What is the most unreliable vehicle you have experienced?

2003 Jetta TDI, great fuel mileage, but.
1) Intake manifolds that would clog up.
2) Brake light switch. Left me stranded at work.
3) Batteries, no warning, just would fail at the coldest time of the year.
4) German engineering, nothing was simple to work on except replacing brake pads. Just, do not do the pump and break the bleeder open to bleed the brakes, (The two person job).
5) Rear tail and brake light bulbs frequently failed. Was stopped once for it and learned to carry extras.
6) Worst timing belt change I ever did. Took a full day to do it.

 

My least reliable was an 85 Xj pioneer. All the AMC in bankruptcy build quality with all the tech left over of the mid 70s. It ran on 3 cylinders mostly and had a 4 speed that made it nearly able to move 60mph. Also the floor was only made of carpet. It had not heat, no AC and the radio only worked when the headlights were on. The tires I put on doubled the value of that Jeep and they were used, and it was 2001.

Most my other cars have all been good. My Nissan hardbody gave out, but only after 300k and that could have been fixed. My RX7 even managed 90k with me before the clutch went and I sold it with in tact apex seals. My 944 was a bit of a mess, but it was $900 so the clutch and broken valve spring was kind of expected.

My AW11 MR2 did go through 3 motors but that was all my fault. I oil starved one, built one that I over revved, then built a new one that was too nice and instead tossed a rebuilt one in to sell it.

I did once have a 89 Ford ranger that was ok, but never understood why it took 5 different size wrenches to do every job. Water pump, all the bolts were different sizes. Same with my 83 blazer. It was dumb.

I see people talking about euro cars and horror stories, but I have an S4 I put 287k on and it mostly just needed basics. It’s my current “project” car as I broke the timing belt and now have a large list of fixes along with the “while I’m there” projects.

 

Anything that the word Nissan on it.

 

Especially if it has a CVT

 

Just read through the whole thread top to bottom and the theme seems to be anything Chrysler built is garbage

 

Really? I had great luck w/ my 240, and two 300zx's (one turbo, one non). Maybe the older ones were better than nissans today.

 

The most unreliable one I've experienced is in my avatar pic. 350sbc. Talking just reliability, give me a modern fuel injected japanese motor any day of the week.

 

Wife’s 2007 FX35, never another Nissan again...

 

Bought a buy back car. Live in the proverbial "sticks" so no one could work on the mk 7-2 hours to nearest dealer. Added and installed a Frost Heater, still took most of 25 miles to register heat (granted, it is cold here.) Bought a VCDS so I could problem solve the codes that it threw on a weekly basis. Wife works 3 miles from house and the short drives started to cause problems with regeneration system. Decided I didn't want to be a VW mechanic anymore... bought a CR-V.

 

1990 Chevrolet Lumina, bought it to flip and it was a piece of junk. Made $200 on it and was happy to see it go!

 

I cant say I've ever bought a crap vehicle. With that out of the way, I believe the sons current 2000 Chevy 4 dr Blazer 4x4 is the most worked on. He beats everything half to death.

 

Yes the original VW bug which sold over 21 million copies and remained virtually the same design from 1945 to 2003 when it ceased production. The VW was manufactured all over the world, not just Germany and to this day has a loyal following. Contrary to what the OP said they built their reputation on ruggedness and when properly maintained would go over 100k miles at a time when American cars were worn out at 50k miles and the Japanese were still walking around barefooted. In 1959 the Toyopet a Toyota released to American markets was such a disaster it was pulled off the market and they didn’t come back for 10 years. To be fair you have to realize all manufacturers have produced good and bad designs and to an extent have a vested interest in planned obsolescence. Some go through cycles of poor design and quality control/reliability issues more than others, Dodge is a good example of that. But even they have had some superior engineering like the 225 slant six engine. The 318 v8 and the torque flight automatic transmission which handled everything from 6 cylinders to Hemi. Perhaps the most accurate snapshot of modern day reliability can be obtained looking at consumer reports testing and info coming from owners. They don’t accept advertising and don’t have a vested interest, they are not beholding to manufacturers. Back in the day they didn’t like VW either but it wasn’t based on quality it was safety issues and crash worthiness. On the 6 volt comment all the cars were 6 volt even American until mid 1950s, my brothers 55 Cadillac was impossible to push start
https://www.autonews.com/article/20071029/ANA03/710290355/the-toyopet-crown-rocky-start-for-a-future-giant

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyopet_Masterhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyopet_Master

 

Ford anything lol... i had a ford ranger and a ford f-150 and both sucked. The ranger ended up needing a trans at 90k miles or so and it had plenty of electrical issues too. The f-150 was an ecoboost and it leaked oil, had brake issues, timing chain went out, generally just crap. The fords were the reason I ended up getting the toyota, I was tired of stuff breaking. Will never buy another ford.

 

2018 Ford Explorer Sport. Wife’s car. Too many problems to list. Gremlins everywhere. It led us to our first Toyota - traded to a 2019 4 Runner. Then my beloved 2003 F150 died after 17 years and 252,000 trouble-free miles. The new F150 looked just like the Explorer, so it was a 2020 Tacoma for me. Ford guy no more.

 

2000 chevy work truck bought new. It would just stop running randomly and only sometimes restart. Towed to the dealer three times under warranty. They couldn’t find the problem. Warranty expired so I worked on it in my driveway by wiggling wires under the hood till it died. Found a bad pin in an electrical connector. Fter that it died on a test drive when I tried to sell it. The ignition wire from the coil to the distributor was bad. Fixed it and sold it. Bought two tacomas since then and have had good service from both.

 

1975 Vega GT wagon, brand new. Sharp looking econo-box, darling of gas crisis #1 (1974). They sold a shit-ton of 'em. $3280 out the door. By far, the biggest POS I ever had the agony of owning. Paint fell off immediately, numerous fuel pump (in the tank) problems beginning at 2K miles. Oil leak/consumption that would make a Harley seem like a Rolls-Royce. Stranded me too many times to count. I kicked it to the curb finally, don't think it had a 50K on the odo. Gave it to the neighbor kid who was unlucky enough to ask about it one day, sitting in my mom's driveway. Told him to get it out of here & you can have it. Don't think it was quite 4 yrs old. Come to think of it, I don't recall him ever speaking to me again...

This is how GM transported them from the factory. Should've went straight to the scrap-yards and saved a lot of trouble...

 

1979 Mercedes 450 SLC

 

I had an ‘86 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe that was kind of a basket case. The engine never wanted to run right, it’s like it had a different personality each day.

The intermediate clutch cable snapped as I was merging onto the highway one morning, the pedal fell straight to the floor. I was able to rig up a replacement using scrap cable and some u-bolt clamps.

Outside of that, the heat and A/C didn’t work, the door panels fell apart, the rear end made noise.
I’m sure I’m forgetting quite a lot...

 

My first car. A '63 Buick Skylark with a 200 cu. in. V-8. Bought it from Dad in a silent auction between me and the scrap yard, it was in '76.

That car leaked everything except the blinker fluid. It even leaked rain, snow and gravel dust. Eventually, it tossed a rod thru the block. But it kept running. Dad heard the racket as I pulled in the driveway. We junked it that day.

 

Is the newer BMW 4-banger turbo any better? Asking for a friend...lol

I've been turned off by the BMW DI turbo engines because of their requirement to be "cleaned" periodically due to valve deposit build up. Hope they've fixed it with their current engines. The old M20 & M30 I-6 engines were bullet-proof. You could take them to the track & run the crap out of them. Just do an oil change before and after track sessions and they would keep going strong.