this is true,

my wife has a 2017 4runner, and I spend time on the 4runner forums. No one goes on the forum and make a new thread for each problem that the vehicle has, they will ask about problems in the “what did you do with your 4runner today” thread.

also the 4runner forum doesn't allow threads started by new members under a certain thread count. So you don’t get a bunch of one hit wonders and nonsense.

My wife’s vehicle is same year as mine. Just as many recalls and there are now two rattles/creeks coming from the driver side dash and window. Bad rear right brake smell after highway trips. And its gutless and gets almost dame fuel milage as my truck.

 

Farmers are biased just like the rest of us. Just like some pick John Deere and some pick Case/IH, they have their favorites on trucks too between Ford, GM, and occasionally Ram. Around me I'd say more farmers drive GM's and Chevy's.

Looking at farmers only paints part of the picture anyway, as farmers usually have 3/4 and 1 ton trucks so Toyota and Nissan aren't represented.

 

Problem I have with CR is they lump Infotainment in with reliability. If the Infotainment is difficult to use, so what, does it affect how reliable the vehicle starts, runs, drives, etc.? What is most important to me, is, How safe is it in a crash? IIHS crash test ratings to me are the most important, everything else is secondary. When the lives of my family and me are at stake, I could give two craps about how well the infotainment works.

Second consideration when it comes to the surveys on these, what is the number of vehicles produced vs the number surveyed? If one company makes 150K trucks, vs another company that makes 1 million trucks, the numbers can have a huge gap. Take 100 people surveyed for each, it doesn't really represent the vehicle overall due to the numbers made. This Forum is a prime example of that. When you read through all the posts, you would think oh man, all F-150's door locks freeze, when in reality the actual number is much smaller compared to the number of actual trucks out there. I had a 2016, door locks froze the night I brought it home, didn't even get it in the garage before the first problem hit. It got repaired under warranty, and didn't freeze again after that. My 2018 however, not a single problem with it, not the door locks, nothing.

In the end, it is a luck of the draw no matter what brand you buy, of getting either a good truck, or a troublemaker. The majority are good trucks, some have one or two issues, and some are royal POS. Regardless of brand.

In todays market, it comes down to personal preference more than reliability, as all brands are fairly reliable.

 

Reliability should be directed solely on the usability and drivability of the vehicle.
ie - the engine, trans, chassis etc.

If the infotainment system is broken, I can still use the truck.

Just my 2c

 

The write ups in Car and Driver, Road and Track plus others I can't think of right now. These guys get cars for a couple year period that all the staff drives. Now the focus isn't problem areas or items but they get written into the review. They don't bold face type about the vehicle being reviewed needed to be towed back to the dealer but it is included. They just note it and grab another vehicle from the test fleet. Breakage items are covered but only to about the 50k mark. It takes some research and no one place will have all the information.

 

Having spent forty years at the dealership level fixing manufacturer mistakes and design errors I can tell you that your quest for the perfect vehicle is pretty much a waste of time. Yes, there vehicles that you need to ignore at certain points in their lives. Example, GM and Ford trucks with the ten speed transmission. Even though there are basically three transmission manufacturers in the world, Allison, Aisin and ZF, the engineers from the various manufacturers sometimes think they know better and mess up a proven design. There are 10 speed automatics from these companies that are worry free. Now, having said that, there is basically nothing to worry about in any new vehicle. Most of the Asian cars are running some version of the Genesis V-6 that I first got to know in 2002 when we bought two Santa Fe’s. The metallurgy, engineering, production, QC from everyone has become phenomenal and most of the cars and trucks built today are bulletproof. But, occasionally there is going to be one that is just not right or you find you just do not like it. Go test drive everything in your platform, size and price range and you will know when you are in the right vehicle. It will just feel right. I have a tendency to know what I want to buy and then I go find it. My wife on the other hand goes out and drives. Prior to her Santa Fe she drove everything in that category but decided on the Hyundai because of visibility and location of the ***** and switches. It felt right. She would not go and buy it but when I surprised her on her birthday with it she was very happy. I sold it when I bought my 17 F-150, she was already in a new Flex, and she it pissed her off because the Hyundai had been so good. Buy what feels right. Not what fits the budget or because someone else said the vehicle is great and hope you do not get a lemon. Lemons still get out the door.
By the way, car or truck of the year awards usually have an unusual habit of going to the company that purchased the most glossy pages in which ever publication is giving the award.

 

Funny you mention hyundai. My BIL’s hyundai sonata engine blew a week ago out of warranty by quite a bit. Due to major engine problems with the sonatas they are replacing it for minimal cost.

That same BIL had a Subaru forester before that and that engine blew out of warranty. The low oil sensor was faulty and being turbo it used oil, well my BIL apparently doesn’t know how to pop the hood and check oil levels. That wasn’t the problem with the Hyundai though, had 80k miles on it.

 

It's usually recommended to not buy a first year model, but I've owned 5 of them (4 F150s and 1 Bronco) and never had any major issues with any of them.
The worst issue I had was my 97 F150 had the exhaust exit in front of the right rear tire. The exhaust would pit the rear wheel more so in the winter. As I rotated the tires each wheel would get pitted. A co-worker that also had a 97 with the same issue. The dealership replaced his rear tail pipe with one that exited behind the rear tire.

 

It's impossible to test 15 - 20 year reliability unless someone is able to test one for 15 - 20 years. Even high mileage drivers aren't putting a vehicle through the wringer like someone who uses their truck as their main vehicle for 20 years. Also, drive trains are the least of our worries today. On any vehicle, the rest of the vehicle falls apart well before the drive train is worn out. So many parts are sourced from different companies, and they're all trying to build the best quality they can get - as cheaply as possible. Some years are just better than others, but there's no way to tell what years are going to be good.

 

Ah, yes, just keep in mind, they sent men to space on the lowest bidders.

I would not hesitate to buy another Hyundai, they make decent vehicles toady, much much better than they did 25-30 years ago when I was wrenching on cars. Back then they had emissions systems rust out right on top of the engine and cause all sorts of issues. We bought a 2008 Veracruz, and it was on par with a Lexus RX350 in ride, quality, comfort and style. In fact a few things were in it that Lexus didn't have at the time. Half the time I would shut it off thinking it wasn't running because the engine was so smooth and quiet. Only reason I got rid of it was because when I bought it, I didn't think AWD would be that big a deal, until we almost went off the road with the FWD one we had, and decided, with having two little ones, that an AWD would be better for us, and got a Flex instead. I would have traded for an AWD version, but used ones were hard to find, and new ones were a bit more than I wanted to spend and also got an exceptional deal on a new 2010 Flex SEL ecoboost. It was our first EB and man what a ride it was! The Flex needed better brakes because that darn thing could hit 100 in no time flat and keep going, but it smoked the brakes slowing it down. Completely regret to this day trading it in for an F150. Shame on Ford for doing what they did with the Flex, treating it like the ugly step child. It may look like a box, but man, the room and ride is above par in that CUV.