Many people still claim that cars are not that reliable as they used to. In the past, the manufacturers focused on reliability and quality, but now, the focus is only on gadgets and equipment. The manufacturers have realized that they can no longer make cars that run millions of kilometers and that they gain much more from later parts and revisions. Here’s what’s going on with the new cars.
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Fuel injectors
In their blind race to comply with pollution rules, car manufacturers have given birth to demanding and extremely complicated engines. Regardless of whether they are diesel or gasoline, turbo engines now have complex high-pressure injectors, which yield more often than a conventional injector. These injectors break down much faster on new cars for two reasons: poor fuel quality and poor overhaul. The fuel filter does not change in time, even with the importer’s agreement that he says to come by car after 25,000 kilometers. Up to 100,000 kilometers traveled, about 6 out of 10 cars have injector problems.
EGR
Even if you got a new diesel, because you drive it more in the city, at low speeds, because you make frequent starts and short rides, the engine does not have the chance to heat to its maximum capacity. So deposits begin to form from the exhaust gas and diesel.
The EGR that recirculates the gases, another anti-pollution measure introduced with some compromises, begins to fill with calamine from the first 50,000 kilometers traveled. I have heard of cases where diesel cars needed a new EGR at 15,000 kilometers. This is one reason why many drivers prefer petrol cars.
Turbocharger
Very few cars today, from any segment, do not have a turbocharged engine. A turbocharger helps the engine to consume less and pollute in small quantities at low speeds, for example in the city, but it helps the driver to perform when he wants speed.
The drivers do not know how to drive a car with a turbocharged engine, they accelerate as soon as they start, do not let the engine cool down, remain with the Start / Stop activated even when going on a long road and, after speeding on the highway, they get jammed and the engine stops and so on.
A turbocharged car has its advantages, but it also has higher costs. There are many cars of the new generation that have problems with the turbocharger after about 30,000 kilometers, at which point they start to smoke and consume oil. If you don’t take care of your turbocharger, no matter how new the car is, it will certainly break down.
Throttle
Now all cars have an electronic throttle. The throttle is a sensor that reads how strongly you press the pedal, then transmits them to a solenoid, or motor, near the flap as much as it opens. Because the job has become more complicated, but also because the manufacturers are starting to make these plastic flaps, problems also occur. We must not forget that everything that is plastic in the car must be under the hood at over 100 degrees in the summer, and that plastic works and eventually crack.
But in the first 50,000 kilometers, there are other problems. Specifically, from dust and humidity, the pedal information is no longer read correctly and the flap does not open or lock the solenoid. When the car loses power
Sensors
Every modern car today has sensors everywhere: on the camshaft, in the cylinder head, in the steering wheel, in acceleration, in the EGR, and so on. To operate a modern engine properly today, about 240 moving or electronic elements need to work perfectly, in unison. In the old days, when the engine had a simple carburetor without electronics, things were clear and easy to repair.
Now, if you figure out a sensor that has been damaged because it was part of a problem spot mounted on your car purchased 5000 miles ago, the car goes into breakdown mode and stays locked in place. Too many sensors mean too many problems.
Diesel pump
A diesel engine today operates at huge pressures, capable of cutting wood if you put it under the jet of an injector. Responsible for this high pressure is the high-pressure pump which is a complex element. The same causes as with other auto parts mentioned above, namely poor quality diesel and long intervals between revisions lead to premature pump wear.
Any filament, dust, dirt from diesel fuel will damage the pump. In some car brands, this pump is not included in the warranty, because it is known that it will fall rather quickly, and in others, it will fall until the driver will make 100,000 kilometers with his new car.
Double-clutch transmission
There are few cases among new car owners in the VAG group equipped with DSG transmission. There are many cases throughout Europe of cars even with 10,000 kilometers left with the car on the road because he left his box. And this is because an automatic gearbox with a double-clutch is very complex. It’s a performance gearbox, nothing to say, but complicated, with many moving parts, all controlled by two or three computers. These, in turn, have connections to the sensors, to the car’s ECU and so on. It is enough for one tiny piece to make a mistake.
Parking sensors
We don’t know how or what the new parking sensors are made of. They will be more precise, more sophisticated, show you the distance, it is clear that they are better. As far as I’m going. Because many people complain that after only 2-3 years of using their car, the parking sensors have failed. They are mounted in series and if one is damaged, the others do not go either. The solution is to change the broken one, but how to identify it? You can use the car tester which connects to your car through OBD
Start / Stop system
To further reduce pollution in cities, manufacturers were forced to come up with new solutions. And the Start / Stop system is one of them. Stop at the traffic light, stop the engine so that it does not consume any gasoline and remove gases in the atmosphere. Because this system is quite complicated and has a particular electronics prone to give up. Where else do you put this system, although it protects nature, damages the car that gives it many starts over a day?
Automatic parking brake
Certainly, if you haven’t already, you’ve seen a car with an automatic parking brake. That handbrake, which is called an emergency brake because it was initially pulled if it no longer held the brake, was replaced with a button. The automatic electronic brake acts on its own when you stop the car, and if it also has the Auto-Hold function, it is placed every time you hold the footbrake pressed for more than a few seconds, to hold the car in place, unlocking when you accelerate.
Why is automatic hand brake damaged? Because in winter the streets are not exactly cleaned properly, and the wheels get a lot of moisture and snow that freezes overnight. The brake acts on its own, and when you want to unlock it, the surprise does not work and the wheel is locked. Like Start / Stop, automatic braking is not that good.