Car brand that burned you so bad on reliability you'd never buy again?

[slo town]

Subaru for me. My wife and I bought a new 2001 Outback while living in Colorado. A total POS. Severe clutch chatter they could never fix because of a defective flywheel, that was later recalled. In the mean time, the chatter was so bad it made first gear noisy. Then head gasket leaks. Subaru's official fix? A bottle of radiator stop leak!!! Then the wheel bearings on all four corners went bad. These were all common issues for that generation.

I maintain my divorced SIL's 2017 Outback. There is nothing I like about it. It's nothing more than an automotive appliance.

Scott

 

[bilibako2]

Hyundai 91 Sonata V6,many issues from engine/atf dripping oil,wipers ,stalls when weather 's wet rain/snow.Lost money after 1.5 years on trade.
Dodge Caravan 2001 new-transmission issues.

 

[GSCJR]

Volkswagen because my girlfriend now wife didn't listen to me.

 

[IndyIan]

My most expensive auto repair has been a head gasket on a Neon, but I still liked that car, and the replacement head gasket went to the end. I have been avoiding VW's but just based on my friends experience, as they all had plenty of annoying intermittent electrical issues, but I think the newer VW's are pretty decent.

 

[dwcopple]

Chevy consistently creates pure junk on wheels. The exception would be the Vette. Otherwise, NEVER again. $crew GM.

 

[DallasTexas]

Anything that GM make (including wheel barrow).

 

[Pew]

I've only owned two cars, one from mitsu and one from ford and both were/are relatively stout (except for the fast I blew my motor in the evo twice - but that was my fault.) I wouldn't buy a ford again though with the way they handled the DCT issues (mine is a 6-speed) and their very un-intuitive Sync infotainment UI. I wouldn't buy a Mitsu again either since all of their dealerships are morons.

 

[walterjay]

Ford. My F150 has 110,00 miles on it. Driven like a family car. I am on the 3rd transmission out of warranty. The thing vibrates at highway speeds. They replaced drive shaft under warranty but still does it and have had to live with it. Engine seeping oil since about 20K. When in cooling mode the ac always blows cold air out the bottom and freezes my feet. I duct tape over the outlet in the summer. Ford tech said nothing they can do about that. Otherwise a stellar product.

 

[PowerSurge]

Originally Posted by doitmyself
After Toyota's engine sludge debacle of the late 1990's............ "Toyota's new policy is a dramatic change from a so-called Special Policy Adjustment begun in February. Amid increasing criticism for refusing to deal with the problem, Toyota notified 3.3 million owners of the affected engines that sludge-related repairs would be covered for one year, as long as they proved the oil had been changed at least once in the previous year.

It insisted then - as it does with the new policy - that owner negligence is the cause of the problem." https://www.autosafety.org/toyota-broadens-sludge-repair-program/


Sounds familiar, huh? GM, Ford, FCA, Toyota, Honda, Kia, Hyundai, Nissan, VW, Subaru (remember the 2011+ oil consumption issue was the owners negligence?). Yes, guys, even our sacred Toyota has skeletons in their closet. Yet, people today banish a brand claiming the same reasons that people hated on Toyota a few decades age.

I think that a person has their head in the sand if they banish a brand based on their personal perceptions and/or single experience. Nearly ALL brands have a reason to banish them from your buy list. Just my opinion.


And if you do some research, as in the case of the 2.7 liter Chrysler engines and sludge, tthe vast majority of those sludge problems were lack of proper maintenance by the vehicle owners. Toyota and Chrysler replaced a lot of engines for customers that they shouldn't have.

 

[Rudy1999 250]

DODGE TRUCK, Ran great other than the Transmission... and the fact that it rusted a tad early.

 

[CBR.worm]

The only car that burned me bad enough to really be turned off by the brand was an Audi. As a point of reference, my wife's first Audi was a new D2 A8 V8, which was truly a great car for us. Her second Audi was a new B6 A4 which was such a lemon that it was a nuisance under warranty and ridiculously expensive to maintain after warranty. It was so bad that it totally erased the great experience of the A8. It drove great when it wasn't broken. I still appreciate the new Audis, but I won't buy one.

Just a few of the audi issues: New transmission at 11K miles, major oil leaks caused multiple times by failures in the PCV system under warranty. rear cam chain tensioner failure under warranty. After warranty, PCV failures costing over a thousand dollars (including cam seals, etc due to pressurizing crankcase with turbo boost), alternator pulley failure, dipstick tube broke off, right side CV axle failure. coilpack failures, valve cover gasket leaked. Hood release latch broke. Most interior surfaces were replaced under warranty, then peeled again after warranty. And the car was traded at 67K miles. It was not uncommon to try to move something and some plastic elbow or fitting would crack or break w/ minimal pressure.

Sorry, I was planning not to rant.


I had a lot of trouble with the early Ford RWD overdrive transmissions in the Aerostars, but that was one item that failed every so many miles and the van worked reliably for 50K+ miles between failures. The bad Audi was traded in with 67K miles, needing repair.

 

[wemay]

A few Volkswagen back from 95-05. But here i am, back with the affinity for the brand and driving a Passat i truly enjoy. Hopefully the Covid situation doesn't affect that purchase further since we have already taken a 20% cut and more meetings are planned.

 

[doitmyself]

Originally Posted by PowerSurge
And if you do some research, as in the case of the 2.7 liter Chrysler engines and sludge, tthe vast majority of those sludge problems were lack of proper maintenance by the vehicle owners. Toyota and Chrysler replaced a lot of engines for customers that they shouldn't have.

I "think" I partially disagree, LOL. If memory serves, I thought that engine had a PCV system problem (maybe others) that was corrected around 2003/2004 that seemed to solve the issue. But I agree that engine was a POS. My daughter owned one that got her past 140,000 miles o.k., but hers was post 2004.

But, I'll back track and state that your premise is probably often right. Owner negligence probably often aggravates weak areas of vehicles that probably would be o.k. if better preventive maintenance was performed. Some other problems, i.e., the Honda Odyssey trannies/ Subaru head gaskets, would explode no matter the amount of maintenance.

 

[EA82]

Kia (hyundai), Dodge (chrysler). Im gonna throw Lincoln out there as well, tons of electrical problem.

 

[sloinker]

Originally Posted by 14Accent
Originally Posted by sloinker
Ford, it was the E4OD transmission that was the issue but isn't the reason I hate Ford . It was my treatment by the selling dealership and the upstream managers. It took Washington states lemon law to force Ford to make it right.3 complete rebuilds in less than a year and being blamed for abusing the transmission that had never even carried or hauled a load beyond groceries. Nothing like having your transmission downshift from overdrive to 2nd at 60mph or refuse to go into overdrive and eventually crop dust the county and catch on fire.Worst automatic transmission ever built. Left a bad taste in my mouth to the point I actively wish Ford ill will.


I'm really surprised to hear that, you never hear about E4OD's going bad. I'm sure they did, but that trans went on to become the 4R100 and is considered VERY stout, even today.


1990- First year for it. $1100 option over the C6+OD. About 100% failure rate in that first year.

 

[dadto2]

Dodge. I bought a '89 Dakota with about 45k miles, rebuilt the transmission twice while I owned it. When it started failing for the third time, I traded it in for a '95 Intrepid that had 42k miles on it. I didn't test drive the Intrepid long enough to get the transmission warmed up. Once I took delivery and drove it for real, the transmission would skip then go into limp mode. Got that fixed under the lemon law. Haven't owned a Chrysler product since.

 

[cvlw]

2000 Dodge Intrepid with the infamous 2.7 liter "sludger" and "timing chain tensioner" bad apple.
This car made me understand the hard way to do intense research before buying a used vehicle.
I had to replace the timing chain, tensioner, and coolant pump twice in the ~60,000 miles I owned it before someone smashed into it while it was parked.

 

[millerbl00]

2009 Chevy HHR. Owned it a year. Stayed in the shop for 6 months out of a year. Only car I had that had a valve get bent.
2012 Chevrolet Silverado. 40000 miles rear end shot. Engine vibrations too.

 

[Barkleymut]

I have owned 1 Nissan, 1 Chrysler, 1 Plymouth ,1 Dodge, 6 Fords, 1 Honda, 1 Chevy, and 2 Saturns. Model years ranging from 1982 to 2009, all fairly reliable. I prefer Fords, but would buy almost any brand if the price was right on a solid vehicle.

Even though I have never owned a VW, I would not buy one because of the Netfix documentary that details the fraud they committed.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted by Chris142
Mitshubishi.

LOL There's another brand I'd never own. I sold a bunch of them used, and had a saying: "You want an enemy? Sell someone a Mitsubishi."