Top 10 Most Reliable Vehicles

[J. Morgan]

Originally Posted by r carl

I wouldn't, electronic heat controls are known to have a mind of their own. My 2004 2500HD has electronic heat controls and it sometimes starts putting out HOT air on one side when your going down the road in 100 degree heat. I have to pull over and shut the truck off and restart and hope it starts working correctly.

One of your three heater door actuators is going south, it will be the lower one in the center. Easy to get to if there is no center console, hard to get to if there is a center console.

The part can be bought for about $100, changing the part is easy, getting to it can be hard...

If there is a center console it has to come out for access, to get the center console out, the front seats need to be removed to get access...

It wont get better on its own, only worse.

[gandttimes]

Originally Posted by J. Morgan

One of your three heater door actuators is going south, it will be the lower one in the center. Easy to get to if there is no center console, hard to get to if there is a center console.

The part can be bought for about $100, changing the part is easy, getting to it can be hard...

If there is a center console it has to come out for access, to get the center console out, the front seats need to be removed to get access...

It wont get better on its own, only worse.

Had the same thing happen to me after my truck had been in the shop for a bad lifter. The head mechanic said to try and disconnect the battery for about 10 minutes, then reconnect to hopefully get the computer to reprogram. Which it did and has been fine ever since. I realize that it's not a permanent fix and one day I will have to disassemble the truck to get at it.


George

[J. Morgan]

Sometimes after a battery has been disconnected the actuators can't "find" their home position.

In this instance a disconnect and reconnect of the battery can be a fix that will last a long, long, time.

When the actuator cant "find home" routinely in regular operation this indicates that the actuator is failing and if left unrepaired, it will eventually make for a very uncomfortable ride that will cook the driver when the error becomes unrecoverable.

[m.hony]

I bought a $10 air filter for my '99 Nissan at Advance Auto yesterday.
In 16 years, I'm on my 4th battery, 3rd set of tires, 3rd fuel filter, 3rd pair of front struts, 3rd set of rear shocks, 2nd set of front brae pads, 2nd set of belts and hose.
I've changed the transmission fluid once.
I've changed the stereo twice, tweeters twice, amp twice, and subwoofers twice.
Still no tears in the seats or cracks in the dash-


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[pappy19]

Originally Posted by r carl

Worst Vehicles | CarComplaints.com

Based upon the total number of complaints regardless of the number of vehicles sold, which means the more vehicles that are sold will get the most complaints. If only 3 Chevys are sold and only one gets a complaint, there's only one. If there are 25,000 Ford Explorers sold and they have 1,000 complaints, the Ford shows more complaints than the Chevy. Speaking of Chevy, I see where they have another humogous recall going on, with deaths involved. I wonder if the "worst" list is generated by GM?

[rodsterinfl]

Well boo hiss, a brand war! (Just kidding) We have owned quite a few new cars over the years as many of you probably have too. I can say that I have found that SOME of what they write is true. I owned a Lexus for 3 years in the mid to late nineties. During that time, from new, it needed a new battery every year, the cyclops brake light burned out and the radio made popping sounds on any high pitched instrument or voice. During that time Lexus topped the charts as well for customer satisfaction and lack of defects; however, I had issues. The radio problem was investigated by myself and the local manager as Lexus Corp denied anything could possibly be wrong. We found that EVERY MODEL had the problem on their lot except the '95 models which had a different radio. They swapped it out with a '95 radio for me. The battery issue? It was determined that the car was "functioning as designed" as the alternator regulator was not cycling correctly to charge the battery (but still as designed) and allowing it to run down often. No change offered- all models again. Dealer acknowledged the widespread issue. They said it did not really matter as I would get a prorated battery during my 4-year warranty period. The brake light? Lexus America was unable to replace the light. They kept the car a week waiting for directions on how to replace the bulb from Japan. They were told that such a thing was very rare and that the frame member of the rear seatback would have to be un-welded from the car to gain access. The housing did not open- Unable to fix without disassembly. I could go on with other examples but you get my point. I WILL say that the corporate customer service rep was let go over my ordeal with the radio. I got a call from Lexus. Apparently they listened in and were appalled. For some reason they wanted me to know. Thank goodness my local dealer listened to me.

As far as the spark plug thing with Fords go, as I understand it, that was corrected somewhere around 2008 or so with the modular engines and the deep wells. I know that mine has the new style plugs.

Oh, the Ford cruise control issue and the Chevy ignition issue. Consider that two people died from the cruise control issue, mostly fires in unattended vehicles. At least 28 died from the ignition issue with the car catching fire. We all have stories to tell. I know that growing up we always had GM- Chevy, Pontiac, Oldsmobiles, Cadillacs as my extended family worked for supplier companies. We had issues. Our favorite were the Oldsmobiles. They rattled, the AC units failed all the time, etc. Nonetheless we liked them. The past twenty years we have had at least one Ford around and have had little to no issues. My father raved about his now replaced '87 Taurus wagon with ridiculous mileage (over 400K) and only regular maintenance, water pump, engine mount and three transmissions (two replaced by Ford for nearly free). He drove it hard with hundreds of pounds of tools in the back. I want a new F150 but the $$$ is bothering me.

[switz]

A seat cooler option would be great in Arizona, as long as it does not get too cool!

[dznf0g]

Originally Posted by switz

A seat cooler option would be great in Arizona, as long as it does not get too cool!

I thought they were silly, until the first time I climbed into a parking lot heat soaked vehicle in 100+ degree weather while wearing a suit and tie.....

[BoldAdventure]

I don't know how I lived without cooled seats until I experienced it. We lived in Florida until going full time, and it was great. According to the wife who is from Syracuse, NY heated steering wheels are actually nice in the winter. I'll take her word for it. lol

[dznf0g]

Originally Posted by BoldAdventure

I don't know how I lived without cooled seats until I experienced it. We lived in Florida until going full time, and it was great. According to the wife who is from Syracuse, NY heated steering wheels are actually nice in the winter. I'll take her word for it. lol

I agree with your smarter half, I use the heated wheel and seat more than the cooled seats. When it is cold and you just finished scraping the windshield. The immediate heat in your stiff hands just make you feel comfortable NOW, instead of 10 minutes after the engine warms up. Heated seats, same thing.

[m.hony]

I could live without heated seats, but the last 2 vehicles have had heated seats. I haven't gotten to the income bracket to afford the price point of vehicles with heated steering wheels and cooled seats.


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[boondockdad]

Originally Posted by r carl

I wouldn't, electronic heat controls are known to have a mind of their own. My 2004 2500HD has electronic heat controls and it sometimes starts putting out HOT air on one side when your going down the road in 100 degree heat. I have to pull over and shut the truck off and restart and hope it starts working correctly.

Yep.
Temperature actuator. Depending on your RPO, it's anywhere from $35-$85 at rockauto.com, and labor anywhere from 10 minutes to 6 hours.

'reseting' will only work for so long, and I guarantee it will fail (in hot position) on the hottest day of the year, when you're wearing a three-piece suit.

[SteveH]

The truck we have now is the first we've ever had with all of those features (heated steering wheel, heated and cooled seats), and like all nice features, they are nice to have when you need them, but certainly not a "must have", IMHO.