January 2020 Consumer Reports Reliability Rankings

I’m actually surprised there’s such a disparity between the half tons. Hopefully the redesign doesn’t knock the Tundra down too far... but there’s something to be said for tried and true.

 

Why is this so Surprising??? It's reliable tried and true vs FLASHY, guess which wins???

American auto manufactures just plain SUCK in oh so many ways. They engineer autos that kill, just remember the "old" GM and its ignitions that turned off and killed over 150 Americans while GM wiped its hands clean when it went bankrupt on the taxpayors dime. Ford is no better and Chrysler has always, but always sucked at quality, recall and after recall, now many this month? I could go on and on but I'll save it for someone else....

Why do we suppose they're all getting out of making cars? Poor quality that cannot compete with foreign brands. Sad, very sad for America.

Luck and enjoy those Toyotas. : ^ )))

 

^^^This! I am from a GM family, drove them for years. My first foreign automaker experience was with a Honda Civic. Talk about plain and simple - but damn was that car a workhorse. Not one issue beyond normal maintenance.

GM, Ford, etc. definitely have more flash and flair over Tundras, but I’ll take reliability and resale FTW!

 

The February 2020 Consumer Report is even better.

 

I like gadgets, but I don't need a wifi hotspot that makes me coffee while I wait for the tow truck. Give me dependable and long lasting and I'll stop and get my own coffee. Unless something drastically changes, I'll never be without a tundra in the driveway. ( got my wife out of a 10 year old Honda Fit this summer into a Rav4 ) all Toyota except for a 20 year old Porsche Boxster

 

Wow that is an amazing disparity.

 

I'm not too surprised that the big 3 are very close in terms of reliability. I was kinda expecting the Titan to be above the big 3 in terms of reliability. However, the Tundra blew everyone out of the water. Its score is so far off it's basically on another scale. It's basically a 1/2 ton with midsize sedan reliability.

 

And my dad was trying to tell me that buying a Ram would be good bang for my buck.

 

If you buy a Ford, GM or Ram get the extended warranty! Even that didn’t save my brother from needing to replace his engine due to a cam shaft/lifter failure at just over the warranty expiration!

 

It is. Shortest month of the year, lowest chances of issues

 

2015 is the only one that shows maximum “best” in every category!

 

I typically take Consumer Reports with a big ol' fat heaping spoonful of salt as they've been a schill for Honda for the past few years, so my first response to seeing this is: How are they judging things?

I've had and trusted Toyota for years but I've known many people with trucks from the big three that are lasting as long as a Toyota.

Either way I'm happy with what I see. This odes well for my resale value, even though I don't necessarily want to sell it...ever.

 

Honda (and Acura) is near the bottom of nearly every category. The ridgeline does okay relative to the competition, but the Acura RDX, MDX, Odyssey, etc are all poorly rated. My father had a 2013 MDX and 2013 TL. The TL was the most troublesome car he ever owned. It was constantly in the shop. The MDX was better but still not good. I’m not surprised Honda has fallen from grace... they used to be great products. Not anymore.

 

I am a CR subscriber for YEARS. After getting burned on products after doing no research, I was converted.

! be careful posting pics of their publication... there may be copyright/dissemination rules that prohibit unlicensed reproduction !

That said, I have been extremely tempted to post some of the graphical data that shows Toyota compared to Ford, Chevy, and Dodge. It’s like the trucks are made on a different planet.

Ford’s “most popular” F150 is their LEAST reliable model. Now... how long has Ford been making trucks...?

Remember that CR compiles data from analyzing failure trends across hundreds of thousands of vehicles. Anecdotal evidence (ie “my buddies’ trucks” is way too small a data set for comparing mass produced vehicles, but certainly does shape our opinions. My neighbor is on his 3rd F150 in 4 months because of the issues he had.

One place I do trust some anecdotal advice: Tow truck drivers. When I was younger and stupid I bought a brand new 2003 Jetta TDI. By 40k, it had left me stranded 3 times.

Twice, I got to ride with the tow truck drivers, and I chatted them up- they were happy to share.

I asked: what models do they tow the most? A: new Volkswagens and Buick’s.

What models do you tow the least? A: Toyota’s and Honda’s.

Both drivers answered the same. This was back in 2006. Late 2006, I bought a 07 MY Camry and proved the tow dudes right: 170000 trouble free miles, ultimately trading in for the Tundra after 11 years.

Honda does appear to be rolling through their own poop right now. I have family with a fairly new Honda, and the CVT transmission earns a description that requires the dirtiest of curse words. Still hasn’t left them stranded, but Honda is frustrating it’s owners and getting a share of eye opening recalls- and that is reflected in CRs data.

We all get to enjoy our tried-and-true “outdated” workhorses. I love mine.

And if you haven’t done it and want a chuckle- go to a Ram or F150 website and browse their recent model forums, just like you do for Gen 3 on this site; theirs is filled with gripes about their mechanical and electrical issues, safety recalls, etc...

 

I am curious as to why F350 and F250 are different. Is it not the same power train just heavier suspension?

 

In addition, I'm curious why it doesn't include any of the other manufacturers' heavy duties.

 

Resale values are a good indicator too. Acura RDX and TL resale values are shitty.

I wish I’d scoured the F150 forums first BEFORE I bought my 2012. Every time I posted about an issue sure enough it was widely discussed about how it’s a common problem on the forum.

 

I feel the same way when I bought a 2019 Tacoma. The 2nd gen Tacoma is a very good daily driver. It's just a gas guzzler. So I thought the 3rd gen Tacoma would be the same but much more efficient. Boy was I wrong. You can't fix the transmission with software tuning when the hardware is bad in the first place (really bad gearing ratio for good fuel economy).

 

Sorry to hear about your Fathers TL. I personally own a 2013 TL, not speaking for anyone else here. TL has 75,000 miles, owned since new. Change oil every 5,000 miles, 1 set of tires, 1 set of brakes, and several air filters. It’s holding up so well, my wife drives it daily over her new 4Runner. Plan to dump it when the wheels fall off and at this point, I love my Tundra but we also highly recommend this generation of Acura TL from her hand experience.

 

His TL was fun.. had the 3.7 and SH-AWD. The ELS was stereo I’ve ever heard in any car. He went though 2 alternators, 1 PS and 2 DS rear struts. The HID PS headlight went out at 65K and no warrantee. And worst of all, the sunroof started to leak. That was the last straw and he traded it. Every one is different tho... fingers crossed for yours.

 

Now that you mention it, the 3.7L, I did read they were having all types of oil burning issues with that variant. We own the TL Advanced Pkg with ESL with a 3.5L. I can definitely see why he wanted out, it isn’t a cheap car at retail. Ours has been rock solid. Just checked KBB and resale blows, definitely riding this car into the sunset!

 

It's how things work around here. If its not a Toyota it simply doesn't work, wont move under its own power, need new engines, transmissions, seats... There are entire dealership lots with Fords, Rams, and Chevys sitting there completely unusable. But hey, the Tundra, that's a decade outdated, out classed, out performed, least comfortable, least optioned, rated lowest for crash test, is the absolute best of the very best.

And anyone who believes consumer reports to be the gospel, I have a bridge to sell you.