Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair Stack Exchange
Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [reliability]

15 questions
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"Fill nitrogen in tires" poster - are the claims credible or just hot air?

I saw this poster at a tire shop earlier today As the image quality isn't great, I'll reproduce the advert's claims in writing: Take the lead! Ride smart! [Nitrogen] for your SAFETY & ECONOMY Nitrogen molecules are bigger than normal air Less…
Zaid
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Motor Industry reliability data - is there a source?

As a consumer, I have very little to go on if I want to buy a reliable new car - the reputation of the company, past reliability reports/opinion/reviews for older models, perhaps I could infer something from the warranty on offer... But fleet…
John U
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Fuel economy a reasonable measure of a used vehicles engine condition/reliability?

I have never heard of this, and in Google searching for this, I did not find anything on this. However, it seems reasonable that in the below scenarios, in measuring the condition of a used engine engine (a) gets much worse than it's stated fuel…
Drawninpictures
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How to increase the lifespan of a diesel turbo?

Replacing a diesel engine's turbo costs a lot of money. How should a diesel car's owner drive, park and take care to insure that he/she gets the maximum km/miles out of his/her car's turbo?
Jasper Citi
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What is the average lifespan of a turbo?

I was told the old diesel engines would run much longer than a petrol engine. However, modern diesel cars have turbo's which seems like a component that could easily blow. I am actually interested in a rough generalized answer, but if the question…
Jasper Citi
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Expected lifetime for replacement exhaust parts (centre silencer)

I have a Honda FR-V 2006 with a K20A9 engine. The exhaust centre silencer box was replaced with a pattern brand (EuroFlo) four years ago (I'm not sure OEM was available), now I have an exhaust leak and my mechanic tells me that it's the centre…
ec2011
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Old motor exchanged for newer one. Practical "age" of the rest of the car?

I am currently driving a Ford Fiesta from 2011, now my Aunt has offered me to sell me her old Volvo V70 from 2007. All in all the deal would be roughly a zero-sum game as I could get about the same amount of money back from my current car, so the…
And
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There's no replacement for displacement

I grew up with the saying "There's no replacement for displacement" when referring to engine size, performance, etc. Does that saying still hold true today? It's getting harder and harder to find 6-cyl cars because automakers claim their new…
mikem
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From a technical perspective, what characteristics make an engine reliable?

It's well known that some companies make more reliable engines than others, and there are many explanations of this from a corporate culture perspective. What I'm interested in is the set of physical differences in the engines themselves that create…
Joey Jonson
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Briggs and Stratton "Just Check and Add, never change oil" engine

Recently a relative was bragging about their new mower, with a new Briggs and Stratton "Just Check and Add" engine, with no oil change recommendation. Better than sliced bread. I remember when a loud bang followed by a thud was heard from a…
mongo
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Are the electrical issues of the Scenic II series fixed in the Scenic III series?

I am considering buying a second-hand Scenic III with high mileage, but am concerned about electrical issues. According to Renault on the Renault Forums in 2009: ... some owners have experienced problems with the Scenic II instrument panel losing…
Jasper Citi
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Do car manufacturers change reliability of their cars by country?

I've heard from time to time that the same model cars or same manufacture will release cars that last less time in one country based on the habits of the market. e.g. In a market where people keep cars longer they will release cars that last longer…
user1605665
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Motorcar Pathology

Cars do die sooner or later .Sure there are stats on average age .My question is what causes of death are more likely ? Are they most likely to be Written off due to needing repairs that exceed replacement cost ?How likely is Rust to be the cause of…
Autistic
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Opel Asta and Chevrolet Cruse VS Hyundai IX35 and Mitsubishi ASX

Opel Astra and Chevrolet Cruse are both belong to GM and share same engine named Z18XER and F18D4. The engine was born in around 2007 and 10 years later it is still being installed on new cars. I put it on one site, and I'll call it Astra. Hyundai…
Yevgeniy Afanasyev
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Window regulator part build quality

Olds Alero '03 has a broken left front window regulator. The window motor's OK. This would make it the third time this part failed; different shops did both repairs, and I'm wondering if poor quality replacement parts may not have played a role,…
agc
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