Consumer Reports survey: Hybrids are most reliable vehicles

REWahoo

REWahoo

Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give
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I find it interesting that something as complex as a hybrid vehicle - combining an ICE and electric propulsion system - would be more reliable than an ICE vehicle or an EV. Apparently not:

Gas-electric hybrids were the most dependable vehicles sold in the U.S. in the past year, while big pickup trucks and fully electric automobiles performed the worst in Consumer Reports’ annual reliability survey.
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CR Survey Says Hybrids are Most Reliable Vehicles

CR's explanation:
Hybrids generally are tried-and-true designs with few frills, while automakers are cramming glitchy electronic features into expensive new pickups and EVs...
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FWIW, my plug-in hybrid has been perfectly reliable for the 4 ½ years I've owned it.
 
braumeister said:
FWIW, my plug-in hybrid has been perfectly reliable for the 4 ½ years I've owned it.
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+1

I purchased a one-year old hybrid earlier this year and my only issue has been with the fuel tank and gauge that wouldn't indicate full when it should have. Toyota replaced the tank, sending and receiving unit under warranty. Even got a free tank of gas out of the deal since they wanted it almost empty when I brought it in and had to fill it to test the repair! :D
 
I "may" buy one for the DW and let her try it out for a while... Now, which one to buy? I hope my car guy friends aren't reading this. :)
 
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The main consumer reports magazine here is Which? and it has published similar data over this last year or 2.

We have had 2 Prius cars covering a 12 year period and never had a single thing need fixing. First one had over 70k miles and still no significant brake wear.

Our current 5 year old Prius is being bought by our daughter as we just took delivery of a Nissan Leaf EV.
 
We are not in the market now - but the plan is that our next vehicle(s) will be hybrids.
 
My 2009 Toyota Venza (ICE obviously) has 38,000 miles on it and in the nearly 13 years I've had it, it has never had even one repair. OK, the "check engine light" went off once due to some minor switch that needed replacing but the Toyota dealer did that for me, for free. I think that "repair" was ridiculously trivial and doesn't count.

So, for me that's reliable enough and honestly I wouldn't pay $0.01 for more reliability than that. I'm on the "Team Toyota ICE" bandwagon.

:wiseone: I am 74 years old (older than Methuselah), and my Venza is still running flawlessly. I doubt I will ever need another car before I get too old to drive any more. But, if I do, it will be a Toyota. I'll research hybrids at that time from the viewpoints of cost, safety, and convenience, but right now I am heavily in favor of ICE's.
 
There are two classes of hybrid vehicles.

Non plug in, and plug in hybrids.

The plug in hybrids are relatively new to the market

The plug in hybrids have an EV only range and then revert to hybrid mode. Overall fuel

economy appears to be higher with the plug in hybrids

Volvo, Subaru, Kia, Ford, Toyota, Jeep, Chrysler, and Hyundai are some of the

companies offering plug in hybrids currently.

The range anxiety disappears with this vehicle class as one can run in hybrid ICE mode indefinitely.
 
Car-Guy said:
I "may" buy one for the DW and let her try it out for a while... Now, which one to buy? I hope my car guy friends aren't reading this. :)
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REWahoo said:
Be strong. Many of us have made the move over to the dark side and are thriving.
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Could someone explain this to me? I grew up with a bunch of guys that all had street machines--I had a '69 Roadrunner and then a '70 Cuda. Other guys in the group had a V8 Vega, Camaro SS, Boss 302 Mustang, Mach 1 Mustang, '69 Roadrunner 440-6 pack, '69 GTX 440, '68 GTO, '70 Chevelle 454, etc. etc.

All of them have a revulsion to EV's. I passed along a link to the new Dodge Charger Daytona SRT EV, they all said they hated it. Mind you, the Hellcat version is projected to go 0 to 60 in 2 seconds.

Why the love for noisy, smelly, overly complicated, (relatively) slow ICE vehicles? And hate for EV's? Because that's what they grew up with?
 
^^^^^ :LOL:

Qs Laptop said:
Could someone explain this to me? I grew up with a bunch of guys that all had street machines--I had a '69 Roadrunner and then a '70 Cuda. Other guys in the group had a V8 Vega, Camaro SS, Boss 302 Mustang, Mach 1 Mustang, '69 Roadrunner 440-6 pack, '69 GTX 440, '68 GTO, '70 Chevelle 454, etc. etc.

All of them have a revulsion to EV's. I passed along a link to the new Dodge Charger Daytona SRT EV, they all said they hated it. Mind you, the Hellcat version is projected to go 0 to 60 in 2 seconds.

Why the love for noisy, smelly, overly complicated, (relatively) slow ICE vehicles? And hate for EV's? Because that's what they grew up with?
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You forgot tire smoken. :) If you grew up with such "street machines" and still don't "get it", I don't think I (or the bunch of guys you grew up with) can explain it to you.

I would disagree with overly complicated comment... Give me a hammer, screwdriver, pliers and some duct tape and I can fix most anything on those old ICE cars, at least temporally. (Not so true on today's newer ICE vehicles)

For me, even if you forget about the issues with EV distance and charging times, it maybe resistance to change "or" maybe it's that these high power EV's are just too much for me to handle. I'll stick with my slow gas powered ICE vehicles for now. Heck my current "relatively slow" ICE vehicle tops out at a mere ~200mph, which is fast enough for me.

Oh, and I dang sure "Don't Eat Quiche".
 
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Car-Guy said:
^^^^^ :LOL:


You forgot tire smoken. :) If you grew up with such "street machines" and still don't "get it", I don't think I (or the bunch of guys you grew up with) can explain it to you.
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Oh, I totally get doing burn-outs and street racing. Been there, done it, and loved it.


I would disagree with overly complicated comment... Give me a hammer, screwdriver, pliers and some duct tape and I can fix most anything on those old ICE cars, at least temporally.
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I'm thinking of the whole camshaft/lifters/timing chain/pistons/crankshaft internal components as being complicated, along with the transmission, compared to an electric motor with direct drive. Agree that most of these cars could be MacGyvered to keep them going. And it was refreshing to open a hood and be able to identify every component and also have the room to work on it.

For me, even if you forget about the issues with distance and charging times, it maybe resistance to change "or" maybe it's that these high power EV's are just too much for me to handle.
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I guess it's the resistance to change aspect that is causing the reluctance to adopt EV's. Also the fear of the unknown.

I'll stick with my slow gas powered ICE vehicles for now. Heck my I'll stick with my current "relatively slow" ICE vehicle that tops out at a mere ~200mph, which is fast enough for me.
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Whoa. I sure hope that's fast enough for you!


Oh, and I dang sure "Don't Eat Quiche".
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Nope, me neither!
 
Qs Laptop said:
I'm thinking of the whole camshaft/lifters/timing chain/pistons/crankshaft internal components as being complicated,
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Add some oil and you should be just fine. I mean, all that stuff turning at maybe ~7000 rpm's, with exploding gasoline in all the cylinders,,,,,, what could possibly go wrong. :)
 
Love my 2019 Lexus 450H. Although if it was a plug-in hybrid, I think I would love it even more. I really think plug-in hybrids are the overall best solution at the moment based on technology and support network. A plug-in would cover 90% of my run around town driving, and still allow me to make the 5-hour drives to visit my mother or my college daughter.
 
Hybrids most reliable? Who would have thunk?

And the following will be vehemently contested by Tesla fans:

Electric vehicles (EVs) from Tesla Inc and other brands were among the least reliable vehicles in the United States, Consumer Reports magazine's annual reliability survey showed on Tuesday.

...

Tesla, the world's most valuable automaker, climbed by four spots and was ranked 19th out of the 24 brands. The EV leader continues to have issues with body hardware, steering/suspension, paint and trim, and climate system on its models, the report said.
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Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tesla-mercedes-evs-ranked-worst-170323980.html
 
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I have had a Ford Maverick hybrid in order since Nov of 21. Even had a VIN. Yesterday it was converted to a 23 order and I am waiting on the dealer being able to go in and edit.
 
I have had a 2023 Maverick XLT on order since September 20. They characterized it as an "early order". I ordered it from my local Ford dealer sometime in August knowing that the dealer could not actually place the order with Ford until Ford opened 2023 Maverick orders in September. I think it's going to be a while but not a problem.
 
not a hybrid but I just cancelled our cyber truck and got my $100 back...the order was from 2019!!!
 
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Qs Laptop said:
Could someone explain this to me? I grew up with a bunch of guys that all had street machines--I had a '69 Roadrunner and then a '70 Cuda. Other guys in the group had a V8 Vega, Camaro SS, Boss 302 Mustang, Mach 1 Mustang, '69 Roadrunner 440-6 pack, '69 GTX 440, '68 GTO, '70 Chevelle 454, etc. etc.

All of them have a revulsion to EV's. I passed along a link to the new Dodge Charger Daytona SRT EV, they all said they hated it. Mind you, the Hellcat version is projected to go 0 to 60 in 2 seconds.

Why the love for noisy, smelly, overly complicated, (relatively) slow ICE vehicles? And hate for EV's? Because that's what they grew up with?
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I think for a lot of car guys, it’s the mechanical aspect of cars that is appealing. Hearing the engine rev up, the sound of the exhaust note, and manually shifting gears provides a visceral experience that an electric car simply can’t match. Even though the electric car might be “better” by most metrics, it also feels less lively and connected. These folks are a small (and shrinking!) segment of the car-buying public.
 
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