AFSCME 3357-HOF'S BLOG

Are Hybrids really twice as trouble-prone?

According to USA Today early hybrids (2001 model) and diesel cars and trucks have up to twice as many engine problems as regular gas models. Nevertheless, the owners report better than average satisfaction. What gives?

Well look at the USA Today numbers in details. The industry average for problems per hundred vehicles is 35 per hundred. The gas-engined Toyota Corolla only had 16. The 2001 Prius, a first-generation hybrid, had 39, just a little more than average. The Honda Civic had 15 problems per hundred, and the hybrid Insight had 32. Though the Insight had twice the Civic's problems, it was less than average.

Diesel vehicles from Volkswagen and several models of Diesel pickups also had higher than average reported problems, but Diesel buyers tend to be high mileage drivers; and in the case of pick-ups, they also tend to drive heavily loaded, so they would be expected to have more problems.

Finally, keep in mind, that cars in general are much more reliable than they used to be. It wasn't long ago that 100 problems per 100 vehicles was ordinary. If you love a car, you're not going to fall out of love when the first problem hits. It's the second, third, fourth, etc. That's why the Chevrolet Corvette can repeatedly turn in more problems than average in the Consumer Reports annual survey and still rank very high in owner satisfaction.

USATODAY.com