Of all the things we want our cars to be, “reliable” is always way up at the top of the list. No matter how narrowly focused a car may otherwise be as an off-roader or street carver or luxurious cruiser or something else, the one thing we’d all like the machine to do is start, run, and return us home (or to the finish line or trailhead) without breaking down or failing to start in the first place.
And when it comes to daily drivers and work vehicles, nothing trumps reliability. No one can afford to be late or miss a job with any regularity. Everyone needs reliable transportation, and a reputation for reliability can only be earned. No amount of marketing can spin a car that lets customers down into one they can count on.
For a lot of buyers, that means Honda and Toyota top their preferred brands list, though they aren’t the only reliability stars. Getting more granular, specific models like Civic, Corolla, Accord, and Camry are singled out for bulletproofness. More knowledgeable car buyers might advise budget-conscious shoppers to look for anything with a Buick 3800 V6 for day-in, day-out infallible transpo.
No matter what advice you’ve gotten or like to give about which cars can be counted on and which to avoid, there are always surprises. A low-mile Corolla that somehow becomes the bane of your motoring existence. The high-mileage luxury European car everyone told you not to buy has, incredibly, never let you down. And so, today we’re asking What Supposedly Super-Reliable Car Was A Lemon For You (And Vice Versa)?
Says Matt,
People always complain about old German luxury cars, but my 240k-mile BMW is great. I treat it like a Honda Civic and, other than a flare up here or there, it acts like a Honda Civic. I realize by saying this I’m dooming myself.
I fully expect that Matt’s BMW, now jinxed, will strand him within a fortnight. (Yeah, I say “fortnight” now.)
David, meanwhile, had a terrible experience with what shoulda been a no-worries ride:
I bought a 1995 Honda Accord; it was, to this day, the biggest piece of shit I’ve ever owned. Everything broke at once, and it wasn’t that easy to fix. I loathed it. And the fifth gear synchro didn’t work. Could it have been abused? Sure. But that doesn’t excuse it abusing me.
Matt piped in:
Between a Honda Accord and Saturn Vue, I would not have picked the Vue as the reliable daily. Who would?
Stephen also hated an Accord. Am I taking crazy pills?
One of my most-difficult to own/fix was one that ha sa reputation for not breaking. ’08 Honda Accord Sedan, I bought it off of a local door guy that had just gotten in a RF fender-bender (with accompanying DUI) and hit the local Pick n Pull to piece it back together. Fender, headlight, bumper cover, fender skirt, brackets, etc. Once it was back together and painted, I kept getting an transmission shifting issue that pointed towards the speed sensor. Popped a new one in, same issue. The part I purchased had the same dimensions and connections as the one it replaced, so I figured there must be some other internal issue with that transmission. Sold the car for cheap with the concern. Later, I learned that Honda uses both an input and output speed sensor on that transmission that both use the exact-same pigtail connector and are identical! Of course the sensor that I had swapped out was The Good One (Input) and all the next owner had to do was swap out the Output sensor. A solid learning experience.
Your turn! What Supposedly Super-Reliable Car Was A Lemon For You (And Vice Versa)?
Top graphic: Toyota
First new car I ever bought(it was really my ex’s car) was a Saturn SC2 5spd. Had it for two years and when I trade it in the rear main seal was already heading south. Not sure if it was every super reliable for others but that failure so soon was surprising.
I have examples of both cases.
2024 CR-V Hybrid (Owned from new, Nov 2023):
-Big water leak in the rear cargo area
-Injector contamination causing huge misfire and CELs
-Door jamb paint chips from the factory
-Broken cargo area trim from the factory
-EPS recall
2014 Cayman (owned from May 2020):
-Regular maintenance
-Replaced battery
My 1980 Triumph Spitfire was pretty darn reliable. Started up every time and when something broke it was always an easy fix.
My 1987 Bronco was garbage.
My 1978 MGB Roadster has been SUPER reliable. The damn thing starts every time and I have never had an issue. The wiring has been hacked apart and butt connectored together by a previous owner but somehow it all works so I don’t touch it. The only work I have ever had to do is replace consumables, tune the carbs, and rebuild the brake calipers. Oh, the horn doesn’t work and the speedometer is fucked but who needs those anyways.
2007 Toyota Sienna. 2GR-FE is regarded as a good engine, commanding quite a premium over a similar Chrysler or Kia. Mine came with a secret add-on, a reduced-weight head gasket.
Is that enough to make the entire vehicle into a lemon? Probably not. It may not even be Toyota’s fault, as the previous owner could have overheated it.
But for me it was an expensive headache, the exact kind of headache that one is supposed to avoid after paying the “Toyota Tax.” YMMV.
P.S. – Torch’s article about the HVAC in this series of van is spot-on. The system is poorly labeled, and I have often made the exact same mistake that he made.
1998 Saturn SL1 with a 5MT. Purchased it off lease at 36k miles in late 2001. The dealer had just changed the oil. 500 miles later, it threw a connecting rod. Saturn picked up most of the tab for a rebuilt motor but I was just done with that car and the brand died shortly thereafter anyway. Traded it on a 2002 Alero with the 2.2L Ecotec and a 5 speed (and that car lasted 150k miles – a pesky grounding issue and a lot of rust caused me to sell it).
Early ’90s Toyota Corrolla. Everything broke, none of it covered by the “warranty” and the dealerships were so miserable to work with (one mech called my wife a bitch to her face) that I will never own another Toyota.
I can understand how bad this can be. I drove a Land Cruiser 200 V8 as a rental and that truck recieves the award for the ‘best overrated SUV ever’. Why, because?
Transmission was incredibly difficult to shift , steering it was horrible, truck shook at speeds of 120km/h (but the loyalists are quick to deny it..).
I forgot to say that the throttle response was atrocious as well…from a stop. The only things positive were its JBL speakers and the V8 engine roar, plus turning radius.
Kaizen DOES NOT MEAN a vehicle like this should shake at high speeds. And the door was having weird noises closing, interior looked pretty atrocious as well…with the wood peeling off….
I drove a Y62 Patrol VQ40 as a rental later and that was MILES ahead in nearly everything, maybe not in power but certainly EVERYTHING felt solid and put well together. Only negative was the lack of a backup camera…
My 3rd gen Tacoma. Almost immediately after purchasing new the rear end howled and the local dealer just said it’s what trucks did as if I wasn’t familiar with a truck. I had to take it in and show the service advisor that the center section would get HOT. They finally opened it up only to see it was super low on oil from the factory. They had to replace the whole axle assembly.
Water leaked in via the 3rd brake light, it ate an AC compressor and sheared off 2 blower motor fans, the transmission required multiple re programmings cause it would never actually shift into 6th gear as well it aggressively “catching” gears on coast downs, had a recall or TSB for lack of corrosion protection on the frame, and the front end wouldn’t keep alignment.
The only thing that made ownership semi-acceptable was how much money I got in trade in on it after 6 years and 70k miles towards something different.
I feel like the claim that Toyotas (well, Tacomas more specifically) are super reliable is a hold over from 10-15 years ago than it is an actual truth. I want data, actual data, that shows how much more reliable they are.
That being said, a quick search on FB Marketplace shows that the resale value for them is downright bonkers.
The entire issue is that their forums are basically a cult who REFUSE to accept that Toyotas can be HEADACHES as well…
I am guessing a lot of bad ownership experiences with Toyotas people are afraid to say or are censored out….
The worst part was that Toyota and their dealers think like that too; but they actually have some level of power over you. Every trip to the dealer was a fight. My truck ended up going to something like 6 or 7 different dealers across 3 states under my ownership; none of them were good. Every service took multiple times longer than expected, they never believed your complaint that something was wrong and treated you like crap, you never got a loaner regardless of scheduled maintenance/warranty/recall work, all had beat up waiting rooms, half couldn’t keep the reservation you had, parts took forever (it was pre-covid), and after almost every fix you had to do a follow up visit to fully get the issue resolved.
I agree and understand completely…..
I feel stories like yours and others who have had bad experiences with Toyota will shine the truth on this manufacturer that NO ONE is invincible to issues….
I’m going out on a limb here and say: Jeep wrangler (YJ) Chrysler owned. I was diligent about getting oil changes every 3 or 4 years whenever I had money. Never died, never left me stranded. Tonnes of fun. 4 litre HO had plenty of power and, with the aerodynamics of a vertical 4×8 sheet of plywood, the gas mileage of a Abrams tank.
I’m sure Mr. Tracy would agree.
Everyone told me my first gen Z4 was gonna be a pain in the butt, but up until now, I’ve had very few issues.
I had to swap a valve and overhaul the cooling system, but other than that, it’s been bullet prof from 90k km to 200k km.
The Accord depends on the year, most of them are great…this is why I only like the Accords up to the 4th gen (and certain years of the newer ones) The 5th gen Accord really wasn’t as good and was known to have more problems…I didn’t like the body style as much either) My brother had the a 5th gen w/ problems and told him those weren’t as good but others are way better
My coworker’s 4th gen wasn’t bad, finally shit the bed at almost 300k miles…but it had its fair share of problems up to that point. He gave up on his 7th gen when it needed a third auto trans and the prices had gone way up; I think it only made it to 160k miles.
Now he has my previous DD, an ’06 Altima with 230k miles that drives far better than his Accord certainly did.
(I may have not explained it well)
Up to the 4th gen, so actually I love that one especially since my Dad got a 91 Accord basically new then (it was a test model w/ 1K miles so a little cheaper) It was an amazing family car all the way to 240K and still running good (that’s when it was sold)
I’ve also had 2 of the 3rd gens w/ the pop up lights/5-spds and absolutely loved those too. Basically, in general they are all great daily drivers except some very specific years/drivetrains
1995 S10 regular cab, 5-speed, no options other than the towing package (with the 4-pot…ha!). I bought the truck at 42k miles and sold it at 172k. Still regret it to this day. I offroaded it, launched it multiple times on road and off, flat-towed my 1962 CJ5 around town, move house in it multiple times, hauled motorcycles and large appliances, and it never skipped a beat. The only things I changed were the engine fan clutch (actually just switched to an electric one), actual clutch, one starter motor, and installed a Zexel Torsen LSD.
MPG hovered around 30 on the freeway and 20 in town. I sold it to a co-worker’s son who drove it for years.
Those trucks are better than the Colorado that replaced them. I heard they were bad quality from some people online when they were new, but that is what you get with a cheap product….
I once bought a Porsche 944 with over 200k on the clock and black spaghetti where the timing belt should have been. Pulled the head to inspect the damage and ended up replacing one valve, the belts/wp and all the gaskets on the way to the head.
Dailied it for a decade and in that time I only needed to replace the starter, clean out a wiper motor, and tighten a loose ground connection (I did a few other things just because I wanted to). Fun, shockingly reliable car.
2004 Monte Carlo SS, 3800 non – supercharged. I did the intake, the exhaust and the plugs, and it outran Mustangs all winter! Only rust could kill it, I couldn’t replace the whole floor pan.
I had a Chrysler PT Cruiser, which seemed like a decent car when I needed some basic transportation on the cheap. I bought it new and it had a huge amount of rebates, discounts and special financing.
On top of that at the time a certain Consumer magazine which Reports on vehicular reliability rated the PT cruiser as very reliable. In fact it may have been the only Chrysler product at the time which they recommended.
I figured the understressed big 4 cylinder and basic controls / lack of doodads meant this was a safe choice.
Unfortunately, what I got was a lemon of a PT. It had an electrical issue which caused it to stall randomly at rest or while moving at low speeds. This was an automatic so it’s not like I was to blame for the stalling. Over many long stays at multiple dealers they could not figure out how to fix the issue. Wiring harnesses, computers, fuses, all failed to remedy the issue.
First and last Chrysler, also cancelled my subscription to Consumer Reports.
Saab 900. Would have thought a quirky Sweedish sedan would have lots of problems. It did by the time we got rid of it, but that was at 260,000 miles. Good car!
Which year if I might ask?
BMW E90 335i with the N54. Other than one dreaded HP fuel pump failure (covered under warranty) it was shockingly reliable for the 106K miles that I owned it. I preemptively changed the water pump at 90k miles, but everything else was standard consumable stuff.
Not mine, but my dad’s 2002 Honda Civic coupe. When he bought it, he didn’t realize the previous owner had done zero maintenance of any sort ever. I don’t care how reliable a car is supposed to be, if you abuse anything like that it will become a lemon, and my dad’s Civic was no exception. The first couple years he owned it were a disaster, it was always breaking down and our mechanic at the time just fired the parts cannon at whatever the next most likely broken part was to see if that would fix the problems. But then… as if by magic… after those few brutal years, the problems just… stopped. Turns out, if you fire the parts cannon enough, eventually it’s good and reliable again! We still have the car to this day, though it belongs to my sister now. 260k miles and counting.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, I ignored everyone who said classic American cars were unreliable and bought an unrestored 1966 Ford Thunderbird as my first car. Odometer broke at 90k miles, surely had well over 100k when I bought it, engine had been rebuilt once by someone who didn’t know what they were doing and made bad decisions such as reusing the old piston rings so none of them sealed properly. The car took 10 minutes to start and warm up every morning, got 5 mpg, ran on 7 cylinders with low compression and one with zero… and never failed to get me where I was going and back.
I have never known another car that cared less about how well it was running. The Thunderbird was built like a tank and didn’t understand the concept of death. Didn’t matter how bad it got, it just kept going and doing its job. Nevertheless, I was aware it was not working the way it should, so I took the engine apart to replace the piston rings and that snowballed into a full engine rebuild pretty quickly. The bearings were shot, the valve guides were “the worst we’ve ever seen” according to the machine shop tasked with rebuilding the cylinder heads, and overall it was a miracle the engine ran in any capacity, let alone well enough to actually use… And yet, it did. Didn’t even overheat, just persevered through every adversity.
Post-rebuild, the engine now gets significantly better fuel economy, has a lot more power, and doesn’t take nearly as long to start or warm up, but unfortunately other things like wiring have resulted in the car sitting for long periods of time while money is saved for repairs. Nevertheless, it always starts back up with a little gas squirted down the carb, even if it hasn’t done so for a year. When the apocalypse happens, my V8 interceptor will be the ’66 T-bird that refuses to die. Most persistent car I’ve ever owned or will likely ever own.
Currently, Genesis G70 3.3T. Drivetrain has been perfect but have had it in the shop at least 12x the past 18 months. So. Many. Stupid. Things. Door trim, weatherstripping, sunroof 3x, brakes, 2 infotainment screens, seatbelt retractor, lots of rattles and many other things. I can never remember it all. Oh, and it got $10k in hail damage at the dealer, waiting for parts.
Also, ’97 Acura Integra. My first personal car. Bought used at 70k miles. It was a shitbox from the beginning. All sorts of problems and couldn’t wait to get rid of it 18 months later. In its defense, the car was a rebuilt title and had my dad known that he never would’ve let me buy it.
Surprisingly reliable? All 3 of my Mustangs. All V8’s, of course. I beat the shit outta them and they never complained. Same for my Mk7 GTI. Now for my Mk7.5 GTI???
Aren’t V8 Mustangs generally considered reliable if not abused? I remember they’d always make Consumer Reports’ “best buy” lists for used cars in the ‘00s.
My hand me down 1991 Buick Regal sedan was a turd. The 3.8 v6 ran great but everything else seemed to fail/fall apart.
It was 10 years old at the time and the odometer gave up the ghost at 94k miles around when Clinton got reelected but before we learned about the oral office blow jobs. Im guessing it had between 170 to 180k miles on it.
Anyways the a/c compressor went out, transmission rebuilt(might be on my 16 year old self driving like them duke boys), fuel pump, alternator, couple other random issues that left me walking. Also car had THE SHITTIEST brakes, even when it was new. I think they were so bad GM lost a class action lawsuit. Seemed like about every two years it was time for brakes with that car
Another happy VUE owner here. After some teething in the first year (2003, so really a brand new model), it was a great daily for 12 years. I had the Ecotec 2.2 and the manual transmission, and both of those are pretty solid. I wouldn’t touch the CVT.
Our inlaws’ Vue needed the CVT replaced twice before 100K miles. GM stood behind it though.
1st gen Honda Insight. During my 13 years of ownership it consumed four IMA batteries and only one under warranty. The second failure was less than a month after the extended eight-year warranty expired and the dealer showed no remorse about it. Also had a bad input shaft bearing failure on the transmission and I had to replace the struts before it ticked over 100k miles.
A true moonshot of a car, but NiMh batteries were not the hotness everyone hoped they were.
1999 Toyota Tacoma SR5…. total P.O.S.! replaced 2 steering racks before I figured out myself there was a clog in the pump reservoir (apparently common on other Toyotas). Then the FRAME evaporated right at the leaf spring mounts. 6 weeks past when Toyota would honor the buy-back/repair, which was a few years after the dealer inspected the truck and “confirmed the VIN was not affected”
As a traveling salesman, I bought a Toyota Camry frrom a wholesaler that had 7000 miles as a rental company buyout. After reading the warranty, I realized that the transmission required a $300 service every 15,000 miles, which would have been at least twice a year. I sold it within weeks.
Our WORST car ever was a brand new, Hyundai Excel. It was either an 1987 or 1988 model, after all of the years trying to forget this pile, now I cannot recall what model year it was… At that time, I was still very active in racing and I’d cashed a $25,000 winners check that week. I bought myself a brand new, 1988 Toyota Hilux 4×4 Pickup. The Hyundai Excel for my Mrs? I begged her to buy a brand new Toyota MR2! I begged her to buy a new Fiero. I begged her to buy a new Z28… nope! Our first
Ouch. MR2!