British experts and insurers conducted an in-depth study to identify cars that most often had to be repaired, based on the opinions of users. The survey involved 25 thousand respondents, who were asked to evaluate different models in the age of 6-20 years. Experts have identified which cars more often malfunctioned, and made a rating of the most unreliable used models.
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Land Rover Discovery Sport
It would seem that in the car of premium class everything should be thought out and of high quality. But in practice it turns out that even such a prestigious SUV is not without flaws. In the rating it received 55,4 %. Experts think, that the reliability index in its case is a lottery; who is lucky enough. Some drivers will be engaged only in routine maintenance, others – practically live in service.
According to the common opinion of the respondents, an SUV breaks down quite often, and repairs are very expensive. As a rule, drivers had to go to service about suspension failure, broken pipes and sharp drop of power while overtaking, premature wear of bushings of rear suspension arms, etc.
Smaller, but no less annoying failures, too, are plentiful. The owners wrote, that something constantly does not work: a sensor of safety belts doesn’t react, a parktronic doesn’t function, a trunk doesn’t open on a needed height, etc. In a word, despite the prestige of the model, it cannot be called flawless.
Diesel Range Rover Evoque
It is considered the most beloved and popular car among the female audience. Despite this, many owners have a low opinion of it. According to the results of the survey, its rating is just over 56%.
The 2011-2019 crossovers often fail, so they constantly require preventive maintenance and repairs. Most drivers complained about leaking oil pan, failure of the rear oil seal, spark plug control unit and the plugs themselves.
Nissan X-Trail
Surprisingly, despite the reputation of a fairly high-quality model, the car was also on this list. Reliability rating among instances of 2014-2022 model years – 58.3%.
Owners complained about frequent and numerous breakdowns. In most cases, it concerned electronics, brakes, battery, transmission. One of the main disadvantages of the crossover, according to the drivers – increased oil consumption. And also frequent corking of the rings.
Lexus RX
In the reliability rating these cars with mileage were awarded 62%. According to the feedback the problems are with pneumatics, gas pedal, electronic systems and optics. And the most frequent malfunctions occurred with the braking system.
Nissan Qashqai
Gasoline models received 64.4% in the reliability rating. In the opinion of users, these cars require repair more often than the diesel versions. In any case, about 43% of the owners had to go to the workshop. They complained about malfunctions of the rear and front axle.
Ford Fiesta
In the reliability rating the car was given 65.5%. Surveyed owners complained about numerous malfunctions and breakdowns. Most often there were problems with the engine and electronic stuffing. In addition, other shortcomings were mentioned: difficulties with cold starting, problems with cooling system pump and leakage of valve cover, rear crankshaft oil seal etc.
Nissan Micra
The compact hatchback received 66.4% of the rating. Judging by surveys of owners, it is one of the most criticized models among competitors of its class. It was noted that the drivers had to deal with a variety of malfunctions. Especially often had to repair the suspension, electronics, as well as improve the noise insulation.
Tesla Model S
Owners of used electric cars evaluated the reliability of cars produced in 2014-2022 by 67.5%. It was noted that such models required repairs more often. In any case, the vast majority (64%) of drivers said that they had to go to service stations with breakdowns of electronics, navigation, air conditioning and battery replacement.
Users also cited gearbox failures and the need to update the firmware as frequent problems.
Diesel Mercedes-Benz C-Class
According to the survey, the used car received a 67.5% reliability rating. In general, diesel models are not much inferior to gasoline models. But the repair of the engine is much more expensive.
Audi Q7
The users have estimated the reliability of used SUVs at 67.6%. The car is stuffed with complex electronics and auxiliary systems. With time, they start to malfunction and break down. And repair of such components always costs money.
Besides, the respondents complained about failures of the gas distribution mechanism and the fuel pump. The paintwork was also criticized. It turned out that many drivers had to renew it every 3-4 years.
Volkswagen Golf
The car is one of the most popular and sold. But despite this, its owners consider it not very reliable. The survey showed that more than 68% of drivers had to deal with frequent repairs. Mainly the problems were with fuel system, electronic stuffing and hydraulic power steering.
Dacia Duster
In the rating of unreliable cars the crossover received 68.2% of votes. It turned out that almost 45% of the cars had problems with engine and electronics. Also a weak audio system and high fuel consumption were noted.
Diesel Volkswagen Passat
In the rating the car was given 68.3%. Many respondents (40%) noted that they had to do repairs quite often. Fortunately, there were not so many major problems. Mostly they were small problems and defects of medium complexity. However, the drivers noted that the repair can cost a pretty penny, since the spare parts are quite expensive.
Diesel Nissan Qashqai
The car received 68.3% of confidence of the surveyed owners. They indicated that the diesel model has to be repaired more often than the gasoline model. Problems occurred with the dynamics, steering columns, control of “blind” zones. There were complaints about the weak heating of the windshield and seats, the appearance of frequent creaks in different places.
Diesel Jaguar XE
A survey of 2015-2022 sedan owners showed that there were quite a lot of dissatisfied with the quality of the car – 68.5%. It was noted that diesel models broke down more often than gasoline models. Almost half of the owners (48%) reported problems with the brake system and electronics more often. Slightly less frequent were other costly breakdowns: repair or replacement of superchargers and automatic transmissions.
Other drivers pointed to the defects of the fuel line (though, it is a problem acknowledged by the manufacturers, so the fault is eliminated at their expense) and increased oil flow rate. There were also minor defects, which had to be eliminated – for example, hang-ups and failures of the multimedia system.
BMW X1
The number of claims to the crossover was quite high – 69%. Most owners (29%) noted problems with the suspension. The tires were also criticized: their expensiveness, absence of spare and repair kit, unpredictable behavior in a rut.
The respondents mentioned the frequent repairs of running gear, parktronic, fan, stabilizer, and steering gimbal. At the same time they have mentioned different minor damages. Judging by the reviews, the purchased crossover with mileage can become expensive later.
Hyundai Santa Fe
About 35% of respondents were critical about the crossover from South Korea, which amounted to 68.7%. The owners complained that they have to repair the car too often. Most of the complaints concerned the transmission, because mainly this unit was out of order. Next is the bad work of the clutch.
In addition, users pointed out other shortcomings of the car, which caused them problems. This is too low location of the lights, due to which they quickly got dirty. As a result, the crossover was poorly visible to other road users. The low ground clearance also caused problems while driving on poorly maintained roads.
Claims were also made about the powertrain. According to reviews, owners often experienced cylinder, catalytic converter and fuel pump failures.