Car Talk: Top 10 Cars We Hate the Most

Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers, are the hosts behind the popular radio show “Car Talk,” and they have a bone to pick with a few cars that are trying to drive their repair shop out of business. It’s not so much what these cars are doing to deprive the brothers of food on their tables; it’s what they’re not doing – breaking down. Continue reading to find out the top 10 (actually 13) most dreaded car names to an auto mechanic.

Top 10 Cars We Hate the Most

Comments

"The Civic rarely seems to break... OEM, parts are both affordable and easy to get.

Honda Accord
See Civic."

True. True. But once your tranny is gone (manual or automatic) prepare $3K+ for the auto. And, do I have to mention Civic hybrid?

"Toyota Camry
Toyota Corolla
About all that's ever needed on the Corolla are regular maintenance and an occasional brake job."

All good if you don't get the sludge in the engine. And did I tell you that Corolla is notorious for fallen handles, control switches and other cheap plastic parts?

"Prius
...Prius is terrible news for mechanics — not even the brakes wear out, thanks to the regenerative braking system..."

The problem with unworn brakes that they will rust in with time. It is actually good to change them sometimes because when you service them, you can clean up some rust and make sure that they will come part in 10 years time or you will have to cut them with torch.

"...we only see Altima owners when they've racked up 150,000 miles or more..."

Yes. But dealer sees them for a few recalls in the middle.

Tony Tony Tony...

U can beat the dead horse infinite times, but u just can't argue when it's from Click & Clack.

Sure all car breaks, esp if u don't give them TLC, but they are telling u that THESE ARE RELIABLE VEHICLES!

Now let's see who will be the next fool to say, "Click & Clack 4 anti-domestics biased!"

We just love our Sienna - 190k miles in 8 years and the only thing we've had done are tires, brakes, oil changes and timing belt. Just came back from Colorado and it did just fine in mountains. We'll keep it til it dies and then buy another Toyota.

Funny how Toyota and Honda dealerships do more than just oil changes.

Not saying these cars aren't unreliable but saying they are bulletproof is an overstatement and you all know that whether you care to admit it or not.

No this is not an invitation to argue domestic vs. import.

why do they even offer replacement parts for these imports when nothing ever breaks? I can say from personal experience that things do break on these cars. I know plenty of people who have owned or do own Toyotas, Nissans, etc. Even if the cars are reliable you still have to put money into them for maintenance as they age. I guess you never need new brakes, tires, alternators, batteries, timing belts, etc. on these cars though right? Just change the oil and you dont spend any money on maintenance or wear and tear for 200k miles. Right.

he objectivity of these guys was called into question as soon as read how the Fusion was one of the few domestics that can match the Japanese in quality. Why in the world would Ford make ONE of its models reliable but not the rest? Other sources show Ford's are reliable across the board.

Amazing how these guys have no experience with Honda's transmission issues or Accord rear brake issues- both are well documented.

if you don't change the oil at regular interval then no car is reliable.

if you do hard breaking no car's brakes going to last long.

if you try to get more out of motor than its designed for than it ain't going to last long. my mustang didn't need any major repair till 100k, i did regular maintanance that's it.. and at 130k it still runs great. at the same time my friends acura mdx needed new transmission at 125k @$5k. so much for hyped reliability. cars are like human body. if take good care of it it last longer... so jap car lovers your car is just a machine not a gold plated jewel....

Gee do I take advice from the experts or from the uneducated putz trolling the internet posting as Sheth. No need to be a jealous moron all your life.

I drive about 30,000 miles a year and tend to keep my cars for 5-6 years or 150-200K miles. Hands down the Camry is much more reliable and durable then any car I've ever had from General Motors. My last Camry had 217K when I sold it and didn't leak or burn any fluids.

The problems with poor quality cars are: 1.unnecessarily spending time and effort to haggle and outsmart with opportunity- exploiting mechanics; and 2 sure of being ripped off further by those makers who sell their parts at premiun price because they monopoly those special part supplies

I've had Dodge and Chevy try to cheat me out of warranty service on several occasions. That's why my wife and I replaced our cars with a Legacy and an Accord. It's the first time in our lives that we've had cars that haven't required any warranty work. The Americans do make good cars.

@chuck
then what about you!!

Not surprised to see Honda and Toyota on the list. My first car was a 92 Accord and I got it with 70k miles and ran it into the ground. Basically I had no clue and barely even maintained my car ( had no clue about oil changes etc) and it ran good for a LONG time. Once I had some probs with the radiator but that was mainly cause it was so old. I am surprised to see Subaru as a "reliable" car. I don't hear too much about them.

@mike - no really, it was about you too!

I wonder,what magic parts do the imports use that never break or wear out? Where do they come from? How are they made different? Why would the Japanese pay more for superior parts when they have a break even point just like anyone else? Really,who says you need a foreign car to get quality parts,my 88 K-car has a Bosch alternator and a Nippondenso starter,and they were oem original at 95K miles.Original made in America tranny though,as well as radiator,wiper motor,steering rack,computer,master cylinder,brake calipers,wheel cylinders,all brake lines,all tie rods,exhaust....
No tappet bros,this K car will never see the inside of your shop.You will see many times more Hondas and Toyotas though...

@belly
another mindless creature besides chuck!!!

It's not just what parts are used in cars. In most occasions, it is more about refined engineering work. For example, if a piece of machine or a car runs very quietly and smoothly, that is good machine. And if opposit, surely it is a piece of junk

Be curious to know which ones are higher on the "most stolen" list to see if there is a correlation.

@mike - why talk about yourself like that?

So the professional technicans are wrong and the cars.com bloggers are right? Interesting.

the Campry has been hardly problem free for a long time

I'm surprised that the Ford Explorer is not on the list. Mine is a 1994 and it has 130,000 miles on it, and it still runs like a champ. The only things that I have needed are under the category of regular maintenance. The only thing that pissed me off is that some Jackass mechanic put Duralast brake pads on the car and those pads destroyed my rotors...costing an additional $200. Ouch!

all of these reliability discussions seem based more on perception than fact. cars have recalls, including the ones on their list.

the fact of the matter is that modern cars are pretty much all reliable...yes, even gm and chryslers. perform the recommended routine maintenance on any of today's cars and you'll be good to go.

these types of posts/articles just seem to be bait for the foreign vs. domestic crowd.

These types of articles would not be baiting if not for the crowd who just wants to argue against those who know.

Yeah, it can be fun, and even enlightening (no Shet, not you). But it is also annoying when the argument doesn't even apply to what was said - no one said Honda or Toyota doesn't require maintenance.

The unfair trade agreement says that any Japan car that is bought her with the japan name plate, $10,000 of our taxes goes to Japan on each car. Bush was asked to stop it he wouldnt. American car are better, ask the president of Toyota, he said quality of there cars have been going down from 2002 to present. Why dont you people look around and ask yourselves if you bought american would this economy be in the shape its in today? You Japan buyers are reasonable for our american auto makers losing there jobs.

Liar.

No, Mike B,

even if we bought 2 times more American cars , our economy would suck.

1. Many if not most American cars are made in Mexico, Canada and some other places like Germany, etc. While most Japanese cars are made and designed as well in America.

2. American corporate management would do anything to skip on taxes, increase their multi-million bonuses , etc.

3. The unions are parasites of modern life. They would cost our economy some more trouble.
We live in the government regulation age. This is not 1910. Why unions today?

4. Japanese automotive philosophy drives American manufacturers towards developing better product. If they will disappear you will again drive cars which will need major engine overhaul after 70K miles. This will cause people spend more for the cars and fuel and not buying some other goods. For the economy it is not good to concentrate too much money in one single industry.

Toyota Camry is the best car.

I concur.

"It's not just what parts are used in cars. In most occasions, it is more about refined engineering work. For example, if a piece of machine or a car runs very quietly and smoothly, that is good machine. And if opposit, surely it is a piece of junk"

This shows the ignorance of the typical American. Most components in a car come from outside suppliers. A car built in the US (by Honda or GM or Ford) is likely to have parts from Asia, NA and Europe. Final assembly is merely bolting parts into place on a line. Automakers don't develop or build much of a car in house these days. They do the design and the engine engineering and little else these days. Suppliers handle everything from seats, to transmissions (in some cases), to dash boards to navigation systems. The notion that a Honda or Toyota made from globally supplied parts lasts forever while every domestic except the Fusion is a boon for mechanics is a JOKE. No intelligent person could accept such an idea. GM uses Aisin transmissions in some vehicles like the SRX and Regal. Aisin is a Japanese supplier partially owned by Toyota. BMW uses GM made transmissions in some cars. GM uses ZF (german) steering gear in Cadillacs. Bosch parts are in all kinds of cars as are Denso components. How in the world can the Japanese brands get "better" components when the components are sourced from the same suppliers that work for American and German automakers? It makes no sense at all. As cars.com loves to point out US made import branded cars have high levels of domestic content which means that Camrys and Accord are using tons of US based suppliers. ANy component supplied by a 3rd party is engineered and tested by that party to meet the manufacturer's specs. That means that many of the domestic parts in your Hondas and Toyotas were engineered and built by Americans.

Tony:

Your comments about most Japanese cars being designed in America are totally false and you should be ashamed of misleading people like that. A handful of Japanese models are designed in the US and most of them are TRUCKS, not cars.

The big 3 build far more vehicles in the US than in Mexico- stop lying. We get that you worship Japanese cars and hate UAW members, the Big Three, etc. but don't resort to lies to make your point.

UAW members make about the same as top paid non union workers in the South. An American taught the Japanese quality control after WW2. While its true the Japanese brands forced the Big 3 to adopt such measures the know how came from America. Prior to WW2 there wasnt much of a Japanese auto industry. We helped establish it and taught them how to mass produce quality vehicles. Get your facts straight.

Glad someone knows that the auto industry is global. So, in future Import versus Domestic discussions, please remember this quote "As cars.com loves to point out US made import branded cars have high levels of domestic content which means that Camrys and Accord are using tons of US based suppliers. ANy component supplied by a 3rd party is engineered and tested by that party to meet the manufacturer's specs. That means that many of the domestic parts in your Hondas and Toyotas were engineered and built by Americans." Yes, that's right! Engineered and built by Americans.

This shows the ignorance of the typical American.
-No you show the ignorance of the typical American.

The notion that a Honda or Toyota made from globally supplied parts lasts forever while every domestic except the Fusion is a boon for mechanics is a JOKE. No intelligent person could accept such an idea.
-No one said any such thing. See you are ignorant.

How in the world can the Japanese brands get "better" components when the components are sourced from the same suppliers that work for American and German automakers?
-Pretty simple, they pay more. Ignorance...

you should be ashamed of misleading people like that... but don't resort to lies to make your point.
-Ahem... follow your own advice, just once. Please.

"-No you show the ignorance of the typical American."

LOL. Another baseless statement. Do you ever back up anything you say?

"-No one said any such thing. See you are ignorant."

Actually the mechanics said the Fusion is one of the only American cars that is equal to the Japanese in quality. Read the post for yourself. I merely pointed out that it makes no sense to claim only a handful of American cars are high quality when American and Japanese brands use the same suppliers and the same quality control methods.

"-Pretty simple, they pay more. Ignorance..."

YOu have proof of that? Of course not. That is the stupidest thing you've said since the last thing you said. Global suppliers are held to high quality standards across the board but none of them are perfect all the time as the Toyota pedal fiasco shows. Are you claiming that Japanese companies like Aisin will sell low quality parts to GM or Ford even though Japanese manufacturing in general is famous for high quality and precision? Seriously?

Do you ever back up anything you say?
-Wow. LOL, ROTFLMAO!!! :) See all of your posts.

The notion that a Honda or Toyota made from globally supplied parts lasts forever while every domestic except the Fusion is a boon for mechanics is a JOKE.
-Again, no one said any such thing.

YOu have proof of that?
-You need proof to know that there are different manufacturers for the same parts? Are you kidding?

Global suppliers are held to high quality standards across the board but none of them are perfect all the time as the Toyota pedal fiasco shows.
-So there is only one pedal manufacturer? What the... are you alive?

The only way the Ford Fusion is close to Japanese reliability is from the Mazda sourced 4-cylinder engine and the transmission.

It makes perfect sense to say only a handful of American cars can be reliable. What doesn't make sense is that all car companies should be equally reliable because of "quality control methods" That's a joke, right?

Japanese car companies didn't brainwash consumers into feeling their product is the most reliable. People feel they are more reliable because THEY ARE. Mechanics and technicians feel they are reliable because THEY ARE. Do you even talk to your technician?

Parts quality is not standard, there is no "high level of quality control". Almost all parts manufacturers offer a different level of quality for the exact same part. It just depends on what you are willing to pay.

Do you want an example? Call up any Ford parts department and get a price quote on brake pads and rotors for a 2005 Ford F-350 4x4. Then when you are done, ask if they quoted you Motorcraft or Blue box (OEM). You will be in complete shock at the price difference. If had ever worked on a car a day in your life you would also be able to see the physical quality differences and even the performance difference during your road-test.

I insist you get your hands dirty and shut down the internet for like 5 seconds, it's eye opening.

As a former ASE mechanic I totally agree. Take a door panel off an Accord and you'd think you're looking at a Mercedes. Take a door panel off a Sebring or Malibu and you'll be surprised it didn't fall off on it's own. It's all in the engineering and although Ford and GM have gotten a lot better the Japs out engineer just about everyone.