The Ten Worst Cars and Trucks by Consumer Affairs

NYSpeed Automotive
21

[quote=“Violator”"]

[B]4. Toyota Prius[/B]

The Toyota Prius is proving to be a good, solid car but as the hybrid approaches 100,000 miles a number of odd problems are popping up that ought to be cause for concern among consumers shopping for a secondhand hybrid.

The Japanese automaker began selling gas-and-electric cars ten years ago and is now the acknowledged hybrid leader in the automotive industry.

But a growing number of ConsumerAffairs.Com readers are reporting that the Prius hybrid technology is not aging well. With some Prius models in the U.S. on the road now for eight years and approaching 100,000 miles, owners are beginning to encounter problems that are unique to the hybrids.

One reader reported to us that in her 2004 Prius the hybrid display began to malfunction and “did not work with the result of being unable to get gas into car."

A California reader told us that the monitor is also failing in his Prius and said that Toyota is unwilling to provide any assistance because the monitor is no longer covered by the Toyota warranty.

“There is a technical service bulletin out on it from Toyota which tells the dealer how to repair the problem but only if the car is under factory warranty,” he said. “My car has 49,000 miles on it and is out of warranty.”

A Texas Prius owner with 91,000 miles on his hybrid said that "the dashboard lit up with multiple warning lights. The dealer picked it up and said that the transmission went out and it would cost $6,000 to fix and the Prius was out of warranty.”

Toyota allowed no coverage, not even partial help even though the transmission was part of the Hybrid Power train covered for 5 years and 100,000 miles.

A southern California Prius owner told us that his car has died on the freeway four times. The second time the dealer had the car for 53 days waiting for parts.

The growing number of complaints and problems owners of aging Prius hybrids are encountering suggest that a wary consumer ought to look long and hard before becoming the second owner of one of these hybrids.

Toyota warrants the hybrid drive system for 100,000 miles, but as Danny in San Antonio discovered, there can be some uncertainty as to which of the Prius components are considered part of the hybrid drive and which are not.

[/quote]

I’ve been saying it for years now; Diesel FTW.

22

Seems like a very unbiased site. They only have a banner ad for a law office specializing in Ford lawsuits.

23
  1. GM Dex-Cool - any car that uses it? meaning every gm car sold? hahah i love my gm’s
24

Toyota’s and motor sludge? If you run the car and change the oil, I would think this would not be an issue.

25

[quote=“Marcus,post:24,topic:31172"”]

Toyota’s and motor sludge? If you run the car and change the oil, I would think this would not be an issue.

[/quote]

Yes, but this list is for people buying used cars that might not be able to confirm the cars service history and how often oil was changed.

26

[quote=“Marcus,post:24,topic:31172"”]

Toyota’s and motor sludge? If you run the car and change the oil, I would think this would not be an issue.

[/quote]

Yay! Marcus just solved Toyotas multimillion dollar problem that plagued certain motors for years!

27

Hyundai Elantra! Takes mods very well, very reliable, and cheap to fix.

28

this was posted on taurus car club, blue oval news, and on shoforum.com and it was ripped apart for being a completely BS study.

for example

The old reliable Taurus and its Mercury cousin, the Sable, turn out not to be so reliable after all. Consumers tell us every week of a spring breaking in the car, sometimes shredding a tire.

Here is a typical Taurus story:

“My 2002 Ford Taurus is in tip top shape, or so I thought. While driving in a low-speed area my front tire sounded like a gunshot then the car fell to the ground. The mechanic said they cannot believe that this could happen. I had no choice but to replace all my coil springs, because I fear for the safety of my family. There are so many issues with this car yet Ford refuses to help. What can we do?”

There may not be much the current owner can do, but if you are looking for a low-price second-hand family sedan, stay away from the Taurus or the Sable.

There are plenty of dull, dependable cars out there. Why settle for something that’s dull and undependable?

OMG the OE springs break! The car it is a complet POS nobody should drive them.

the sparkplug problem is a fairly isolated incident caused by people that don’t know how to install sparkplugs properly. the heads are alum not steel so if you crank the shit out of them the threads in the head fail. you don’t have to retorque them. The just have to be torqued properly upon initial installation and they will not fail.

the prius.

your display fails after warranty and the dealer won’t buy you free parts. well shit maybe they should see how a classy brand takes care of things like that. lets see what VW/Audi takes care of their failing displays on their dash… oh right if your out of warranty YOU DON’T GET SHIT FOR FREE! that is why they sell extended warranties.

a guy has high miles on a prius and his tranny is blown? why the hell would toyota replace it for free? he probablky beat the shit out of it to make it go becasue it doesn’t have any power. driving that thing on the highway would be equivlent to a trackday on a normal car in terms of how much abuse it would take :smash2:

i can’t believe one of the most dependable cars on the road got listed for having shitty springs hahaha. the 4th gen taurus is one of the most boring cars around but their reliability on the OHV 3.0 is outstanding.

29

[quote=“somedude,post:28,topic:31172"”]

this was posted on taurus car club, blue oval news, and on shoforum.com and it was ripped apart for being a completely BS study.

for example

OMG the OE springs break! The car it is a complet POS nobody should drive them.

the sparkplug problem is a fairly isolated incident caused by people that don’t know how to install sparkplugs properly. the heads are alum not steel so if you crank the shit out of them the threads in the head fail. you don’t have to retorque them. The just have to be torqued properly upon initial installation and they will not fail.

the prius.

your display fails after warranty and the dealer won’t buy you free parts. well shit maybe they should see how a classy brand takes care of things like that. lets see what VW/Audi takes care of their failing displays on their dash… oh right if your out of warranty YOU DON’T GET SHIT FOR FREE! that is why they sell extended warranties.

a guy has high miles on a prius and his tranny is blown? why the hell would toyota replace it for free? he probablky beat the shit out of it to make it go becasue it doesn’t have any power. driving that thing on the highway would be equivlent to a trackday on a normal car in terms of how much abuse it would take :smash2:

i can’t believe one of the most dependable cars on the road got listed for having shitty springs hahaha. the 4th gen taurus is one of the most boring cars around but their reliability on the OHV 3.0 is outstanding.

[/quote]

wow, the taurus club and sho news, what a reputable source concerning their car is listed. The Sables and Tauruses had some major issues. I owneed 2. Trannies took a shit in most of them after 80K. Gen before that 3.8L motors were notorious for overheating and heads warping to shit. Happened twice on mine. There is other crap I dont feel like researching.

LOL, Springs FAILING is a normal problem ??? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME or do you expect everyone reading your posts to be semi retarded? News flash, springs break, car settles on the bump stops, and almost on the ground… cant be fucking driven. End of story/

SHO motor is not the same as a Taurus and does not apply.

Prius… guess boat loads of people all beat the shit out of their Prius trannies at the same time.

Your general reasoning is ridiculous.

30

Why 3rd and 4th Gen Tauruses are shit by FuzzyFish:

-Springs break, serious safety issue no excuse. Not to mention the number of times it result in the tire getting sliced open to boot.
-Trannies break, since oh say day one, but that’s okay they slip 24/7 off the lot.
-Interior falls apart, uses brittle hard plastics that crack
-EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING creaks/rattles after some age.
-Suspension parts wear out than a Yugo can be pushed from a dealer to a junkyard.
-The 3.0 OHV is only reliable because it lacked enough power or torque to kill itself.

Honestly there are some good points, but the car overall is shit (The SHO being the only exception.) Honestly have you even driven a non-SHO 3rd gen and up taurus they are awful to drive.

31

Auto trans BMW’s blow, even I’ll admit that. If it doesnt have 3 pedals, I dont want it.

32

[quote=“MPD47,post:31,topic:31172"”]

If it doesnt have 3 pedals, I dont want it.

[/quote]

:word:

33

[quote=“Nikuk,post:20,topic:31172"”]

This must be the reason that Ford is doing so well as a company.

[/quote]

Ford simply can’t compete with the import brands so thats forcing plant shutdowns and transferring employees to other plants. Now with this, the company can’t afford to pay the high hourly wages and salaries so they’re offering a lot of buy outs to replace production workers with younger kids for much less money.

Replace old men making good money with young kids making less money = less labor and more parts per hour

Edit: We’ll see what happens in September when the Union and Company negotiates a new contract.

Also, the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX is selling 20% over projected sales. Now with the new Ford Flex (similar to the Honda Element) and Ford Reflex (two seat roadster), I think sales should take another big jump. Ford is starting to move into a new direction.

34

I have no faith in that kind of info.

35

double j is the only person to comment on Prius?
I found the Prius info the most interesting.
I have been waiting to see the long term issues with these cars.
Spending thousands of dollars after a few years probably offsets any fuel savings.
$6000 for a tanny with less than 100000 miles? No thanks.

36

[quote=02svtfocus;584986]I work at the Ford Stamping Plant

Oh really??? :pimp:

Come up to the IT Dept. and say hi sometime :retard:

37

[quote=“02svtfocus,post:17,topic:31172"”]

I work at the Ford Stamping Plant

[/quote]

Oh really??? :pimp:

Come up to the IT Dept. and say hi sometime :retard:

38

[quote=“JustinH,post:3,topic:31172"”]

So funny becuase the F150/expedition is such a bulletproof truck it isn’t even funny.

Consumer reports rates them a best bet for used purchase.

That spark plug thing has to do with 5.4L’s, and people not keeping the plugs torqued.

[/quote]

thats a load of crap, I went through 3 O/D control units on my 99 F-150 5.4L had the spark plug issue, and it didn’t fair to well in a fight with a tree