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Wed 10 May 2023 17:45

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - Vauxhall Astra owner

Just a curious question here but what’s everyone’s thoughts on which Petrol cars or engines are the most reliable? Which ones have the least amount of larger issues? All cars have to be maintained and have wear and tear items changed but it would be good to get peoples opinions on the ones that are more bullet proof. Speaking from your own experiences. Anything from like 2012 onwards really.
Thanks

Edited by Vauxhall Astra owner on 10/05/2023 at 17:45

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Wed 10 May 2023 18:16

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - movilogo

How does it matter?

Engine is not the most common failed component rendering an old car uneconomical to repair.

If the car is automatic, transmission failure can become an even bigger issue.

If the car is under warranty, then an unreliable engine may not be a major problem (financially).

Most engines, when properly serviced should last a very long time. Only few engines are problems due to inherent design faults.

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Wed 10 May 2023 18:49

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - Vauxhall Astra owner

Just curious because every engine I research online seems to have issues that arise. I suppose if you look for bad points online you will find them.

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Wed 10 May 2023 19:05

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - Engineer Andy

Just curious because every engine I research online seems to have issues that arise. I suppose if you look for bad points online you will find them.

Bear in mind that it's far more likely that those posting 'engine issues' are just a tiny fraction of the total of all issues for a particular model, which itself probably amounts to about 5-10% of owners whilst the car is (say) less than 5 years old, never mind in warranty.

Some issues - such as DFP / oil dilution problems in diesel engined cars are inherrent design problems, but more often than not are caused when the car is predominantly used for short trips from cold, because common rail turbo diesels are supposed to be used for longer trips, in order to get the most mpg benefit from a fully warmed up, efficient engine.

How you use as well as maintain a car (which is also a contributing factor) can make as big a difference as any specific design flaws the car may have.

With reviews, you're far more likely to get people reviewing a car because they 'hate' it, followed by (less) those 'loving' it, and then very few who think it's just 'ok'. Not helped these days with the increasing number of fake positive (by paid shills or staff) and negative reviews (from rival firms or people who've made bad buying choices and want someone to blame other than themselves).

Go with the reviews that go into reasonable detail and without ranting - i.e. those who are trying to give potential buyers useful information without too much bias in as impartial a way as they can.

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Wed 10 May 2023 18:35

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - Adampr

Engines - the Ford Sigma and the Rover/Chrysler Tritec were pretty good but small.

Cars - the usual Toyota, Honda, sometimes Mazda.

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Wed 10 May 2023 19:05

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - Metropolis.

in the modern era, maybe the Toyota 5.7 v8 petrol?

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Tue 5 Nov 2024 20:20

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - focussed

in the modern era, maybe the Toyota 5.7 v8 petrol?

Surprisingly I spotted a Toyota Tundra 5.7 V8 in our local supermarket car park, with an

LPG conversion, imported from a specialist dealer in the Netherlands.

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Wed 10 May 2023 21:58

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - SLO76

Post 2012 engines I’d file under bombproof would include..

Honda VTEC 4cyl, any of them. These rarely go wrong, beyond a batch of 1800’s sold around 2012 in the then new Civic which drank a bit of oil. No turbo, no DPF and no timing belt in post 2012 cars. Make sure they’ve fresh oil every year and they’ll run til the a*** rusts out of the car. I love the sound VTEC makes when it comes on song.

Mazda Skyactiv petrol, 1.5/2.0. Again, nothing to worry about. Chain driven, no turbo and nothing complex. These are good on fuel and are utterly dependable.

Toyota 4cyl 1.33/1.5 petrol. Impossible to kill, even with extreme neglect these things simply refuse to die. No character, but they pull well enough in a Yaris.

Toyota 4cyl 1.8 from the Avensis. Tried and tested by taxi drivers across the land, there’s little to go wrong here. Lacks character and torque though.

Ford 4cyl Zetec-SE 1.25/1.4/1.6/1.7. Great wee engines. Simple, yet rev happy and very robust. Belt driven but the belt has little work to do as it doesn’t run the water pump, they rarely fail even years beyond the recommended change interval. Just ask John. Ford at its best… when they get someone else to design their engines. Thanks Yamaha.

I wouldn’t usually recommend a modern diesel, but hats off to Honda as the 1.6 DTEC has proven to be highly robust. I can’t say I’ve ever heard of anyone, either dealer or owner suffer a major problem with one. I’ve had two and done around 60,000 miles in them and the engines never go wrong. They’re amazing on fuel and pull surprisingly well.

If we could go back further there’s loads of engines I could add, but todays designs are increasingly poor for long term durability. In the rush for reduced emissions and fuel use we’ve accepted cars that have reduced reliable lifespans. Few of todays DPF equipped diesels or tiny petrol turbos will be running around in twenty years time unlike the fleet of elderly Honda’s and Toyota’s that litter our streets. Perversely this likely causes higher more environmental damage than it saves in my opinion.

Edited by SLO76 on 10/05/2023 at 22:04

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Wed 10 May 2023 22:27

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - Lee Power

My mechanic friend has just replaced the original factory fitted cam belt on a 2006 Fiesta 1.25 - it had 73k miles on.

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Thu 11 May 2023 08:15

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - Catfood

I was about to say Yamaha designed 4 cyl Ford Zetec Engine.....Simple yes very simple and not powerful but happy to rev and I think it's very robust. never missed a beat.....V reliable.

It's fitted in my 56 reg 1.4l Fiesta

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Thu 11 May 2023 09:17

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - Steveieb

Early pre DPF versions of the VAG PD engine , chosen by taxi drivers all over Europe and capable of up to 500 k miles driven under these conditions.

Similarly the Peugeot Xud and Toyota Atkinson cycle engine in the Prius.

Common theme they were chosen by taxi drivers , but what will they choose now ?

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Thu 11 May 2023 09:33

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - elekie&a/c doctor

One to avoid is the JLR ingenium engine, in either petrol or diesel. Some of them failing with as little as 10k mikes on the clock .

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Thu 11 May 2023 13:46

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - skidpan

Early pre DPF versions of the VAG PD engine

Similarly the Peugeot Xud

Useful advice when the OP was asking about petrol engines.

To be honest not had an issue with any petrol engine ever. But if I had to suggest one it would be a VAG TSI from mid 2013 onwards (i.e. the belt drive ones).

Great to drive and very economical.

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Thu 11 May 2023 13:12

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - Engineer Andy

Early pre DPF versions of the VAG PD engine , chosen by taxi drivers all over Europe and capable of up to 500 k miles driven under these conditions.

Similarly the Peugeot Xud and Toyota Atkinson cycle engine in the Prius.

Common theme they were chosen by taxi drivers , but what will they choose now ?

I presume the 406 TD taxi I was in about 15 years ago was of that type. I couldn't believe the starship mileage that it had done (I initially though I had misread it adding the decimal point, but no) - well over 400,000 miles.

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Thu 11 May 2023 13:25

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - Terry W

No major manufacturer will sell an engine knowing it to be failure prone and expect to stay in business long term.

Some do slip through the testing net - operating and owner experiences usually lead to modifications. Solution - buy proven designs don't be an early adopter.

Every manufacturer will insist they have top notch quality controls in place. But buy from a company which is clearly successful - quality control is one aspect that is easy to cut if profit comes under pressure, and fundamental to long term reliability.

Finally - a significant failure element is simply down to the owner - don't abuse the engine (eg: high revs, cold starts) and get in serviced on time.

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Thu 11 May 2023 14:29

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - Catfood

No major manufacturer will sell an engine knowing it to be failure prone and expect to stay in business long term.

What's about VAG 1.5TSI.....

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Thu 11 May 2023 15:45

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - Adampr

No major manufacturer will sell an engine knowing it to be failure prone and expect to stay in business long term.

What's about VAG 1.5TSI.....

They're not failure prone. A little bit jerky when they're cold, but not particularly likely to break down.

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Thu 11 May 2023 15:53

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - Terry W

No major manufacturer will sell an engine knowing it to be failure prone and expect to stay in business long term.

What's about VAG 1.5TSI.....

They're not failure prone. A little bit jerky when they're cold, but not particularly likely to break down.

And apparently with a software upgrade the problem has gone away.

A bit like the Puretech cambelt disintegration issue - failures identified and now fixed.

Demonstrates the wisdom of buying proven tech over new tech - let someone else be the guinea pig!

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Thu 11 May 2023 19:16

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - Engineer Andy

No major manufacturer will sell an engine knowing it to be failure prone and expect to stay in business long term.

What's about VAG 1.5TSI.....

They're not failure prone. A little bit jerky when they're cold, but not particularly likely to break down.

I suppose some can be classed as more prone to problems (e.g. the 1.4 twin charger, in my view) and thus why they weren't popular and were withrawn, never to return (rather than fixed / upgraded, as the 1.5TSI was), maybe because it wasn't worth the cost as the reputational damage to that engine was done.

As has been said, much of the problems is caused by owners not using them as they are supposed to, although a decent amount of the blame should go to both the manufacturers and supplying dealerships, given that I'd put a good deal of money on them not telling most diesel or rotary engine car buyers about the 'short trips from cold' issues and to give them nice long runs, the latter needing to be driven across all rev ranges, preferably at the higher end on a regular basis.

The number of times I sat in my local Mazda dealership awaiting my car to come back from service/MOT when a RX-8 owner was at the counter bemoaning having to spend a small fortune replacing a large chunk of their exhaust system and dealing with other failure because they used the car to mainly pop to the shops and rarely give them a decent run at higher revs.

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Thu 11 May 2023 13:54

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - SLO76

“ I presume the 406 TD taxi I was in about 15 years ago was of that type. I couldn't believe the starship mileage that it had done (I initially though I had misread it adding the decimal point, but no) - well over 400,000 miles.“

The 8v 2.0 HDi’s could do insane mileages if looked after, it’s up there with VW’s 1.9 PD. I knew a Hackney driver that had a taxi with just under a million miles from its original engine. He serviced it immaculately and only his son and him drove it. But this engine predates 2012.

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Sat 2 Nov 2024 14:24

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - Vauxhall Astra owner

Andy DPF issues with the Honda diesel? Is it ok for shorter journeys?

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Mon 4 Nov 2024 13:06

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - Engineer Andy

Andy DPF issues with the Honda diesel? Is it ok for shorter journeys?

They may be less susceptible, but likely not completely, probably because of how the concept of DPFs work on cars (unlike on HGVs).

If you're going to predominantly do short journeys from cold, especially in an urban setting, I'd avoid diesels generally, especially second-hand ones, because you have no idea how they were previously used - the previous owner may be getting rid of it because they drove it in that pattern and want to offload it as it was starting to give problems.

Modern petrol engines are more hardy in this respect, even those with GPFs, as apparently the systems burn hotter and thus a build-up of clogging residues are far less likely / more easily dealt with by the system itself.

Sure, DPF-equipped second-hand diesels (especially EU5 and older) are now quite cheap in comparison to petrol engined cars of the same starting price/age because of the reliability / repair expense (complexity compare to petrols and older cars) and ULEZ related issues, but you do take a bit chance by buying one.

They may prove fine, they may not. You may initially save yourself a few Grand to buy one, but you might end up with expensive headaches and hassles if something expensive does fail, likely being significantly out-of-pocket.

Do you feel lucky?

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Thu 11 May 2023 19:30

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - Big John

The most reliable / long lived that are also cheap to fix ted to be simpler in design, no turbo and or supercharger, no direct injection, no variable timing, no Dual Mass Flywheel and probably manual gearbox etc. Doesn't mean they are efficient and/or nice to drive though.

Highlight re long lived engines Ford 1.25,1.4, 1.6 , 2.0 zetec petrol. Toyota 1.33, 1.8, 1.5/1.8 4cylinder hybrid, VAG 1.6 8v , Vauxhall 1.6 petrol, Renault 1.2 8v, Fiat 1.2 8v (yes Fiat, Fire engine is great, gearbox is made of cheese though). Honda vtec.

I myself bought a car with an engine reputed to be made of cheese - the cam chain EA111 VAG 1.4tsi in a 2014 Skoda Superb. I followed one of my own rules - buy the last version of a model, hopefully sorted and usually good value. 8 years and over 111k miles later - still going strong. Yes it has variable valve timing, cam chain, direct injection but it's lovely to drive, very low revved on a motorway, quiet and amazingly economical for a petrol.

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Thu 11 May 2023 22:48

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - bathtub tom

There's a Mercedes diesel locally shown going up in flames. MOT history shows it at over 400K - faults are off the screen.

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Mon 4 Nov 2024 08:04

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - edlithgow

The most reliable / long lived that are also cheap to fix ted to be simpler in design, no turbo and or supercharger, no direct injection, no variable timing, no Dual Mass Flywheel and probably manual gearbox etc. Doesn't mean they are efficient and/or nice to drive though.

Not sure the gearbox is really within the scope of the question, but I understood the conventional wisdom was an automatic was protected from driver abuse so likely to be more reliable.

Engine-wise I suppose something aircooled like the VW Beetle or 2CV. Eliminates a whole potential can of worms.

Daihatsu engine in my Skywing seemed robustly simple too with very good fuel economy (although liquid cooled, and the only rubber-band OHC engine I've had) until I broke it. For choice I'd favour timing chains if OHC (e.g. Lada 1200, Nissan Sunny) and pushrods (Leyland B series, Volvo 240) over them.

In fact only engine I've had thats given problems was a Ford DOHC 2L in a Sierra that broke a plastic timing chain guide, which ultimately killed it. Bakelite engine bits seem a BAD THING.

Post 2012?

Dunno.

No experience and not much interest., but it seems to be asking for trouble. Bound to have a catalytic converter for a start.

Maybe, if I must, the ECA1 engine in a Mk1 Honda Insight?

No, thats too early.

Edited by edlithgow on 04/11/2024 at 09:02

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Fri 12 May 2023 12:13

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - John F

Unaffordable for most when new, VW's legendary W12 engine will probably go down in history as one of the most reliable, maintenance free and almost certainly the most successful mass produced twelve cylinder car engine ever made. In 2014, the fourteen year expertise of making and assembling them in Salzgitter was transferred to..... Crewe! Since its proving debut in the VW Nardo, umpteen tens of thousands of them (around 100,000 from Crewe alone) are, even with a couple of turbos bolted on, still reliably powering luxury cars, mostly Bentleys now, worldwide. Search for 'W12 engine problems' and despite so many around, you will be hard pressed to find any horror stories - compared to some other twelve cylinder engines made since its inception 25yrs ago. Try searching 'W12 engine rebuild' or 'teardown' etc. On U-tube all sorts of other engines appear, but no W12s!

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Fri 12 May 2023 13:10

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - badbusdriver

Unaffordable for most when new, VW's legendary W12 engine will probably go down in history as one of the most reliable, maintenance free and almost certainly the most successful mass produced twelve cylinder car engine ever made.

Legendary?

May be some ownership bias creeping in!.

I wonder how many folk, if asked to name a 12 cyl engine, would come up with the W12?.

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Sat 2 Nov 2024 16:40

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - madf

Car Mechanics had an article on the W12 engine.

In summary: engine fine, some components not fine..Ie typical German..

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Sun 3 Nov 2024 21:20

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - John F

Car Mechanics had an article on the W12 engine..

So did 'Classics W'.....

Volkswagen W12 engine guide - Classics World

.....such a brilliant (and reliable) piece of engineering, but now as obsolete as those magnificent multicylinder radial aero engines....

Engine Nr 700 228, DC-7B pic1 Teknikens och Sjöf***ens hus, Science and Maritime House - Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone - Wikipedia

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Mon 4 Nov 2024 09:24

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - Steveieb

Is that true that the Achilles heel of Kia and Hyundai cars are the engines which rarely pass 100 k.

There has been much coverage of these engine failures in North America where they are a major player !

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Mon 4 Nov 2024 12:35

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - RT

Is that true that the Achilles heel of Kia and Hyundai cars are the engines which rarely pass 100 k.

There has been much coverage of these engine failures in North America where they are a major player !

Any evidence for that here? Hyundai/Kia models sold in Europe are built in Europe or Korea - models sold in North America are built in USA.

My old 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 diesel has just passed 156,000 according to it's MoT history - my daughter-in-law's Hyundai i30 1.4 petrol, an ex-Enterprise rental car, has done 105,000 with no issues, just had a new clutch and I replaced the original spark plugs at the last service.

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Mon 4 Nov 2024 13:41

Any make - Most reliable petrol engines - galileo

Is that true that the Achilles heel of Kia and Hyundai cars are the engines which rarely pass 100 k.

There has been much coverage of these engine failures in North America where they are a major player !

Eric, who strips failed engines on Youtube 'Ido cars', says Kia/Hyundai engines in the US made vehicles, mainly the 2.0 litres, usually fail on cylinder No.3.

Comments from other mechanics suggest No.3 rod crankpin bearing initiates failure, there is a recall campaign in the US with some engines replaced free.

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