Consumer Reports survey of a half million owners puts Honda in the middle of the pack for reliability right now, ranked 15 of 29 brands. Certain models are more problematic, i.e. the Odyssey and the Clarity.

Cars of yore might have made it to 100K, but the dog would get pissed from the road spray coming through the floorboards on a rainy day. Now, in my area of the country, its rare to see a vehicle with significant body rust, even really old cars. The last one I saw was a mid-1980's model Toyota Tacoma with rust holes you could see through. Or an old Datsun. Man, you could hear those things rust.

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Originally posted by jigray3:
Consumer Reports survey of a half million owners puts Honda in the middle of the pack for reliability right now, ranked 15 of 29 brands. Certain models are more problematic, i.e. the Odyssey and the Clarity.

With Honda being in the middle of the pack what are the more reliable vehicles these days?

CW

I still think Honda and Toyota are better than Ford and Chevy, etc.

But not what they used to be. I had a 2005 Toyota Tundra Limited that I loved but It needed about 8,000 in repairs at 100,000. It also had a clunking noise once in a while when I shifted into Drive. So I decided to buy a different vehicle. If you spend enough money they will go 200-300 thousand but Im guessing there are very few out there that do it without haveing to spend considerable money!!

My wifes 2003 Oddysys was pretty good. Had a recall on the paint. pretty much only spent money on brakes and tires. Then the tranny went out at 100,000. We replaced it for 3 grand and then a dump truck tandem trailer came unhitched and totaled it.

Everybody can turn our a turd once in a while. We had a ‘11 Pilot with over 200,000 before we let it go and bought an ‘19 Acura RDX. It had multiple failures including a fuel pump within the 9 months we had it. My lost confidence in it and dumped it and bought another Pilot.

We both had Toyota Highlanders at one time and mine was horrible and her’s was great. She’d probably still have it if it wasn’t totaled in a rear end collision.

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Originally posted by Beancooker:
I just find this humorous.

When I grew up, if a vehicle made it to a 100k, it was a miracle, seriously, a God given miracle.

My wife still gets rid of vehicles around 30k or less. At 50k she’s stressed.

If a vehicle makes it 100k, isn’t that life expectancy? What are we wanting? 200k?

I’m not trying to be an ass, but I don’t expect 100kout if anything.

I don’t know how old you are but while I agree with the first part of that statement, everything else you said is way off base.

I buy a car to use in outside sales, lots of miles (40K-45K a year). When I buy a car I expect a least 250K out of it, the life of the loan. The best cars for that are Asian, I’ve driven a Honda to 250K. The best so far was a Hyundai I got 284,000 miles out of. The only reason I gave it up was because it needed a clutch, I have no doubt if I wanted to fix that I could’ve kept going easily.

I currently have a Subaru with 180,000+ on it and the only things I’ve done to it were maintenance and a couple of CV axles.

Honda and Toyota quality are still very good - but not what it was 10 years ago. Domestic brands like Ford and Chevy have closed that gap significantly.

Quality is a very subjective term. Yes, most vehicles can make it past 100K - but at what expense and how does that vehicle feel/drive at 100K. I always felt that one of the biggest differences between Honda products and other domestic brands was the the fact that the vehicle felt and drove at 150K exactly the same as it did when I took it off the lot.

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Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

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Kids these days...

It was bad enough in the 70's and 80's, but if you grew up in the 50's and 60's, trust me, 100K was a bonafide, get you on the evening news miracle! Depending on where you lived, it was a tossup as to whether the drive train would wear out or the body would rust out first.

IMHO, the major change that impacts vehicle longevity these days is fuel injection and computer controls. Lots of other things figure in like metallurgy, improved lubricants, improved machining, etc. but getting rid of carburetors was HUGE.

BUT, Don Draper knows better. LOL

All the cars and pickup trucks I first drove and road around in were from the 60's and I guarantee you they all had more than 60K miles at the time. My first car was a '72 I might not be a 50's and 60's automotive expert such as yourself - but the notion that a 60's car was "Shot" by 60K miles is a bit of a stretch. Note to self, NEVER buy a used car from ZZMICHAEL...

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Originally posted by egregore:
When a car note goes 5, 6, 7 years with half a grand or more payments, it had better go >100K before needing major work like an engine or transmission. Nothing like a major repair before your car is even paid for.

As I recall years ago car loans were 2 or 3 years rarely 4. 1970’s. American cars were mostly beautiful and not made very well. A lot of the maintenance on those cars could be (easily) done. Then came the Japanese invasion. Over time they were very reliable. Cars became more reliable and prices went up. Car loans today can be ridiculously long. 100k should be easily expected. 200k plus at today’s prices and loan lengths should be required.

Engines from the 1950s and 1960s commonly went only 40-60K before needing a valve job, and the rings and cylinders would be worn out by 100. Modern engines should (and usually do unless neglected) far outlast that. So should an automatic transmission. As for Honda specifically, they do - or did - have some problems. Automatic transmissions on ~2000-07 models are often done in by around 110-120K, and problems with some V6 engines have been mentioned.

Honda transmissons have been problematic since 2000 to the present. Do a google search you'll see.Check out the newer CRV.

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Originally posted by Bob at the Beach:
Cars became more reliable and prices went up. Car loans today can be ridiculously long. 100k should be easily expected.

Prices of new cars have far outpaced inflation. You can almost 100% attribute it to the mandates and features that are now standard, more so than to increased build quality. Disc brakes here, air bags there, A/C almost standard, a backup camera, etc, etc. I'm not saying we wouldn't want those Federal mandated safety features, but it does account for much of the new car inflation.

If you add in a new car's features with the increased durability/economy, a new car is a far better value than a car of the fifties and sixties.

I gave my kids my used civics when they went away to college. Both cars lasted 12 them years. I am a certified mechanic and serviced both diligently. Mobil 1 oil/filter at 5k miles, new permanent antifreeze (silicon free), trans fluid changes, timing belt and water pump changes. I did all fluid changes when required. Both civics died before 200k miles due to a cracked block. Honda has issues with this. My dealer said they are 300k cars. Maybe at a point in time, but not mine. They were good cars, but not any better than my American cars which I usually sold after 150k-175k miles.

Toyota seems to be tops in most categories.