German Cars Among Worst Engine Failures.....MUST READ

BMWM3

Well-Known Member
Audi, BMW and VW ranked in the bottom 10 of a study into engine reliability

German-made cars are not as reliable as many believe, according to new research. Warranty Direct has studied its claims data to compile a list of the manufacturers with the most reliable engines - and Audi, BMW and Volkswagen all finished in the bottom 10 out of a total 36 makers.

In fact, the only firm whose cars had a worse engine failure rate than Audi was MG Rover. MINI wasn’t much better, finishing third from bottom, while its parent company BMW came seventh from bottom. And, despite its reputation for rock-solid reliability, Volkswagen came ninth from bottom.

Honda scooped the gold medal – the study found that just one in every 344 Honda engines failed, compared to one in every 27 Audi engines. Despite its recent recall woes, Toyota came second and Mercedes managed to outperform its fellow German brands with a respectable third-place finish.

Duncan McClure, Warranty Direct Managing Director, said that engine failures are the worst for motorists as they’re the repairs that can lead to the highest costs because of the parts and hours of labour required to fix them: “The nuber of failures may be low compared to areas such as axle and suspension damage but engine repairs almost always result in costs reaching the thousands for motorists who aren’t covered by a warranty.”

An engine failure on a Range Rover Vogue recently led to Warranty Direct’s highest ever claim of £13,000.

Top 10 manufacturers

Manufacturer Failure rate (%) Failure rate (1 in x)
1 Honda 0.29% 1 in 344
2 Toyota 0.58% 1 in 171
3 Mercedes 0.84% 1 in 119
4 Volvo 0.90% 1 in 111
5 Jaguar 0.98% 1 in 103

Bottom 10 manufacturers
Manufacturer Failure rate (%) Failure rate (1 in x)
1 MG Rover 7.88% 1 in 13
2 Audi 3.71% 1 in 27
3 MINI 2.51% 1 in 40
4 Saab 2.49% 1 in 40
5 Vauxhall 2.46% 1 in 41

What’s your view? Do you think German manufacturers still deserve their reputation for building the most reliable cars?

Read more: German cars 'among worst for engine failures' | Auto Express
 
Re: German Cars Among Worst Engine Failures.....MUST READ

mercedes not bad siah...Porsche at least not so bad
 
Re: German Cars Among Worst Engine Failures.....MUST READ

they should do one more study for gearbox
 
Re: German Cars Among Worst Engine Failures.....MUST READ

as long as the badge is blue/white, 4 rings or 3-pointed star sure sell like hot cakes
 
Re: German Cars Among Worst Engine Failures.....MUST READ

This Study contradict the international World's Best Engine awards held annually. I would stay with this annual international event, call me a sucker to believe in it and rebuke e study.
 
Re: German Cars Among Worst Engine Failures.....MUST READ

Been using bummer since my grandpa day...no issue ler...
 
Re: German Cars Among Worst Engine Failures.....MUST READ

We still have e30 and e36 running around...
 
Re: German Cars Among Worst Engine Failures.....MUST READ

win award is based on design. this is based on statistical facts .....
 
Re: German Cars Among Worst Engine Failures.....MUST READ

They didn't state the type of failure. Modern engines that are found in conti are too intelligent. Just unplug one of the sensors and the engine either stops running or go into limp mode.

Many jap cars are still stuck with engines from 10-20years ago, often fitted in new cars with just minor updates. These engines are so good that they will still run perfectly even if the oxygen sensor is dead and the check engine light is on.
 
Re: German Cars Among Worst Engine Failures.....MUST READ

i always heard that conti car is "more" complicated, more electrical parts/wirings, more intelligence, more .... than japs/koreans ... hence, breakdown rate is higher

is "more" this and that translate to higher acceptance of failure?
i for one do not accept that

more intelligence = better = how can be easily breakdown?

reliability is based on the company r&d and manufacturing and qa process ... not because the components is complicated hence it is ok for higher failure rate

if the car quality made by company xyz is deteriorating ... it means something wrong with the company design, manufacturing process and qa ...
 
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Re: German Cars Among Worst Engine Failures.....MUST READ

I think there are some truth.

Go to vagsg and many complaining high engine oil consumption on audi engines due to piston rings.

conti cars has a longer service interval than jap cars. This could be one of the reasons. Turbocharged engines are more prone to oil sludge as well.
 
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Re: German Cars Among Worst Engine Failures.....MUST READ

Sometimes it's designed to fail .... A big mistake of American products is that it was made to last a lifetime - many companies did not survive there. And you look at how bmw is making profits in the GFC - you know they are doing the "right" thing - pretty things that is marketed well that don't last overly long.
 
Re: German Cars Among Worst Engine Failures.....MUST READ

do you mean bmw "purposely" make things not lasting in order to make huge profit?
 
Re: German Cars Among Worst Engine Failures.....MUST READ

Samuel Tan See Teng;946742 said:
We still have e30 and e36 running around...

the older beemers build quality is better.
new bmws seem slipshod...worked on the new 1 series n 3 series recently, engine i can't comment much but the paintwork, bumper, finishing....kinda sucks, even the e90 are better than em
 
Re: German Cars Among Worst Engine Failures.....MUST READ

when u mass produce and sell as many cars as bmw, i guess this is inevitable..but i have not driven or owned any older bimmers to comment...but production quality bound to suffer as volume rises.
 
German Cars Among Worst Engine Failures.....MUST READ

Mmm....the website didn't state who did the report, from which period to which period, covering how many of each type of cars, etc. I assume it's only in UK based on the currency of repair costs. But I do agree with some of the comments that very often motoring journalists over-hyped some of the German marques and when you actually own or drive one, you realized it was not like it was described in the magazines.
 
Re: German Cars Among Worst Engine Failures.....MUST READ

It's positioned as do not make the same mistakes as the Americans .....

wt_know;946853 said:
do you mean bmw "purposely" make things not lasting in order to make huge profit?
 
Re: German Cars Among Worst Engine Failures.....MUST READ

Repost: I am not surprised. If you compare an equivalent CC capacity engine from Japanese cars the equivalent HP or toruqe is much lower. The engine is certainly going through much more stress.
 
Re: German Cars Among Worst Engine Failures.....MUST READ

Those with the good fortune of getting german cars which have been reliable, that's great. But relating personal experience to a statistic isn't very helpful. Honda are known to be one of the best engine makers in the world, though.
 

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