Toyota and Honda aren’t engineering miracles – they just attract owners who properly maintain their vehicles.
These brands appeal to practical people seeking reliable, safe, and inexpensive-to-repair cars. The same people who prioritize these qualities also tend to follow maintenance schedules religiously and address issues promptly.
It’s a virtuous cycle: practical people buy practical cars, maintain them properly, and reinforce these brands’ reliability reputation – unlike that neglected Nissan Altima with both bumpers hanging off.
When you see a 20-year-old Camry still running perfectly, remember: it’s partly because its owner actually changed the timing belt when the manual said to.
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i agree partially, but alot of these u can tell have been drove to hell and back with minimal maintanence, some stuff just last better because of how it was built, alot of those older cars would run for years on end even with late and minimal maintanence
An actual rare opinion? Upvoted even if I don’t agree
While this is an interesting theory, as someone who works on cars pretty often there definitely is a difference.
I agree mostly. Honda and Toyota specifically have made some of the most reliable economy motors
Yes and no. I owned a 2009 Honda Accord. I rode that thing into the ground until 334k miles. Never had a problem but I took great care of it. I then bought a Mercedes, same care, didn’t make it to 200k before it needed a new engine. There is a difference in the expected life cycles of the engines in different brands. The more complicated the engine, the lower the life cycle.
Alfa romeo will breakdown every 27 miles regardless of how much you maintain them
This sub should be renamed r/ saying patently false shit for engagement.
I’m the kind of guy who buys a beater or two every year for the last forty five years i’ve owned pretty much any kind of vehicle you can imagine.
And i’ve come to the basic conclusion that the toyota is one of the best overall cars I’ve ever owned.
My second best vehicle i’ve ever owned, was my volvo seven sixty turbo, but it didn’t get the fuel efficiency of the prius for sure
It’s a bit of both.
Does maintenance help? Absolutely.
But these are built like tanks. Look at the 22R.
That’s just categorically incorrect. Upvoted I guess.
I will upvote, but I very much disagree. I have seen these vehicles in 3rd world countries where they are not treated gently and they just dont die.
Not convincing me. I took care of all my cars and the GMs that I’ve owned where all trash.
You might have some correct opinion here however the Japanese automotive versus German automotive have a difference in mindset. Japanese understand that people will not always change their oil at the recommended time the Germans however believe everyone will always follow the rules. Because of this, the Hondas and Toyotas are built to withstand more vigourous deferred maintenance than German automotive vehicles.
Go to West Africa and you will find Toyotas everywhere. And these cars are beat down like no other cars — and they still keep going. That’s what convinced me that Toyotas are great cars. It’s not the owner, it’s the car.
Honda driver that used to buy gm and Ford. I followed maintenance schedules on them. I had better luck with gm but still way more warranty work than my Honda. I will never buy a Ford again. That car was hot garbage 5k miles in from the factory.
But also to be honest, Toyota has invested millions into establishing that as their reputation, even though, with regular maintenance practically any car can last. I remember yesterday hearing this waitress say she’s went through two timing chains and she has to check her oil every time she gets gas. What the fuck.
A big part of their reliability is they will use the same parts for several generations of the same car. All the problems have been ironed out.
I have a Toyota and only take so-so care of it. I’m definitely not getting things replaced as recommended, it’s whenever I can afford it, and I’ve gone thousands of miles past when I should have gotten oil changes. It’s still chugging along at 190k miles.
Nissan Altima owner, can confirm I definitely go into my transmission and destroy it, it’s certainly not the manufacturers fault /s
The last BMW I owned had an electrical water pump made out of plastic that randomly exploded on me twice…
Al Queda driving around the mountains of Afghanistan in a Hilux with 300k on the odo would suggest the build quality does have some impact.
Never saw a .50 mounted in a Borrego, that’s for sure.
There are plenty of people who don’t meticulously take care of their vehicles driving around in 30 year old Camrys and civics.
I’d also argue that many car enthusiasts are very strict about maintenance and their American made cars still don’t last as long as the Japanese makes.
Not really an opinion. Just wrong.
Hard disagree on this one (so I upvoted). By this logic, high-end luxury cars, which are leased by the large majority of first “owners” and thus come with maintenance, should have a reputation for reliability. People with money for cars like that don’t bat an eye at maintenance costs. And yet, we all know whether buying a 6-year-old S-Class is a good idea.
I own a Chevy and a Toyota. Same year, which one do you think has half a million miles on it both serviced at the manufacturers recommended intervals or sooner (hint- it’s not the Chevy cuz the Chevy as piece of shit)
I mean… I don’t know, man. I maintain my vehicles meticulously. And I’d wager even so a Camry or Accord is going to last a longer than a Malibu or whatever.
My father owns a toyota yaris hybrid. 250000km, uses it in the centre of rome where it’s a driver’s nightmare and the car still runs like a charm.
I use it and it doesn’t feel like it has that many km. We also own an audi q5 that is falling apart after 150k km, but we got that used since the new one is expensive af.
I drive a 92 Jetta GLI, 33 years old and never had an issue, I’m the second owner. Take care of the engine and carburator, and it’ll last more years to come. German and Japanese engineering is top tier.
This is flat out wrong. Maybe you WANT to believe this. But ask 5 mechanics and see what their opinion is.
Toyota revolutionized not just auto manufacturing, but ALL manufacturing by giving every employee down to the janitor the ability to stop the whole production line whenever they noticed a problem. Rather than ship the cars to meet a quota, they would stop the whole line to fix that problem once and for all so that it never happened again, quota be damned. Lo and behold, after a few years of that, your factory is churning out high quality machines.
People literally study Toyota in business school. What they do after they graduate is beyond me but I buy Toyotas, and I don’t take great care of them. I buy 10 year old Toyotas with 100k miles on them and trust them with my family’s life.
I literally don’t know what an engine is a
Be my 2010 Corolla lasted a decade
You literally contradicted yourself saying practical people who are attracted to reliable vehicles buy them lol they’re reliable because they’re engineered to be reliable, not because of who owns them. Take my upvote!
I think mechanics would disagree. But the owner is definitely the biggest factor in the longevity of ANY vehicle.
Yikes, you didn’t say Toyota and Honda are the eighth wonder of this world? Prepared to be attacked by their cult members lmao.
You have an interesting theory. But I see cause and effect in what you wrote. It is easier to adhere to the maintenance schedule If the car requires less frequent maintenance intervals that are less work and cheaper. You can also lookup the total cost of ownership for many models of vehicle and find that Japanese cars are cheaper per mile driven. They’re just better.
This isn’t an unpopular opinion, it’s a wrong opinion.
Toyota specifically, at least previously, designed all their parts to last hundreds of thousands of miles without maintenance.
You have this view backwards. BMWs are known as unreliable because of who buys them.
German engineers design cars to last and be reliable with someone who follows the recommended maintenance to the letter.
Japanese engineers design cars to last and be reliable with total neglect.
Defects/100 cars (new) is an important metric. But I also think that people who value reliable transportation will get more of the preventative maintenance done.
https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2023-us-vehicle-dependability-studyvds
I own a 2017 hrv and the transmission blew up at about 100k miles and i always take my car in. They paid for a transmission at least.
I would say this is false. Source: I work at an auto mechanic shop.
That’s part of it, but absolutely not the whole story. Toyotas do just last longer than most cars. They built a good engine and used it for almost everything.
Note, however, that they are trying out a different/new engine design as of late… and reliability has fallen significantly because of that for newer models.
They aren’t even that reliable. Honda still has issues with their automatics on V6s and Toyotas famed reliability is a lie. I’m religious about vehicle maintenance and I had so many issues with Toyotas. One was needing a new engine around 40k miles. I’ve had to take brand new loaners back because of issues. But a well maintained Jk Wrangler or even an RX7 will last you.
You‘re not wrong but also not completely right.
Those cars are engineered with much higher tolerances and overbuilding in mind, which results in them being able to take a lot of abuse.
At the same time, whilst an Audi or a BMW is considered wildly unreliable in the general mind of the USA, in Germany it’s the opposite, where BMWs are well built and long lasting machines. Due to TÜV and the general consensus of the population, Germans do a lot more maintenance than people from the US. So yes, there is some truth to it, but it’s not the entire reason.
I don’t know about this one. I had a Tacoma that I would absolutely wring out and never had an issue, sold it at 170k miles. Lots of heavy towing, off roading, and just a constant heavy foot. Yes, I maintained it extremely well.
Fast forward a few years. I picked up a Jeep wrangler. Also drove it hard but nothing what I put my Tacoma through. Also had perfect over the top maintenance. Thing was non-stop issues. Had somewhat major engine work at 34k miles. Ended up selling at about 45k miles cause it was such a piece of shit and would pop a CEL every few times I drove it.
Edit: upvoted OP post as it fits this sub
I ran my altama hybrid for 16yrs. The battery’s gave out. Engine was still good. Didnt put much in to it.
This is not true
This is just factually untrue… not unpopular.
I’ve owned a lot of cars in my life and I can tell you, Toyotas are most definitely the most reliable, along with Subaru. Your theory is wrong, I’m afraid. Drive a couple of Americans, and then a Toyota, and tell me there’s no difference.
While I see some validity to your argument, there are definitely some differences in how they are engineered and also their quality control.
When I was in school a professor told us a key difference at least in the mid-late 90s when the professor had experience Honda in particular had a different QC system than domestic vehicles. He said most domestic cars had a system where they would inspect like every 100 parts with tight parameters, if it passes the whole lot of 100 would pass. If the production is consistent that is fine in theory, but if 20 of that 100 are out of spec and you inspect one of the 80 that are good, you are creating problems with 20% of your end products… Honda would inspect every part with slightly looser parameters and did their best to engineer for the whole range of those parameters. In the end you get cars that don’t make as much horse power and have not as tight of body lines but a much higher percentage are within spec meaning longer life.
This is so true!
Ford owners be like “Cars are supposed to be reliable?”
This OP does not have a degree in anything close to engineering.
I’ve seen many Honda motorcycles being handled in ways where Satan would step in to ask why in hells name you are trying to hurt an inanimate object so badly… and the bike would be absolutely fine.
This isn’t even an opinion, you’re just wrong. They’re absolutely better built
I bought a Honda accord specifically for the reliability. I rarely maintain it, and never change the oil on time. At 150,000 miles and no problems.
Yes, while Americans and Canadians shit on European cars for being unreliable, over here old Citroens, Renaults, Peugeots, Fiats, VWs, Skodas, SEATs, Opels and Volvos, all with moon miles and almost old enough to draw a pension are still pootling about just as when they were new.
My college gf had a Jeep and I had a Toyota Tacoma. Its 99% about how it was built.
My well maintained Altima is doing just fine thank you
I think its a little more isolated than than just a brand.
Most Civics will be ragged to shit, whilst most Jazz’s will be well kept. But i’ve also been in a Jazz that was basically 10% full of cigarettes and ash, you couldn’t see the floor lol
Its the same as anything really. We buy 2nd hand less and less these days as things become more affordable, and as people age their taste and preference in cars change. Older people tend to look after things better.
Personally, i don’t think your opinion in unpopular.
I don’t necessarily agree with this, as someone who takes very good care of his car I will NEVER own another Chrysler product as they will simply fall apart no matter how well you maintain them.
I worked for years in dealer and independent service.
It’s maybe 20% of the equation.
They’re also low performing vehicles. Low cost, performance, and reliability is a triangle.
Tell that to my 1984 Land cruiser, 400k miles, haven’t done an oil change in 5 year. Just occasionally topping it up 🤣 Toyotas (2020 and under) are built to last! Meanwhile my 23 Tundra will throw a hissyfit if I don’t do an oil change a day past its due date!
Not true, both of these companies practice the Kaizen model. On top of that Toyota also practices the 5 Whys approach to improving their product. So there’s always constant improvement of their cars.
Typically these companies build cars with the exception that their owners won’t properly maintain them. While other companies like, the Germans, engineer them with the exception that regular maintenance will happen. That’s why Toyotas and Hondas last so long because they work even when you don’t take care of them. While a company like BMW is very reliable when regular maintenance is adhered to but are pretty unreliable otherwise.
Also this is the historic practices and reputations of these companies. Nowadays reliability is all over the place, even with Toyota and Honda, because constant changes in regulations around emissions and fuel efficiency means these companies have to constantly change their cars. And they don’t have enough time to improve their systems before the next change happens.
Every mechanic I’ve ever talked to would disagree. Planned obsolescence is very common.
Toyota and Hondas are made with the mindset that people don’t take care of their cars. Sure, if you take care of a Chevy or VW, it can last long too. However, the difference is that they’re so much more fragile.
Nah, my GFs 2015 CRV is HURT. Before we were together, there was at least one year of no oil changes. Then recently there was a time of almost no oil at all due to the valve cover gasket leaking for I don’t know how long. We don’t live together and her brother took it all the time so I wasn’t able to check on it regularly, but regardless valve cover gasket replaced, oil changed and it’s still kicking at 224K miles. Now…despite all that I just said…knock on wood.
sorry but this is just patently false. You’re asking me to start with the premise that different levels of engineering and manufacturing quality don’t exist. if you actually look inside the corporate culture of Toyota you’ll understand why they are several times more reliable than their next competitor (Honda) and several hundred times more reliable than any American brand. and it’s not regular oil changes. it’s in the DNA of the company