XC90: Most Unreliable Car

[anotherv60]

Originally Posted by 100K+

Just read this post. If "statistics" can be accepted to prove anything
https://www.reliabilityindex.com/
show the XC90 with a rating of 191 ( ok its from 2002 on )
My V70 P2 is now more reliable than my V70 P3 and the most reliable Volvo appears to be the C30.
Normally i'm sceptical of statistics, but in this case a business is trying to make money from them, so they may be more accurate than some

Cheers
Bob

Thanks for the link - quite an interesting one.

"Good reliability" Honda Jazz, average milage 29,000miles, average age 4years -->£371 per claim
"Poor reliability" Volvo XC90, average milage 63,000 miles, average age 6 years --> £417 per claim

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by anotherv60

Thanks for the link - quite an interesting one.

"Good reliability" Honda Jazz, average milage 29,000miles, average age 4years -->£371 per claim
"Poor reliability" Volvo XC90, average milage 63,000 miles, average age 6 years --> £417 per claim

So the Volvo's on average are doing double the miles of the Honda's. This shows how accurate this survey is!

Comparing vehicles that have differing mileage is unfair.

[Bonefishblues]

Originally Posted by Kev0607

So the Volvo's on average are doing double the miles of the Honda's. This shows how accurate this survey is!

Comparing vehicles that have differing mileage is unfair.

Survey says, in the "What is Reliability Index" section:

Another thing to bear in mind when comparing vehicles is that a particular car's reliability score can be dependant on the average age and mileage of those particular cars we hold on file. Normally a newer model will have a lower Reliability Score than a 6 year old vehicle with 70,000 miles on the clock.

Info's there for people to make judgements about

[Kev0607]

Okay, so they need to test a few Honda Jazz's with average of 63,000 miles & an average age of six years for it to be a fair comparison. Then again, its not exactly fair either.

A Honda Jazz will be more reliable, its half the car (literally) with much less to go wrong with it. It doesn't have the amount of electronics an XC90 does, nor does it have air suspension etc.

Small cars should be compared with other small vehicles. Prestige saloons should be compared with other prestige saloons & luxury SUV's with other luxury SUV's etc. That's the only way you'd get fair, or certainly fairer comparisons.

[Bonefishblues]

Originally Posted by Kev0607

Okay, so they need to test a few Honda Jazz's with average of 63,000 miles & an average age of six years for it to be a fair comparison. Then again, its not exactly fair either.

A Honda Jazz will be more reliable, its half the car (literally) with much less to go wrong with it. It doesn't have the amount of electronics an XC90 does, nor does it have air suspension etc.

Small cars should be compared with other small vehicles. Prestige saloons should be compared with other prestige saloons & luxury SUV's with other luxury SUV's etc. That's the only way you'd get fair, or certainly fairer comparisons.

They don't test. It's a Warranty Company. It's based on a sample at least 50 cars in terms of the average cost of a warranty repair claim + age + miles.

There are a plethora of factors that can influence this, but the Warranty Company are very clear about what they are reporting, and on what basis.

Of course one could argue with equal validity that a Honda Jazz is much more likely to be doing more attritional miles in urban areas, in stop-start conditions, than an XC90, and so on, ad infinitum.

The numbers are what they are, as long as they are read in context, and with some insight in terms of what they are, and aren't saying

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by Bonefishblues

They don't test. It's a Warranty Company. It's based on a sample at least 50 cars in terms of the average cost of a warranty repair claim + age + miles.

There are a plethora of factors that can influence this, but the Warranty Company are very clear about what they are reporting, and on what basis.

Of course one could argue with equal validity that a Honda Jazz is much more likely to be doing more attritional miles in urban areas, in stop-start conditions, than an XC90, and so on, ad infinitum.

The numbers are what they are, as long as they are read in context, and with some insight in terms of what they are, and aren't saying

50 cars... An XC90 isn't a car, its an SUV. Again, not a fair comparison.

I think it goes without saying that an SUV loaded with electronics will have more problems than a vehicle that has hardly any (Honda Jazz). Paying the hefty price tag for these posh SUV's doesn't equate to reliability... It should, but doesn't. Parts for the SUV because its presitge/luxury will cost more, so the "average repair" cost will be higher. There's a much higher load on the suspension in a big SUV, it may be used off-road etc... There's so much to consider.

My personal view is (for a fair comparison) would be to;

Compare/sample small cars with other small cars with a similar price tag, age & mileage
Luxury SUV's with other luxury SUV's (Similar price tag, age & mileage)
Prestige saloons with other prestige saloons (Similar price tag, age & mileage).

That list shows a Toyota IQ raking at number one, Aston Martin & Bentley to name a few further down the list towards the bottom. What a surprise that is! No one would have thought a car the size of a shoe box, costing 10 times less than a £100,000+ sports car with a V12 engine would be more reliable.

[Bonefishblues]

That's exactly the point I was making. That is, to read the statistics with insight in terms of how they are collated. How things are compared is up to the individual, armed with that.

As it happens, nobody seems to have noticed that the Volvo brand is rated as 'good' for reliability, so busy are they being affronted by the rating of the XC90

[Fika]

It also depends on what the "reliabilty" term encompasses, if a car had common issues with the transmission or engine, that would in my eyes be viewed as more unreliable than a car than a car with the equivalent number of problems with something like the radio or speakers.

[biggbn]

Originally Posted by Kev0607

50 cars... An XC90 isn't a car, its an SUV. Again, not a fair comparison.

I think it goes without saying that an SUV loaded with electronics will have more problems than a vehicle that has hardly any (Honda Jazz). Paying the hefty price tag for these posh SUV's doesn't equate to reliability... It should, but doesn't. Parts for the SUV because its presitge/luxury will cost more, so the "average repair" cost will be higher. There's a much higher load on the suspension in a big SUV, it may be used off-road etc... There's so much to consider.

My personal view is (for a fair comparison) would be to;

Compare/sample small cars with other small cars with a similar price tag, age & mileage
Luxury SUV's with other luxury SUV's (Similar price tag, age & mileage)
Prestige saloons with other prestige saloons (Similar price tag, age & mileage).

That list shows a Toyota IQ raking at number one, Aston Martin & Bentley to name a few further down the list towards the bottom. What a surprise that is! No one would have thought a car the size of a shoe box, costing 10 times less than a £100,000+ sports car with a V12 engine would be more reliable.

OK, fair comparison. Compare a lexus rx reliability with equivalent volvo xc, from the early 2000s to now. There is no excuse for failing components 'cos they are a bit complicated' when other manufacturers don't have the same problem. Interestingly I read an article recently that had 9 out of the 10 most reliable cars as Toyota group. But number 1. Volvo xc40.

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by biggbn

OK, fair comparison. Compare a lexus rx reliability with equivalent volvo xc, from the early 2000s to now. There is no excuse for failing components 'cos they are a bit complicated' when other manufacturers don't have the same problem. Interestingly I read an article recently that had 9 out of the 10 most reliable cars as Toyota group. But number 1. Volvo xc40.

That would be a fair comparison because they're both SUV's. Comparing a Toyota IQ with a Bentley Continental isn't a fair comparison, like that warranty company mentioned earlier in this thread does (An IQ shouldn't be on the same list as a £100k+ car, in my opinion). Put the top end luxury cars on one list & your small city cars on another - That's my personal view.

Number 1 on the list on this website https://www.reliabilityindex.com/
is a Toyota IQ (a small city car) & towards the bottom of the list are top end sports cars like an Aston Martin DB9 & a Bentley Continental GT. Yes, you'd expect your £100k car to be reliable, but there's much more to go wrong that when it does, it costs more to repair because its a top end prestige car... A Toyota IQ isn't. Based on that, they (top end cars) get marked down for reliability because they cost more to repair than the little Toyota. There's ten times as many things to go wrong (literally) & these luxury cars cost ten times the price. Who would have thought that a Bentley would be more expensive to repair than a Toyota IQ, or may be less reliable? Cars with complicated electronics all have the same issues. BMW, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Land Rover, Mercedes... That doesn't mean you put them on a list with a car that if you're lucky has electric windows & central locking.

I'd be annoyed if my Toyota IQ cost as much to repair as my fancy Bentley. Being a small city car with literally no complicated electronics, air suspension etc, I'd expect it to be reliable because there's hardly anything to go wrong (You can just about fit a bag of shopping in the boot). Again, that's why I say small city cars shouldn't be on the same list as a top end prestige vehicles.

Lexus always have been, certainly for many years, considered to be the pinnacle of reliability... yet there's hardly any on the roads? Don't be fooled though, they cost a fortune to repair when things do go wrong (Which does happen, as they won't last forever without some kind of hiccup).

You'll count multiple Mercedes, BMW's etc on your daily drive, but hardly any Lexus... Odd, but true. That seems weird considering they're so reliable, but I think its because there's very few diesel models (Apart from the IS as far as I recall, possibly one or two other models) & that wasn't particularly reliable either from what I've heard. So people looking for an Lexus IS sized car go for the more desirable BMW 3 series, or C Class Mercedes (both drive better than the IS actually & outsold the IS by miles). Lexus mainly stuck to big cars with big petrol engines = not affordable to run for most people. Hybrids of course is another forte of theirs, but again, they (Lexus Hybrids) aren't particularly popular either. Another let down is the CVT transmissions that they put in their vehicles. Yes they're incredibly reliable, but have you heard the roar they make at motorway speed? That is not what I expect from a luxury car.