Honda, Toyota, MB, Ford top engine reliability survey

Failure is a bit inflammatory. The article is discussing engine problems. There is no distinguishing problem severity, but the study was done by a Warranty Direct, which I suspect sells extended warranties. So admitting an engine problem is just a bad spark plug wouldn't be good business.

 

Media Information

Tuesday, 15 January 2013



German manufacturers amongst least reliable for engines



German reliability is not as strong as many believe according to Warranty Direct, who found Audi, BMW and Volkswagen to have some of the least reliable engines in their cars.



The UK’s leading supplier of direct consumer warranties studied data from 50,000 live consumer policies which showed that the only engines to have failed more often than Audis in the past year were those from the now defunct MG Rover group, while the MINI finished a disappointing third from bottom. BMW and Volkswagen featured seventh and ninth from respectively in the power plant scale of shame.



At the top end of the table, Japan took the plaudits as Honda and Toyota proved to be the manufacturers with the most reliable power units, while Mercedes-Benz upheld some German honour by taking the third best accolade.



Engine repairs can be some of the most expensive to hit a driver and, amongst Warranty Direct’s customers, 1 in 13 MG Rover motors failed in the past year, while 1 in 27 Audi owners had issues with theirs. At the opposite end of the scale, just 1 in every 345 Honda owners had a problem with their power unit.



The study of motor repairs also highlighted huge potential costs for motorists. An engine failure on a Range Rover Vogue recently led to Warranty Direct’s highest claim - £12,998.46 - while one dealer quoted £14,853.60 to repair an engine on a Range Rover Sport after it failed catastrophically.



Warranty Direct Managing Director Duncan McClure Fisher said of the study: “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.”



Warranty Direct cover starts from as little as £15 a month. For more information or for a quote, go to www.warrantydirect.co.uk.

From Extended Warranty Specialists - Warranty Direct Ltd - Press Releases
Downloads only, so I pasted everything but the tables.

I'm not disputing the basic premise of the study on brand reliability. The news is coming from a company that sells extended warranties, and using failure, issue, and problem interchangeably is purposely muddying the water in hopes of increasing sales.

 

Even 1 engine failure for every 344 cars sounds high. And gasp, Toyota is double that, imagine 2 cars instead of 1.

SCH-I535

 

CR publishes general car reliability, and I believe JD Powers does so too. They both just general ratings without any specifics.

MSN Autos reports common problem areas for used models. True Delta is also a source of possible maintenance issues.

The truth is I am not worried about engine 'failure'. Between 5 cars with a total of 300 something thousand miles, I have had only 3 issues that were engine related, and could not be traced to an error on my part. The Sable and Ranger both required a new DPFE sensor, and the Taurus needed a new EGR valve. Don't know how much the EGR valve would cost. It was the tipping point for trading in 130k mile car that wasn't treated the best. The DPFE sensor was ridiculously easy to replace and only cost $100 to $120. Looking back, I might have gotten Ford to cover it for the Ranger under the federal emission warranty.

The more expensive and PITA issues I have had were wheel bearings and struts.