Thursday, January 7, 2016

2015 Duds

Here are the 20 least reliable cars and trucks for 2015, as determined by Consumer Reports. As usual, CR does a rather mystifying job of defining a list like this, in that a sharp-eyed reader will wonder why a vehicle that's a functional twin (corporate or otherwise) of the vehicles listed below is not called out. For example, the Chevrolet Colorado is brought to task, but not the GMC Canyon...? That makes little to no sense.

Oh well, here you go. We've reorganized their list by corporate entity and included the main complaints.


Photos: Wikipedia



Daimler AG-Nissan-Renault
Infiniti QX60; Transmission, Paint and Trim, Noise, Leaks
Nissan Pathfinder; Transmission, Power Equipment, Electronics
Mercedes-Benz C-Class; Electronics, Steering Systems, Drive Systems
Mercedes-Benz GL-Class; Brakes, Electronics, Power Equipment


Fiat-Chrysler
Chrysler 300; Electronics, Transmission, Climate Controls
Dodge Challenger; Transmission, Engine, Noise, Leaks
Dodge RAM 2500; Fuel System, Power Equipment, In-truck Electronics
Fiat 500L; Transmission Issues, Noise, Leaks
Jeep Cherokee; Transmission, Electronics, Drive System


Ford-Lincoln
Ford Fiesta; Transmission issues, Noise, Leaks
Ford Focus; Transmission, Electronics, Drive Systems
Lincoln MKC; Electronics, Drive Systems, Power Equipment


General Motors
Cadillac ATS; Electronics, Engine, Climate Systems
Chevrolet Colorado; Electronics, Climate Systems, Transmission
Chevrolet Corvette; Electronics, Engine, Climate System
Cadillac Escalade/Chevrolet Suburban/GMC Yukon/GMC Yukon XL; Electronics, Drive Control, Drive System, Transmission, Power Equipment, Noise, Leaks


Honda-Acura
Acura TLX; Transmission, Electronics


Hyundai-Kia
Hyundai Genesis; Transmission Problems, Noise, Leaks

So there you go. Any surprises in there or was this list precisely what you thought it'd be?
Posted by K2

4 comments:

  1. BoloJanuary 7, 2016 at 12:19 PM

    The Acura surprised me. Like you said, the report makes no sense; the TLX = Accord...?

    ReplyDelete
  2. BobinottJanuary 9, 2016 at 9:24 AM

    I am struck by the repeated appearance of "transmission" on the list of weak points. Up until a decade or so ago, we had pretty much nailed the transmission. Either manual or automatic, both were elements that we really never even thought about any more. They just worked (OK, Chrysler minivans were the exception....). But these days, with all the magic mumbo jumbo double clutch continuously variable magnetic wonderboxes, one must tremble every time one drops a car into gear. Is this Progress? Discuss....

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownJanuary 9, 2016 at 3:27 PM

    I'm in concurrence with you, B. The number of gears and increased complexity seems to be hand in hand with less reliability. Of course, I thought six gears was excessive and actually rather annoying, with the computer just hunting thru gears like it was looking for the green M+Ms. Of course, with the new transmissions, you get much faster results and higher MPG. So there's that.

    But still.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BobinottJanuary 9, 2016 at 10:30 PM

      Yes, like a lot of the new technology, when (and as long as) it works, it is a marvel. Unfortunately, cars live in brutal environment of the real world. And a vehicle that becomes economically unrepairable after six or eight years likely negates all the ecological benefits of the higher MPG. As I recall, for any vehicle, its cradle-to-grave carbon footprint is very heavily weighted by its manufacture. I will do some searching to double-check these ideas.

      Delete

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