Tell me which automaker...

"AM" (ap18961) 05/09/2015 at 18:46 • Filed to: None

0

45

...has had the least amount of screw-ups in the last 15 years. By this I mean what company consistently makes a strong effort to do things the right way with reliable vehicles, no cost-cutting, etc.

Now tell me automaker has had the most amount of screw-ups in the last 10 years. Which one consistently has problems with reliability, cost-cutting, etc.

I’m not looking for which automaker had the worst recalls/problems but which one has made the most mistakes and which one made the least.

dogisbadob > AM 05/09/2015 at 18:47

1

GM made the most mistakes

Toyota made the least

jkm7680 > dogisbadob 05/09/2015 at 18:49

0

Toyota=Cost cutting like crazy.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > AM 05/09/2015 at 18:50

1

McLaren

scoob > AM 05/09/2015 at 18:50

2

Wouldn’t the least screw ups award probably go to a luxury automaker? I want to say Lexus.

AM > dogisbadob 05/09/2015 at 18:52

2

Ah but you can’t forget that Toyota has had many issues. To name a few there’s been the gas pedal recall, the ABS software recall, even a floor mat recall. They have done a lot of cost cutting.

AM > scoob 05/09/2015 at 18:54

0

I would assume they would have the least but you never know.

AM > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 05/09/2015 at 18:56

0

I think you might be right. Though I don’t think they’re mass production so that would explain why.

MLGCarGuy > AM 05/09/2015 at 18:56

1

Least issues? Honda (they’ve only had the airbag issue and even then that was the supplier’s fault)

Most? GM.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > AM 05/09/2015 at 18:58

3

The floor mats was solely because people are idiots and stacked their floor mats which can inhibit pedal operation; unintended acceleration.

There was no safety problem with their mats previously. Only dumb people.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > AM 05/09/2015 at 18:59

4

You mean the floor mat recall that Toyota had to issue because some of their consumers were too stupid to look at the gas pedal and think that maybe blocking the gas pedal wasn’t a great idea?

AM > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 05/09/2015 at 19:04

0

I know it was the consumers fault but it still counts as an issue. The GM ignition switch can technically be pinned on consumers because the excess weight on keychains is what causes the ignition to turn off. GM is hugely at fault for that but it can still be pinned on customers if you think about it.

AM > MLGCarGuy 05/09/2015 at 19:13

2

That’s because Honda is run by good, trustworthy people.

GM may have had the most problems post-bankruptcy, they had barely any pre-bankruptcy (2000-2009)

jkm7680 > AM 05/09/2015 at 19:15

0

Cost cutting though, Japan does a lot of that to the day.

AM > jkm7680 05/09/2015 at 19:18

0

Well the Japanese do still use tons of these dummy buttons.

MLGCarGuy > jkm7680 05/09/2015 at 19:18

0

I think you’ll find that cost-cutting applies to mainly Toyota/Lexus. Honda if anything is increasing costs.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > AM 05/09/2015 at 19:22

1

The difference here is that the customer couldn’t have know about one, but clearly could have prevented the other. Also, unlike GM, Toyota probably didn’t think about the customers being that damn stupid.

TheHondaBro > AM 05/09/2015 at 19:24

0

Nissan.

GM.

AM > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 05/09/2015 at 19:26

0

GM definitely knows how stupid people can be haha. Other companies probably don’t pay attention to it.

AM > TheHondaBro 05/09/2015 at 19:29

0

Nissan has a lot of cost cutting involved though.

TheHondaBro > AM 05/09/2015 at 19:29

0

So has GM, but Nissan somehow avoided screwing up in the process.

Vicente Esteve > AM 05/09/2015 at 19:31

0

Sköda

AM > TheHondaBro 05/09/2015 at 19:33

0

Yeah they have seemed to avoid any major issues which is really good on their part. One thing I can say though is that their “zero gravity” seats in the Altima are fucking horrible.

AM > Vicente Esteve 05/09/2015 at 19:35

0

I love Skoda! It’s just too bad we don't get them in North America.

promoted by the color red > AM 05/09/2015 at 19:35

1

Least: Mazda.

Most: Mini.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > AM 05/09/2015 at 19:43

1

Mercedes or Mazda would be the best. Mazda have really picked up their game in the last decade.

Everyone who is saying Toyota is wrong. Floor mats aside they’ve been affected by faulty window switches that were shorting, faulty seat rails that could move in a crash, faulty airbag sensors preventing deployment and the Takata exploding airbag recall.


Honda probably would have been right up there but they had even more affected Takata airbags than anyone else.

Here’s a pre-GM ignition recall table I found from early next year. Figures are recalled car lines since 1985:

Mercedes-Benz USA: 2.1 million recalled/5.2 million sold; 0.41 recall rate.

Mazda Motor Corp: 5.2 million recalled/9.4 million sold; 0.55 recall rate.

General Motors: 99.3 million recalled/153.2 million sold; 0.65 recall rate.

Nissan North America: 19.1 million recalled/26.8 million sold; 0.71 recall rate.

Subaru of America: 4.3 million recalled/6.0 million sold; 0.73 recall rate.

Kia Motors: 3.7 million recalled/4.9 million sold; 0.77 recall rate.

Toyota Motor Corp: 38.6 million recalled/48.1 million sold; 0.80 recall rate.

BMW of North America: 5.1 million recalled/5.7 million sold; 0.90 recall rate.

Ford Motor Co: 97.0 million recalled/104.7 million sold; 0.93 recall rate.

American Honda Motor Co: 31.1 million recalled/32.9 million sold; 0.94 recall rate.

Chrysler Group: 63.2 million recalled/63.2 million sold; 1.00 recall rate.

Volvo Cars of North America: 3.3 million recalled/3.1 million sold; 1.05 recall rate.

Volkswagen of America: 10.2 million recalled/9.7 million sold; 1.06 recall rate.

Mitsubishi Motors North America: 5.3 million recalled/4.8 million sold; 1.09 recall rate.

Hyundai Motor Co: 9.9 million recalled/8.7 million sold; 1.15 recall rate.

I’ve been trying to find a table that fits your date range better but I’m not having much luck.

TheHondaBro > AM 05/09/2015 at 19:47

1

Blocking the gas petal is one thing. Designing a poor ignition switch is different. Any idiot can do that with any has petal. If I load my Keychain with a lot of crap, my cars ignition switch won’t fail.

TheHondaBro > MLGCarGuy 05/09/2015 at 19:48

1

Takata is mostly owned by Honda.

MLGCarGuy > TheHondaBro 05/09/2015 at 19:51

0

Really? Source?

AM > TheHondaBro 05/09/2015 at 20:12

0

I have a GM vehicle and if I load my keychain up with excess shit it won’t fail but it’s not part of the recall (2003 Yukon). I wouldn't load it up anyway, I have an issue with keychains. My key has the key and the fob and the Jetta has just the fob. I even keep my house keys separate.

jvirgs drives a Subaru > jkm7680 05/09/2015 at 20:18

0

Considering all the underpinnings of their cars are circa 2003 I agree 100%

AM > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard 05/09/2015 at 20:18

0

You’ve done your research, I’m very impressed :)

These stats show that GM is clearly not the worst one. There are 12 companies that have a higher recall rate than GM. The fact that GM has sold the most amount of cars is what makes it seem like they are the worst.

RedPir8Roberts > AM 05/09/2015 at 20:30

1

Mattel. Killing it every year, holding prices down, a garage full of cars for $10.00.

AM > RedPir8Roberts 05/09/2015 at 20:39

0

Haha! You win today!

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > AM 05/09/2015 at 20:39

0

GM lied and avoided recalls. So I wouldn’t take their low number to be an indication of reliability.

also, as I mentioned in the post, this was pre-ignition recall. So add the 24.6 million recalls to that and you get a rate of 0.81 and a continued sour taste in your mouth knowing that if you have a bunch of vehicles with the same issue GM will put it down to wear and tear instead of recalling and fixing it.

AM > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard 05/09/2015 at 20:44

0

In all honesty, I’ve never had a single major problem with GM vehicles and I owned an Alero so that says something. Either I’ve gotten very lucky or people make things seem worse than they are.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > AM 05/09/2015 at 20:57

0

There were 7 recalls on the Alero though. and they’re mostly things that you wouldn’t realise were faulty until you crashed

AM > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard 05/09/2015 at 21:18

0

I had an ‘03 Alero, up until the ignition recall there were only 2 recalls put out for that model year, both of which mine was unaffected by. It’s part of the ignition recall but I have serious issues when it comes to bulky key chains so mine only ever had the key and fob on the key ring which was barely any weight at all.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > AM 05/09/2015 at 21:37

0

that’s still 2 more recalls than the car I drive :P

Individually, the vast majority of owners don’t have issues. It only takes a few bad eggs to instigate a recall. So they’re not a definitive standard by which you can judge reliability.. but they’re a start.

AM > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard 05/09/2015 at 21:40

0

My Yukon has zero recalls on it, none of which it was affected by anyway. It also hasn’t needed anything other than routine maintenance (tires, oil, etc.).

My wife’s Focus has had about 48284028 issues now and to tell the truth, the car is a fucking headache.

Vicente Esteve > AM 05/09/2015 at 23:54

0

They are beating Volkswagen at being Volkswagen.

wafflesnfalafel > AM 05/10/2015 at 01:52

1

I’m thinking Subaru, with Mazda in second because of their less than solid financials. Most mistakes has got to be GM..

NJAnon > AM 05/10/2015 at 17:49

1

Pagani. If you wanted an automaker nominated that isn’t Pagani and makes cars for regular people? Um I don’t know, 10years is a long time. Even Cadillac and its crazy resurrection has had some stumbles.

AM > NJAnon 05/10/2015 at 17:50

1

Due to the amount of attention to detail, including the smallest little things, I think Pagani should be disqualified from the competition. They truly do make a car that is near perfect.

NJAnon > AM 05/10/2015 at 18:13

0

Well its not like other automakers can’t put in the same effort as Aston martin or Pagani. The CEO’s just choose not to so they get their insanely large paychecks.

AM > NJAnon 05/10/2015 at 18:43

0

Pagani is literally on another level from every other car company. They seem like the type of company that will scrap an entire car because the leather doesn’t end up the colour they want. I just adore Pagani so much.