Are new cars less reliable ths days?

[rustic]

On thursday evening we travelled back from Oxford to Staffordshire and due to accidents and traffic we ended up detouring and the journey overall took nearly twice as long.
Over the journey we saw the police and ambulances attending around 5 different accidents, one, a motor cycle and also we noticed there were many broken down cars at the side of the road. We thought there had been an EMP pulse, which had disabled cars and peoples brains...:augie
It had rained so maybe the weather was responsible for most of the accidents and breakdowns.
Yesterday evening, FRIDAY :doh we had to travel to Heathrow to collect a family member, we then started to count the break downs, on our side alone we counted 20 vehicles, which included three transit type vehicles, an artic truck, the rest were saloon or hatchback cars. Not a single 4x4.

There was a lot of standing water, most difficult to detect, but forward planning ie looking ahead at the road contours, gave a big clue as to where the water was going to accumulate. However most drivers were on auto pilot, just following the car brake lights in front..:doh
We just cruised at 60 mph where possible and let them get on with it:nenau

So are there more problems with cars, was it standing water, or with modern cars, is it just a case of... the ecu decides it wants a rest and shuts everything down...?

Give me the old technology.. but of course, at a cost...
In fuel and emissions.

Rustic

 

[jims-terrano]

Totaly agree with points youve raised Rustic. I do think that modern cars are less reliable, possibly due to the technology. As they age they get worse far quicker than they used to. Its not in the manufacterers interest for people to keep a vehicle for 19 years plus is it. I think we went through a time when most vehicles were fantastic and very reliable but that couldnt carry on.

Only my opinion of course.

 

[terrano bob]

yep I agree with both post :thumbs

 

[johnb5177]

I fear that the increasing involvement of electronics, ecu`s, in modern cars leads to increasing unreliability. I have worked in micro electronics in the comms industry, and a similar problem here, with mass production, comes higher statistical errors in manufacturing (`manufacturing spread`), it may give lower emissions by micro control.......but I have always been concerned when it all goes wrong.....bring back good engineering and simplicity.....please......:bow

 

[John B]

Is it me or are most of the cars broken down on the side of the roads peugeot's

 

[rustic]

....but I have always been concerned when it all goes wrong.....bring back good engineering and simplicity.....please......:bow

Go back to the 70's when the only thing that went wrong were the points, or associated parts like distributor cap, rotor arm, leads etc BUT the trouble is..... you were messing with the cars EVERY week, and when they broke down, at the side of the road too.
A bulb and a piece of wire was the only technology you needed to fix all electrical problems, oh and one spare 35 amp fuse.
There were only two fuses in cars back then, one which was live all the time, headlights, horn etc and the other which went through the ignition switch, which also powered the radio, wipers, ignition and indicators.

To " hot wire " a car in those days was very complex... you just linked the two fuses together....:doh

 

[bry]

Ah Nostalgia, it ain't what it used to be..Lol.

 

[Bigbunny2007]

They are far more reliable these days in my opinion, my local taxi firm have cars with 300,000 + and are still going strong. Brake downs happen, Fact! you see more brake downs because the amount of cars on the road is higher than ever. Main one for me is how the car/vehicle or machine is maintained and how its used!!!

 

[AlexD333]

It is down to service history on used cars, if properly looked after, you have to expect failing components with age, that's a given,

But yes I agree that new car components are made very cheaply these days and every corner is cut to save costs :doh

 

[macabethiel]

Overcomplication of modern cars

I agree modern cars are not as reliable. I am constanltly amazed at how many of the new Mercedes Models break down.
Not sure what the parts count is on a new car compared to the old but if you have more components to a vehicle its more to fail ?
Look at old versus new ignition systems.
In the old days you had a distributor with points and rotor arm, a coil withHT leads and LT leads and a set of plugs. If you broke down simple roadside fix with a nail file and screwdriver.
Now you have on some models a coil pack one for each spark plug with LT loom for same. A crank position sensor, ECU, Ignition Module and cold start solenoid,. Stop Start System with aux battery.If it fails there is nothing you can do at the roadside.
Take the modern take on an ignition switch. Old type was a simple mechanical switch that you could fiddle with to get your car going - hot wire !!
Now you have an EIS (Electronic Ignition Switch) unit that is paired to the ECU with a sort of key thingy.
Instead of a contact failing and a roadside fix you might need a new EIS unit a cool £500-£1000 a shot and if you are unlucky a new ECU that costs more than a 6 year old car is worth. New key around £300 !!

In my view its all so complex due to new emissions etc and retailers do not want DIY they want you to go to the main dealer and shell out £100 or more an hour for labour plus an extra 20% VAT for MR Cameroon.

 

[Terrano Steve]

Is it me or are most of the cars broken down on the side of the roads peugeot's

I have often thought the same, also when you see a car with only one headlight it is nearly always a Peugeot or Citroen, How is that possible:nenau

 

[rustic]

I have often thought the same, also when you see a car with only one headlight it is nearly always a Peugeot or Citroen, How is that possible:nenau

I have a theory on this...
as our Picasso got through a few head light bulbs...:doh

When you flick from dipped to full, it has a toggle action, so you pull it towards you for full, then pull it towards you again to revert back to dipped.
Now as you pull it towards you, half way, you actually get both filiaments illuminated together, so can be useful for additional light, or you only wanted full beam for a few seconds, say if another vehicle is just out of sight.

However... having both filiaments lit at the same time for only a few seconds, can overheat both filiaments, and since dipped beam is used the most, then that filiament is, more likely to blow first, and after very low hours.

The Maverick and Terrano are one or the other, so don't suffer that much...

Like I say only my theory...:nenau

 

[Sweety]

I'm sure older cars were more reliable & a squirt of WD40 got most going again:lol new cars have far to many electronic's that go wrong & a lot have low air intakes so easily suck up water:doh

 

[johnb5177]

Mind you......I remember the stupid location of the distributor on the Mk1 mini, that got wet and failed in 2" of water if it splashed up.......I used to spray plastic coating over mine to try and seal it all up.....

 

[AlexD333]

This is all due to humans... Because we steal everything they have tried to make it impossible to do so, even the new jag parts now are coded to the car so once it's wired to that ecu it don't be stripped and sold for another car!

 

[rustic]

Mind you......I remember the stupid location of the distributor on the Mk1 mini, that got wet and failed in 2" of water if it splashed up.......I used to spray plastic coating over mine to try and seal it all up.....

I do remember... Marigold gloves were often used, 5 fingers for the HT leads and the glove over the distributor body.:thumb2

The later minis, like the clubman, had basically a thick board, a bit like well oiled hardboard over the distributor, which worked very well, until the stupid plastic clip broke, and the board fell into the fan belt and made horrendous noises...:doh

 

[firebobby]

Modern cars use much more electronics than older ones, this make them smoother to drive and better on fuel and emissions. Modern cars are capable of very high mileage too.
I remember cars of the 60's and 70's needing to be greased up weekly, wheel bearings needing repacking, engine valves needing adjustin.

It's mostly down to servicing, most cars that you see at the road side, will have had little to no servicing in their later lives.

I love old classics ( I have a Triumph GT6) and find the look and shape of them very pleasing on the eye, but give me a modern for everyday use:thumb2

 

[jims-terrano]

I disagree that servicing is the be all and all to all of the car mechanicals. Yes servicing is very important and Im not saying it is not but Ive had cars that always got serviced and indeed a reno that had dealer servicing but still had electronic faults and also mechanical failures.

The opinion seems to agree that modern cars are suseptable to failure. The comfort levels, economy and performance are all vastly improved as a result of the technology but at the same time the very same technology has weaknesses.

I personally feel the days of cars lasting over ten years are almost over and indeed the life span will shorten as the years pass.

Question is, is this due to the instability of technology or manufacterers not wanting to build vehicles that last so long?

Ask yourselves which is the most reliable, a TD Terrano or a TDI Terrano?

 

[AlexD333]

Yes service don't stop the other bits failing, service schedules replace filters and fluids but you don't replace components until you need to, and unfortunately the components are made less sturdy today than they were years ago.

Including all these silly Chinese electrical parts that cost you 800 quid.. :doh

 

[Bedhead1157]

Is it me or are most of the cars broken down on the side of the roads peugeot's

If you want reliability, you cannot get much better than an old XUD engined Pug diesel, just throw fresh oil at it every 6k and it will keep going.

I have a theory that the manufacturers sell the public a car as a domestic appliance, our Citigo is on a finance deal, the missus will trade it in when it's 2 or 3 years old and get a new one, just like a telly or DVD player. The old one will be sold off and probably be dead before it's 6th birthday.

Increasing amounts of expensive electronics and emission control stuffwill kill most cars before they corrode of have a major mechanical failure, things like control modules and DPF filters are just money pits. Ditto dual mass flywheels, they practically killed off 2 litre diesel Vauxhalls in these parts until a relatively affordable single mass flywheel conversion came onto the market.

One of the biggest problems with vans is that they are trying to make them as comfortable as cars, a new Vivaro or suchlike is light years ahead of an old 1990's transit, but heavy work will kill them stone dead.

No doubt when the old T2 rots out, I will call it quits with driving, it's bad enough the missus forks out £140 a month for a new box with wheels without both of us doing it.