Consumer reports - car reliability 2013

[Leongsam]

http://autos.yahoo.com/news/the-10-least-reliable-cars-181031192.html

Our 2013 Annual Auto Survey reveals the best and worst vehicles in new car reliability based on our subscribers' experiences with 1.1 million vehicles over the last 10 years (2004-2013). Our data provide the basis for our forecasting how the 2014 models are likely to hold up, and reveals the most dependable used cars as well.

The vehicles listed below are the 10 least reliable new cars in our reliability survey. Predicted reliability is typically based on the newest three model years if a model hasn't been redesigned in that period, Models with an asterisk (*) are based on data of one model year only. Click on the vehicles below to visit the model overview pages to see how they performed in our tests and also view a more-detailed look at reliability broken down by 17 potential trouble spots. (Model overview pages are available to online subscribers.)

Least reliable vehicles, listed in order of Ratings score starting with the worst score.

1. Ford C-MAX Energi (Plug-in Hybrid)*
2. Ford Escape (1.6L Ecoboost)*
3. Mini Cooper Countryman
4. Ford C-Max Hybrid
5. Nissan Pathfinder*
6. Volkswagen Beetle
7. Cadillac XTS*
8. Ford Explorer (V6, 4WD)
9. Hyundai Genesis Coupe*
10. Ford Taurus (turbo)*

For more details on our 2013 Annual Auto Survey, including the full list of most and least reliable new cars by vehicle type, see our complete car reliability report. Also, check out our guide to car reliability for more details on new and used car reliability and owner satisfaction.
Copyright © 2006-2013 Consumers Union of U.S., Inc. No reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permission.

 

[Leongsam]

GM took the lead among domestic brands, while Ford faltered in this year's reliability report.​

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Japanese car brands continue to dominate in car reliability, but brands from all corners of the globe showed movement in the latest analysis. Lexus,Toyota, and Acura claim the top three spots in predicted reliability rankings by brands. But that is not to say choosing a Japanese-branded car ensures fewer problems.

In fact, we’ve seen some Japanese brands tumble, with Subaru, Scion, and Nissan all losing several positions over last-year’s rankings.

Meanwhile, Audi, having shown steady improvement in vehicle reliability during recent years, moved up four places this year to finish fourth overall—the top European carmaker in the survey. Three Audis—the A6 2.0T sedan, Q7 SUV, and Allroad wagon—have "much better than average" reliability. Volvo jumped 13 places to seventh.

Domestic brands are led by General Motors, with GMC, Buick, and Chevrolet ranking above the brands from Chrysler Corp. and Ford Motor Company. GMC is the lone domestic brand in the top 10, claiming the 9th spot. Buick is close by in 12th spot. All Buicks except the V6LaCrosse were average or better. The only dark spots for Chevrolet are the Camaro andCruze, both of which earned below-average reliability scores.

Here are the top 10:

1. Lexus
2. Toyota
3. Acura
4. Audi
5. Mazda
6. Infiniti
7. Volvo
8. Honda
9. GMC
10. Subaru

 

[SockPuppet]

I am surprised that Hyundai is not on the list. I was thinking of buying a Hyundai.

 

[Leongsam]

I am surprised that Hyundai is not on the list. I was thinking of buying a Hyundai.

Some models are more reliable than others. Which Hyundai are you eyeing?

 

[SockPuppet]

Some models are more reliable than others. Which Hyundai are you eyeing?

Was intending to buy new but given the prices have to look at the 2.7L Santa Fe used.
also tempted by the new veloster. it packs a punch for its 1.6L turbo.

 

[yellowarse]

I am surprised that Hyundai is not on the list. I was thinking of buying a Hyundai.

Korean cars are still behind the Japs and the best European and US makes when it comes to reliability. They sell because they're cheap.

 

[Leongsam]

Was intending to buy new but given the prices have to look at the 2.7L Santa Fe used.
also tempted by the new veloster. it packs a punch for its 1.6L turbo.

The new Santa Fe is on the "recommended" list at consumerreports.org

Hyundai Santa Fe

Photos

Video​

Base MSRP price range:
$24,700 - $29,700

HighsPowertrain, fuel economy, roomy and versatile cabin, access, controls, value.
LowsExpensive option package to get rear camera, tight third-row with difficult access.

See our user reviews
Already own it? Write a review


The Veloster is not rated well in the reliability department. The turbo model is rated "very poor".

 

[IamTiong]

Jap cars are ugly

 

[SockPuppet]

The new Santa Fe is on the "recommended" list at consumerreports.org

Hyundai Santa Fe

Photos

Video​

Base MSRP price range:
$24,700 - $29,700

HighsPowertrain, fuel economy, roomy and versatile cabin, access, controls, value.
LowsExpensive option package to get rear camera, tight third-row with difficult access.

See our user reviews
Already own it? Write a review


The Veloster is not rated well in the reliability department. The turbo model is rated "very poor".

This is a beautiful car. Very nice to have. Not so good to hold. Once broken, it cannot be sold.

 

[The_Hypocrite]

At least their chicks r good looking. Better than korean gals. So its an ok trade off.

Jap cars are ugly

 

[Narong Wongwan]

At least their chicks r good looking. Better than korean gals. So its an ok trade off.

You must watch alot of jap AV and/or jap drama serials.
You never been to Japan and seen fugly jap girls?
The average jap female is....just average looking.

 

[Equalisation]

You must watch alot of jap AV and/or jap drama serials.
You never been to Japan and seen fugly jap girls?
The average jap female is....just average looking.

most are bushy !:(

 

[Agoraphobic]

Personally, I'd pick a Toyota or Honda over any other make. In North America, 10 year old Honda Accords are still in demand, just spend another three or four grand to do it up and its as good as new again. In Singapore, the COE kills anyting close to a decade old when they're still good. Besides reliability, the other factor I consider when selecting a car is dealer support. On this, Borneo Motors is tops in Singapore for service, spares, blah blah. For excitement, look to two-wheels.

Cheers!

 

[The_Hypocrite]

Yeah tat why i got a jap car instead of a korean car. But the jap brand i got was not even mentioned in the report so i not sure now.

Korean cars are still behind the Japs and the best European and US makes when it comes to reliability. They sell because they're cheap.

 

[The_Hypocrite]

I never been to nippon or kim chee land but i see many of both groups of birds n in general the japs r better looking. More demure n soft spoken. The korean gals quite rough n many fuglies. Just my rants. N jap avs i know ppl talk about it. But how come no news on korean avs? Is av banned in korea?

You must watch alot of jap AV and/or jap drama serials.
You never been to Japan and seen fugly jap girls?
The average jap female is....just average looking.

 

[garlic]

Liked the car since started watching The walking dead.. guess product placement really helps..

The new Santa Fe is on the "recommended" list at consumerreports.org

Hyundai Santa Fe

Photos

Video​

Base MSRP price range:
$24,700 - $29,700

HighsPowertrain, fuel economy, roomy and versatile cabin, access, controls, value.
LowsExpensive option package to get rear camera, tight third-row with difficult access.

See our user reviews
Already own it? Write a review


The Veloster is not rated well in the reliability department. The turbo model is rated "very poor".

 

[Ash007]

Surprised to see Toyota in there. Report must have disregarded this I suppose. "But they make such realible cars, except the software that comes with it."

http://www.edn.com/design/automotive/4423428/Toyota-s-killer-firmware--Bad-design-and-its-consequences

Toyota's killer firmware: Bad design and its consequences
Michael Dunn - October 28, 2013
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On Thursday October 24, 2013, an Oklahoma court ruled against Toyota in a case of unintended acceleration that lead to the death of one the occupants. Central to the trial was the Engine Control Module's (ECM) firmware.
Embedded software used to be low-level code we'd bang together using C or assembler. These days, even a relatively straightforward, albeit critical, task like throttle control is likely to use a sophisticated RTOS and tens of thousands of lines of code.
With all this sophistication, standards and practices for design, coding, and testing become paramount – especially when the function involved is safety-critical. Failure is not an option. It is something to be contained and benign.
So what happens when an automaker decides to wing it and play by their own rules? To disregard the rigorous standards, best practices, and checks and balances required of such software (and hardware) design? People are killed, reputations ruined, and billions of dollars are paid out. That's what happens. Here's the story of some software that arguably never should have been.
For the bulk of this research, EDN consulted Michael Barr, CTO and co-founder of Barr Group, an embedded systems consulting firm, last week. As a primary expert witness for the plaintiffs, the in-depth analysis conducted by Barr and his colleagues illuminates a shameful example of software design and development, and provides a cautionary tale to all involved in safety-critical development, whether that be for automotive, medical, aerospace, or anywhere else where failure is not tolerable. Barr is an experienced developer, consultant, former professor, editor, blogger, and author.
Barr's ultimate conclusions were that:
Toyota’s electronic throttle control system (ETCS) source code is of unreasonable quality.
Toyota’s source code is defective and contains bugs, including bugs that can cause unintended acceleration (UA).
Code-quality metrics predict presence of additional bugs.
Toyota’s fail safes are defective and inadequate (referring to them as a “house of cards” safety architecture).
Misbehaviors of Toyota’s ETCS are a cause of UA.

A damning summary to say the least. Let's look at what lead him to these conclusions:

Hardware
Although the investigation focused almost entirely on software, there is at least one HW factor: Toyota claimed the 2005 Camry's main CPU had error detecting and correcting (EDAC) RAM. It didn't. EDAC, or at least parity RAM, is relatively easy and low-cost insurance for safety-critical systems.
Other cases of throttle malfunction have been linked to tin whiskers in the accelerator pedal sensor. This does not seem to have been the case here.


The Camry ECM board. U2 is a NEC (now Renesas) V850 microcontroller.
Software
The ECM software formed the core of the technical investigation. What follows is a list of the key findings.
Mirroring (where key data is written to redundant variables) was not always done. This gains extra significance in light of …
Stack overflow. Toyota claimed only 41% of the allocated stack space was being used. Barr's investigation showed that 94% was closer to the truth. On top of that, stack-killing, MISRA-C rule-violating recursion was found in the code, and the CPU doesn't incorporate memory protection to guard against stack overflow.
Two key items were not mirrored: The RTOS' critical internal data structures; and—the most important bytes of all, the final result of all this firmware—the TargetThrottleAngle global variable.
Although Toyota had performed a stack analysis, Barr concluded the automaker had completely botched it. Toyota missed some of the calls made via pointer, missed stack usage by library and assembly functions (about 350 in total), and missed RTOS use during task switching. They also failed to perform run-time stack monitoring.
Toyota's ETCS used a version of OSEK, which is an automotive standard RTOS API. For some reason, though, the CPU vendor-supplied version was not certified compliant.
Unintentional RTOS task shutdown was heavily investigated as a potential source of the UA. As single bits in memory control each task, corruption due to HW or SW faults will suspend needed tasks or start unwanted ones. Vehicle tests confirmed that one particular dead task would result in loss of throttle control, and that the driver might have to fully remove their foot from the brake during an unintended acceleration event before being able to end the unwanted acceleration.
A litany of other faults were found in the code, including buffer overflow, unsafe casting, and race conditions between tasks.

 

[Leongsam]

Surprised to see Toyota in there. Report must have disregarded this I suppose. "But they make such realible cars, except the software that comes with it."

http://www.edn.com/design/automotiv...ler-firmware--Bad-design-and-its-consequences

No system is perfect. Other manufacturers have had similar problems.

 

[Ash007]

Name one due to shonky software production like this then?

No system is perfect. Other manufacturers have had similar problems.

 

[Froggy]

The list is a surprise for me as I thought Porsche would be somewhere in the top for reliability per table shared by Leongsam. Boss in your opinion what you think happen to them suddenly?