I worked at a Subaru dealership as an express advisor, we had a technician that would come out and talk to every single customer who had a turbo Subaru, especially people in the process of buying one. His job was to inform them that if they let the engine idle for 30 seconds to a minute after a drive so the turbos can cool down and change the oil every 2500 miles instead of every 5000 because turbochargers cook the oil that their engine would last much, much longer. We had a LOT less of those going bad, like guys could go hundreds of thousands of miles regularly.
There are hundreds and hundreds of European special German American engines outside who are are really be simply for the trash box the newer developings, the more more worst. That strategy brings them Ford, VW, BMW ect gangsters alot money, because people are way to stupid to left usa and special European cars on the side passing instead of buying this German Trash Car Cabinet. Regards Jay
2015+ wrx models dont need that at all, they are gravity fed to cool down the turbo after the cars been turned off, the sti and all other turbo variants before 2015 need to have a cooldown period. ive had the 2020 for 3 years and 26k miles tuned since 1000 miles and never had any issues. my 23 wrx is no different. i also do oil changes every 5k miles never had an issue.those 26k miles were all hooning and on dirt and snow in the mountains sliding around. even with mudflaps it doesnt stop the gravel from ruining the paint on your doors :(
I use to work for Advance Auto Parts. I sold a lot of engine parts related to the engines mentioned on this video. When I mentioned the flaws with the customer's engine, I got the classic Pikachu face.
@85 Testarossa Well.. Good for you that you always know exactly what you need. Not everyone does you know. Not defending these places because they are not all filled with competent people. But then nobody's perfect, not even you.
@85 Testarossa Well.. That's not everyone's experience. When I need something they are always knowledgeable about what I need. At least in my area they are But then I go to Autozone or Napa
The main problem with many German engines is mentioned in the vid: the absurdly long oil change intervals. A close second being the obsession with saving weight and making all kinds of parts from plastic. Changing the oil and the oil filter on a much shorter interval doesn't fully solve a lot of the problems, but it will definitely help keep the engine running for a much longer time. Eventually the problems will show their ugly heads, but that will be much further along the road.
I'm definitely not a GM fan but one of the best engines I have ever owned was the 3.1 liter V6 in my 1989 Cutlass Supreme, and I'll never understand why. It was fast, reliable and very fuel efficient.
They had intake manifold gasket issues, but otherwise the reason it was so solid was its simplicity, a basic pushrod V6, refined over decades of pushrod engine development.
I had a 1995 Olds Cutlass Supreme with the 3100. You had to change the intake manifold gasket around 100,000 miles. After that, I put 285,000 miles altogether before the rear suspension rusted and broke. The motor still ran great. The best car I ever owned.
There's a KIA Sorento with 600k miles that had the Theta II engine. The owner had a unlimited mile 10 year warranty. In the 600k miles, the Sorento went through 9 engines, 4 transmissions, 203 oil changes, and 20 transmission flushes. That basically means a new engine very 67k miles, new transmission every 150k miles, an oil change every 3000 miles, and a transmission fluid flush every 30k miles.
As a former VW tech I can confirm I have seen each of those items fail, but you forgot the carbon build up around the intake valves which needs to be cleaned every 60k-100k. The gen 3 TSI engines have many improvements over the gen 2’s you are referring to, which is probably why you stopped at 2014. Edit: I didn’t expect to get this many questions. I was a tech at VW for 6 months and I didn’t see every scenario, so my ability to answer questions is limited.
@@Jusstisse yes the they are better, though the most likely thing to fail is the thermostat housing. When you get high mileage, of course you want to keep an eye on the timing chain and get a carbon cleaning every 80k or so. Be on the early side for fluid services and it should do well
Gotta love gdi. Got a hyundai(g4kj 2016 sonata se) with it. Just had the motor replaced under their recall as a second owner at 107k because it did what they do - ate a gallon of oil in 5 days(had just done a change[am mechanic]) then it just shit itself on an i80 on ramp via main and rod bearing seizure - and I'm trying to figure out how tf the modify shit to get injection spray in the Intake but I don't have enough of the build specs or machines to fix...or the coding experience in automotive. Or the hardware to monitor it all or those to change the ecu parameters. So really I'm just pipe dreaming waiting to spend 1000$ for walnut blasting in 25k I want the sonata night edition n line buuuuuut...but...but...and hear me out now. I'll take anything with a pushrod v8 over this dohc phaser shit. High function series(gm v6) is trash. LM7 will start at 300k every damn time. Christmas I type as this video ays and I currently own 2 of the vehicles. LY7 - 06 CTS non v G4KJ - 2016 Sonata 2.4 Theta II
Also, wife got a used Kia Optima... she had it a week and the motor started grating itself internally and was running so rich, it was literally rolling coal. Yes, we got our money back.
@@markm0000 I'm glad I found this video and comment section after looking at the 2023 Kias and hearing the older ones aren't reliable. You guys possibly saved me a headache even though the newer Kia's supposedly don't have emgine issues anymore. What are your thoughts on Subaru? I wanted a Toyota RAV4, but the dealership near me is making you buy the "package" that is non negotiable (because they don't have a market markup) for an additional $4500. The Subaru dealership near me doesn't have anything added on so I can get a 2023 Forester or Outback for MSRP.
I happen to own a Trabant! I think the reason they've stuck around so much longer than other comparable cars is because of their superior simplicity, no water pump, fuel pump, cams or valves. Also it's impossible to neglect oil changes when you need to add it to the gas every time.
@@nathanchildress5596 If you've done any serious work on a car especially without a shop, you quickly appreciate any simplicity it has. It's an awesome little 46 year old car.
@@nathanchildress5596 So my dude. What is a car supposed to do? Take you from point A to point B with only ever paying for gasoline (and two-stroke oil in that case). The Trabant is phenomenal in that regard. Its constructed with "Duroplast", a mixture of resin and cotton scraps, which is very durable and of course immune to rust. The engines is so barebones that most of the driveable trabants still have the original engine. Theres not much to go wrong, and if it does, its dirt cheap and easy to replace, even with aftermarket parts from todays day and age. When you take your new overengineered BMW/VW/Chevrolet/Dodge/Fiat or whatever to the repair shop, only to have them do fucking rocket science and you paying your last savings, you would look at the trabant and say "maybe it isnt that bad".
@@Comitis840 It's NOT phenomenal in any regard, it's an awful depressing car people were forced to own, and now it's ironic hipster bait and you know it. If all you want is simplicity get a Beetle; it's cheaper, prettier, air cooled, very simple, with more parts available, runs normal gas, has a normal gearbox that can coast, and drives much better. BUT NO, it's not weird enough for guys like you is it?
I had a 99 Ford expedition with the Triton V8 5.4L. although it did spit out a spark plug in 2017, I heilly coiled it & never had an issue again. it was still running when I sold it with 395000 miles on it.
Had the Kia 2.4 One day, suddenly, it sounded like I’d dumped a load of .5” ball bearings into the motor. Voided the warranty because I did a couple of the oil changes myself. Dealt with them for a couple months & ended up paying 3500 for a new engine. I was reimbursed after the recalls. MF’n vultures.
You should have sued Kia. It is NOT a violation of your warranty if you did a few oil changes yourself, as long as you can PROVE that you did them, and properly. Kias blow up anyway.
Someone in an old shop i worked at recommended someone who only had about 64k miles on his kia that burned all the oil within 3k miles go do an oil consumption test and they basically told him to get stranded then call them. No shit he pulls back up a couple months later and I go up to his window and his oil light is on and I'm "turn off your car you shouldn't be trying to drive when your oil light is on" he's like "no its fine kia told me to keep driving it with it on and call them when it goes" then I recognized his face. But a lot of people have issues with them because they have too many engine to replace. for free so they just try to dodge responsibility when they can
I've worked on enough Ford 5.4l v8's, I think you had the sparkplug issue mixed up though. The ford 5.4l 2 valve engines would eject the plugs due to having only 4 threads in the aluminum head to hold them in and Ford's torque spec was also inadequate. On the other hand Ford had the brilliant idea of making the 9/16" two piece plug that would snap inside the head on the 3 valve engine's 😉. However your not wrong on the overall lack of accountability in these manufacturer's doing nothing about it, hoping problems would slowly fade away, and basically telling people they don't care.
I do agree with your correction regarding the correct years Ford 5.4 had spark plugs blowing out of them but as far as Trav claiming the fix would create bigger issues I am not saying he is wrong I just have never seen it . I repaired countless 5.4 16 valve engines and have never had another plug issue . As for the 3 valve engines introduced in 2004 the tools to remove the broken plugs are efficient and effective . With proper cleaning of the spark plug threads and seats along with copper anti- seize the issue is corrected . As for phaser and timing chain issues , replacing the two guide tensioners at or around 100,000 km will make the engine live much longer . Not saying all the picks in this video are wrong but over 50% of all engine or drive line issues and failures are a direct result of owner abuse or neglect .
Yes, I had a 98 Ford Econoline 350 that blew the spark plugs out. The next one was a trition 5.4 but it was OK ONLY because I made sure it always ran on clean oil. Got 130K miles, then the company sold it.
5.4 2v engines are solid. 5.4 3v engines are trash and will never be anything else but trash. What I think is funny is how at the start of the video he has a pic of a 4.6 4v which is a solid engine
@904Saleen Indeed the 2v is a solid engine, the heads could have used a few more threads. Otherwise torqueing the plugs did the job. The 3v had it's engineering short comings, however once the remedies are corrected they are good.
My 3 valve has 212,000 miles and runs great. High quality oil helps and cam phasers every 100k. It is far from the worst engine I've owned and worked on. Phasers can be replaced in a day. At least it's easy to work on, unlike some of the engines on this list.
I think you’ve missed one rather obvious engine disaster: Porsche mid-2000s IMS self-destruct which was the subject of a major lawsuit. There are some other classics such as the under-engineered 145hp Chevy Monza 5L-V8 where you had to drop the engine to replace two of its spark plugs.
On the subject of the Porsche 996 and 986 engines and how awful they are, you also need to add piston slap, bore scoring, air-oil separator and more. All of these incidents will create catastrophic engine failure and good luck fixing it for under $20ks.
@@mariusromania442 Their first liquid cooled engine was in the 928 in 1978. And it was pretty damn durable. Shame the flat sixes on water are so problematic.
I once had an 04 F150 with the 5.4L 3v, ran it over 210k miles and no problem whatsoever. Keeping up with regular maintenance often makes it very reliable even though the world loves to hate on it lmao…
@@pbaker7160 This guy clearly likes to hate on Fords. The Triton did have plug issues, which could be repaired without to major of issues. Beyond that, they are very durable, unlike most of the crap he has on here. The worst... No way.
Exactly! Frequent oil changes and regular maintenance! These engines run just fine as long as the oil is changed on time. I'd suggest 4-5 thousand miles tops.
Every time I think about replacing my 2003 F150, 5.4L Triton “2 VALVE” (it has 285K+ miles on it and runs fabulous), I look at what’s out there and forget the whole idea! I bought it brand new and love it! So glad I got the last year for the 2-valve engine, because I’ve seen what the 3-valvers are like.😝 At least mine takes “regular” style spark plugs!!🤣🤣
Have a 2002 F250 and just turned 505404 km on it. Regular oil changes and fluid changes for the rest as scheduled and except for low mpg, which as a F250 is to be expected, just brakes every decade. Also got two deer with my winch on the front, and still going strong. Not so for the deer.
The 5.4 2 valve loved to spit the spark plugs out causing you to fix the spark plug hole, coil, wire, and of course the plug. The 5.4 IS JUNK DESIGNED IN THE CYLINDER HEAD . The 5.4 3 valve wasn’t much better either as the spark plug is a 2 piece design so the spark plug broke which then you had to get a special tool to remove the other half of the spark from the cylinder head. I’m a Ford guy, had both engines. The 2 valve in a 2000 F-250 and the 3 valve in a 2007 F-150. I would never have either of those engines again.
The three valve Ford was indeed terrible, but the 2 valve 4.6 and 5.4 engine both before and after are some of THE most reliable engines ever made. The 3 valve spark plug design was just a VERY bad idea.
Got one and no idea who would design an engine that plugs seized in. Ford even designed a tool just to get those plugs out and the glass shards from inside the cylinder.
Former 2.0 '14 Forester XT owner here. I did oil changes every 3k, carefully warmed up the engine, amd let the turbo cool. Head gaskets went at 80k and again at 130k.
I traded my 14 Forester for a Toyota at 80k miles, Subaru said head gasket was oozing, not blown. Said the burning oil problem was normal and didn't yet qualify for the class required replacement. Also said the CVT slipping was not bad enough to qualify for an additional class action required replacement. Uh huh...don't buy a Subaru unless you live in an area that needs the good AWD and plan on trading it at low mileage every few years.
@@jaa4742 You made the right choice. A toyota will generally out-last a Subaru, especially when the latter has the CVT transmission! Because, not jut Subaru's CVT, but almost every automaker's CVT transmissions, are far less durable and reliable than the older type. And when a CVT breaks, it will cost a fortune to fix! Like air suspension, turbocharged engines, and cars with all-wheel drive, CVT to me is just another feature to avoid at all "costs", no pun intended.
I am a fleet mechanic. We have Fords because they are cheap. That's why Ford dominates the fleet market. Boy were we happy to see the last 6.4 diesel truck finally go to the auction. Nothing but 6.7 diesels in our medium duty trucks anymore and we have close to a 1000. Those 6.4's break often and are a pain to fix. If you find a used one just pass on by, it won't be worth the aggravation.
The Toyota you meant to address was the 3vz-e. That was the engine in the 4runners and pickups. I know alot of people had issues, but I've beat the crap out of mine, went a year without an oil change, and used blue devil head gasket repair for over a year and the damn thing would always start up.
Retired Used Vehicle Dealer I am; whom has reconditioned over a thousand vehicles. Travers is short for "Needs new transfer case every 40 to 60 KM." The designs of today requires oil as thick as water 0/20 viscosity, to pump oil into tiny holes through hollow con rods and cranks. A speck of anything will clog the channel. IF I owned such a beast, LOF would be done every 3k at most. Lowest cost of the recondition of lot by far was Toyota 4cyl, followed by Honda 4cyl. Japanese V6 are not near as durable, especially of similar displacement. 2400cc dived by 4cyl = 600 cc per cyl. 2700 cc divided by 6cyl = 450 cc per cyl. smaller pins and rods dose not make a more robust engine. Any time vehicles have internal belt driven anything design, creates costly maintenance. Putting starters and water pumps inside the engine, coupled to an INTERFERENCE DESIGN insures expensive service.. I knew what was happening to the industry, that's why I bought a CORROSION FREE including the under carriage, No EGR 7.3 F250 29500 km, It's as good as Cummings, slightly more difficult to work on, but the frame and drive train is superior to Dodge. I replaced the entire transmission as torque converter was on it's way out at purchase. Jobber wanted $1800 Can. to make converter good, with a 1 yr feel good warranty. Vs brand new Upgraded from the original design Transmission from Ford with a 3 yr unlimited mile warranty covered anywhere in North America for $2700 Can, Dealer cost. Today's transmissions are $13,000 plus range. Also own an 04 4cyl Camry 119.000 km zero corrosion as well. I despise all the new stuff.
Never had an issue with my 5.4L. Frequent oil changes - changed plugs twice (was easy) and a few sensors as maintenance. It now has 330k.....still runs strong and I tow a 20ft ski boat and load the shit out of it without issues.
I thought sure the Chevy Vega engine would be on the list. But, it's from the 1970s and probably before your time. One of my coworkers had a Vega with its controversial aluminum engine and he claimed that all bad rumors were unfounded. Then one day, his car started showing some smoke in the exhaust and shortly after, his engine was toast.
Yes that aluminum engine Teflon coated cylinders was a big goof , if you ever got it hot and any teflon in the cylinders started flaking off it was just a short time and your engine was done for.
I remember these engines, a co-worker at the time (1978) bought one. I'm pretty sure the cylinders were hard-anodized....but either way...15K miles and it required a qt. of oil every 20 miles.@@MrNorthstar50
Imo best American V6 ever. Maybe best V6 ever. I own one that has driven several thousand miles with no oil. Refuses to die and still runs like new. Possibly smoother. Gets better fuel economy than the girlfriend's 1.6 Ford.
Except for those intake gaskets. Fix those and it's bulletproof. Easily a 250k plus, mile engine with good maintenance. 198K on one of mine and I've cleaned injectors, and replaced a water pump.
I was a little surprised that the Chevrolet 5.3L AFM V8 didn't make the list. In my 14 years and 120,000 miles of owning my Silverado....the lifters failed twice with the cost of the repairs totaling over $13,000.
I've owned two Subarus over the last ten years, one with an EJ engine I bought used, the other with an FB engine I bought new. I've never had any problems with the engines of either one.
I've been racing EJ207s for 15 years and they have proved to be very reliable. Although I change the oil and filter after every event which is more frequent than usual.
The EJ series has been around since 89´ and the 1,8l and 2,0l never had any major problems, even the turbo charged EJ20 ones found in the old Legacy, Impreza and Forester. The EJ22 and EJ25 on the other hand were susceptible to head gasket failure.
Had 2 EJ25 na Forester, were okay other than the lack of power. Changed to an FA20T model brand new, it threw a rod after 2 years. Dealer said that it was common with the early FA cars especially with the CVT. After it was fixed after warranty i traded it in for a Lexus NX. No issues with that.
Just a point for the GM deisel is that it was made from the Oldsmobile 350, not the Chev 350 as alluded to in the vid. Olds guys will use the deisel block for a gas buildup, it's stronger.
The main failure point on these that I remember was the camshaft. Engine vibrations caused excessive wear. GM corporate pushed the engine into production before completing testing. They made that mistake a few times too many. Buick 215, Vega, 350 diesel, NorthStar, Quad4, 1st ZR1.
@glenwhitestofer6420 It wasn't an Olds 350 converted to diesel. Olds made everything the same, so when the parts interchanged, like the heads, crankshaft, everyone assumed that was the case.
It was the case as i hjad the olds 350 diesel that kept having head gasket failures so I kept the diesel block and converted it to gas,yes it is doable look it up"When the Olds diesels were new, Mondello sold a conversion kit to turn them into gasoline engines. Basically you need to change cam, heads, and intake, and add a distributor and fuel pump. The Olds diesel block maintains all the features necessary to do this, including the provision for the distributor"@@Land_Raver
The 5.7L diesel was NOT BASED ON THE SMALL-BLOCK. it was an Oldsmobile 350, a completely separate family of engines. There was no big block or small block in the B.O.P. Engine family. Also, the 5.7L OLDSMOBILE diesel used a thicker, stronger block than its gasoline brethren, and those blocks were popular among racers to build as extra-stout gasoline olds engines. They could be punched all the way out to 455ci, like any other olds v8.
That is true. Also worth noting, every single division of GM had completely unique engines back then. For example, the 455s from P, O, and B were all completely different and had basically nothing in common other than displacement
@@hiddenInsight486 no, the 455 wasn’t a “big block” or a “small block.” Buick, Pontiac and olds had their own engines, and they didn’t use two different v8 platforms each like Chevy did. Therefore, not a “big” or “small.” It was simply a “Buick, Olds or Pontiac” V8. The Buick v8 ranged from 264 to 455 c.I., the olds from 260 to 455, and the Pontiac from 265-455. the Chevy “small block” ranged from 265-400, the Chevy Gen-1 big-block ranged from 348-427 (famous for the 409) and the Chevy Gen 2 (aka Mark IV) big-block ran from 366ci to 454 ci, with special tall-deck crate engines in even bigger displacements of 502, 572 and 632ci. There was also the 99-06 “metric” version in 496ci, known as the L18. GM engines were all over the place with countless different families and versions until the 90s, when pretty much every division simply adopted the Chevy v6s and v8s, with two notable exceptions. The “3800” (and it’s 3.3L brother) was a Buick-designed engine, used in several olds, Buick, Pontiac and chevy vehicles, and the aurora/northstar/shortstar family was a “Cadillac” engine used in everything EXCEPT Chevrolets. On the subject of Cadillac- they had several engine families, but none were referred to as “big block” or “small block.” The most famous was probably the 429/472/500ci family, but as they were the only v8 Cadillac had at the time, they were simply “Cadillac v8.” The later V-8-6-4 and 4100 “high technology” engines were best left forgotten to history. 4.9 was pretty cool though. Hope that helps. I’m a nerd.
Olds SB's: 260 to 403. Olds BB's 400 to 455. There is a big difference. The Diesel Olds 350 was based on a BB Olds engine with the thicker main caps and solid main webs.
@@JohnDoe-ml8ru the larger displacement olds motors had features like thicker webbing, stronger mains, etc, but they used the same bore spacing, geometry and external block features as all the other olds v8s. No “big block” or “small block” olds. Just a “455ci Oldsmobile v8”
When my daughter was little, we were out taking a walk around the block and she noticed a Yugo parked in a neighbor's driveway (they didn't own it). She looks at it and asks "Dad, is that a real car?" I hesitated before answering. Lol!
Owned a '02 WRX and kept it 17 years. Sold it with 208K miles, no real issues for the first 10 years. After that some stuff but nothing major. That said it had regular maintenance and not tuned within a inch of it's life. Spirited driving, not hammered every time I sat in the seat. Had a journal with every oil change, wiper blade, sold it for a premium. Guy told me "you are the guy people want to buy a car from".
I do the same thing: every car has a scrapbook binder with every single receipt for maintenance and repairs, modifications, installation instructions for those mods, and any OEM parts removed to make said modifications. I’ve sold a lot of high mileage cars for good money because of it.
@@buttsexandbananapeels It matters, does to me anyway. Like you I got a premium for the car when I sold it. Bought a GR Corolla in Feb. I kept the 5/20 Car & Driver magazine with "cars worth waiting for". Additional nugget for the next owner.
Bought a 2005 Subaru Legacy Wagon (aka Outback minus steroids) with the 2.5 Liter turbo H4. Loved driving it, but the gas mileage was terrible and I was not prepared for such a recent new car to burn so much oil, which I did not change soon enough. First turbo failure... Subaru covered 80% under warranty. Second turbo failure... Subaru covered about 50%, past warranty. Third turbo failure at 80K. Sold it to a guy who rebuilds Subaru engines independently for $6000 less than book value. A $10,000 lesson. Replaced it with a V6 Honda that is slightly faster, burns 50% less gas, burns NO oil, and runs perfectly 137K miles later.
@@billyjoejimbob56 I might have just gotten a good engine. There's plenty of head gasket issues, not with either of mine, but three turbos? Honda makes a good car. Owned a '85 CRX si, one of my favorite cars.
Yes Steve i have owned 5 new WRX now with never a engine issue, i serviced them when due and drive them with respect. Picked up my new 2023 Rex last week 👍 Au
I have a theta 2.4, and they've released a knock sensor update that indicates if it's going to spin a bearing. If you have this update done on your vehicle, and it blows up, the short block is covered under a lifetime warranty now.
I own a 2010 f150 5.4 3v and have heard all of the horror stories. (knocks on wood) It has been meticulously maintained and as of today has 260k on it and is still my daily driver. I think the key with this and most engines is treat them kindly and take care of them.
The spark failures (stuck, coming out, broken- were all shoddy maintenance. If you (a) serviced the plugs on schedule (b) serviced the plugs on a cool engine (c) serviced them like a professional mechanic (not a uneducated impact wrench driver)….. those engines road forever… same for timing chain - oil & filter changed regularly with correct grade high quality oil.
The 6.2 l V8 is not old, or even old fashioned, but it is pushrod OHV (not DOHC) on purpose ... not that I'm a defender of GM, cannot understand how the best and brightest engineers in the world can make such unreliable engines as the 350 diesel and the Northstar. Oh, wait, yes I do, it's called "thrifting", "accountants" and "poor management". I get it.
I remember in the early 2000s subi owners were all IT tech nerds, today they're (mostly just wrx owners) Gen Z artards that vape but most STI owners today are older and mature.
I’m gen z and my friend owns a early 2000’s wrx (when it was still a trim of the Impreza). He is the most mechanically and technologically gifted person I know, and has done a ton of mods on it, both performance and visual (also he doesn’t vape). Some of the gen z subie owners still stick to the old ways.
I was a heavy line tech for almost 50yrs. The last 5yrs I could see the direction things were going in the automotive repair business and retired early 10yrs ago. I never looked back.
The Renesis engine made about 230HP...if you got the RX-8 with a manual transmission. The automatics (don't know why someone buying an RX-8 would opt for an automatic) had about 212. Mazda's way of forcing you to get the manual transmission if you want more power.
Every automatic I know of from 10 years ago or more is associated with more power loss than a manual in the same car. I remember reading about the Ram SRT-10 automatic only making 375 whp from the 510 crank horsepower, compared to the manual making 450 on the dyno.
I think I heard something about Mazda having trouble sourcing an automatic transmission that could hold the power at the redline of the manual engine while making sense with the other constraints of the chassis. May or may not be true, not to mention the extra drivetrain losses from an auto. There's a pretty easy solution to that problem though... buy a manual
I have a 2017 Subaru levorg. 5 years old and 59000 kilometres it blew a rod through the block. Never missed a service, never tracked or modified. To add insult to injury they never diagnosed the issue saying 'the short motor is warranted for 2 years just bring it back if theres an issue '. They replaced the short motor and it still idles really badly and blew a spark plug. Its been off the road in the dealer for 4 of the last 12 months
Only one of these I've personally owned would be an rx8. I owned her for about a year and a half and she never gave me any problems. But nine of those months I was overseas and she was sitting at my grandma's house getting started weekly so she didn't have much of an opportunity to give me problems
@@theoriginaljimmykicker A friend of mine had one in the early '80, it was so down on power that we had to turn off the AC to make it up hills in the summer time....😂
Welcome to my 1988 Ford Ranger 2.3L EFI. Ford included a convenient AC cut off push button on the dash. If you needed to pass on a 2-lane you needed to get a run, change lanes and hit that button. Otherwise, you were at the mercy of the vehicle you were trying to pass. I had to add half a quart of oil for every tank of gas, too. Ford said it was normal oil consumption. The engine had to be replaced at 80k, due to oil starvation. The composite pan gasket crumbled into the pan and clogged the pickup screen. Lucky I had an extended warranty. The engine was clean inside. The technician commented on how well I had maintained it. He said he had never seen such a clean engine with 80k miles on it. I did my own oil changes every 3000 miles.@@raynic1173
We had an '01 Expedition with the Triton and can confirm a spark plug shot into the exhaust manifold one day while idling through a drive through circa 2008. I was about 20 years old and thought it was something I did wrong (expedition belonged to my parents so I was freaking out). Thanks, Ford. Now driving a '16 F-150 with a coyote and much more confident
I'm still driving one now, same year even. Blew out its first plug a couple months ago, so I had to fix it before I could drive it home. Fortunately, they're not that hard to do, and I had the tools. I've done quite a few of them over the years, but that was the first one I had to do for myself. 130K miles.
@@danibj I had a supercharged Coyote (called the Miami) in my 2014 Falcon XR8, rated at 450hp in stock form, thing was a beast, sold it when gas here in NZ approached 12 bucks a gallon.
I have worked on Kraut Krap in the past...And That is,what it is! You need special tools. Everything is over designed and hard to get to. They are brutally made.
Worked on a n63 in a 550. Very complicated but I liked the challenge. Definitely not for an impatient person though cause this engine will make you hate bmw
"this engine will make you hate bmw" Personally, it's the drivers, followed closely by the suspension, that kill it for me. Nevermind the inflated cost for what are mostly unremarkable cars. By the time you are paying M money, you can afford a much, much better car.
@@nobodynoone2500 Some of the biggest nonsense I've heard. You don't buy an M car for AMG like comfort, nor do you buy an AMG for M like track performance. They are two different brands made for two different purposes. So for you to say "better cars out there for M money" is absolutely ridiculous.
I've had both a 2005 Subaru with the EJ257 with over 165,000 mi, and a '14 VW with the 2.0 TSI w 110,000 mi now and I've literally not had one problem with either engine. But I also do proper maintenance which is probably the biggest difference between ones that last and those that don't.
Good point. Subies hold up very well over the years, but the key is proper maintenance per the manufacturer's specifications. Some cars are more tolerant of abuse or negligence.
You got lucky with the Subaru. Changing the head gasket at about 150k km is basically standard maintenance. That said, the cars are almost flawless otherwise (except for the rear quarter rust). One big maintenance bill halfway through the life of the car isn't really a huge deal. Even when the head gasket starts to fail, unless you ignore it for a long time, the car will keep running.
My brother in law had the same engines both at the same time Subaru and VW, both were piles and constantly had issues. He loved the cars. But they were always needing something. He sold both now my sister and him both have Toyotas.
yeah i wouldn't take much notice of what this idiot is saying in this video.....as soon as he started saying the EJ has heating problems and that Subaru never fixed it....proves he knows nothing about engines.....The EJ engines had cooling problems because of the Uneuquel Length Headers (ULH)....thats why after the 2003 models they changed the EJ's to have Equal Length Headers (EQL). However, that gets rid of the Subbie rumble sound which a lot of people who like Subbies love....So a lot of people will change the stock EQH's to aftermarket ULH's and then use another aftermarket part to cool a section of the engine....I cant remember what that part is called cause ive never owned a WRX......
I bought an F150 with a 5.4 in 2003. It was hands down the best truck I’ve ever had. And I’ve had a bunch. I traded it in with 166k and the only work I ever did to it was normal maintenance, coils and an alternator. I was in my 20s so it spent most of its life with the loud pedal on the floor. It was a great truck/engine.
That 03 was still the 2valve motor. 04 started the garbage. I still have my 2000 f150 Harley edition. 181k . Most reliable vehicle ive ever owned. Even the 6 disc CD changer and cassette player still work lmao.
@@1keykneedeep Yep. I STILL have my 2003 Super Crew 2V 5.4. The 2V 5.4 was literally an award winning engine. I also have a 2 valve modular V10, which is my 5.4L with another two cylinders added. It is in my motor home and is also a good engine. So, Ford decided to increase power in the 5.4 by adding another valve per cylinder in 2004. A decision that will live in infamy.
8:16 The 3VZ-FE was found in the Toyota Camry 92'-93'(which you showed pictures of) was different from the 3VZ-E which was found in the 4 runners and trucks. Similar but not quite the same design and much more reliable. Was supplanted in 94' because Toyota swapped from an iron block to an aluminum blocked 1MZ-FE. Used to race these back in the day in V6 swapped MR2s
My wife had a Hyundai GDi 2.4L (NA). By the time the car had 90K miles on it, it used over 1 quart of oil a week due to a piston ring problem. We took it to get it fixed and Hyundai said it was completely normal to use oil in these cars, just keep putting oil in it. They refused to fix it or admit there was a piston ring issue at all. Oh! And then there was a recall on oil pans because they had reported many vehicles had shavings left inside of the block from machining which were causing catastrophic failure. Brake lines would get hot and cause fires.... She drives Toyota now....
@@chiarac4967 Thanks man, we picked up a 2020 RAV-4 for 31K, and traded in the Sonata for -7k off the price. She loved that car, but I explained why that was VERY BAD since she was hearing noises on startup. It sounded like the crank was powered by hamster wheels.
@@chiarac4967 my genesis coupe has 84,116kms on it they're not all back even the new sonanta's have a revised theta II engine. On CR reports they're still in the top 10 most reliable. Yes, they're not as reliable as say honda and toyota but my last elantra got to 178,000kms before I sold it and the new owner still has it
Thanks for all this valuable info. I'm a little surprised the small displacement Ford Ecoboost engines (2.3L and smaller) didn't make this list. Maybe you can do a separate video on them.
even the 1.5, 1.6. easily blow head gasket at really low milage. Ford knew about it and did nothing, they just put the same piece of crap engine right back in when they replaced it.
The 2.3 had many problems at the factory level though. It also wasn't built for high power after tuning. What reliability problems are you referring to?
@@bobdingle2539Perhaps the _belt-in-oil_ design of the 1.0L 3-cylinder Fox? Not only that, there's _two_ of them; one to run the cams, the other to run the oil pump. When that second belt fails, it starves the engine of oil, and being a turbocharged engine, I think you know how bad that can be. Also, being a *belts-in-oil design, if one changes the oil themselves, or the mechanic doesn't know what he's doing, and the wrong oil is used, it will literally dissolve the belts, and belt material will clog the oil pickup, again starving the engine of oil. To avoid these scenarios, one must not only change the oil and filter religiously every 3-5k miles instead of the factory-recommended 10k, but also one must without fail use the specific type of fully synthetic Ford Motorcraft oil required every single time, which means going to a Ford dealership, and paying through the nose for it, because those QuickLane techs will just pump in the generic bulk synthetic blend without a second thought, and your belts will lose their teeth faster than kids lose their baby teeth. EDIT: Formatting, also honorable mention goes to the Ford PowerShift aka PowerSHIT six-speed _automated manual_ transmission found in the Ford Focus, Fiesta, and other Ford products. I shouldn't need to explain this one. Ask any Ford technician and they'll tell you _all_ about it.
I have a lot of experience with the Kia Theta 2 engine. I don’t know why they aren’t listed as THE worst engine ever built. They blow up and set the engine compartment on fire. There’s an internal defect that causes the #4 piston rod to go through the side of the block. So, Kia recalled the engines. That was nice of them, but if the engine replacement is not done properly the fuel line on the high pressure fuel pump leaks and sets the car on fire anyway. If that’s not enough, Kia’s themselves have a couple of other issues. The hydraulic electronic control unit, otherwise known as the ABS unit, fails and will cause a fire and, lastly, the trailer hitch wiring harness will fail and cause a fire. Other than these little issues, they’re great cars.
'Little' issues lol. My sister had a brand-new Optima years ago, possibly the worst car anyone in our family has ever owned, and Hyundai/Kia voided her 10 year warranty because she had a handful of oil changes done at a Tuffy (or similar), costing her a fortune when her engine crapped the bed at ridiculously low miles. I guess she should count herself lucky that it didn't start on fire in the process.
Literally dealing with this issue with my Hyundai Theta 2 engine right now. a lady I know with exact same vehicle as mine just replaced her block. My friend's Kia Optima engine just got fixed with same issue! Hyundai will only supply a block for mine...I have to pay $5500+ labor....also need a new $3300 CAT because it was blocked with burnt oil
Like others who have commented here, I would add the Chevy Vega aluminum head oil burner. I would also add the 1981 Chevrolet Cadillac's 8-6-4 engine. One apocryphal story I remember is that Cadillac owners who drove their 8-6-4 cars into parking garages would have to get them towed out sometimes because the cylinder-disabling computer would leave the beautiful beasts stuck in 4 cylinder mode and they couldn't climb the steep driveways to leave. Returning to the oil burner, our family had the Vega hatchback and it was a commuter car. Kept a case of oil in the back at all times because it would need it and regular trips to Pep Boys kept the supply replenished. The dealership service department warned us more than once it was leaking so much oil that there was a good chance of an engine fire. So we sold it after only a few years. Had 1975 Oldsmobile Omega with the V-8. I think it was the 350. Every mechanic said there was a vacuum leak and none could fix it. The car just never really ran well, despite regular maintenance. Having the dimensions of its better-known sister, the Chevrolet Nova, it was considered an economy/ "compact car" (at least the V6 version was) as part of the downsizing movement caused by the 1973-74 Arab Oil Embargo. It's hard to see those nice-sized cars as economy, as compared to the small cars on the road today. Of course, everyone remembered the long gas lines, stations with no gas and odd-even gas rationing. Full-serve was still a big thing, at least with the many housewives who didn't have to work outside the home. All of our American cars--which were bought new and maintained by the book by dealers--died before 80,000 miles after many expensive repairs. Most required constant trips to the mechanic. Remember radiator shops? Even in the days of metal radiators (filled with the prescribed coolant), our Chevrolets needed radiator work probably every 1-2 year due to overheating.
6.4 is a decent engine, the EPA bull shit is what killed them with the introduction of DPF and they decided to use 2 of the EGR coolers that were known to fail.
I worked for a machine shop from 95 to 2003. I lost count of how many 3.8 and 4.0 Ford heads I had to rebuild and surface due to blown head gaskets. Felpro seemed to fix the issues.
My mom had a 1999 Exploder and she had to get the heads resurfaced once and then replaced again when they failed. She did get around 220k out of it though.
@@captainplanet43 Probably, but it lasted two decades and took me my mom and my siblings everywhere, so in my book it's not that bad. Not good plagued with head issues bad.
I had a mk6 GTI with the gen 2 TSI motor you mentioned. I sold it at about 75k miles, and I never had any issues with it, except having to clean the intake valves, which is an issue with most DI engines. I know they have their issues but I definitely don’t think they should be on this list. I’ve owned or seen way worse engine designs.
I have the mk6 gti just now and 120.000 mils and no problems I feel sometimes ppl neglecting servicing and stuff can is the more major problem than the engine them self's
Yeah as someone who used to work as a mechanic I can say this statement is bullshit every vw problem has been seen made fun of and regrettably repaired vw is trash lol
@@rayhanrizvi334 totally agree, but my point is that there’s a lot worse engines out there that would not make it to 75k miles without issues. Off the top of my head, I can think of the FIAT MultiAir as being way worse in just about every regard, especially reliability. I could probably list a few more.
Ford 5.4 3V. The discovery of the real issue of that engine turned out to be the low pressure oil pump. The 40 psi stock pressure wasn’t enough to deal with most people’s crappy oil change cycles. If you changed your oil every 5k you were fine, if you didn’t you paid the price with timing change issues and cam/valvetrain isssues. If you have those issues it’s a new engine, if you still have the engine there’s a company that sells aftermarket oil pumps that push past 50 psi and that’s how you bullet proof that engine from the get go. I have known this for many years so that’s why I have a 5.4 2v instead.
I had a 2014 Sonic with the 1.4L Ecotec and a 6-speed manual. Found out about the engine problems after I bought it, but I *loved* that car. Never did have to worry about the engine - hit a deer and totalled it before I had to deal with that.
I own a theta 2 sonata with the 2.4l, my valvetrain just makes a load of noise, but other than that it revs to 5k with almost 200k miles on the original motor, i just have to check oil every week. Compression is still amazing, all at or above 175 psi. My huge issue is actually the transmission is failing slowly. Lovely car, very well kept.
Lucky you! I also have a Sonata with the Theta 2 engine, but it failed at 90k miles while I was driving on the highway :/ At least they replaced it on warranty. Hope your engine keeps on lasting! :)
As a former Ford owner I enjoyed this video. I remember owning 2 new Fords back in the early 80's. I had been to Europe and frequently drove a Ford Escort there. It got great gas mileage, had a spunky 1.5 liter engine that loved to rev, and handled great. So I bought a 1990 Escort in California. What a disaster. It had a 2L and was a complete dog. Not even close to the European car, in terms of enjoyment. Then I bought a F150 with the inline 6 cylinder. California again. It had a 5 speed, and was completely useless. It could barely keep up with traffic, forget about passing anyone. It didn't matter if you were in 4th or 5th gear, it wasn't going any faster. And since you basically had to floor the gas pedal, just to try to drive at normal speed, the gas mileage was horrible. I couldn't wait to unload both of them.
For the europeans among us.... make sure you avoid the 1.6 THP engine at all costs! Its in a Citroen DS 3/4. Old mini's and in som Peugeots.. like the 5008 and the 3008.
It’s a shame they scrapped the 2022 2.4fa sti. My 2.0fa has had no problems and has been tuned since 12k miles. EJs are definitely known to be hit or miss even if you do all the research and preventative mods but it’s such a classic platform it’s still hard not to love and nothing sounds like the subie rumble.
The '74 Chevy Vega, with an un-sleeved aluminum block, burned oil within 40,000 miles, apparently was not as bad as most of these. "Vega, a car that re-defined depreciation- it rusted on the showroom floor" as it was described by Time or Look magazine (I don't remember) or was it Life?.. Good going GM.
I saw a lifted Crosstrek & I couldn't believe it looked so good! It was lifted & had wide off road tires that extended ~3-4" past the fender arch and this made it look like a much larger car maybe around the size of a Toyota Highlander or similar. Couldn't believe what I was seeing!
Way too much weight for that cvt trans. If it’s a manual with an upgraded clutch I’m sure you’ll be good. But even then they’re so slow. Looks cool lifted though I can’t deny that.
@@tunanocrust5089 we have almost 300,000kms on our lifted cross trek. cvt with over sized off road tires (K02's). not a single mechanical problem. and we have taken it to places some jeep guys didn't wanna go. so me thinks your statement is a bit........ miss informed.
I also saw a lifted cross trek and it reminded me of the off road Tesla built by Rich Rebuilds where they ingeniously added spacers on top of the stock struts. The fact that it took Tesla years to do the same thing with the CyberTruck is pure Insanity
Here is my advice: if you are rich and can afford a lease these days, lease a fun powerful German car and return it or sell after the 3-year lease is over and get a new one If you are semi-rich and need something reliable but fun, get a Lexus If you are not rich and a dull super reliable car is needed, get a Toyota If you are not rich but wanna unreliable fun car, get a GM or Ford but try to dump it after 3 years and get a Toyota Else, you are stuck with whatever the shit other companies feed you
Yes, But Actually those 55-65 Engines Are Very Reliable, Because we have been easily getting out 300+Hp with the Turbine , with Almost No failures, except that the intake manifold crack opened because at 2,3+Bars of Boost. So, in this video, that dude is probably Right about all engines, Except This one. Pwy.
@@a.c.4732 they tried that but failed to keep it on track to collision target. The steering got shopping cart wheel wobble and it ended up rolling down the slope smashing itself into smithereens. The crew took one look and retreated to the nearest pub.
@@keeganandersson4281 the worst part is they were built by international (a pretty reliable manufacturer) along with the 6.4 and they were both horrible
I currently have a 04 ford f150 with the 5.4 3v. Honestly, if you rebuild the front timing assembly with better parts as well as a stronger oil pump (surprised he didn't even mention the oil pump) it can be a good motor. I've never heard of the 3v shooting plugs but I know a 2v that did. Either way, it sounds like a lot and I get that but man.. I love this truck and it's been my most reliable vehicle so far.
@mchutube you're not wrong, but at the same time, the front timing assembly is something you should be doing maintenance on at some point anyway. Too common for people to not replace belts. If the engine lasts to 100,000 then rebuild the timing assembly with better parts and if you bought it used with over 100,000 then you should be considering it anyways cause you can't always trust other people or their work.
@@mchutubeit's got dual single overhead cams that run off chains. Timing chains are supposed to be done.. but because our mechanics are so poorly trained on average, a timing job is a big deal for the average shop. When all you are foing is disassemble, replace two chains, two sprockets, 4 tensioner and replace the plastic oilers to mellings cast iron. While there replace the oil pump and water pump. Every part is cheap... compared to an Audi suspension component. It's extremely easy to work on.
The Chrysler 2.7 is kinda funny because its predecessor, the 3.5, was great. I actually had a mid 90s Intrepid with that engine, and I loved it. The problem with the 2.7 is that it came about during the whole Daimler-Chrysler thing, and I'm convinced Daimler-Benz was actively trying to kill Chrysler.
yet in 2008 for some dumb ass reason, we decided to bail them out in addition to the other 2 companies that should have "let free enterprise work" LMAO
I was a salesperson at a Dodge dealership in 1998. The marketing folks at Daimler had everyone from service advisors to the public convinced the 2.7 V6 was “revolutionary “. And the next “big thing”. I remember lots of old timers traded their “old school” Buick Lesabre and Olds 88s with the bulletproof 3.8 V6 for these 2.7 piles of crap! To say most of them got “buyer’s remorse” is an understatement!🤯🤯🤯
You forgot Dodge 4.7 V8. It was so unreliable Dodge was offering free Hemi upgrades in an attempt to get people to not buy it while they moved to cancel it. I say this as a Mopar guy.
No... just no. Early 4.7s were hit n miss but 05 thru to 11 (especially the gen 4.7 from 08 to 11) were actually pretty good. Seen tons of em at 200k even 300k miles on an unopened engine. Early ones had issues its rocker arms falling off. Now the worst Chrysler engine of all time has to be the 2.7 V6! He'll Amsoil has that engine blacklisted from any warranty work if it blows using thier oil!
@@RogerDuckman same here! Northern Michigan for me. I was in the jeep game for a while and was looking for a gen 2 4.7 grand cherokee. I had an 08 3.7 (a 4.7 with 2 cylinder chopped of) that I beat the piss out of for 50k miles before trading it in 😅 never had an issue on it even wringing it to 6400 (5800 redline!)
I've owned 2 subarus both 2005 outbacks one of them an XT. Driven a few hundred. The NA EJ engine is terrible with headgaskets. In most of the ones I've seen it's the NA EJ 2002-2009 that are the worst. All the turbo models, just don't drive like an ass and change oil, coolant, and trans fluid regularly and its solid. 2005 outback 2.5i still being driven by current owner at 260K 2005 outback XT we have put 170K miles on it, currently sitting at 267K and it runs fabulous. Only work done is basic maintenance. Factory turbo and engine.
Haha I’ve got an 05 forester xs. Siting at 347,000km original headgasket and timming belt. It’s on borrowed time but runs very well I’ve had 2 other 05 Imprezas that both had to get headgasket a replaced. Right around 200,000km. Bought my wife a 2001 JDM forester sti there not known to have that issue.
@@shanephilp9265 the only real complaint I say I actually have with either of my subaurs, is the outback struts from 05-06 were garbage. Both front sets on mine had snapped the coil. Other than that I've never really had any real issues with either of them.
05 xt here, what transmission fluid are you using? I have an original service manual with 3 options listed but there seems to be some conflicting opinions on which of the 3 should still be recommended
The 5.4 Triton wasn't without it's issues, the trick was to be smart enough not to buy a truck with one in it. The 4.6L Triton was on the same Level as the Windsor 302, very hard to kill. You buy a truck or car with it in there and maintain it and it'll last forever. It did however have the same issue with the plugs which could be solved with a little bit of anti-seize if caught early. In addition to the plastic intakes leaking that could also be solved by finding an older aluminum intake.
I was working at the EPA vehicle emissions lab when the Yugo GV came in for testing/cert. I saw all I needed to see when it came time to move it to the city/highway test loop room, and rather than drive it in, the Yugo reps pushed it into place - this included having two regular sized guys pick up the back of the car by the bumper, and walk it around 180 degrees onto the dyno. They were not working hard to lift it.
Wow, the 2.5 EJ series for Subaru Had an issue with the head gaskets themselves. It was a single ply head gasket on a naturally aspirated engines. The fix is to do a head job with the multilayer headgasket that was put on the turbo versions , I've seen people get three hundred to 4 hundred thousand miles out of them after the fix was made
They're still shit. Oil pressure and oiling/cooling capabilities are all subpar from the factory. Add a turbo and congrats, your engine fail all the time.
I bought my 1998 forester Stb turbo second hand 11 years ago. It's still my daily. I know scoobies get alot of hate, but it's from people who know little to nothing about those cars.
Crazy isn't it? My 2002 WRX has over 300,000 miles and always start right up. I just recently did a leakdown test, only #3 cyl has 7% leakdown, rest of the cyl only have 2-3% leakdown, which is my engine is still very healthy despite the very high mileage.
I had a car with one of those Olds 350 diesels. It's actually based off the BOP 350ci motor not the CSB. So one fun thing they did with it, they kept the starter and starter wiring in the same location as the gas V8 ... and if you know anything about diesels their exhaust manifolds get a lot hotter than gas engines ... so I had to rewire the starter multiple times because the insulation on the wires would melt, no heat shielding I could actually fit on the wires would stop it. And being a non-turbo diesel with 110hp on paper (I would be amazed if it actually put out anywhere near that) it would roll coal like a mofo, decades before coal rollers overtook ricers as the most annoying and douchy contribution to car culture haha
My father has a 1979 olds 98 loaded with the diesel. If some one was tail gating me I would floor & Roll major Coal all over the car behind me !! Funny as heck. !!! That dam engin left my parents stuck for a week while they where driving from Maine back to NJ for vacation!!! POS...!!! nobody had the part so they where living in a hotel room. For a week..!!! F U. GM....!!!!
I owned one for 5 years. Every 18 months had to be towed home.. Injector stuck open, starter mounting block disintegrated, injection pump governor self destructed.
Got laughed at for buying a used 07 Ford F-150 with a V6 instead of the V8. Then I told them I paid less for my truck than their engine replacement. That always goes over well.
That 4.2L V6 202HP/260 lbs torque is a Great Engine. No EcoBoost crap, Turbos, No Direct Injections, ran forever Oil Changed every 3000 miles with Fords Synthetic Blend Fluids at 50K intervals. and yet my friend got rid of his problematic 150 w/4.6L V8 after 3 years =electrical issues including spark plugs replacement at 59K miles. Keep that V6.
If you do your research the headgasket problem was the gasket itself a multilayer metal gasket solved that problem and it was only a problem for certain models and definitely hasn't a problem with JDM built models..
I had the GM 3600 VVT V6 in two vehicles. Both gave me no issues. I ran full synthetic and changed the oil every 4K miles. Changed coolant and monitored oil levels. The transmission in the Lambda died at 155k and 9 years old. Wasn’t worth replacing and dealing with the hassle. I sold the 2004 CTS with 157k miles and it ran for at least another 100k miles.
Seems like the dude was talking about the LLT Or the first run LFX from 2012 . The engine they showed was for sure an LFX though. They fixed the timing chain issue on the 2013 and up versions but it still burns about a quart of oil every 2k miles
I work for VW and honestly think you had the wrong engine as "worst" from the brand, the 1.4 TFSI (twincharge) in my.......well most of us is way more worst than the 2.0 TSI. Thanks for sharing 😊
@@user-3tf67bk46u Well I was hoping there was some decent engine variant that you could still find in reasonable condition. The pre-TDI diesels are '80s stuff. Museum pieces or rotting in a landfill somewhere. Not something you can go out to buy and enjoy today.
Love the video! The problem we see at GM with the Eco-Tech is the piston ring lands breaking and then breaking the ring. The fix required new pistons and rings if the cylinders weren’t scored.
Yay let's make a joke about the Subaru ej engines. The ej20 is an amazing engine without the cooling problem of cylinder 4. You will see problems when you stop taking care of the car like you should. The head gasket issue is true for the na ej engines. You can solve the cylinder 4 issue on the 2.5 ej today pretty easily. By the way the ej20 masterpiece was in production until 2019 and the Japanese market never gave up on them. They switched to the ej25 for the world and kept the ej20 at home.
@@Khaki_wrx is it only Really beneficial if you're driving hard? On the fence with keeping my 2012 hatch because of some of it's heat management issues. It's down for now anyway need to get it properly tuned. And new power steering rack.
Subarus for the most part are absolutely great, other than a couple of small issues and the 2000s Subarus needing to get some stuff worked on so you don't have an engine failure with the engines are almost impossible to break
@@SuperThatguylol Excess rtv clogging the oil pickup seems more like a problem at the factory rather then inherently poor engineering. I find it unfair to call them bad engines and time bombs.
Had a 03 5.4L Triton V8. Got it as my first car and it already had 260-270k miles on it. Lasted me until 294k miles a couple months ago. Coolant sludged up from the coolant crossover (which is connected to the intake manifold from the factory) and started to gunk up the passenger side plugs/coilpacks, and I wanted to fix it so badly, but it also needed new timing chain tensioners (still had the plastic ones) on top of having to get a completely new intake manifold. Overall, that engine is reliable af considering how many miles it lasted and how I liked to drive it. Edit: He's talking about the 3v in this video. I have learned that I had a 2v. 😬
Was it a 2-valve or a 3-valve? Even the 3-valve *could* last a good run, provided you did NOT skip out on maintenance at all. I've heard deferred oil changes would absolutely kill those 3-valve motors.
I have seen one 5.4 have that happen to it from the oil filter adapter on the lower driverside of the engine block, we flushed the coolant changed the gasket and it was good as new. Either way, both would have been easy to repair.
There's a reason why Chrysler's 318/360 engines are absolutely bullet proof. Single cam, pushrod engines that given the proper, basic maintenance (and often without) will go forever. I just replaced the 360 in my '91 Ram 350 after about 400k miles. And if something did break, for decades it was a matter of "$20 & 20min." to fix. Alternators, water pumps, brakes, carb kits, etc. were all cheap (litterally 20-30 bucks) and easy enough for a shade tree mechanic to work on. I have two in my driveway right now. The old 392 hemi?? Apart from the machine shop work, my old man and I pulled one down in our 2 car garage, scattered it all over the floor and put it back together and it ran like a pissed off elephant. With no problems, on a single points/condenser distributor. All this "modern technology" only exists, to the greatest degree, because the govt. keeps placing harsher emissions rules on makers. I remember in '74 when an electronic ignition and an egr valve was a big deal. '75 saw the catalytic converter and it was all over but the crying. Ironically, you could take a car from the 40s/50s and tune it to factory specs and still pass emissions requirements.
As a owner of a 2010 gti I haven’t had any of those engine problems. I have almost 140k miles and only have done your normal maintenance. Timing system\water pump, injectors and your basic reseals and a dog bone. I only changed the original ko3 turbo because the tuner I went to eurofed had tuned it way to aggressive for what the stock turbo could handle and was causing it to overboost but not yet throw a code. I found this out when I changed shops and the guys there where looking the car over and pointed out and showed me things that could fail because of that original tuning. Since the shop change, and a upgraded built ko4 turbo upgrade, the thing is a little rocket. Still no major issue besides a sketchy tune. Had it for about 25-30k miles. It has basically every bolt on you can put on before cracking open the engine and what not. Bigger turbo, full exhaust, intake, bigger injectors, coil packs, intercooler, intake, stage 2+ tune, tuned dsg dct trans with upgraded clutch packs. I got about 305 whp in mine. It’s been a fun car to own and reliable. I daily drive it and I’m not the most gentle person on it. Im of the sense of, if imma put the money to build it imma use it too. Parts on these cars are a lil expensive at times but they last, are built well and handle power. Won’t find too many 2.0 4 bangers that hold 500hp on a stock engine.
my first car had one of these and it didnt have issues either. i drove the hell out of it, only ever did vw´s suggested maintenance and when i sold it it had over 200.000 km on the clock. this video makes me wonder if i got really lucky or if engine issues are blown out of proportion lol.
@@wesstewart102 Germans make some good engines - it's just at first they have more issues. For the US the LS1/LT1 and Hemi have been pretty reliable.. The engines that have been having troubles are the tiny turbo charged 4 cylinders that do funky stuff like have a lubricated internal timing chain. VW/Audi/BMW have been making 2.0L/1.8L turbo charged directed injected inline 4s for much longer than either the Japanese or Americans. So generally its more reliable then either. The koreans sadly don't seem to even have reliable NA engines but I digress.
hyundai theta issues pop up on searches not because they are particularly bad, but because they sold so many. There are a large amount of failures by numbers not by percentage
The 3.2 V6 in my 1991 Acura is a great engine...as long as you clean the EGR valve and assembly down to and including the intake manifold every 30k miles or so. Otherwise it gets clogged and runs lean and over time develops a seeping head gasket. 🙃
Nah, i've seen 4 of these to over 250k. It's not the J, but still a good engine. If you see the type II, grab it. A buddy of mine had it with the 6mt in a 2-door and I still lust after that car.
2010 Subaru Legacy GT with 180K on the block and heads. Unfortunately it's been through 2 sets of head gaskets, but the last time the head gaskets started to leak the car went to a performance engine shop and they used better head gaskets and hardened steel head bolts. Otherwise the car is still driven semi-daily and is a joy to drive. Very few modifications done because I want the damn thing to keep running.
They apparently have fixed the head gasket issues on the FB motors post 2015. Now they have a rash of problems with idiot lube techs draining the CVT instead of the engine oil when doing oil changes
The 3VZ-FE is a totally different motor than what was in the 4runners. I think you meant the 3VZE, without the "F" in it, due to it not having DOHCs. The 3VZFE was used in the Camrys and ES300s, and os generally regarded as a pretty stout motor.
I rented a Kia Sorento last year and it was a 2023 with less than 23000 miles on it. The engine blew with no warning and budget left us stranded for 2 days because their customer support refused to help.
I will share two even worst power plants. One was the screw up of all time: The Chevy Alum. 4 in the Vega. GM had the exceptional idea to run the alum. iron rings pistons in alum. cylinders with no liners. Virtually everyone died by 20-30K miles. The engine was replaced by the "Iron Duke" four, which was nothing more than a garden tractor engine, but it worked and didn't prematurely fail. The second was the 258 Cu in. 6 in the AMC products of the 70's. I had a Hornet and it was rebuilt 3X in less than 20K miles. One major contributor was their alum. bearings! Well I got to drive a Pacer 90% of the time on their loan program and upon the last rebuilt .... I sold it immediately.
A friend had a coolant hose leak in his Vega when his wife was driving it. By the time she noticed the warnings the engine was running rough. Taking off the cylinder head we saw the problem: the cylinders, which were like volcanoes in a coolant bathtub, overheated and one sagged away from the head. New engine, please.
The Northstar was an excellent engine, way ahead of its time. They fixed the head bolt issue later on. If being difficult to work on qualifies for the list then why isn't the Audi 4.2 V8 on here?
My parents had an '05 with a Northstar, ran without so much as a hiccup all the way until they traded it over 140k miles later. I always liked that car, and the engine really felt and sounded special. I had no idea at the time that the name was already so tarnished. Probably would have missed out on a great car if they had known. Oh, and the car before that one was an Audi with the 2.7L turbo. They ditched that car at the end of the warranty after having repeated electrical issues and getting a glimpse at how much those repairs would have cost out of warranty. Turns out they dodged a bullet as they've since been labeled one of the least reliable cars ever made, and those engines easily qualified for this list.
I have a 2007 DTS, yes it has had some issues however ( I started driving in 1968) almost all big land yachts, I never had one that could handle a curvy road like this one does.
I had a 2.9 v6 in my first ranger pickup. I loved that truck, had no power, got horrible fuel mileage (fuel gauge didnt work as far as I can remember) and the head gasket was blown and it still drove with no issues, no coolant in the oil until like 6 months after it blew. It would lose compression at times and you could hear it too lol, but overall it was a good engine. I eventually let it go and sold it to an old friend of a friend who fixed it and drove it. But when I had it, it was a good ole beater that got me to where I needed to go.
Almost to the T... same story for me and my '88 ranger. Was my first pickup in high-school that I paid $500 for, it was slow, blew a headgasket, rusty as heck - but took it offloading often (4wd), beat the living heck out of it... and I loved it.
I have worked on a lot of Ford Exploders and Triton powered F150's, and they run for a lot of miles without the issues you mentioned. They are certainly not the worst engines. Abusive mechanics and no maintenance the usual problem. There also millions of them out there so they will get more publicity
I'm a mechanic and had friends working in service and parts at the largest Ford dealer in the region during the height of the triton. They had 3 trucks in line for every service bay, and junk engines were stacked up everywhere. It was that way for years. They ended up having to extend the service department because of those pieces of crap.
My folks had a 5.4L in their 2010 F-150 all the way from new through to 2019. Only a couple of problems here and there over almost a decade of steady use. I was super surprised to see it top the list! Made decent power, sounded nice, and was reasonably reliable for them.
If you change your oil regularly it will probably out last the transmission. Spark plugs were fixed late 2007 with a new head design. I don't think this guy knows what he's talking about. That is definitely not a 5.4 l 3v picture he is teasing in the beginning. it is 99-01 cobra 4.6L DOHC.
I had the two valve 5.4 and that was a great engine but yeah I've heard tons of horror stories about the three valve 5.4. I even had a 3 valve 4.6 almost breaking spark plugs off when I was changing them.
A friend of mine had a 5.7 diesel. He drove it until the pickup fell apart. Then I sold him a decent pickup and he put his engine in it until he died. His son still uses it for farm work.
I worked at a Subaru dealership as an express advisor, we had a technician that would come out and talk to every single customer who had a turbo Subaru, especially people in the process of buying one. His job was to inform them that if they let the engine idle for 30 seconds to a minute after a drive so the turbos can cool down and change the oil every 2500 miles instead of every 5000 because turbochargers cook the oil that their engine would last much, much longer. We had a LOT less of those going bad, like guys could go hundreds of thousands of miles regularly.
It would blow up the time frame of the video.
There are hundreds and hundreds of European special German American engines outside who are are really be simply for the trash box the newer developings, the more more worst. That strategy brings them Ford, VW, BMW ect gangsters alot money, because people are way to stupid to left usa and special European cars on the side passing instead of buying this German Trash Car Cabinet.
Regards Jay
2015+ wrx models dont need that at all, they are gravity fed to cool down the turbo after the cars been turned off, the sti and all other turbo variants before 2015 need to have a cooldown period. ive had the 2020 for 3 years and 26k miles tuned since 1000 miles and never had any issues. my 23 wrx is no different. i also do oil changes every 5k miles never had an issue.those 26k miles were all hooning and on dirt and snow in the mountains sliding around. even with mudflaps it doesnt stop the gravel from ruining the paint on your doors :(
@@imoffendedthatyouareoffended Thats absolutely NO WONDER THAT U WITH UNDER CUTE 30.000MILES HAVE NO TURBOLADER , ENGINE PROBLEM,
...ONLY GERMAN EUROPE TRASH CARS COULD OFTEN EVEN WITH 30.000 MILES GET HEAVY ENGINE AND ZF TRANSMISSION FULLY FAILINGs get. Thats normal yes.
I use to work for Advance Auto Parts. I sold a lot of engine parts related to the engines mentioned on this video. When I mentioned the flaws with the customer's engine, I got the classic Pikachu face.
Well, atleast u tried!
@85 Testarossa A lot of mobile mechanics buy there parts from Advance Auto. I worked at a good branch.
@85 Testarossa Well.. Good for you that you always know exactly what you need. Not everyone does you know.
Not defending these places because they are not all filled with competent people.
But then nobody's perfect, not even you.
@85 Testarossa Well.. That's not everyone's experience.
When I need something they are always knowledgeable about what I need. At least in my area they are
But then I go to Autozone or Napa
@@6lemans10 well... U seem love Advanced Auto Parts then.
The main problem with many German engines is mentioned in the vid: the absurdly long oil change intervals. A close second being the obsession with saving weight and making all kinds of parts from plastic.
Changing the oil and the oil filter on a much shorter interval doesn't fully solve a lot of the problems, but it will definitely help keep the engine running for a much longer time. Eventually the problems will show their ugly heads, but that will be much further along the road.
Amennn !!! ! !!!
dont forget their "sealed for life" gearboxes ....
@@a.c.4732 It's hard to believe that many people will actually fall for that non-sense.
@tjroelsma the manufacturers should be held liable for repairs- but we all know that will never happen
@@a.c.4732 Yeah, Amen !!! ! !!!
I'm definitely not a GM fan but one of the best engines I have ever owned was the 3.1 liter V6 in my 1989 Cutlass Supreme, and I'll never understand why. It was fast, reliable and very fuel efficient.
They had intake manifold gasket issues, but otherwise the reason it was so solid was its simplicity, a basic pushrod V6, refined over decades of pushrod engine development.
Thy would also oval out either their #3 or #5 cylinder…..
I had a 1995 Olds Cutlass Supreme with the 3100. You had to change the intake manifold gasket around 100,000 miles. After that, I put 285,000 miles altogether before the rear suspension rusted and broke. The motor still ran great. The best car I ever owned.
That mill was a Chevy and they based on the 2.8 Chevy 60° V6. HELLA engine!!!!
Had a 3.1 in my 1991 Chevrolet Lumina and it was I would say the best car I ever owned. Been driving for 55 years now.
There's a KIA Sorento with 600k miles that had the Theta II engine. The owner had a unlimited mile 10 year warranty. In the 600k miles, the Sorento went through 9 engines, 4 transmissions, 203 oil changes, and 20 transmission flushes. That basically means a new engine very 67k miles, new transmission every 150k miles, an oil change every 3000 miles, and a transmission fluid flush every 30k miles.
You should never have any transmission flushed.
@@MrNorthstar50 I personally believe in dropping the transmission pan and changing the fluid instead of flushing.
@MrNorthstar50 what do you mean?
@@zoidzoid87flushing a transmission can easily destroy it
I bought a 2001 Tahoe with 680,000miles
Original engine
Original trans
Scrapped it because the body was beyond rotten
As a former VW tech I can confirm I have seen each of those items fail, but you forgot the carbon build up around the intake valves which needs to be cleaned every 60k-100k. The gen 3 TSI engines have many improvements over the gen 2’s you are referring to, which is probably why you stopped at 2014.
Edit: I didn’t expect to get this many questions. I was a tech at VW for 6 months and I didn’t see every scenario, so my ability to answer questions is limited.
Oh man i just asked that! Lol. I have a 17’ e888 gen 3. So they are better?! Golf R
@@Jusstisse yes the they are better, though the most likely thing to fail is the thermostat housing. When you get high mileage, of course you want to keep an eye on the timing chain and get a carbon cleaning every 80k or so. Be on the early side for fluid services and it should do well
@@aluminumfalcon552 Awesome! Thanks for responding!!!
Gotta love gdi. Got a hyundai(g4kj 2016 sonata se) with it. Just had the motor replaced under their recall as a second owner at 107k because it did what they do - ate a gallon of oil in 5 days(had just done a change[am mechanic]) then it just shit itself on an i80 on ramp via main and rod bearing seizure - and I'm trying to figure out how tf the modify shit to get injection spray in the Intake but I don't have enough of the build specs or machines to fix...or the coding experience in automotive. Or the hardware to monitor it all or those to change the ecu parameters. So really I'm just pipe dreaming waiting to spend 1000$ for walnut blasting in 25k
I want the sonata night edition n line buuuuuut...but...but...and hear me out now.
I'll take anything with a pushrod v8 over this dohc phaser shit. High function series(gm v6) is trash. LM7 will start at 300k every damn time.
Christmas I type as this video ays and I currently own 2 of the vehicles.
LY7 - 06 CTS non v
G4KJ - 2016 Sonata 2.4 Theta II
What’s the best models and years of you mind me asking?
Also, wife got a used Kia Optima... she had it a week and the motor started grating itself internally and was running so rich, it was literally rolling coal. Yes, we got our money back.
My Kia spit a rod into space at 70k miles and needed a whole new engine. It’s at 160k now and starting to fall apart again pray for me
@@dooproxful Don’t spend another dollar on it. When it grenades buy a Toyota.
@@dooproxful my forte conrod exploded at 60k miles. I was the second owner and corporate wouldn't help. Junk cars
@@markm0000 I'm glad I found this video and comment section after looking at the 2023 Kias and hearing the older ones aren't reliable. You guys possibly saved me a headache even though the newer Kia's supposedly don't have emgine issues anymore.
What are your thoughts on Subaru? I wanted a Toyota RAV4, but the dealership near me is making you buy the "package" that is non negotiable (because they don't have a market markup) for an additional $4500. The Subaru dealership near me doesn't have anything added on so I can get a 2023 Forester or Outback for MSRP.
Kias are pieces of trash. I don't even get why people waste their time on them.
I happen to own a Trabant! I think the reason they've stuck around so much longer than other comparable cars is because of their superior simplicity, no water pump, fuel pump, cams or valves. Also it's impossible to neglect oil changes when you need to add it to the gas every time.
"I like it because it sucks"
@@nathanchildress5596 If you've done any serious work on a car especially without a shop, you quickly appreciate any simplicity it has. It's an awesome little 46 year old car.
@@nathanchildress5596 So my dude. What is a car supposed to do? Take you from point A to point B with only ever paying for gasoline (and two-stroke oil in that case). The Trabant is phenomenal in that regard. Its constructed with "Duroplast", a mixture of resin and cotton scraps, which is very durable and of course immune to rust. The engines is so barebones that most of the driveable trabants still have the original engine. Theres not much to go wrong, and if it does, its dirt cheap and easy to replace, even with aftermarket parts from todays day and age. When you take your new overengineered BMW/VW/Chevrolet/Dodge/Fiat or whatever to the repair shop, only to have them do fucking rocket science and you paying your last savings, you would look at the trabant and say "maybe it isnt that bad".
@@Comitis840 It's NOT phenomenal in any regard, it's an awful depressing car people were forced to own, and now it's ironic hipster bait and you know it. If all you want is simplicity get a Beetle; it's cheaper, prettier, air cooled, very simple, with more parts available, runs normal gas, has a normal gearbox that can coast, and drives much better. BUT NO, it's not weird enough for guys like you is it?
@@nathanchildress5596ok ghoul
I had a 99 Ford expedition with the Triton V8 5.4L. although it did spit out a spark plug in 2017, I heilly coiled it & never had an issue again. it was still running when I sold it with 395000 miles on it.
Had the Kia 2.4
One day, suddenly, it sounded like I’d dumped a load of .5” ball bearings into the motor. Voided the warranty because I did a couple of the oil changes myself. Dealt with them for a couple months & ended up paying 3500 for a new engine.
I was reimbursed after the recalls.
MF’n vultures.
You should have sued Kia. It is NOT a violation of your warranty if you did a few oil changes yourself, as long as you can PROVE that you did them, and properly. Kias blow up anyway.
Someone in an old shop i worked at recommended someone who only had about 64k miles on his kia that burned all the oil within 3k miles go do an oil consumption test and they basically told him to get stranded then call them. No shit he pulls back up a couple months later and I go up to his window and his oil light is on and I'm "turn off your car you shouldn't be trying to drive when your oil light is on" he's like "no its fine kia told me to keep driving it with it on and call them when it goes" then I recognized his face. But a lot of people have issues with them because they have too many engine to replace. for free so they just try to dodge responsibility when they can
I will proudly never buy a KIA.
@@Dicktrickle710 An engine model doesn't affect the rest engine models that the brand offers.
@@Dicktrickle710 i have a 1.6 T-GDI (204PS) in my Kia 126k km on the clock and I don’t baby that car. had almost 0 issues with the engine so far
I've worked on enough Ford 5.4l v8's, I think you had the sparkplug issue mixed up though. The ford 5.4l 2 valve engines would eject the plugs due to having only 4 threads in the aluminum head to hold them in and Ford's torque spec was also inadequate. On the other hand Ford had the brilliant idea of making the 9/16" two piece plug that would snap inside the head on the 3 valve engine's 😉. However your not wrong on the overall lack of accountability in these manufacturer's doing nothing about it, hoping problems would slowly fade away, and basically telling people they don't care.
I do agree with your correction regarding the correct years Ford 5.4 had spark plugs blowing out of them but as far as Trav claiming the fix would create bigger issues I am not saying he is wrong I just have never seen it . I repaired countless 5.4 16 valve engines and have never had another plug issue . As for the 3 valve engines introduced in 2004 the tools to remove the broken plugs are efficient and effective . With proper cleaning of the spark plug threads and seats along with copper anti- seize the issue is corrected . As for phaser and timing chain issues , replacing the two guide tensioners at or around 100,000 km will make the engine live much longer .
Not saying all the picks in this video are wrong but over 50% of all engine or drive line issues and failures are a direct result of owner abuse or neglect .
Yes, I had a 98 Ford Econoline 350 that blew the spark plugs out. The next one was a trition 5.4 but it was OK ONLY because I made sure it always ran on clean oil. Got 130K miles, then the company sold it.
5.4 2v engines are solid. 5.4 3v engines are trash and will never be anything else but trash. What I think is funny is how at the start of the video he has a pic of a 4.6 4v which is a solid engine
@904Saleen Indeed the 2v is a solid engine, the heads could have used a few more threads. Otherwise torqueing the plugs did the job. The 3v had it's engineering short comings, however once the remedies are corrected they are good.
My 3 valve has 212,000 miles and runs great. High quality oil helps and cam phasers every 100k. It is far from the worst engine I've owned and worked on. Phasers can be replaced in a day. At least it's easy to work on, unlike some of the engines on this list.
Chev small block NOT the 5.7 diesel. Where you getting your info? Obviously not a mechanic.That was Olds based.
Olds 350
I think you’ve missed one rather obvious engine disaster: Porsche mid-2000s IMS self-destruct which was the subject of a major lawsuit. There are some other classics such as the under-engineered 145hp Chevy Monza 5L-V8 where you had to drop the engine to replace two of its spark plugs.
On the subject of the Porsche 996 and 986 engines and how awful they are, you also need to add piston slap, bore scoring, air-oil separator and more. All of these incidents will create catastrophic engine failure and good luck fixing it for under $20ks.
Yep, the first liquid cooled porsche engine and they fu...ed up big time
Ford EcoBoost engines are bad. Water pump problems
@@GillesLacoste-e5t At least you can buy a 996 with the work already done on the bearings.
@@mariusromania442 Their first liquid cooled engine was in the 928 in 1978. And it was pretty damn durable. Shame the flat sixes on water are so problematic.
I once had an 04 F150 with the 5.4L 3v, ran it over 210k miles and no problem whatsoever. Keeping up with regular maintenance often makes it very reliable even though the world loves to hate on it lmao…
I've had the same experience. I thought it was a great engine.
@@pbaker7160 This guy clearly likes to hate on Fords. The Triton did have plug issues, which could be repaired without to major of issues. Beyond that, they are very durable, unlike most of the crap he has on here. The worst... No way.
Exactly! Frequent oil changes and regular maintenance! These engines run just fine as long as the oil is changed on time. I'd suggest 4-5 thousand miles tops.
@@BretPowellMuch of his information was incorrect.
Every time I think about replacing my 2003 F150, 5.4L Triton “2 VALVE” (it has 285K+ miles on it and runs fabulous), I look at what’s out there and forget the whole idea! I bought it brand new and love it! So glad I got the last year for the 2-valve engine, because I’ve seen what the 3-valvers are like.😝
At least mine takes “regular” style spark plugs!!🤣🤣
Have a 2002 F250 and just turned 505404 km on it. Regular oil changes and fluid changes for the rest as scheduled and except for low mpg, which as a F250 is to be expected, just brakes every decade. Also got two deer with my winch on the front, and still going strong. Not so for the deer.
I too have a 2v motor. I just wish i had the 5.4. Mines the 4.6😂😂 on a f250!🤣🤣
As an owner of 5.4 trition with the 3 valve, the exhaust manifold and the spark plugs can go to hell
@@benjaminmartinez2066 The exhaust manifold and spark plugs already came from hell.
The 5.4 2 valve loved to spit the spark plugs out causing you to fix the spark plug hole, coil, wire, and of course the plug. The 5.4 IS JUNK DESIGNED IN THE CYLINDER HEAD . The 5.4 3 valve wasn’t much better either as the spark plug is a 2 piece design so the spark plug broke which then you had to get a special tool to remove the other half of the spark from the cylinder head. I’m a Ford guy, had both engines. The 2 valve in a 2000 F-250 and the 3 valve in a 2007 F-150. I would never have either of those engines again.
The three valve Ford was indeed terrible, but the 2 valve 4.6 and 5.4 engine both before and after are some of THE most reliable engines ever made. The 3 valve spark plug design was just a VERY bad idea.
Got one and no idea who would design an engine that plugs seized in. Ford even designed a tool just to get those plugs out and the glass shards from inside the cylinder.
Former 2.0 '14 Forester XT owner here. I did oil changes every 3k, carefully warmed up the engine, amd let the turbo cool. Head gaskets went at 80k and again at 130k.
My wife's 14 xt would constantly kill spark plugs and the cvt was a mess. Also went through a handful rack & pinion parts.
Forester is Australian for Fix or repair daily.
I traded my 14 Forester for a Toyota at 80k miles, Subaru said head gasket was oozing, not blown. Said the burning oil problem was normal and didn't yet qualify for the class required replacement. Also said the CVT slipping was not bad enough to qualify for an additional class action required replacement. Uh huh...don't buy a Subaru unless you live in an area that needs the good AWD and plan on trading it at low mileage every few years.
@jaa4742 I traded mine for a full EV. It's better in every way. Hardly and maintenence. Little chance of things breaking. Cheaper to fuel it.
@@jaa4742 You made the right choice. A toyota will generally out-last a Subaru, especially when the latter has the CVT transmission! Because, not jut Subaru's CVT, but almost every automaker's CVT transmissions, are far less durable and reliable than the older type. And when a CVT breaks, it will cost a fortune to fix!
Like air suspension, turbocharged engines, and cars with all-wheel drive, CVT to me is just another feature to avoid at all "costs", no pun intended.
I am a fleet mechanic. We have Fords because they are cheap. That's why Ford dominates the fleet market. Boy were we happy to see the last 6.4 diesel truck finally go to the auction. Nothing but 6.7 diesels in our medium duty trucks anymore and we have close to a 1000. Those 6.4's break often and are a pain to fix. If you find a used one just pass on by, it won't be worth the aggravation.
The Toyota you meant to address was the 3vz-e. That was the engine in the 4runners and pickups. I know alot of people had issues, but I've beat the crap out of mine, went a year without an oil change, and used blue devil head gasket repair for over a year and the damn thing would always start up.
Correct. And neither the 3VZ-FE or 3VZ-E were especially prone to HG failures until high mileage or simply age.
Loved Toyotas but after owning this one I bought a Ford it still running. That was one bad motor and looked like something from outer space.
@@chipcook6646😂🤣 ok
Retired Used Vehicle Dealer I am; whom has reconditioned over a thousand vehicles. Travers is short for "Needs new transfer case every 40 to 60 KM." The designs of today requires oil as thick as water 0/20 viscosity, to pump oil into tiny holes through hollow con rods and cranks. A speck of anything will clog the channel. IF I owned such a beast, LOF would be done every 3k at most. Lowest cost of the recondition of lot by far was Toyota 4cyl, followed by Honda 4cyl. Japanese V6 are not near as durable, especially of similar displacement. 2400cc dived by 4cyl = 600 cc per cyl. 2700 cc divided by 6cyl = 450 cc per cyl. smaller pins and rods dose not make a more robust engine. Any time vehicles have internal belt driven anything design, creates costly maintenance. Putting starters and water pumps inside the engine, coupled to an INTERFERENCE DESIGN insures expensive service.. I knew what was happening to the industry, that's why I bought a CORROSION FREE including the under carriage, No EGR 7.3 F250 29500 km, It's as good as Cummings, slightly more difficult to work on, but the frame and drive train is superior to Dodge. I replaced the entire transmission as torque converter was on it's way out at purchase. Jobber wanted $1800 Can. to make converter good, with a 1 yr feel good warranty. Vs brand new Upgraded from the original design Transmission from Ford with a 3 yr unlimited mile warranty covered anywhere in North America for $2700 Can, Dealer cost. Today's transmissions are $13,000 plus range. Also own an 04 4cyl Camry 119.000 km zero corrosion as well. I despise all the new stuff.
they replaced a broken engine design with another bad engine design makes sense for Subaru🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Never had an issue with my 5.4L. Frequent oil changes - changed plugs twice (was easy) and a few sensors as maintenance. It now has 330k.....still runs strong and I tow a 20ft ski boat and load the shit out of it without issues.
Same i tow a horse trailer every week with mine.
Boss is now on his second 5.4L in his F350.
No problems with my 5.4 but I keep the oil changed every 2500
I thought sure the Chevy Vega engine would be on the list. But, it's from the 1970s and probably before your time. One of my coworkers had a Vega with its controversial aluminum engine and he claimed that all bad rumors were unfounded. Then one day, his car started showing some smoke in the exhaust and shortly after, his engine was toast.
My uncle bought one new. It lasted 35,000 miles before it died permanently.
Yes that aluminum engine Teflon coated cylinders was a big goof , if you ever got it hot and any teflon in the cylinders started flaking off it was just a short time and your engine was done for.
I remember these engines, a co-worker at the time (1978) bought one. I'm pretty sure the cylinders were hard-anodized....but either way...15K miles and it required a qt. of oil every 20 miles.@@MrNorthstar50
I remember that POS...
LOL another GM. POS....
OMG. LOL
Yeah the Vega my cousin ... dipstick in the gas tank and fill up the oil
one American v6 you couldn't talk about here was the Buick 3800
Imo best American V6 ever. Maybe best V6 ever. I own one that has driven several thousand miles with no oil. Refuses to die and still runs like new. Possibly smoother. Gets better fuel economy than the girlfriend's 1.6 Ford.
One of the best engines of all time. The 2.8/3.1/3.4 wasn't bad either. And he wants to trash "all American V6s".
Except for those intake gaskets. Fix those and it's bulletproof. Easily a 250k plus, mile engine with good maintenance. 198K on one of mine and I've cleaned injectors, and replaced a water pump.
@@alanwieskamp499 Yeah, the LIM gasket and the plastic elbow on some. Nothing crazy. And just avoiding dex-kill helps a lot with those.
Best all round v6 on planet
I was a little surprised that the Chevrolet 5.3L AFM V8 didn't make the list. In my 14 years and 120,000 miles of owning my Silverado....the lifters failed twice with the cost of the repairs totaling over $13,000.
All that to save 0.1 mpg. Way to go GM.
I've owned two Subarus over the last ten years, one with an EJ engine I bought used, the other with an FB engine I bought new. I've never had any problems with the engines of either one.
I have had two ,both 2 litre , one Turbo , had ex factory turbo timer , never had a problem ,
I've been racing EJ207s for 15 years and they have proved to be very reliable. Although I change the oil and filter after every event which is more frequent than usual.
You Did Great Preventive Maintenance most Likely.
The EJ series has been around since 89´ and the 1,8l and 2,0l never had any major problems, even the turbo charged EJ20 ones found in the old Legacy, Impreza and Forester. The EJ22 and EJ25 on the other hand were susceptible to head gasket failure.
Had 2 EJ25 na Forester, were okay other than the lack of power.
Changed to an FA20T model brand new, it threw a rod after 2 years. Dealer said that it was common with the early FA cars especially with the CVT. After it was fixed after warranty i traded it in for a Lexus NX. No issues with that.
Just a point for the GM deisel is that it was made from the Oldsmobile 350, not the Chev 350 as alluded to in the vid. Olds guys will use the deisel block for a gas buildup, it's stronger.
Can't believe people are still falling for this myth.
The main failure point on these that I remember was the camshaft. Engine vibrations caused excessive wear. GM corporate pushed the engine into production before completing testing. They made that mistake a few times too many. Buick 215, Vega, 350 diesel, NorthStar, Quad4, 1st ZR1.
Which myth?My olds 350 diesel was converted to gas@@Land_Raver
@glenwhitestofer6420 It wasn't an Olds 350 converted to diesel. Olds made everything the same, so when the parts interchanged, like the heads, crankshaft, everyone assumed that was the case.
It was the case as i hjad the olds 350 diesel that kept having head gasket failures so I kept the diesel block and converted it to gas,yes it is doable look it up"When the Olds diesels were new, Mondello sold a conversion kit to turn them into gasoline engines. Basically you need to change cam, heads, and intake, and add a distributor and fuel pump. The Olds diesel block maintains all the features necessary to do this, including the provision for the distributor"@@Land_Raver
The 5.7L diesel was NOT BASED ON THE SMALL-BLOCK. it was an Oldsmobile 350, a completely separate family of engines. There was no big block or small block in the B.O.P. Engine family. Also, the 5.7L OLDSMOBILE diesel used a thicker, stronger block than its gasoline brethren, and those blocks were popular among racers to build as extra-stout gasoline olds engines. They could be punched all the way out to 455ci, like any other olds v8.
So the bop 455 was a small block? Hmm
That is true. Also worth noting, every single division of GM had completely unique engines back then. For example, the 455s from P, O, and B were all completely different and had basically nothing in common other than displacement
@@hiddenInsight486 no, the 455 wasn’t a “big block” or a “small block.” Buick, Pontiac and olds had their own engines, and they didn’t use two different v8 platforms each like Chevy did. Therefore, not a “big” or “small.” It was simply a “Buick, Olds or Pontiac” V8. The Buick v8 ranged from 264 to 455 c.I., the olds from 260 to 455, and the Pontiac from 265-455. the Chevy “small block” ranged from 265-400, the Chevy Gen-1 big-block ranged from 348-427 (famous for the 409) and the Chevy Gen 2 (aka Mark IV) big-block ran from 366ci to 454 ci, with special tall-deck crate engines in even bigger displacements of 502, 572 and 632ci. There was also the 99-06 “metric” version in 496ci, known as the L18. GM engines were all over the place with countless different families and versions until the 90s, when pretty much every division simply adopted the Chevy v6s and v8s, with two notable exceptions. The “3800” (and it’s 3.3L brother) was a Buick-designed engine, used in several olds, Buick, Pontiac and chevy vehicles, and the aurora/northstar/shortstar family was a “Cadillac” engine used in everything EXCEPT Chevrolets. On the subject of Cadillac- they had several engine families, but none were referred to as “big block” or “small block.” The most famous was probably the 429/472/500ci family, but as they were the only v8 Cadillac had at the time, they were simply “Cadillac v8.” The later V-8-6-4 and 4100 “high technology” engines were best left forgotten to history. 4.9 was pretty cool though.
Hope that helps. I’m a nerd.
Olds SB's: 260 to 403. Olds BB's 400 to 455. There is a big difference. The Diesel Olds 350 was based on a BB Olds engine with the thicker main caps and solid main webs.
@@JohnDoe-ml8ru the larger displacement olds motors had features like thicker webbing, stronger mains, etc, but they used the same bore spacing, geometry and external block features as all the other olds v8s. No “big block” or “small block” olds. Just a “455ci Oldsmobile v8”
When my daughter was little, we were out taking a walk around the block and she noticed a Yugo parked in a neighbor's driveway (they didn't own it). She looks at it and asks "Dad, is that a real car?" I hesitated before answering. Lol!
Owned a '02 WRX and kept it 17 years. Sold it with 208K miles, no real issues for the first 10 years. After that some stuff but nothing major. That said it had regular maintenance and not tuned within a inch of it's life. Spirited driving, not hammered every time I sat in the seat. Had a journal with every oil change, wiper blade, sold it for a premium. Guy told me "you are the guy people want to buy a car from".
I do the same thing: every car has a scrapbook binder with every single receipt for maintenance and repairs, modifications, installation instructions for those mods, and any OEM parts removed to make said modifications.
I’ve sold a lot of high mileage cars for good money because of it.
@@buttsexandbananapeels It matters, does to me anyway. Like you I got a premium for the car when I sold it. Bought a GR Corolla in Feb. I kept the 5/20 Car & Driver magazine with "cars worth waiting for". Additional nugget for the next owner.
Bought a 2005 Subaru Legacy Wagon (aka Outback minus steroids) with the 2.5 Liter turbo H4. Loved driving it, but the gas mileage was terrible and I was not prepared for such a recent new car to burn so much oil, which I did not change soon enough. First turbo failure... Subaru covered 80% under warranty. Second turbo failure... Subaru covered about 50%, past warranty. Third turbo failure at 80K. Sold it to a guy who rebuilds Subaru engines independently for $6000 less than book value. A $10,000 lesson. Replaced it with a V6 Honda that is slightly faster, burns 50% less gas, burns NO oil, and runs perfectly 137K miles later.
@@billyjoejimbob56 I might have just gotten a good engine. There's plenty of head gasket issues, not with either of mine, but three turbos? Honda makes a good car. Owned a '85 CRX si, one of my favorite cars.
Yes Steve i have owned 5 new WRX now with never a engine issue, i serviced them when due and drive them with respect. Picked up my new 2023 Rex last week 👍 Au
I have a theta 2.4, and they've released a knock sensor update that indicates if it's going to spin a bearing. If you have this update done on your vehicle, and it blows up, the short block is covered under a lifetime warranty now.
I own a 2010 f150 5.4 3v and have heard all of the horror stories. (knocks on wood) It has been meticulously maintained and as of today has 260k on it and is still my daily driver. I think the key with this and most engines is treat them kindly and take care of them.
The spark failures (stuck, coming out, broken- were all shoddy maintenance. If you (a) serviced the plugs on schedule (b) serviced the plugs on a cool engine (c) serviced them like a professional mechanic (not a uneducated impact wrench driver)….. those engines road forever… same for timing chain - oil & filter changed regularly with correct grade high quality oil.
"BIGGEST" POS ever.
@@davidnorris1093The 2010s had an updated cylinder style that eliminated both spark plug problems.
The 6.2 l V8 is not old, or even old fashioned, but it is pushrod OHV (not DOHC) on purpose ... not that I'm a defender of GM, cannot understand how the best and brightest engineers in the world can make such unreliable engines as the 350 diesel and the Northstar. Oh, wait, yes I do, it's called "thrifting", "accountants" and "poor management". I get it.
I remember in the early 2000s subi owners were all IT tech nerds, today they're (mostly just wrx owners) Gen Z artards that vape but most STI owners today are older and mature.
38 male with a 2001 STi here. *Subie highfives
37 here. 2008 5mt Impreza 2.5 sedan
All the ads for used Subi's, "never vaped in." Pfft, what ever
I’m gen z and my friend owns a early 2000’s wrx (when it was still a trim of the Impreza). He is the most mechanically and technologically gifted person I know, and has done a ton of mods on it, both performance and visual (also he doesn’t vape). Some of the gen z subie owners still stick to the old ways.
54 male with a 2020 STi
I was a heavy line tech for almost 50yrs. The last 5yrs I could see the direction things were going in the automotive repair business and retired early 10yrs ago. I never looked back.
Can you be a little more clear? What direction were things going? Every brand car and their respective vehicles are so different.
@@jamesmedina2062 this is what happens when you can't adapt and learn new skills
i guess he means by more plastics/unreliability cheap'ing out on materials...and the transition to electrical vehicles
@@SvG627 yeah who knows. He didnt answer. I doubt its those things. Its probably the computer thing
@@jamesmedina2062 Considering he's probably at least 80 he probably doesn't remember or lost his train of thought.
The Renesis engine made about 230HP...if you got the RX-8 with a manual transmission. The automatics (don't know why someone buying an RX-8 would opt for an automatic) had about 212. Mazda's way of forcing you to get the manual transmission if you want more power.
Why even make an automatic at that point. Just a waste of money. If someone were to buy the RX-8 it's for the driving experience of a sports car
MO-POWA BABY!!
Every automatic I know of from 10 years ago or more is associated with more power loss than a manual in the same car.
I remember reading about the Ram SRT-10 automatic only making 375 whp from the 510 crank horsepower, compared to the manual making 450 on the dyno.
I think I heard something about Mazda having trouble sourcing an automatic transmission that could hold the power at the redline of the manual engine while making sense with the other constraints of the chassis. May or may not be true, not to mention the extra drivetrain losses from an auto. There's a pretty easy solution to that problem though... buy a manual
Ah yes the manual addicts are here
I have a 2017 Subaru levorg. 5 years old and 59000 kilometres it blew a rod through the block. Never missed a service, never tracked or modified. To add insult to injury they never diagnosed the issue saying 'the short motor is warranted for 2 years just bring it back if theres an issue '. They replaced the short motor and it still idles really badly and blew a spark plug. Its been off the road in the dealer for 4 of the last 12 months
Only one of these I've personally owned would be an rx8. I owned her for about a year and a half and she never gave me any problems. But nine of those months I was overseas and she was sitting at my grandma's house getting started weekly so she didn't have much of an opportunity to give me problems
The RX8 shaped like Terrazi Wildboar.
A rotary engine period. So much fun, until they start self destructing.
its such a sweet handling car. pretty much zero body roll.
They start breaking down about 90-100k miles
Very surprised that you didn’t mention the Vega 4 cylinder. A friend had one and had to top off the oil level every fill up.
That one is legendary. We had the misfortune to own one.
@@theoriginaljimmykicker A friend of mine had one in the early '80, it was so down on power that we had to turn off the AC to make it up hills in the summer time....😂
You basically go to the gas station, fill up the oil and check the gas level :)
Welcome to my 1988 Ford Ranger 2.3L EFI. Ford included a convenient AC cut off push button on the dash. If you needed to pass on a 2-lane you needed to get a run, change lanes and hit that button. Otherwise, you were at the mercy of the vehicle you were trying to pass. I had to add half a quart of oil for every tank of gas, too. Ford said it was normal oil consumption. The engine had to be replaced at 80k, due to oil starvation. The composite pan gasket crumbled into the pan and clogged the pickup screen. Lucky I had an extended warranty. The engine was clean inside. The technician commented on how well I had maintained it. He said he had never seen such a clean engine with 80k miles on it. I did my own oil changes every 3000 miles.@@raynic1173
I thought we had all agreed to scrub that engine from our collective memory. Now I have to put my fingers in my ears and go LALALALALA!!!!
We had an '01 Expedition with the Triton and can confirm a spark plug shot into the exhaust manifold one day while idling through a drive through circa 2008. I was about 20 years old and thought it was something I did wrong (expedition belonged to my parents so I was freaking out). Thanks, Ford. Now driving a '16 F-150 with a coyote and much more confident
I'm still driving one now, same year even. Blew out its first plug a couple months ago, so I had to fix it before I could drive it home. Fortunately, they're not that hard to do, and I had the tools. I've done quite a few of them over the years, but that was the first one I had to do for myself. 130K miles.
The Coyote is a tank. Will outlast the cars
Mom had a 2000 Eddie Bauer Expedition. She sold it with 275k on the OG engine and trans. It just burned a little oil.
@@danibj I had a supercharged Coyote (called the Miami) in my 2014 Falcon XR8, rated at 450hp in stock form, thing was a beast, sold it when gas here in NZ approached 12 bucks a gallon.
@@uhtred7860 I love the Falcons, shame we don't have those here!
I have worked on Kraut Krap in the past...And That is,what it is! You need special tools. Everything is over designed and hard to get to. They are brutally made.
worse modern engine worse then a Hyundai engine Yeppers🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Spoke like an American.😊
Worked on a n63 in a 550. Very complicated but I liked the challenge. Definitely not for an impatient person though cause this engine will make you hate bmw
U get used to it, thank god nothing major has gone wrong on mine yet
"this engine will make you hate bmw"
Personally, it's the drivers, followed closely by the suspension, that kill it for me.
Nevermind the inflated cost for what are mostly unremarkable cars. By the time you are paying M money, you can afford a much, much better car.
@@nobodynoone2500 Some of the biggest nonsense I've heard. You don't buy an M car for AMG like comfort, nor do you buy an AMG for M like track performance. They are two different brands made for two different purposes. So for you to say "better cars out there for M money" is absolutely ridiculous.
I've had both a 2005 Subaru with the EJ257 with over 165,000 mi, and a '14 VW with the 2.0 TSI w 110,000 mi now and I've literally not had one problem with either engine. But I also do proper maintenance which is probably the biggest difference between ones that last and those that don't.
Good point. Subies hold up very well over the years, but the key is proper maintenance per the manufacturer's specifications. Some cars are more tolerant of abuse or negligence.
You got lucky with the Subaru. Changing the head gasket at about 150k km is basically standard maintenance.
That said, the cars are almost flawless otherwise (except for the rear quarter rust). One big maintenance bill halfway through the life of the car isn't really a huge deal. Even when the head gasket starts to fail, unless you ignore it for a long time, the car will keep running.
My brother in law had the same engines both at the same time Subaru and VW, both were piles and constantly had issues. He loved the cars. But they were always needing something.
He sold both now my sister and him both have Toyotas.
Bro replace timing chain tensioner on TSI asap
yeah i wouldn't take much notice of what this idiot is saying in this video.....as soon as he started saying the EJ has heating problems and that Subaru never fixed it....proves he knows nothing about engines.....The EJ engines had cooling problems because of the Uneuquel Length Headers (ULH)....thats why after the 2003 models they changed the EJ's to have Equal Length Headers (EQL). However, that gets rid of the Subbie rumble sound which a lot of people who like Subbies love....So a lot of people will change the stock EQH's to aftermarket ULH's and then use another aftermarket part to cool a section of the engine....I cant remember what that part is called cause ive never owned a WRX......
I bought an F150 with a 5.4 in 2003. It was hands down the best truck I’ve ever had. And I’ve had a bunch. I traded it in with 166k and the only work I ever did to it was normal maintenance, coils and an alternator. I was in my 20s so it spent most of its life with the loud pedal on the floor. It was a great truck/engine.
That 03 was still the 2valve motor. 04 started the garbage. I still have my 2000 f150 Harley edition. 181k . Most reliable vehicle ive ever owned. Even the 6 disc CD changer and cassette player still work lmao.
@@1keykneedeep Oh man that Harly edition is so nice.
@@1keykneedeep Yep. I STILL have my 2003 Super Crew 2V 5.4. The 2V 5.4 was literally an award winning engine. I also have a 2 valve modular V10, which is my 5.4L with another two cylinders added. It is in my motor home and is also a good engine. So, Ford decided to increase power in the 5.4 by adding another valve per cylinder in 2004. A decision that will live in infamy.
Just to add to your comment Matt, I own a 2004 Expedition with the 2v 5.4 engine and it now has 404,575 miles and it still runs very good!
2 valve tritons are great, a good majority of the fleet vehicles the were at my former job had 4.6 2v motors under the hood.
8:16
The 3VZ-FE was found in the Toyota Camry 92'-93'(which you showed pictures of) was different from the 3VZ-E which was found in the 4 runners and trucks. Similar but not quite the same design and much more reliable. Was supplanted in 94' because Toyota swapped from an iron block to an aluminum blocked 1MZ-FE. Used to race these back in the day in V6 swapped MR2s
My wife had a Hyundai GDi 2.4L (NA). By the time the car had 90K miles on it, it used over 1 quart of oil a week due to a piston ring problem. We took it to get it fixed and Hyundai said it was completely normal to use oil in these cars, just keep putting oil in it. They refused to fix it or admit there was a piston ring issue at all.
Oh! And then there was a recall on oil pans because they had reported many vehicles had shavings left inside of the block from machining which were causing catastrophic failure. Brake lines would get hot and cause fires....
She drives Toyota now....
Good move. Toyota really is the best and Hyundai is really a piece of 💩
@@chiarac4967 Thanks man, we picked up a 2020 RAV-4 for 31K, and traded in the Sonata for -7k off the price. She loved that car, but I explained why that was VERY BAD since she was hearing noises on startup. It sounded like the crank was powered by hamster wheels.
Something about the softness of the iron. They couldn't be just buying low quality ore from somewhere maybe up north could they?
@@chiarac4967 my genesis coupe has 84,116kms on it they're not all back even the new sonanta's have a revised theta II engine. On CR reports they're still in the top 10 most reliable. Yes, they're not as reliable as say honda and toyota but my last elantra got to 178,000kms before I sold it and the new owner still has it
Thanks for all this valuable info. I'm a little surprised the small displacement Ford Ecoboost engines (2.3L and smaller) didn't make this list. Maybe you can do a separate video on them.
even the 1.5, 1.6. easily blow head gasket at really low milage. Ford knew about it and did nothing, they just put the same piece of crap engine right back in when they replaced it.
The 2.3 had many problems at the factory level though. It also wasn't built for high power after tuning. What reliability problems are you referring to?
As long as these engines had their recall where the Water Hoses we’re replaced then this engine is relatively reliable.
I've owned multiple ecoboosts. From 1.6 to 3.5... what problems are you referring to?
@@bobdingle2539Perhaps the _belt-in-oil_ design of the 1.0L 3-cylinder Fox? Not only that, there's _two_ of them; one to run the cams, the other to run the oil pump. When that second belt fails, it starves the engine of oil, and being a turbocharged engine, I think you know how bad that can be. Also, being a *belts-in-oil design, if one changes the oil themselves, or the mechanic doesn't know what he's doing, and the wrong oil is used, it will literally dissolve the belts, and belt material will clog the oil pickup, again starving the engine of oil.
To avoid these scenarios, one must not only change the oil and filter religiously every 3-5k miles instead of the factory-recommended 10k, but also one must without fail use the specific type of fully synthetic Ford Motorcraft oil required every single time, which means going to a Ford dealership, and paying through the nose for it, because those QuickLane techs will just pump in the generic bulk synthetic blend without a second thought, and your belts will lose their teeth faster than kids lose their baby teeth.
EDIT: Formatting, also honorable mention goes to the Ford PowerShift aka PowerSHIT six-speed _automated manual_ transmission found in the Ford Focus, Fiesta, and other Ford products. I shouldn't need to explain this one. Ask any Ford technician and they'll tell you _all_ about it.
I have a lot of experience with the Kia Theta 2 engine. I don’t know why they aren’t listed as THE worst engine ever built. They blow up and set the engine compartment on fire. There’s an internal defect that causes the #4 piston rod to go through the side of the block. So, Kia recalled the engines. That was nice of them, but if the engine replacement is not done properly the fuel line on the high pressure fuel pump leaks and sets the car on fire anyway. If that’s not enough, Kia’s themselves have a couple of other issues. The hydraulic electronic control unit, otherwise known as the ABS unit, fails and will cause a fire and, lastly, the trailer hitch wiring harness will fail and cause a fire. Other than these little issues, they’re great cars.
'Little' issues lol.
My sister had a brand-new Optima years ago, possibly the worst car anyone in our family has ever owned, and Hyundai/Kia voided her 10 year warranty because she had a handful of oil changes done at a Tuffy (or similar), costing her a fortune when her engine crapped the bed at ridiculously low miles. I guess she should count herself lucky that it didn't start on fire in the process.
I bought a 2016 Optima. Best car I have ever owned. Approaching 165,000 miles. No issues.@@omgcool7206
Great? Kia and Hyundai are the 2 worst brands on the planet
@@TormentDubz it’s called sarcasm.
Literally dealing with this issue with my Hyundai Theta 2 engine right now. a lady I know with exact same vehicle as mine just replaced her block. My friend's Kia Optima engine just got fixed with same issue! Hyundai will only supply a block for mine...I have to pay $5500+ labor....also need a new $3300 CAT because it was blocked with burnt oil
Like others who have commented here, I would add the Chevy Vega aluminum head oil burner. I would also add the 1981 Chevrolet Cadillac's 8-6-4 engine. One apocryphal story I remember is that Cadillac owners who drove their 8-6-4 cars into parking garages would have to get them towed out sometimes because the cylinder-disabling computer would leave the beautiful beasts stuck in 4 cylinder mode and they couldn't climb the steep driveways to leave. Returning to the oil burner, our family had the Vega hatchback and it was a commuter car. Kept a case of oil in the back at all times because it would need it and regular trips to Pep Boys kept the supply replenished. The dealership service department warned us more than once it was leaking so much oil that there was a good chance of an engine fire. So we sold it after only a few years. Had 1975 Oldsmobile Omega with the V-8. I think it was the 350. Every mechanic said there was a vacuum leak and none could fix it. The car just never really ran well, despite regular maintenance. Having the dimensions of its better-known sister, the Chevrolet Nova, it was considered an economy/ "compact car" (at least the V6 version was) as part of the downsizing movement caused by the 1973-74 Arab Oil Embargo. It's hard to see those nice-sized cars as economy, as compared to the small cars on the road today. Of course, everyone remembered the long gas lines, stations with no gas and odd-even gas rationing. Full-serve was still a big thing, at least with the many housewives who didn't have to work outside the home. All of our American cars--which were bought new and maintained by the book by dealers--died before 80,000 miles after many expensive repairs. Most required constant trips to the mechanic. Remember radiator shops? Even in the days of metal radiators (filled with the prescribed coolant), our Chevrolets needed radiator work probably every 1-2 year due to overheating.
For you not to put in the ford 6.0l or the 6.4l diesel is absolutely insane…
6.4 is a decent engine, the EPA bull shit is what killed them with the introduction of DPF and they decided to use 2 of the EGR coolers that were known to fail.
@@connor4961 I worked on them full time for 4 years. They were shit stock. Decent if built but I would never buy one
I worked for a machine shop from 95 to 2003. I lost count of how many 3.8 and 4.0 Ford heads I had to rebuild and surface due to blown head gaskets. Felpro seemed to fix the issues.
My mom had a 1999 Exploder and she had to get the heads resurfaced once and then replaced again when they failed. She did get around 220k out of it though.
those engines were good boat anchors
@@captainplanet43 Probably, but it lasted two decades and took me my mom and my siblings everywhere, so in my book it's not that bad. Not good plagued with head issues bad.
EIGHT head bolts per side. Same as a one cyl. Briggs and Stratton 3HP flathead! At least when mine blew, Ford covered the cost.
I had a mk6 GTI with the gen 2 TSI motor you mentioned. I sold it at about 75k miles, and I never had any issues with it, except having to clean the intake valves, which is an issue with most DI engines. I know they have their issues but I definitely don’t think they should be on this list. I’ve owned or seen way worse engine designs.
first off 75k miles is nothing most cars hold up at 75k miles. its aftef 100k miles that the nasty issues reveal.
I have the mk6 gti just now and 120.000 mils and no problems
I feel sometimes ppl neglecting servicing and stuff can is the more major problem than the engine them self's
Yeah as someone who used to work as a mechanic I can say this statement is bullshit every vw problem has been seen made fun of and regrettably repaired vw is trash lol
@@tetedur377 woah dude chill. It’s just the internet bro, no need to get your panties in a bunch 😂
@@rayhanrizvi334 totally agree, but my point is that there’s a lot worse engines out there that would not make it to 75k miles without issues.
Off the top of my head, I can think of the FIAT MultiAir as being way worse in just about every regard, especially reliability. I could probably list a few more.
Ford 5.4 3V. The discovery of the real issue of that engine turned out to be the low pressure oil pump. The 40 psi stock pressure wasn’t enough to deal with most people’s crappy oil change cycles. If you changed your oil every 5k you were fine, if you didn’t you paid the price with timing change issues and cam/valvetrain isssues. If you have those issues it’s a new engine, if you still have the engine there’s a company that sells aftermarket oil pumps that push past 50 psi and that’s how you bullet proof that engine from the get go. I have known this for many years so that’s why I have a 5.4 2v instead.
Meh, you shouldn't push OCI past 5K mi either way if you care about engine longevity.
I always changed my oil at 3000 miles since 1979-2006. 4000 miles w/synthetic since 2007-now. Cars last 4EVER.
I had a 2014 Sonic with the 1.4L Ecotec and a 6-speed manual. Found out about the engine problems after I bought it, but I *loved* that car. Never did have to worry about the engine - hit a deer and totalled it before I had to deal with that.
I own a theta 2 sonata with the 2.4l, my valvetrain just makes a load of noise, but other than that it revs to 5k with almost 200k miles on the original motor, i just have to check oil every week. Compression is still amazing, all at or above 175 psi. My huge issue is actually the transmission is failing slowly. Lovely car, very well kept.
Lucky you! I also have a Sonata with the Theta 2 engine, but it failed at 90k miles while I was driving on the highway :/ At least they replaced it on warranty. Hope your engine keeps on lasting! :)
As a former Ford owner I enjoyed this video. I remember owning 2 new Fords back in the early 80's. I had been to Europe and frequently drove a Ford Escort there. It got great gas mileage, had a spunky 1.5 liter engine that loved to rev, and handled great. So I bought a 1990 Escort in California. What a disaster. It had a 2L and was a complete dog. Not even close to the European car, in terms of enjoyment. Then I bought a F150 with the inline 6 cylinder. California again. It had a 5 speed, and was completely useless. It could barely keep up with traffic, forget about passing anyone. It didn't matter if you were in 4th or 5th gear, it wasn't going any faster. And since you basically had to floor the gas pedal, just to try to drive at normal speed, the gas mileage was horrible. I couldn't wait to unload both of them.
As a former (insert bad engine here) owner I…
The US escort was a Mazda
For the europeans among us.... make sure you avoid the 1.6 THP engine at all costs! Its in a Citroen DS 3/4.
Old mini's and in som Peugeots.. like the 5008 and the 3008.
It’s a shame they scrapped the 2022 2.4fa sti. My 2.0fa has had no problems and has been tuned since 12k miles. EJs are definitely known to be hit or miss even if you do all the research and preventative mods but it’s such a classic platform it’s still hard not to love and nothing sounds like the subie rumble.
Yeah this guy doesn’t seem to know what he’s talking about.
so i’m not crazy this guy shows a bunch of fa and fb subarus and says they had the “horrible” EJ
The '74 Chevy Vega, with an un-sleeved aluminum block, burned oil within 40,000 miles, apparently was not as bad as most of these.
"Vega, a car that re-defined depreciation- it rusted on the showroom floor" as it was described by Time or Look magazine (I don't remember) or was it Life?.. Good going GM.
My first car was a 75 Vega. I had the motor sleeved and drove it with the sleeved engine for 100K miles. Sold it running. It was a great little car.
Dang, I remeber running the boring bar, in 76 or so, in trade school, boring out a Vega block, for sleeves. Amazing those cars are worth so much now.
@@treeguyable They are definitely getting rare.
I saw a lifted Crosstrek & I couldn't believe it looked so good! It was lifted & had wide off road tires that extended ~3-4" past the fender arch and this made it look like a much larger car maybe around the size of a Toyota Highlander or similar. Couldn't believe what I was seeing!
Way too much weight for that cvt trans. If it’s a manual with an upgraded clutch I’m sure you’ll be good. But even then they’re so slow. Looks cool lifted though I can’t deny that.
@@tunanocrust5089 we have almost 300,000kms on our lifted cross trek. cvt with over sized off road tires (K02's). not a single mechanical problem. and we have taken it to places some jeep guys didn't wanna go.
so me thinks your statement is a bit........ miss informed.
@@michaelxcx best of luck though lol
I also saw a lifted cross trek and it reminded me of the off road Tesla built by Rich Rebuilds where they ingeniously added spacers on top of the stock struts. The fact that it took Tesla years to do the same thing with the CyberTruck is pure Insanity
Here is my advice:
if you are rich and can afford a lease these days, lease a fun powerful German car and return it or sell after the 3-year lease is over and get a new one
If you are semi-rich and need something reliable but fun, get a Lexus
If you are not rich and a dull super reliable car is needed, get a Toyota
If you are not rich but wanna unreliable fun car, get a GM or Ford but try to dump it after 3 years and get a Toyota
Else, you are stuck with whatever the shit other companies feed you
Older Toyotas built before 2016 are the best. Get a Toyota with a V6 or V8.
@@GameArmorGameplay my brother still drives my Dad's ancient corolla. it just wont die...
The Yugo was disqualified in the collision test.
They had to push it to crash it into something.
🤣🤣🤣
That was very funny
Yes, But Actually those 55-65 Engines Are Very Reliable, Because we have been easily getting out 300+Hp with the Turbine , with Almost No failures, except that the intake manifold crack opened because at 2,3+Bars of Boost. So, in this video, that dude is probably Right about all engines, Except This one. Pwy.
....push it downhill ....
@@a.c.4732 they tried that but failed to keep it on track to collision target. The steering got shopping cart wheel wobble and it ended up rolling down the slope smashing itself into smithereens. The crew took one look and retreated to the nearest pub.
How did the 6.4 powerstroke not get on this list, I thought it was gonna be #1😂
Haha right!!!
6.0 power stroke too
Owned 5 6.0 no problems but I didn’t kept them for long now have one 180k miles no problems
The 6.0 is literally king shit of turd mountain. The worst engine ever conceived by a car company. The 6.4 is not much better though
@@keeganandersson4281 the worst part is they were built by international (a pretty reliable manufacturer) along with the 6.4 and they were both horrible
I currently have a 04 ford f150 with the 5.4 3v. Honestly, if you rebuild the front timing assembly with better parts as well as a stronger oil pump (surprised he didn't even mention the oil pump) it can be a good motor. I've never heard of the 3v shooting plugs but I know a 2v that did. Either way, it sounds like a lot and I get that but man.. I love this truck and it's been my most reliable vehicle so far.
If you have to rebuild some part of the engine with better parts in order for it to become reliable then something is wrong.
@mchutube you're not wrong, but at the same time, the front timing assembly is something you should be doing maintenance on at some point anyway. Too common for people to not replace belts. If the engine lasts to 100,000 then rebuild the timing assembly with better parts and if you bought it used with over 100,000 then you should be considering it anyways cause you can't always trust other people or their work.
You shouldn't have to re-engineer an engine. Expensive and stupid, just like the Ford diesel 6.0
Go look in your local classifieds. Not uncommon to see them with more than 200k+ miles.
@@mchutubeit's got dual single overhead cams that run off chains. Timing chains are supposed to be done.. but because our mechanics are so poorly trained on average, a timing job is a big deal for the average shop. When all you are foing is disassemble, replace two chains, two sprockets, 4 tensioner and replace the plastic oilers to mellings cast iron. While there replace the oil pump and water pump. Every part is cheap... compared to an Audi suspension component. It's extremely easy to work on.
The Chrysler 2.7 is kinda funny because its predecessor, the 3.5, was great. I actually had a mid 90s Intrepid with that engine, and I loved it. The problem with the 2.7 is that it came about during the whole Daimler-Chrysler thing, and I'm convinced Daimler-Benz was actively trying to kill Chrysler.
yet in 2008 for some dumb ass reason, we decided to bail them out in addition to the other 2 companies that should have "let free enterprise work" LMAO
Wasn't "we"...it's the government with many lining their pockets with the bail out.@@Atixtasy
I was a salesperson at a Dodge dealership in 1998. The marketing folks at Daimler had everyone from service advisors to the public convinced the 2.7 V6 was “revolutionary “. And the next “big thing”. I remember lots of old timers traded their “old school” Buick Lesabre and Olds 88s with the bulletproof 3.8 V6 for these 2.7 piles of crap! To say most of them got “buyer’s remorse” is an understatement!🤯🤯🤯
I was a Chrysler tech in 99-00 and have been a multi brand mechanic since 90. Every 4&6 cyl engine was junk, and the cars themselves were garbage.
Chrysler has been failing since the 80s
You forgot Dodge 4.7 V8. It was so unreliable Dodge was offering free Hemi upgrades in an attempt to get people to not buy it while they moved to cancel it. I say this as a Mopar guy.
My Dakota never gave me any problems, but I sold it at 123k.
No... just no. Early 4.7s were hit n miss but 05 thru to 11 (especially the gen 4.7 from 08 to 11) were actually pretty good. Seen tons of em at 200k even 300k miles on an unopened engine.
Early ones had issues its rocker arms falling off.
Now the worst Chrysler engine of all time has to be the 2.7 V6! He'll Amsoil has that engine blacklisted from any warranty work if it blows using thier oil!
@@D41Michigan always considered getting a clean new 4.7 dakota since I sold the ‘03. Sucks that i’m in the rust belt tho.
@@RogerDuckman same here! Northern Michigan for me. I was in the jeep game for a while and was looking for a gen 2 4.7 grand cherokee. I had an 08 3.7 (a 4.7 with 2 cylinder chopped of) that I beat the piss out of for 50k miles before trading it in 😅 never had an issue on it even wringing it to 6400 (5800 redline!)
@@RogerDuckman my parents had a 03 4.7 Durango, engine was strong when they traded it at 150k....problem was it ate pinion and axle seals all the time
I've owned 2 subarus both 2005 outbacks one of them an XT. Driven a few hundred. The NA EJ engine is terrible with headgaskets. In most of the ones I've seen it's the NA EJ 2002-2009 that are the worst. All the turbo models, just don't drive like an ass and change oil, coolant, and trans fluid regularly and its solid.
2005 outback 2.5i still being driven by current owner at 260K
2005 outback XT we have put 170K miles on it, currently sitting at 267K and it runs fabulous. Only work done is basic maintenance. Factory turbo and engine.
Haha I’ve got an 05 forester xs. Siting at 347,000km original headgasket and timming belt. It’s on borrowed time but runs very well I’ve had 2 other 05 Imprezas that both had to get headgasket a replaced. Right around 200,000km. Bought my wife a 2001 JDM forester sti there not known to have that issue.
@@shanephilp9265 the only real complaint I say I actually have with either of my subaurs, is the outback struts from 05-06 were garbage. Both front sets on mine had snapped the coil. Other than that I've never really had any real issues with either of them.
05 xt here, what transmission fluid are you using? I have an original service manual with 3 options listed but there seems to be some conflicting opinions on which of the 3 should still be recommended
@@gabeernst2727 I use Nissan ATF. If you have a manual I personally wouldn't be much help🤣
@@that_dadwagon2724 5at good to go thank you!
The 5.4 Triton wasn't without it's issues, the trick was to be smart enough not to buy a truck with one in it. The 4.6L Triton was on the same Level as the Windsor 302, very hard to kill. You buy a truck or car with it in there and maintain it and it'll last forever. It did however have the same issue with the plugs which could be solved with a little bit of anti-seize if caught early. In addition to the plastic intakes leaking that could also be solved by finding an older aluminum intake.
The best part of them engines is they still run and work hard even with a million little things going wrong with it.
And plastic oil pans for a short period too which was a complete disaster alsom
Those 4.6 2v motors were solid.
I was working at the EPA vehicle emissions lab when the Yugo GV came in for testing/cert. I saw all I needed to see when it came time to move it to the city/highway test loop room, and rather than drive it in, the Yugo reps pushed it into place - this included having two regular sized guys pick up the back of the car by the bumper, and walk it around 180 degrees onto the dyno. They were not working hard to lift it.
Wow, the 2.5 EJ series for Subaru Had an issue with the head gaskets themselves. It was a single ply head gasket on a naturally aspirated engines. The fix is to do a head job with the multilayer headgasket that was put on the turbo versions , I've seen people get three hundred to 4 hundred thousand miles out of them after the fix was made
They're still shit. Oil pressure and oiling/cooling capabilities are all subpar from the factory. Add a turbo and congrats, your engine fail all the time.
@@tabryiswhere do you get your info from ? Sounds like ur stoner party 🥳
I’ve had my 05 wrx for over 8 years and it’s never missed a beat😁
@cameron170 - nice anecdote bro. The meme is real for a reason
I bought my 1998 forester Stb turbo second hand 11 years ago. It's still my daily. I know scoobies get alot of hate, but it's from people who know little to nothing about those cars.
@@pauldadzie6991 I’m a mechanic that works on them so no you are wrong 😑
Crazy isn't it? My 2002 WRX has over 300,000 miles and always start right up. I just recently did a leakdown test, only #3 cyl has 7% leakdown, rest of the cyl only have 2-3% leakdown, which is my engine is still very healthy despite the very high mileage.
@@nigWANTsomeDAnk You know who also a mechanic? Me. (but I quitted at 2016, sick and tired of it) ASE certified too, but it doesn't mean jack shiite.
I had a car with one of those Olds 350 diesels. It's actually based off the BOP 350ci motor not the CSB. So one fun thing they did with it, they kept the starter and starter wiring in the same location as the gas V8 ... and if you know anything about diesels their exhaust manifolds get a lot hotter than gas engines ... so I had to rewire the starter multiple times because the insulation on the wires would melt, no heat shielding I could actually fit on the wires would stop it. And being a non-turbo diesel with 110hp on paper (I would be amazed if it actually put out anywhere near that) it would roll coal like a mofo, decades before coal rollers overtook ricers as the most annoying and douchy contribution to car culture haha
Everything about this comment is perfect. I salute you.
My father has a 1979 olds 98 loaded with the diesel.
If some one was tail gating me I would floor & Roll major Coal all over the car behind me !!
Funny as heck. !!!
That dam engin left my parents stuck for a week while they where driving from Maine back to NJ for vacation!!!
POS...!!!
nobody had the part so they where living in a hotel room. For a week..!!! F U. GM....!!!!
I owned one for 5 years. Every 18 months had to be towed home.. Injector stuck open, starter mounting block disintegrated, injection pump governor self destructed.
Got laughed at for buying a used 07 Ford F-150 with a V6 instead of the V8. Then I told them I paid less for my truck than their engine replacement. That always goes over well.
That 4.2L V6 202HP/260 lbs torque is a Great Engine. No EcoBoost crap, Turbos, No Direct Injections, ran forever Oil Changed every 3000 miles with Fords Synthetic Blend Fluids at 50K intervals. and yet my friend got rid of his problematic 150 w/4.6L V8 after 3 years =electrical issues including spark plugs replacement at 59K miles. Keep that V6.
FB engines don't have head gasket problems, they did burn oil until 2015 but are overall very reliable motors.
Yeah, a simple Google search would tell you that.
To much trouble for this guy, apparently.
If you do your research the headgasket problem was the gasket itself a multilayer metal gasket solved that problem and it was only a problem for certain models and definitely hasn't a problem with JDM built models..
I had the GM 3600 VVT V6 in two vehicles. Both gave me no issues. I ran full synthetic and changed the oil every 4K miles. Changed coolant and monitored oil levels. The transmission in the Lambda died at 155k and 9 years old. Wasn’t worth replacing and dealing with the hassle. I sold the 2004 CTS with 157k miles and it ran for at least another 100k miles.
Seems like the dude was talking about the LLT Or the first run LFX from 2012 . The engine they showed was for sure an LFX though. They fixed the timing chain issue on the 2013 and up versions but it still burns about a quart of oil every 2k miles
He clearly had no idea what he’s talking about on several of these engines.
i can't believe you mentioned the Yugo! Respect! as bad as they are they still powering on :D
I work for VW and honestly think you had the wrong engine as "worst" from the brand, the 1.4 TFSI (twincharge) in my.......well most of us is way more worst than the 2.0 TSI. Thanks for sharing 😊
What engine of theirs is the best though? Speaking of the last few decades.
@@user-3tf67bk46u Well I was hoping there was some decent engine variant that you could still find in reasonable condition. The pre-TDI diesels are '80s stuff. Museum pieces or rotting in a landfill somewhere. Not something you can go out to buy and enjoy today.
@@user-3tf67bk46u You think one of the most legendary engines ever made, the 1.9 TDI isn't reliable?
I work for a GM dealer. The 3.6 vvt is not as bad as you say. There were some years with timing chain issues, but we rarely see them anymore.
Good to know because I have one in 2013 Buick Lacross low miles only 49,000 no problems so far.
So, you are saying they are still bad. Gotcha
Love the video! The problem we see at GM with the Eco-Tech is the piston ring lands breaking and then breaking the ring. The fix required new pistons and rings if the cylinders weren’t scored.
Why don't they redesign the pistons to have wider ring lands? Replacing them with new ones won't fix it because they'll just break again.
Which engine are you talking abojt
Yay let's make a joke about the Subaru ej engines. The ej20 is an amazing engine without the cooling problem of cylinder 4. You will see problems when you stop taking care of the car like you should.
The head gasket issue is true for the na ej engines.
You can solve the cylinder 4 issue on the 2.5 ej today pretty easily.
By the way the ej20 masterpiece was in production until 2019 and the Japanese market never gave up on them. They switched to the ej25 for the world and kept the ej20 at home.
Does CYL 4 cooling mod have a negative impact on overall cooling of the rest of the cylinders
@@remissiveslave no it does not.
Finally someone taking the time to actually research the EJ motors.
@@Khaki_wrx is it only Really beneficial if you're driving hard? On the fence with keeping my 2012 hatch because of some of it's heat management issues. It's down for now anyway need to get it properly tuned. And new power steering rack.
i've had two , 2 litre one natural other turbo with timer , never had a problem
I had a Ford F-250, Triton 5.4L for 10 years. No issues/problems. Only sold it because I moved overseas.
I like this guy. He doesn’t talk like we’re all 12 years old
What RUclipsrs are you watching
he doesn't? yikes.
Subarus for the most part are absolutely great, other than a couple of small issues and the 2000s Subarus needing to get some stuff worked on so you don't have an engine failure with the engines are almost impossible to break
Look up RTV failure in the new BRZ's. The 6 cylinders and good but their current 4 cylinders are time bombs.
@@SuperThatguylol Excess rtv clogging the oil pickup seems more like a problem at the factory rather then inherently poor engineering. I find it unfair to call them bad engines and time bombs.
@@SuperThatguylol For some reason they seem to blow up even when the RTV issue is resolved. Perhaps RTV is not the real cause of the underlying issue.
Had a 03 5.4L Triton V8. Got it as my first car and it already had 260-270k miles on it. Lasted me until 294k miles a couple months ago. Coolant sludged up from the coolant crossover (which is connected to the intake manifold from the factory) and started to gunk up the passenger side plugs/coilpacks, and I wanted to fix it so badly, but it also needed new timing chain tensioners (still had the plastic ones) on top of having to get a completely new intake manifold. Overall, that engine is reliable af considering how many miles it lasted and how I liked to drive it.
Edit: He's talking about the 3v in this video. I have learned that I had a 2v. 😬
Yeah but you have the embarrassment of being seen in a ford
Was it a 2-valve or a 3-valve? Even the 3-valve *could* last a good run, provided you did NOT skip out on maintenance at all. I've heard deferred oil changes would absolutely kill those 3-valve motors.
@@ericarntson2035 2-Valve
I have seen one 5.4 have that happen to it from the oil filter adapter on the lower driverside of the engine block, we flushed the coolant changed the gasket and it was good as new. Either way, both would have been easy to repair.
The 03 was a 2v and the 4.6 and 5.4 2v are some of the most reliable engines ever made. The engine he's referring to in this video is the 3v.
There's a reason why Chrysler's 318/360 engines are absolutely bullet proof. Single cam, pushrod engines that given the proper, basic maintenance (and often without) will go forever. I just replaced the 360 in my '91 Ram 350 after about 400k miles. And if something did break, for decades it was a matter of "$20 & 20min." to fix. Alternators, water pumps, brakes, carb kits, etc. were all cheap (litterally 20-30 bucks) and easy enough for a shade tree mechanic to work on. I have two in my driveway right now. The old 392 hemi?? Apart from the machine shop work, my old man and I pulled one down in our 2 car garage, scattered it all over the floor and put it back together and it ran like a pissed off elephant. With no problems, on a single points/condenser distributor.
All this "modern technology" only exists, to the greatest degree, because the govt. keeps placing harsher emissions rules on makers. I remember in '74 when an electronic ignition and an egr valve was a big deal. '75 saw the catalytic converter and it was all over but the crying.
Ironically, you could take a car from the 40s/50s and tune it to factory specs and still pass emissions requirements.
Err, "single overhead cam, pushrod engines"...???
It was a typo from first draft of post, meant single cam, pushrod. Not overhead (post edited).
@@TheRantyRider It was a typo, just single cam, pushrod. Thanks.
@@BaronvonOldenBiker Was a typo (fixed), just meant single cam, pushrod. Leftover from an edit. Thanks.
I've been very fortunate to have NEVER owned any of these engines on your list...either by shear fortune or just the vehicles I've picked to buy..
As a owner of a 2010 gti I haven’t had any of those engine problems. I have almost 140k miles and only have done your normal maintenance. Timing system\water pump, injectors and your basic reseals and a dog bone. I only changed the original ko3 turbo because the tuner I went to eurofed had tuned it way to aggressive for what the stock turbo could handle and was causing it to overboost but not yet throw a code. I found this out when I changed shops and the guys there where looking the car over and pointed out and showed me things that could fail because of that original tuning. Since the shop change, and a upgraded built ko4 turbo upgrade, the thing is a little rocket. Still no major issue besides a sketchy tune. Had it for about 25-30k miles. It has basically every bolt on you can put on before cracking open the engine and what not. Bigger turbo, full exhaust, intake, bigger injectors, coil packs, intercooler, intake, stage 2+ tune, tuned dsg dct trans with upgraded clutch packs. I got about 305 whp in mine. It’s been a fun car to own and reliable. I daily drive it and I’m not the most gentle person on it. Im of the sense of, if imma put the money to build it imma use it too. Parts on these cars are a lil expensive at times but they last, are built well and handle power. Won’t find too many 2.0 4 bangers that hold 500hp on a stock engine.
my first car had one of these and it didnt have issues either. i drove the hell out of it, only ever did vw´s suggested maintenance and when i sold it it had over 200.000 km on the clock. this video makes me wonder if i got really lucky or if engine issues are blown out of proportion lol.
EA888 is a pretty good engine. This guy is out to lunch.
@@albertcamus5970
Not in my experience.
@@wesstewart102 Germans make some good engines - it's just at first they have more issues. For the US the LS1/LT1 and Hemi have been pretty reliable..
The engines that have been having troubles are the tiny turbo charged 4 cylinders that do funky stuff like have a lubricated internal timing chain.
VW/Audi/BMW have been making 2.0L/1.8L turbo charged directed injected inline 4s for much longer than either the Japanese or Americans. So generally its more reliable then either. The koreans sadly don't seem to even have reliable NA engines but I digress.
"the sludge factory." 😂😂 It's so sad that the name is fitting
I call the 3.6Ls timing chain snappers mainly the 2010-2011 Camaros
hyundai theta issues pop up on searches not because they are particularly bad, but because they sold so many. There are a large amount of failures by numbers not by percentage
The 3.2 V6 in my 1991 Acura is a great engine...as long as you clean the EGR valve and assembly down to and including the intake manifold every 30k miles or so.
Otherwise it gets clogged and runs lean and over time develops a seeping head gasket. 🙃
It's amazing that there's a C32A still on the road.
@@PistonAvatarGuy C'mon man don't jinx me
Nah, i've seen 4 of these to over 250k. It's not the J, but still a good engine. If you see the type II, grab it. A buddy of mine had it with the 6mt in a 2-door and I still lust after that car.
Good luck
I always wondered why they would burn oil.
2010 Subaru Legacy GT with 180K on the block and heads. Unfortunately it's been through 2 sets of head gaskets, but the last time the head gaskets started to leak the car went to a performance engine shop and they used better head gaskets and hardened steel head bolts. Otherwise the car is still driven semi-daily and is a joy to drive. Very few modifications done because I want the damn thing to keep running.
They apparently have fixed the head gasket issues on the FB motors post 2015. Now they have a rash of problems with idiot lube techs draining the CVT instead of the engine oil when doing oil changes
No such problems with the 2.0 EJ20. I have had 4.
The 3VZ-FE is a totally different motor than what was in the 4runners.
I think you meant the 3VZE, without the "F" in it, due to it not having DOHCs.
The 3VZFE was used in the Camrys and ES300s, and os generally regarded as a pretty stout motor.
I rented a Kia Sorento last year and it was a 2023 with less than 23000 miles on it. The engine blew with no warning and budget left us stranded for 2 days because their customer support refused to help.
I will share two even worst power plants. One was the screw up of all time: The Chevy Alum. 4 in the Vega. GM had the exceptional idea to run the alum. iron rings pistons in alum. cylinders with no liners. Virtually everyone died by 20-30K miles. The engine was replaced by the "Iron Duke" four, which was nothing more than a garden tractor engine, but it worked and didn't prematurely fail. The second was the 258 Cu in. 6 in the AMC products of the 70's. I had a Hornet and it was rebuilt 3X in less than 20K miles. One major contributor was their alum. bearings! Well I got to drive a Pacer 90% of the time on their loan program and upon the last rebuilt .... I sold it immediately.
A friend had a coolant hose leak in his Vega when his wife was driving it. By the time she noticed the warnings the engine was running rough. Taking off the cylinder head we saw the problem: the cylinders, which were like volcanoes in a coolant bathtub, overheated and one sagged away from the head. New engine, please.
The Northstar was an excellent engine, way ahead of its time. They fixed the head bolt issue later on. If being difficult to work on qualifies for the list then why isn't the Audi 4.2 V8 on here?
My parents had an '05 with a Northstar, ran without so much as a hiccup all the way until they traded it over 140k miles later. I always liked that car, and the engine really felt and sounded special. I had no idea at the time that the name was already so tarnished. Probably would have missed out on a great car if they had known.
Oh, and the car before that one was an Audi with the 2.7L turbo. They ditched that car at the end of the warranty after having repeated electrical issues and getting a glimpse at how much those repairs would have cost out of warranty. Turns out they dodged a bullet as they've since been labeled one of the least reliable cars ever made, and those engines easily qualified for this list.
Their fix did not work,put in thread inserts.Northstar Performance has the real fix,they sell a head stud kit to fix it and no failures yet
I have a 2007 DTS, yes it has had some issues however ( I started driving in 1968) almost all big land yachts, I never had one that could handle a curvy road like this one does.
Congrats on the 1 Mil! Great video, as always!
I had a 2.9 v6 in my first ranger pickup. I loved that truck, had no power, got horrible fuel mileage (fuel gauge didnt work as far as I can remember) and the head gasket was blown and it still drove with no issues, no coolant in the oil until like 6 months after it blew. It would lose compression at times and you could hear it too lol, but overall it was a good engine. I eventually let it go and sold it to an old friend of a friend who fixed it and drove it. But when I had it, it was a good ole beater that got me to where I needed to go.
Almost to the T... same story for me and my '88 ranger. Was my first pickup in high-school that I paid $500 for, it was slow, blew a headgasket, rusty as heck - but took it offloading often (4wd), beat the living heck out of it... and I loved it.
I have worked on a lot of Ford Exploders and Triton powered F150's, and they run for a lot of miles without the issues you mentioned. They are certainly not the worst engines. Abusive mechanics and no maintenance the usual problem. There also millions of them out there so they will get more publicity
I have a 4.6 in an 02 F150. Best truck I've ever had.
My Explorer cracked both heads and destroyed the rods...
The 5.4 3v is the 2nd worst engine ever made, next to the 6.0 diesel.
I'm a mechanic and had friends working in service and parts at the largest Ford dealer in the region during the height of the triton. They had 3 trucks in line for every service bay, and junk engines were stacked up everywhere. It was that way for years. They ended up having to extend the service department because of those pieces of crap.
Meh, they were simply, extremely popular vehicles and it was a Ford dealer so what brands would you expect to see instead? lol @@JasonB666
My folks had a 5.4L in their 2010 F-150 all the way from new through to 2019. Only a couple of problems here and there over almost a decade of steady use. I was super surprised to see it top the list! Made decent power, sounded nice, and was reasonably reliable for them.
If you change your oil regularly it will probably out last the transmission. Spark plugs were fixed late 2007 with a new head design. I don't think this guy knows what he's talking about. That is definitely not a 5.4 l 3v picture he is teasing in the beginning. it is 99-01 cobra 4.6L DOHC.
Those are 3rd gen 5.4 3vs, and they ironed out the issues by then.
I had the two valve 5.4 and that was a great engine but yeah I've heard tons of horror stories about the three valve 5.4. I even had a 3 valve 4.6 almost breaking spark plugs off when I was changing them.
A friend of mine had a 5.7 diesel. He drove it until the pickup fell apart. Then I sold him a decent pickup and he put his engine in it until he died. His son still uses it for farm work.