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Why Your New Car Is Nearly Impossible to Fix (And It’s Getting Worse)
(www.carsandhorsepower.com)
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this post was submitted on 13 Jun 2026
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As someone who fix car for a living and most car engine here is below 2.0L, i find that european car or european inspired car (chinese) are notoriously hard to fix. Some simple stuff can take hours to repair and that cost people more.
Like for example, recently one owner of Geely Boyue(1st gen) come in with an engine oil/coolant mixing issue, so the culprit is the oil cooler. To access the oil cooler i have to remove all the useless plastic cover, inlet manifold, fuel pump, water pump, and then finally the cooler. Then i also have to change the radiator because of the oil clogging the rad, which i have to take off the whole front bumper, headlamp, the front (plastic) frame, air cond condenser, turbo cooler, then finally to the radiator. Doing it at one go solo takes around 8 to 9 hours, separately takes about 4.5 - 5 hours each. And you have to handle it with care, because a mistake (paint scratch, snapped plastic) can cost you and your company, and you have to interact with shit tons of plastic. Hard to access wiring, bolts and nuts that is hidden from plain sight, all these bullshit drag the repair time to double digit. Not to mention if your radiator fan motor spoiled you have to remove the radiator to get to it.
Ohh did i mention how annoying it is to change the battery? I have to remove the whole cover with brittle plastic clip and cover and sometime the air filter box just to access the battery. Compare that to something like Honda Civic 2017, it's day and night.
I'd just considering myself lucky since i don't have to deal with the interior.
I am not a mechanic and can't fix cars, but I have found the same to be true for just jumping a car with jumper cables.
Where is my battery on my 08 Toyota Corolla? Right there. I can see it.
Where is the battery in the 19 Honda pilot? Under some bullshit, have no idea where it is without a YouTube video and even then you need baby hands to fit through the junk and reach it without taking anything out.
Where is the battery in the 19 Toyota hybrid? I think it's under the trunk?? I don't know because by this point I had given up and just called a tow truck and purchased a portable jumper for my 08 Toyota I was trying to jump with those two vehicles from my family.
I'm not buying a new car until it rots out from under me.
snapping plastics is the most infuriating thing when it happens.
I have a fiat 500. I find it easier and cheaper to fix than my toyota. The diagnostic software is top notch and can even program keys cost under a hundred dollars. Since its close to the european version I have great documentation since in europe they don't paywall the repairs like they do in the US.
It's unfortunate but this gets you more car per kilogram/millimeter.
That 2017 Civic probably uses more fuel than a significantly more spacious and comfier Euro wagon with a diesel engine,. My 2003 E-class could do just above 5 l/100km on the highway and had TONS of space. Like who needs a van if you have one of those. Newer ones with tighter engine bays get more space in relation to car length and also less weight for same amount of car AND get better fuel economy.
Really it's the third or fourth owner's problem when shit starts breaking at 300-400k km and you're constantly fixing it
5L = 1.32gal
100Km = 62 miles
So for US folks out there, that equates to roughly 47MPG
Diesel is great and all, but currently in the Midwest, specifically the Chicago area, GasBuddy shows "regular" 87 octane hovering around $4-4.10gal and diesel at ~$5.50/gal.
That 2017 Honda Civic achieved roughly 30mpg city/40hwy (depending on trim, engine, trans, etc) call it 35mpg averaged.
So if 35mpg costs you $4, and 47mpg costs you $5.5, then gas costs $0.114/mile and diesel costs $0.117/mile.
Now, technically speaking, diesel emits more CO2 than gasoline per gallon burned, however, because gasoline isn't as efficient per mile, diesel had a very slight advantage of being about 5% lower CO2 emissions per mile; however, it emits more NOx per mile.
https://theicct.org/sites/default/files/publications/Gas_v_Diesel_CO2_emissions_FV_20190503_1.pdf
All in all, they're pretty tied, IMO.
You might as well be talking about the Acura MDX. 2013, precisely.
A lot more car is going that way, and i'm just a short asian guy with small stature trying to navigate the giant sized car that all designed to be a lengthy fix.
Lol. You're not alone, bro. 😂
Years ago we made fun of the concept of an Apple Car. Now everything is Apple Cars.
In the 1990's you could look in the Uncle Henry's and get a decent used car for like $300. you'd register it, and it would last you a few years until it was too expensive to fix, (or it wouldn't pass state inspection) then you'd move on. In the early 2000's you could look on craigslist and find a decent used car for $500. Same deal. But by the time the housing bubble burst, I came to the realization that whatever the price of the car was, it would cost you $3,000 at the end of the day just to get it up and running. By the end of the 20 Teens, that number was $5k, and side of the road sales were junk that the seller knew was about to be REALLY EXPENSIVE to fix so wanted out from under it. These days, don't buy used from a private seller unless it's a collectable: the car is a money pit and they know it. This is one of those things where the auto industry enshittified to kill the resale market. Now they are starting subscriptions for features you used to get as standard. the infuriating thing is that the tech exists to build a car that will last 30-40 years, little major maintenance, but "it's not profitable," so they won't.
Contrary to this post, there are a number of low cost Toyotas on Facebook marketplace that will last another dozens or more thousands of miles if maintained. I have a tundra that I paid little for, that is in great shape.
Trucks seem to be built to a higher standard. I bought a Chevy Silverado on the cheap and its got over 280,000 miles on it and shows no sign of stopping. Don't ask me about mpg tho....
Sadly toyotas and Hondas are outliers in this area. Owned A 15' Venza until it got t boned this winter. still a bit cheezed about that. GREAT car, BTW. 110% recommend if you find a used one with low miles.
Interesting thing here; I drive a 2013 vehicle. Other than regular maintenance, the only repair it’s ever needed was a rear bumper replacement and a bit of bodywork when someone rear ended me at a stoplight.
Contrast this with vehicles from the 1950s-1990s where sure, you could affordably repair them yourself or at the local garage, BUT that was something that became a regular event after the vehicle was 4-5 years old.
Personally, I’m more concerned with how manufacturers are closing off sections of the software in their vehicles such that it can’t be audited, security reviewed, independently patched, or modified to prevent all the telematics from flowing back to them.
I still don't get how telemetry is even legal.
If I purchase a vehicle from a previous owner, I do not have any agreement with the manufacturer regarding collection of my data.
Clickwrap should have been made illegal when they started doing it a quarter century ago. If I put a tracker on your car, I'm a criminal, but if every automaker drops a clause into the "user terms" on their vehicle sales, then every car you buy gets tracked forever, perfectly legally.
You agree when you use the car.
At least that is the legal claim.
There is a disclaimer when you start the car.
Who is there to agree with - the car is my property. All they own is the copyright to distribute copies of the software. Imagine a disclaimer on the front page of your copy of Fifty Shades of Grey.
Their legal claim will be the bullshit 1201 of the DMCA preventing you from breaking a digital lock on your own property to "rip out that first page".
Wait... Every car I ever rented, borrowed or owned never showed a disclaimer anywhere. What are you driving that shows a disclaimer?
I'd check owners manuals, and any rental policies, or bill of sale/contracts. Sometimes this may show up when the vehicle is first taken out of pre-delivery mode and never again.
If it's only at pre-delivery or in manual, then I buy the car second hand without a manual am I still legally complied to the disclaimer?
Not a lawyer. No idea, but possibly. Seems like it would be covered by some sort of clause about taking on those risks and responsibilities if you ride in or drive the car but how enforceable is that?
Would be an interesting court case... If I'm not even shown or given a method to see a disclaimer, can it disclaim anything (is that even good English? You know what I mean but there must be a way to say it)?
Part of me says no. The company should make safe devices, a lamp is certified by ul and a car us way more dangerous.
Part of me say yes. People are really stupid sometimes. Companies shouldn't need to design everything with bubble wrap and people need to know not to slam their head into a coffee mug.
The sad part is this will/has gone to court and the first case will determine the future. Like someone is like "Nissan video recorded me buying lunch at McDonald's and saw my pin code" court says there was no damage since you can change your pin and no record of fraudulent charges. From then on there is legal precedent they can take your pin code. Year 2056, you see a Ford employee emptied your bank account by buying door dash, court states "Sorry, 30 years ago these other people said someone seeing your bank account data with your car camera is fine, just deal with your empty bank account."
I honestly think they are banking on it never having to go to court. Most people don't read contract terms, EULAs and TOS's, and for the most part all three are written in legalese so most people have a harder time understanding them. If nobody knows it's there they don't have to worry about people taking them to court over it. So they think it's better to beg forgiveness (or the court) than to ask permission (follow what few privacy laws we have).
I think that's why people were so scandalized when Mozilla made their report about the data car companies collect on drivers and passengers and so on. A lot of car features that spy on people are marketed as safety and convenience features.
Onstar started the whole "if you're ever in a crash or the car becomes disabled" etc thing and car companies decided that was a brilliant idea and they have been collecting data about everything they can ever since.
About the same time they decided that the less maintenance a person could do on the vehicle the more they could make for repairs (locking in parts distribution with certified labor at dealerships). And then they realized cars that are expensive to fix and that people can't fix themselves sort of snowballed into people can (and will) just buy new cars so we can sell more cars etc etc.
So it's all a whole interconnected plot of convenience, safety, telemetry data, data collection, and fixability leveraged against buying new cars every few years. And car companies have already proven to us again and again that they'll bet against our knowing enough to know we're being taken advantage of so they figure it's cheaper to do it this way and fight the few lawsuits that do crop up.
Partially you are right. My only disagreement is while most people don't read those documents, 1 lawyer who is bored and sees a pay day is all that's needed. Like someone has a law degree but can't find a practice to hire them so they go to a dealership, test drive a vehicle, sit down to sign paperwork, read everything and are like "hold up... Can you give me a copy of this?... Thanks, tell your boss to expect a letter from me."
It's like general computer security, you can block 500 bugs and security flaws but if 501st is discovered it's a really bad day.
What choice do consumers have, anyway? Return the car cause you don't agree with the disclaimer?
and then what are you gonna buy instead, a second hand car from the mid 90s before they all started adding telemetry modules.
I did literally that.
The real solution is regulatory, though, because obviously my boycott has done absolutely fuck-all to change manufacturer behavior.
yeah they know most people don't know or don't care, maybe selling the data from the telemetry to a data broker who on sells it to ICE might change some peoples minds...
Or if ICE starts connecting to the telemetry modules directly on older less secure models...
Yeah this.
Cars are storing so much data that the auto manufacturers were using "mechanics having access to all your telemetry data" as one of their big reasons people should vote against Right-to-Repair in MA.
Nobody really questioned what kind of data the cars store, or for how long. Nobody cared that this implied dealer mechanics already have access to all that data, and for some reason we are supposed to trust dealer mechanics with that data more than independents and shadetrees, or even ourselves?
No matter, the propaganda must've worked because the ballot initiative failed.
Moral of the story, listen to what people don't say. It's often more important.
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or modified to prevent all the telematics from flowing back to them
A simple hardware modification is all you need there.
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Find the antenna for the on-board modem.
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Disconnect the cable that leads between that antenna and the car's brain.
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If necessary (if the car gives annoying/disabling errors after step #2), connect a high-ohm resistor between that antenna connector and the car's ground.
After that, the car will forever think that it's outside of signal range. And since operating while outside of cell service range is something even the most modern of cars still need to do, all of the car's essential functions will still work. You'll lose any internet connectivity features, of course. But in exchange, you'll have completely and permanently disabled any possibility of remote telemetry.
Until you take the car in for servicing, at which point all that data will get downloaded to the service module and from there be transferred to the manufacturer.
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Improved reliability is, ironically a major cause of this problem.
Buyers of brand new cars in the USA keep them for fewer than ten years on average. If most cars can go ten years without needing major repairs, the car manufacturer's actual customer is not strongly motivated to consider repairability in buying decisions. The second or third owner likely cares a lot, but their preferences don't matter very much to manufacturers.
You can say that again.
Now there's a job for Doug Ford: to build old-fashioned cars that don't need electronics. According to what I see online, Doug Ford's builders and Doug Ford's buyers would both like that.
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