranty.

Engine reliability - top 10 brands.

1. Honda (failure rate: 1 in 344)

2. Toyota (failure rate: 1 in 171)

3. Mercedes-Benz (failure rate: 1 in 119)

4. Volvo (failure rate: 1 in 111)

5. Jaguar (failure rate: 1 in 103)

6. Lexus (failure rate: 1 in 101)

7. Fiat (failure rate: 1 in 85)

8. Ford (failure rate: 1 in 80)

9. Nissan (failure rate: 1 in 76)

10. Land Rover (failure rate: 1 in 72)

Engine reliability - bottom 7 brands

1. MG Rover (failure rate: 1 in 13)

2. Audi (failure rate: 1 in 27)

3. Mini (failure rate: 1 in 40)

4. Saab (failure rate: 1 in 40)

5. BMW (failure rate: 1 in 45)

6. Volkswagen (failure rate: 1 in 52)

7. Mitsubishi (failure rate: 1 in 59)

:devil:

Kind of glad i sold the Nissan and bought a honda after reading that...

The gap between Toyota and Lexus reliability :suspicious:
I always assumed Lexus was more reliable or should be on par...

200k kms and the 2jz still going strong :fullofwin:

.. who buys a BMW/Audi for it's reliability and maintenance costs?

Honda for life. As long as you do routine maintenance, you can expect your engine to last forever.

hmmm.. surprised mitsubishi is at the least reliable... their new 4B11 motors are pretty reliable so far from what ive seen.... and its used throughout their current line up

^ Well you coudl also say that it is like top 12 or something. 10th is 1 in 72 for failure and bottom 7 is 1 in 59...

Who in the world would ever have thought that Germany engines were reliable? Even without doing any formal polls, I would have known that Honda and Toyota were the most reliable brands.

But now, I am kind of surprised to see Mercedes that high up though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Traum (Post 8142047)

Totally agree, everyone knows that its best to own a german car brand new and then sell it 3-4 years later.

Unless they mean right out of the factory with this failure and not long term tests.

...Subaru didn't make the top ten list. :alone:

At least we aren't in the bottom :)

It wasn't always this way though. The BMW 6 cylinder engines from the 80s and 90s were beyond bulletproof. There are 3 mid 90s M3s for sale in Vancouver alone with over 300,000ks on the original motors! My racecar had 180,000 miles (289,000kms approx) on the original drivetrain and had phenomenal leakdown and compression numbers. I don't know when it changed but I would definitely be a bit more nervous with more modern european cars than I would be with the glory-day models.

No surprise, especially because nobody follows the maintenance and oil change schedule in the manual.

Oh, Mitsubishi. Good ol' crankwalk.

im surprised that mazda didnt make the list, all the lost apex seals would not approve

Quote:

Originally Posted by ts14 (Post 8142099)

im surprised that mazda didnt make the list, all the lost apex seals would not approve

I think Mazda is quite a small player over in the UK. Besides, the RX-8 is such a niche car that even if all their engines blew, they'd still only amount to a fraction of Mazda's total sales over there.

For the most part, the MZR range of engines are quite reliable.

this is just engine failure, not overall car problems.
when consumer reports did overall reliability tests, toyota, scion, lexus, mazda, and i believe subaru came out on top.

Quote:

Originally Posted by unit (Post 8142117)

this is just engine failure, not overall car problems.
when consumer reports did overall reliability tests, toyota, scion, lexus, mazda, and i believe subaru came out on top.

And I think Jeep came out at the bottom.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FRESHvibe (Post 8142058)

...Subaru didn't make the top ten list. :alone:

Too many people buying accessports and cranking up the boost til they lose a piston :fullofwin:

Just surprised by the gap between Honda and Toyota.

What do they qualify as an "engine failure"? I find it hard to believe that 1 in 27 Audis needs a new engine or 1 in 45 BMW's do. Or does having a CEL light come on that requires a new sensor or ignition coil count as a "failure"?

Quote:

Originally Posted by dangonay (Post 8142319)

Agreed.

The article is very vague and does not get into specifics. For all we know, it could be because the person who owned the vehicle didn't close the gas cap and in turn, freaks out because there's a CEL on the dash.

Catastrophic failure like a piston punching a hole through the hood - okay. I get it. But the article in itself should be taken lightly, if at all.

This is from a aftermarket Warranty provider. How many people by a after market warranty for a new BMW?

^ Trust me, a LOT of people do.