I had a 1998 F-150 5.4 2v that I bought for $1,500 with 380,000 miles on it. I drove it for 5 years with no issues except for replacing the rear shackles on leaf springs (rusted through). The frame broke one day while hauling firewood out of the woods with it ( WI rust again). It had 476,000 and was still running awesome. Ford should have kept producing the 4.6 2v and 5.4 2v forever. They could have been on par with Toyota reliability.
We have a 2011 JK with the 3.8 amd it has been super reliable. It has 169,000 miles on it amd it has never burned oil. It has been all over the U.S, and even up to Alaska. I run Mobil 1 synthetic in it.
Ya mine has 190 doesn't burn it just replaced valve cover and oil pan gaskets that were leaking but that was easy on these old v6s. With it lifted and 34 tires it isn't quick but it kill it off road!
@@cade7458 They followed Ford's game plan. That's what they've been using for years in the newer expeditions (and some F150's.) Everything's going to Twin Turbo V6 it seems like for gas mileage and other benefits. I'd be a little wary of it at 1st though because Toyota was known for having such reliable engines they use the same one for years. I'm kind of waiting to see how the new Sequoia's perform. Really nice vehicles though.
Another dishonorable mention you guys forgot is the fourth generation Nissan Pathfinder from 2013-20. The major culprit is the now infamous Jatco CVT transmission, which was problematic throughout the entire Nissan line, not just the Pathfinder, especially the early ones. The newer CVT's have improved though. Other than the early CVT problems, the fourth generation Pathfinder also had a variety of electrical issues, and the A/C system was also problematic as well.
I'd include the 3rd gen 2005-~2010 with the 4.0 V6, as well as the 2nd generation Xterra and Frontier with the same engine and five speed automatic transmission. Transmission failure as a result of coolant mixing with transmission fluid.
They had updated the cvt in Pathfinder since 2015. They are considered on the reliable side above the average. Additionally, those cvt with different power outputs have different reliability, the ones paired with V6 engine are much much better after 2015
We had a 17. The cvt was fine for highway cruising with great mpg but pretty awful in stop and go. The 3.5 v6 was pretty gutless below 4000 rpm but ran like a race engine with a good sound in the 6000+ range.
The b9 is fine and it has real AWD with a really nice vtd center diff. The newer Subaru with a cvt are a very bad idea used. 1st you run into reliability issues since the cvt is not reliable (especially if you follow the no fluid change schedule SOA endorses.) 2 Subaru with a cvt other than the WRX use the ats coupling for their AWD. It cannot drive the rear without slip, so if you are buying it for off-road all you will do is dig ruts going up hills when you have no traction with the front while the back only gets driven when you send it and the front wheels are spinning free. I hope you got one with x mode otherwise the car will cut power with the tracton control any time you get rear power.
I cannot believe that Tribeca design made it past all those levels of engineering, management, marketing, sales, etc. without anyone saying hang on a second….
I believe (or the story I got anyway) that the B9 Tribeca was originally designed to be the Saab 9-7, but Saab chose to use the Trailblazer platform instead. If it's true, it kind of explains the wonky styling.
It's funny watching this as we own both a B9 Tribeca and 3.8 Caravan. -Center vent is 100% a Saab design thing. 3.0 is such a wierd mismatch as it's all top-end power. -Tow rating is super confusing as it has one of the most over-engineered tightly integrated OEM hitches I've come across attached to a 1" receiver. With suprisingly short gearing as well. -Came with 255 width tires, probably eating more into the mileage. Not even the newer Ascent or most of it's contemporaries went quite that wide.
@@-fuzzy-7125 The Tribeca and all Subarus of the same time period were designed by Andreas Zapatinas, who is a Greek man with a long pedigree of Italian and German design going back to Alfa Romeo and BMW. The grill of the time (including in my own 2007 Subaru Impreza 2.5i) were designed to look like Alfas and highlight the airplane fuselage and wings in the center and wings in the side pieces that also resemble Saab of the day. Long story short, these cars were relatively rare, since they only had a very limited production run, and the main attraction was just that they looked different from anything else on the street. The main issue with the Tribeca was actually the oil starvation on the side opposite any sort of hard cornering. Why would you get this thing and drive it like a sport car? I don't know, but the engine probably had something to do with it, and yes, running it hard on corners resulted in blown heads pretty dang quickly. My own Impreza had factory defective warped heads that needed to be fixed under warranty, but the Tribeca would fail under any enthusiast's foot when cornering no matter what you did. Turned fast while revving it? Sorry, you might have just blown a head gasket or seized the whole thing.
I had a 2007 Wrangler with the 3.8L. I took a trip from Atlanta to DC and back. On the return trip I came up on some stopped traffic and I needed to stop really quickly, the oil light came on. I got off the interstate to check the oil, it did not register on the dip stick. I ended up putting around 4 quarts of oil in it. I traded it in soon after that.
@@Happy11807 No shit really. So the engine should burn 4 qts of oil on a trip to DC and back? Perfectly normally right? The 3.8L was known for burning oil in the minivan Jeep took it from. I should not have bought a Jeep with that motor in it. I know, its not your fault your a dumbazz
@@ajsap8160Yeah those would normally leak oil, if it was an oil pan leak, which it did not. If you did some research on that motor, it used to be in the Dodge Caravan and had massive problems with BURNING oil. They stuck it in the Wrangler because they did not have another engine to replace it after the 4.0L did not meet emissions standards.
Not just the Acadia, but generally any GM after 2010 you should run from. The newer the worse they are. You could buy a 90 Silverado with 300k miles and it would be more reliable than a brand new one.
i used to build the new tahoes and escalades at the plant and those trucks are complete JUNK i could go on and on about how poorly designed and low quality they are and some are selling for 200k yet they snap together and snap apart in 2 seconds. i give each new GM vehicle a 5 year life span and thats it. which is what they want just long enough for you to pay it off then trade it in for another
@@STREETRACEN4U Weird We have the 2007 Tahoe with 190000 miles and it has been great. I have replaced the alternator and that is all (other than normal wear and tear). Maybe the new body style ones are worse but they look aweso.e
@@thomasnew8606 the older stuff is better. that new stuff is JUNK. GM's main goal is how can they lower production costs and increase revenue for the company that is it. the older the better when it comes to GM. We have had new vehicles roll off the line that are complete bricks and dont even run or function right and if they cant figure out the issue in a reasonable amount of time they just scrap the whole truck and just build another for the customer.
I have a 2007 Expedition with the 5.4 Triton V8. I gave it to my daughter several years ago. It now has 250,000 miles on it and the 5.4 is still running great. Good routine maintenance and oil changes were key for these engines.
tbh most engines that are known to be unreliable can be solved by just being religious about your oil changes and maintenance, Granted not all, some are just outright lemons. But a lot of North American engines are just very delicate so for the common consumer who does late oil changes, cheap oil, rarerly cleans out the airbox/filters, cheap fuel, etc. They just implode.
@scottysgarage4393 Well, then I got lucky twice. I also had a 2010 Eddie Bauer Expedition with the 5.4 Triton. I used it to tow my 25ft travel trailer all over the country and parts of Canada. Again, following the advice of Brian, of the "fordtechmakeyouloco" channel, I was very diligent with maintenance and oil changes. It had 160,000 miles on it, and was running great, when I traded it in on a 2019 Expedition Limited with the 3.5 Ecoboost.
Ya it's a bad design with the oil passages. But it can last if you do regular oil changes. Sadly many trucks have issues if they were work trucks because they are poorly maintained. Avoid those if you are looking at one.
Add to the list any Subaru Outback, Ascent, or Legacy made in 2021-2024 that have the new "Infotainment" center in the dash! There are so many know problems with it freezing up, shutting down not linking with an iPhone, etc. And out of nowhere it will have a situation where the "Eyesight" or automatic braking system go out. I bought a new 2023 Outback and in less that 6 months it was in the shop for 59 days, exceeding the states requirement for a lemon law claim. Subaru decided to buy it back from me, I assume to avoid the lemon law claim.
We bought our 4 door 2011 Wrangler in 2011....still have it and love it. Super fun little thing. Between oil changes about every 5 months we need to put a quart in. I thought it was due to the required oil being like water. Super thin stuff.
I just bought a 2010 Honda Pilot. It has 200k miles, but it's a Honda. The first thing I had to do was replace a front catalytic converter due the the dreaded cvm (continuous valve management). Secondly, I installed a vcm bypass kit.
Wife had a Caravan with the 3.8 and put almost 200k miles on it until it was totaled out. I dont recall it ever burning that much oil even towards the end.
Yeah the 3.8L's were reliable as hell in the 2001-2007 Chrysler minivans - I assume alot of changes were made for the Jeep Wrangler application which made them more troublesome.
3.8’s in Dodge an Jeeps did consume 1 quart every 1,500 miles but they were reliable engines. You still see them running today with 300k to 500k miles.
@@davidg4026 Same here, with a 2009 and 85k miles. I add zero oil between 5k mile changes with 5w30 M1. The 07 into 08 had the oil problems with poorly installed rings from the factory IIRC.
With the 5.4 3v. Yes they have problems but if you do proper oil changes you won't have half the problems. You will still have to replace the tensioners and such eventually but once you do that they run pretty good. Mine has 222,000 on it and still going. I did do the time job myself for around 1000 dollars. Ford tech makuloco has good step by step videos on how to repair. Because they are worth repairing as the rest of the truck is really solid.
10:33 Replacing the timing components was actually pretty easy on the 5.4s. I think the hardest part was getting the valve covers off, probably one of the simplest setups compared to the newer DuraTec, EcoBoost and 5.0 Coyote timing systems.
And it's really because of lack of maintenance that caused a lot of issues with the 5.4. I got over 200k on my 5.4 before it needed any timing work. And it was just the VCTs at first. Most people hate the 5.4 3v when it was a pretty robust engine that was screwed by EPA standards and the push for better fuel economy 5w20 that killed the engine
I’ve got 320k all original but a radiator on a 05 . . Rode on 35x12.50s the whole time . . Sure it’s noisy now and needs a timing job but made it past 300k
Thanks again guys, I ❤ all of your videos. The best solution for the Jeep is to be different & swap in a 4 cylinder Cummins diesel, you’ll get plenty of 🙂, some🤔 & possibly some☹️. You would probably get our oldest son to add his ‘08 GMC Yukon with the 6.2L with automatic transmission. He bought it pre-owned, transmission went out he pulled the tranny & took it to have it rebuilt, the guy said that you have my sympathy. He installed the rebuilt tranny, two months later the 6.2 LS puked all of motor oil out. The SUV only has 175k miles & his wife was using it to haul her Photography equipment. Keep’m coming
That's the gamble you take when buying a used vehicle. It's not an inherent design issue, it's an issue with not knowing the history of a used vehicle. There are plenty of very high mileage GMC Yukons from that generation out there that have not "puked all of the motor oil out".
Everyone hates on the 5.4 3v. Engine replacement isn't always needed, just shops find it easier as they don't know the engine all that well. A timing job, with new ford parts, with a melling high volume pump, and 5w30 oil often fixes the issue regarding cam phasers.
My 2013 expedition limited runs like new after 10 years. The only maintenance I do is oil and filters every 2 months regardless of the mileage. The car has never seen the dealership since the warranty expired. I have a feeling it will last another 10 20 years I hope because we love it. And not too much to break without all the digital crap and turbos that today's disposable cars have
I have a 2012, on it’s 2nd engine. It’s used mostly for towing, or the odd large cargo, so runs 5000 miles a year, tops. And it gets fresh oil every 6 months.
5:56 ...in case you ever wondered what it's like being large on an airliner... That is almost exactly my experience on any of the big 3's jets. JetBlue and Southwest thankfully offer just a little more legroom, and I use them almost exclusively.
Some model years of Outbacks have serious electrical issues. They'll start burning through headlights and taillights, some not even lasting a year. Some model years also require either removing the bumper or the fender liner to get at the bulb so it's a pain.
The Jeep oil issue was mostly 2007 into 2008 and no, you don't need a ton of HP on the trail. The 3.8L, with it's torque down low, does great on the trail plus it's a very simple pushrod engine that doesn't break down often and is easy to work on. Definitely under powered on the road, especially the highway though.
I completely agree with you! I had a 2009 with the 3.8L for 11 years and 157,000 miles, it was flawless, never broke down on me and only consumed 1 qt of oil between 5000 mile oil change intervals. My daughter has a 2012 with the 3.6 Pentastar and it has been terrible, consumes 2 qts of oil between oil changes and have had multiple issues with it.
I currently have a 2008 JKU with 230,000 km on my 3.8l. I am very particular and careful with my maintenance. It is a lifted Jeep with a heavy duty suspension and big wheels. It is my daily driver but does see a lot of off road action. I tow with it on a regular basis. It only consumes 1 litre of oil every 5,000km. It takes 6 litres of oil. I confirmed with a mechanic that this is not an issue. Yes it is a gas hog and has very little horse power but it is a very reliable engine. It does have plenty of low end torque for off roading. I love my Jeep and will be keeping it for many many years.
I agree with you on the fact that the 3.8 Wranglers were underpowered, and oil consumption was high. My wife's Grand Caravan used 1-2 quarts in 3000 miles. BUT, that engine didn't really care, and could last 350,000 miles, one of the longest lasting engines anywhere. Buy the Wrangler, re-gear it as needed, and it's crazy reliable.
They mentioned 2 qt in 100 miles. I have trouble believing that. It would leave a blinding smoke screen and the cops would pull you over & order you off the road.
@@-OhThatGuyAgain- Sometimes auto journalists lose track of reality after driving so many nice cars. They always complain about the steering on the Wrangler. It's got a solid front axle! It's an excellent offroader! It's not meant to be a sports car going around corners at full speed... Cracks me up every time. It's also funny when they complain about an SUV or small truck ONLY having 285 horsepower.
I just posted a similar comment. Those engines didn't/don't actually consume almost any oil at all. What does happen is that they often have some oil leaks, so many people think it's consuming oil. But once you fix the leaks you won't likely even need to add oil at all between changes. A very simple and a very reliable engine indeed
Got the 2 valve 5.4 only problem was coil pack. 155000 miles still running strong. But worst fuel mileage. Get 14 as long as there is moving traffic get in a jam 9 to 10. But a beautiful ride nice driver. Definitely keeping her cause not spending 80 grand for a new one. Bought it new and kept up the maintenance.
I own a 2007 Wrangler as my daily. I haven't really had a problem with it. The one downside to the 3.8L is the lack of documentation online. Good luck if you're trying to diagnose something yourself from online resources.
I have a 2010 Jeep wrangler rubicon unlimited never had a oil issue. I really have to say the standard option was the best way to go. Bought for my daily driver and still going strong. Has enough power to keep up with traffic not speed demons.
Those 5.4s also had the dog-dingy spark plugs that liked to seize in the cylinder head and break off when trying to remove. Plus exhaust manifolds that love to rust and crack, and are a pain to replace.
@@justintarvid Oil pump volume had nothing to do with tensioners being hydraulic. When everything is working correctly the 3V pump puts out more than enough oil volume. It’s actually very high volume pump. The problems come from the cam phasers when they begin to leak causes systemwide oil pressure loss and wear. This is when you begin to see roller follower wear, cam journal wear, guide wear, main bearing wear and oil pressure loss. The 3V V10 which didn’t have cam phasers have none of these problems
@@BC08 The oil pump was still a pretty big issue. Hot oil idle oil pressure fell below Ford's own minimum oil spec.... so in order to avoid having to deal with that nightmare Ford simply lowered the spec for minimum oil pressure at hot idle. Like magic the problem was "solved".
Nonsense. Our 2010 Tribeca pulled 3,500 lbs, was amazing on snow, had great body integrity, handled better that the Porsche and VW SUVs of the period, was comfortable, super reliable over a couple of hundred thousand Kms and was fast. The third row was a stow and go, meant for occasional use and it required the middle seat to be in the forward position. Great car, great engine too bad they were replaced by a minivan powered by a turbo 4 cylinder. If you find a good used Tribeca, buy it. Avoid the F150.
I love the 5.4. I’ve owned 5 different 5.4 and never had any problems and 3 of them had over 350,000 miles. But with that said. I’ll take the 3.5 ecoboost all day long.
Had an absolute nightmare of an experience with my dealer at that time and one of those f150’s. After that I vowed to never give ford any of my money ever again. Glad to see it mentioned and hope that this video helps someone in the future.
As someone in the industry myself, I must say that just because a dealership sends a vehicle to auction does not necessarily mean they "don't want to" sell it on their lot. It could just be that they are trying turn some money, or perhaps the unit is due soon on their floor plan so they need to unload soon for that reason.
Most vehicles at auction are either impending floor plans, too old for the dealerships preferred market, or too many miles. Outright junk is rare. I'd say you encounter more junk on large new dealers used lots than at auction, because they want the cash and aren't hurt by the resulting angry customer("Shoulda bought a new one of our brand, buddy").
I'm surprised that you didn't include a Land Rover. While great off road, they are very expensive to maintain and parts like wheel bearings and control arm bushings wear out at 60-70K miles. BTW, I have had 4 Land Rovers!
09 Wrangler JK and I don't burn any oil. The 3.8 was designed to use 10w30. It's identical to what was used in other vehicles with w30. They lowered it to 5w20 for better fuel economy in the Wrangler. No bearing clearance change, nothing. Run 5w or 10w30 depending on winter/summer and you're good.
I think the problem with the 3.8 is that certain years had issues with the way the rings were installed. On the ones that are bad, the oil gets by them and burns.
For practicality reason, I do understand why the Subaru is on this list. My family has owned one for quite a while, and we actually really love it. Then again, we are a small family so haven’t really needed to use the third row seat but maybe once. And I specifically picked it out for the flat six engine, because I just enjoy those engines. It should be noted that you are also supposed to only run premium unleaded fuel on those. Mine definitely makes a spark, knock, pinging noise if I run it on regular or mid grade. And also, I have to say that you guys don’t have the actual 5.4 L three valve engine issues, correct. Yes, it does have timing and cam phaser issues, but the underlying issue is poor design of the engine itself. The oil passageways are not large enough and After sludge develops, does not allow the top end of the engine to get the lubrication that it needs, which causes these other failures. So you could see the failures listed in this videos are the symptoms not the disease.
Ya, I'm not a Subaru guy but I disagree with the b9 being on this list. I think it's uniquely good looking, has a strong, cool engine and is reliable. If you don't need to tow or seat the third row it's fine.
For some reason on the Jeep engine they changed the crankshaft bearing and piston ring design. "Lugging" the engine caused carbon to build up, causing the rings to seize. Mopar has a decarbon spray that will help.
I bought a new 2006 5.4 Triton F150 4x4 Crew Cab and it was the best truck I ever owned except for the abysmal gas mileage. It always amazes me when people call a vehicle junk, and yes I get when there are common problems. But my feeling has always been, the majority or at least a very, very large minority of people don't properly maintain or care for their vehicles. I put 80,000 miles on in less than 3 years but back then Ford was still cheaping out on the oil put in the block from the factory. Even though full synthetic oil was available, they were selling more F150's than any other vehicle on the planet, so having them leave the factory with synthetic would have been a huge amount of money. The very first thing I did to my truck was drain the factory oil and start with high grade full synthetic and then religiously change it every 5 thousand miles. I ran that truck hard. Never a tick out of that truck. As a matter of fact, it still had the original brakes on it that passed inspection and the tires lasted over 60,000 miles. I don't know where my new Chevy will take me in the long run, but I do know one thing, when these tires wear out, I'll be putting on a set of BFG's. People spend huge money on new vehicles now but completely cheap out on maintenance then blame the manufacturers when they fail. If you care about the vehicle you own, do better than what the owners manual suggests. Running it through a slappy, scrappy, scratchy corner car wash is not taking care of your ride. Which reminds me, I'm due for a fresh spring coat of Carnuba wax. Cheers.
I have a 2008 ford f150 with the 5.4 with 350,000 miles same motor and trans never gave me an issue no check engine light or anything you can't really say that about every truck I know that engine like I created it it all comes down to the oil ford puts thick oil just put some thinner oil and it will be just fine the cams 98% of the time it's just the sensor fords have more issues with sensors then anything else easy fix not like the 5.3 Chevys lifters and cams and oil pump water pump there's no preventing that from going bad besides not driving it and the electrical issues that those trucks have I've owned tones of 5.3 chevy and 5.4 ford's the triton is not as bad as you guys are making it and even when that timing chain starts to make noise doesn't mean the truck is done you can still drive it ive seen people dive them for years like that all it will do is make noise but wont leave you stranded it will just flop around a little but they sell metal ones that you can install in it instead ford didnt put it from factory because they said that it made noise that they didnt like but its not even noticeable
I have a 2004 Ford F150 extacab longbed I use for work, change the oil myself every 3,000 miles, also change the Plugs myself, add WD40 in the spark plug tubes before removing plugs , truck has now 210,000 miles and still runs strong and no problems yet.
My 2004 F150 5.4L 3 valve has been ticking since 80k miles. I’m currently at 270,000 miles on the original motor. Never put a dime into the motor other than some routine maintenance and oil changes. So far so good. Borla cat back exhaust from early on and Mobil 1 full synthetic at every 5-7k intervals. I’m hoping to get 300k, so I’m driving it till it grenades.
Have a 2009 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited X with 111k miles, engine has been bulletproof. I think it ate a quart of oil in like 5k miles. Also have zero issues pulling into traffic, the main road I live on is 55mph. Not an issue.
I own two of those vehicles, an 08 JK and an 09 f350 with the 5.4. TFL is right, BUT, with strict maintenance both of mine have been trouble free for 100,000+. I consider them problem children… you keep them cuz you love them but you work hard to keep it together!
I agree about the crappy 3.8 liter engine, I test drove one and it lost speed in 5th gear on flat land. However, I’ll bet that Wrangler still sold for a ludicrous price.
I bought a 2013 Toyota Venza back in 2019 for $13k because my Focus' steering rack needed replacing. I've put almost 100k more miles on it since, and have only done basic maintenance. It's been an amazing crossover, and just enough room.
My wife wanted a 2012 GMC Terrain with 105,000 on the 2.4 Ecotec. It rates right up there with that Acadia and the Triton as a time bomb. But I'd done the research and knew that, so I simply did a preemptive timing job with better parts from Cloyes. Key on them is that there's a strange two-piece bolt holding a timing idler that always breaks..remember that factory stuff is engineered to fail right after the warranty dies. Cloyes replaces it with a solid one piece bolt. There's a separate chain that runs the water pump that also is prone to break. I also replaced the VVT cam gears and the high pressure mechanical fuel pump on the engine that's prone to leaking into the oil. I replaced the oil cap with a vented Corvette cap to eliminate high block pressure that blows out the rear main seal. It runs great and she loves it, so my life is happy. I'm still tens of thousands of $$$ ahead compared to these new POS rolling shtiboxes.
The reasons you mentioned for the Subaru are really not good reasons not to consider it as a used vehicle. Actually, reasons to get it and maybe get a good deal on it.
That GM VVT 3.6 is a great engine if you buy it new. If you keep a quart of oil in the trunk. After 100k we simply started adding a half quart two-thirds of the way through an oil change. We could have replaced the car with a new one, but $55k versus $8 a year for an extra quart of oil.....................
I had one of those 3-valve fords as soon as the phasers started going bad just yanked it and put in a 2-valve been running problem free ever since and that was 7 years ago
Yeah when I used to sell CDJ in a past life I can tell you a lot of Wrangler owners were pissed when they went from the 3.8 to the 3.6 in 2012. Increase the reliability and added 80 HP. I'm right there with you on the 5.4 Triton. I had a 2001 F-150 with a 5.4 2 valve and I ended up selling that truck with almost 200,000 mi on it to a guy who drove it for another 120,000 on the same motor and transmission.
While he picked the Acadia it seems like the only one where the issue is preventable. Check and change your oil often and don’t let it get low and you can expect a long life out of it. I have hear so many bad things about the 5.4 three valve but I have multiple friends with over 300k on them and they are still running fine.
As a used vehicle, the issue would be how well the previous owner cared for it. One really had to be a stickler about following service intervals for the Acadia and its Buick, Chevy, and Cadillac siblings; if they recommend 10,000 or even 7,500 mile intervals for oil change, 5,000 is actually the safe bet for longevity for these engines.
A F-150 is a SUV? That was a new one on me. I always thought it was a pick-up truck. Learn something new everyday... A lot to do with how long a vehicle lasts is how you drive it and do you maintain it properly.
i daily a lifted 2007 jeep wrangler jk with the 3.8l engine. 127k miles no major issues or leaks. I regularly check the oil level and it does not seem to be losing any (maybe i got really lucky) 35 inch tires, metal bumpers and a 2 inch lift. I don't really notice how sluggish it is due to a heavy foot. I find myself passing regular traffic going uphill lol maybe a previous owner had it re geared for bigger tires
I have a 2004 5.4 F150. Changed the spark plugs myself, did have several to break. Also have the timing chain tensioner issue, not going to touch it. It's been that way for almost 10 years. Currently 143k miles, I'll keep driving it until it dies. Has the timing chain noise on cold starts due to bad tensioners but other than that runs just fine.
The 3.8L only had consumption issues in the 07-08 model years. The 09-11 seem to be super reliable. There are plenty of them out there with 200k plus mileage. They seem to last longer than the 3.6. Just lacking some power.
I actually have an 11 with the oil consumption issue that rears its head during winter. I switched over to 10w-30 from the recommended 5w-20 and it has decreased the consumption drastically. 28k so far on the 10w-30 with no issues.
To add to this, the 3.8 was happy at higher RPMs, quite the opposite of the 4.0. It was still more powerful than a 4.0, but to pass, you needed to drop two gears and floor it. I had one in a 2009 with a 6-speed, and didn't experience any oil consumption issues. Jeep guys just aren't used to running at the high RPMs the engine woke up at. The 3.6 in my 2015 is much more useable though.
Sorry, I had a 2010 2 door rubicon from new. Used a quart every 2500 to 3000 miles since new. 200 hp it couldn't get out of its own way ! Have a 2021 gladiator rubicon with 3.6. No oil consummation and 100 hp more, difference is night and day !!
@@jeffbelter768 You realize that a quart every 2500 miles is really good? Manufacters allow oil burn down to something like a quart per 800 miles before they will consider warranty work.
@@Gremavich I have an 09 with zero oil added between 4/5k mile oil changes. I use either 5w30 or 10w30 too, that thin 5w20 is really not ideal for our old tech, pushrod engine.
I have a 2011 JKU with 220,000 miles and other than normal wear parts has been flawless. Also gets wheeled on the regular here in Colorado. I also have driven it across country at least 20 times, even as late as 2 months ago.
I had a 2005 Ford F150 XLT with the 5.4 triton three valve I kept it at 2013. I never had a problem with it oil changes and maybe two brake jobs. It was one dependable vehicle especially in the winter.
I have a 2005 F-150 4 × 4 with the 5.4 3 valve motor and I have three hundred and fifty thousand miles on it right now, never any problems with the motor or the timing chains or anything like that had to put a new transmission in it at 280,000 Mi still have it use it for my drywall company been a damn good truck!
JK 3.8s also are reported with 250k miles still going strong. The oil burners are by now long gone. The 3.6 has been every bit as problematic as the early 3.8s.
Had my 2017 3.6 Jk 4door Sahara 6spd manual since new. 245,000 miles. Never a single issue. Annnnndddd it’s supercharged making 430 hp. Stupid reliable
Tommy has always been about putting opinions ahead of facts, when it comes down to it he's not a real car guy and misleads many people with his nonsense.
I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. I drive a 2007 Jeep and, while its not zippy, it does great on trails. Currently has 167,000 miles abd so far, no oil consumption at all. I think it boils down to how well one keeps up on maintenance as well as not abusing them.
I have a 2017 jeep wrangler and it's mostly driven on rough dirt roads and at 40k miles I've never had a problem with it. Great rig I rarely have to put it in 4 wheel drive. Only in mud or deep sand.
Had a 2012 Wrangler J/K and it was flawless. The Penestar engine was awesome, coupled with a 6 speed manual, it had plenty of pep and could go damn near anywhere.
The first 3 or so years the acadia had problems. It was a supplier problems. Once they switches to another supplier for the timing chain. The problem went away. My family goes out of our way to buy GM products with this engine and they are all perfectly fine. We have owned about 6 of them. They have all proven to be very reliable. Your "information" you are providing needs to be updated.
I picked up a 2017 Acadia V6 recently and it is great. I have a family member who works for GM as a mechanic and he says the only issue he really sees with the new ones is the thermostat failing in them. It happened in mine but was fixed for free by the dealership. Been great ever since. Just as long as you do proper maintenance (oil changes and such) the engine/vehicle is very reliable.
@joeb3202 - I have a 2017 Equinox with the 3.6 liter HF engine with AWD. I bought it as a bad title car. It was very well equipped heated seats and steering wheel NAV/Pioneer stereo. Anyway, it was a flood car. It had an MSRP of $36,800 (new) mine had 17,245 miles on it when I got it in early 2020. I bought it for $13,500. I have a little over 100,000 miles on it now. I change the oil and maintain it with full synthetic motor oil every 5,000 miles. The car hasn't given me a seconds worth of problems. I researched the car a lot before I bought it. No regrets.
The Outback for sure. Oil leaks head gaskets Geeeeeez Acadia for sure. You forgot the horrible transmission as well. Wave plate failure. Honda pilots. Transmissions. I have been burned on those as well. All jeeps in general. The 3.6 is powerful. But has a terrible ticking problem that customers are screaming at Chrysler for help on. If repaired. It is repaired with the same parts. Amen to the 3v Tritons. Ugh.
I have a 2009 F150 5.4 and 120000 k trouble free miles. I looked into the cam phaser problem and they can be easily replaced without taking off more than the valve covers so not to worried. Cam followers can be a problem as well but they have been redesigned and can be changed without removing the cam.
I like this series. Could you also do new cars too. Also talk about electronic stuff because I had a 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee and it was an absolute lemon countless electronic issues including the radio heated seats power windows, I also had the timing belt, differential, and the fuel line were just a few of the issues it had. And the worst thing about it is it started having issues while still under warranty. Let me be clear though I loved it was one of the most comfortable smooth riding cars I have owned and I would buy it all over again it wasn’t a lemon.
I had an ‘08 Wrangler for 12 years that I loved for all of the Jeep aspects of it: 4 door off road beast with removable top and doors, but when it came to all the basic car aspects, boy did the quality suck! I am SO glad Ford has released the Bronco to force Jeep to step up their game. It was a great formula on paper, but Chrysler failed hard on the basics.
You guys are absolutely clueless. The 3.8 liter in the Jeep JK is pretty much bulletproof as long as you keep the oil changed. I know several people with over 300,000 miles on the original 3.8 liter and still going strong. The 5.4 liter 3 valve engine is solid if you keep the oil changed on a regular basis. All timing chain guides are plastic, again just more misinformation. People simply don't change the engine oil or any other fluids. The problem with your channel is opinions vs facts.
I got the 2012 Wrangler jk, not a terrible car. But never really been off-road much. No issue with trans/engine so far, knock on wood. At about 100k miles now
Bit late here. But the 5.4l 3v on the ford is actually a great engine! the 5w-20 they recommend putting in it is a bit thin for the motor, so putting something a little thicker in it really helps. Had a 2004 expedition Eddie Bauer that had 503k on it before it died. Only reason it was "doomed from production" was that one side gets oil before the other does instead of in unison like most vehicles do.
My 2006 Tacoma 2.7L 5 speed has now 207,000 miles on the odometer, and doesn't burn a drop of oil. I don't plan to replace it, it does the job and costs very little to maintain.
those 3.8l engines are super reliable. should have changed the oil more often? i had one and it lasted. body rotted around the running engine. 2006 T&C. one issue i ran with tho was the dip stick. i went to the dealer and bought a new dipstick from the handle luckily breaking off after pulling out the dipstick. wasnt thinking and just threw the old one away. the new one has the safe markings way too low. reads full after just putting in ~2 quarts. the engine takes ~4.5quarts. had to make my own markings on the dipstick. i've ran into other folks unknowingly with the same issue also. when replacing the dipstick, replace the handle only, not the metal stick.
Yes I have one new from 2007 JK and wish I had one from about 2014 to 2017and 4 dr but it only cost $18,000 new and got new 5:13 axles in 2015 but probably did not need to change those. Heating is the only problem I had once but mine is still running with near zero problems. The only real problem was a radiator leak and when a women rear ended me on ice and I had to replace the rear bumper and her car was totalled . I usually only have to add about 1 quart before the next oil change is due. Only got my first rattle in 2022 that comes and goes. However I am looking for a new one but the prices of those probably means I will have mine another 16 years. Only upgrade I probably could have done without is the aluminium skid plates. Only time I needed the winch is not recovery but farm related work.
I had a 1998 F-150 5.4 2v that I bought for $1,500 with 380,000 miles on it. I drove it for 5 years with no issues except for replacing the rear shackles on leaf springs (rusted through). The frame broke one day while hauling firewood out of the woods with it ( WI rust again). It had 476,000 and was still running awesome. Ford should have kept producing the 4.6 2v and 5.4 2v forever. They could have been on par with Toyota reliability.
I worked at a Ford dealer for a while and E150 vans with the 4.6 and half a million miles were a regular occurrence.
FORD OVERHEAD CAM V8 ENGINES NOTHING BUT TROUBLE AND EXPENSIVE TOO WORK ON OR REPLACE
I seen 2010 expeditions with 380-400000 km still going strong with the 5.4. Weird how some blow up and some keep going
@@brycejeannot8665 JUNK ENGINE'S WHY FORD STOP BUILDING THE POS 4.6 5.4 AND V10 TRITON
They were a solid low compression motors, the biggest thing was keeping the fluids changed and in check
We have a 2011 JK with the 3.8 amd it has been super reliable. It has 169,000 miles on it amd it has never burned oil. It has been all over the U.S, and even up to Alaska. I run Mobil 1 synthetic in it.
Ya mine has 190 doesn't burn it just replaced valve cover and oil pan gaskets that were leaking but that was easy on these old v6s. With it lifted and 34 tires it isn't quick but it kill it off road!
This list could/should be a lot bigger.Explains why boring Toyotas are the used vehicle of choice
New hybrid motor is insane. My parents got the new sequoia trd pro and it’s way to fast.
@@cade7458 sounds like a skill issue
@@El_Dusty_ nah something that big shouldn’t be able to move how fast it does😂
@@cade7458 They followed Ford's game plan. That's what they've been using for years in the newer expeditions (and some F150's.) Everything's going to Twin Turbo V6 it seems like for gas mileage and other benefits. I'd be a little wary of it at 1st though because Toyota was known for having such reliable engines they use the same one for years. I'm kind of waiting to see how the new Sequoia's perform. Really nice vehicles though.
@@TheMeanmarine13 yeah I trust Toyota though. It would kill there company if it wasn’t reliable.
Another dishonorable mention you guys forgot is the fourth generation Nissan Pathfinder from 2013-20. The major culprit is the now infamous Jatco CVT transmission, which was problematic throughout the entire Nissan line, not just the Pathfinder, especially the early ones. The newer CVT's have improved though. Other than the early CVT problems, the fourth generation Pathfinder also had a variety of electrical issues, and the A/C system was also problematic as well.
I'd include the 3rd gen 2005-~2010 with the 4.0 V6, as well as the 2nd generation Xterra and Frontier with the same engine and five speed automatic transmission. Transmission failure as a result of coolant mixing with transmission fluid.
They had updated the cvt in Pathfinder since 2015. They are considered on the reliable side above the average. Additionally, those cvt with different power outputs have different reliability, the ones paired with V6 engine are much much better after 2015
We had a 17. The cvt was fine for highway cruising with great mpg but pretty awful in stop and go. The 3.5 v6 was pretty gutless below 4000 rpm but ran like a race engine with a good sound in the 6000+ range.
All Nissans are trash, I would never get one
My customer would refer to his as the Partsfinder
This series is informative & interesting! Thanks for doing it.
The b9 is fine and it has real AWD with a really nice vtd center diff. The newer Subaru with a cvt are a very bad idea used. 1st you run into reliability issues since the cvt is not reliable (especially if you follow the no fluid change schedule SOA endorses.) 2 Subaru with a cvt other than the WRX use the ats coupling for their AWD. It cannot drive the rear without slip, so if you are buying it for off-road all you will do is dig ruts going up hills when you have no traction with the front while the back only gets driven when you send it and the front wheels are spinning free. I hope you got one with x mode otherwise the car will cut power with the tracton control any time you get rear power.
I cannot believe that Tribeca design made it past all those levels of engineering, management, marketing, sales, etc. without anyone saying hang on a second….
I believe (or the story I got anyway) that the B9 Tribeca was originally designed to be the Saab 9-7, but Saab chose to use the Trailblazer platform instead. If it's true, it kind of explains the wonky styling.
Most of subaru even today looks like all designing team are elementary school kids
It's funny watching this as we own both a B9 Tribeca and 3.8 Caravan.
-Center vent is 100% a Saab design thing.
3.0 is such a wierd mismatch as it's all top-end power.
-Tow rating is super confusing as it has one of the most over-engineered tightly integrated OEM hitches I've come across attached to a 1" receiver. With suprisingly short gearing as well.
-Came with 255 width tires, probably eating more into the mileage. Not even the newer Ascent or most of it's contemporaries went quite that wide.
@@-fuzzy-7125 The Tribeca and all Subarus of the same time period were designed by Andreas Zapatinas, who is a Greek man with a long pedigree of Italian and German design going back to Alfa Romeo and BMW. The grill of the time (including in my own 2007 Subaru Impreza 2.5i) were designed to look like Alfas and highlight the airplane fuselage and wings in the center and wings in the side pieces that also resemble Saab of the day. Long story short, these cars were relatively rare, since they only had a very limited production run, and the main attraction was just that they looked different from anything else on the street. The main issue with the Tribeca was actually the oil starvation on the side opposite any sort of hard cornering. Why would you get this thing and drive it like a sport car? I don't know, but the engine probably had something to do with it, and yes, running it hard on corners resulted in blown heads pretty dang quickly. My own Impreza had factory defective warped heads that needed to be fixed under warranty, but the Tribeca would fail under any enthusiast's foot when cornering no matter what you did. Turned fast while revving it? Sorry, you might have just blown a head gasket or seized the whole thing.
I never knew how idiotic that third row was. Unreal.
I had a 2007 Wrangler with the 3.8L. I took a trip from Atlanta to DC and back. On the return trip I came up on some stopped traffic and I needed to stop really quickly, the oil light came on. I got off the interstate to check the oil, it did not register on the dip stick. I ended up putting around 4 quarts of oil in it. I traded it in soon after that.
There Isa reason you were 4 qts. Low ! Check your oil!
@@Happy11807 No shit really. So the engine should burn 4 qts of oil on a trip to DC and back? Perfectly normally right? The 3.8L was known for burning oil in the minivan Jeep took it from. I should not have bought a Jeep with that motor in it. I know, its not your fault your a dumbazz
@@Happy11807 the reason is that jeep is junk and it burns too much oil
Probably oil pan leak from a bad seal. Some people just can't fathom that vehicles have to be maintained and occasionally repaired.
@@ajsap8160Yeah those would normally leak oil, if it was an oil pan leak, which it did not. If you did some research on that motor, it used to be in the Dodge Caravan and had massive problems with BURNING oil. They stuck it in the Wrangler because they did not have another engine to replace it after the 4.0L did not meet emissions standards.
Not just the Acadia, but generally any GM after 2010 you should run from. The newer the worse they are. You could buy a 90 Silverado with 300k miles and it would be more reliable than a brand new one.
i used to build the new tahoes and escalades at the plant and those trucks are complete JUNK i could go on and on about how poorly designed and low quality they are and some are selling for 200k yet they snap together and snap apart in 2 seconds. i give each new GM vehicle a 5 year life span and thats it. which is what they want just long enough for you to pay it off then trade it in for another
@@STREETRACEN4U All those cheap Chinese plastic components. I hated working on my ex's 2012 Malubu. Total garbage.
@@STREETRACEN4U Weird
We have the 2007 Tahoe with 190000 miles and it has been great. I have replaced the alternator and that is all (other than normal wear and tear).
Maybe the new body style ones are worse but they look aweso.e
@@thomasnew8606 the older stuff is better. that new stuff is JUNK. GM's main goal is how can they lower production costs and increase revenue for the company that is it. the older the better when it comes to GM.
We have had new vehicles roll off the line that are complete bricks and dont even run or function right and if they cant figure out the issue in a reasonable amount of time they just scrap the whole truck and just build another for the customer.
Not my experience. I have a 2015 silverado 2500 HD with 140000 miles and no issues at all except a new battery a year ago.
I have a 2007 Expedition with the 5.4 Triton V8. I gave it to my daughter several years ago. It now has 250,000 miles on it and the 5.4 is still running great. Good routine maintenance and oil changes were key for these engines.
tbh most engines that are known to be unreliable can be solved by just being religious about your oil changes and maintenance, Granted not all, some are just outright lemons. But a lot of North American engines are just very delicate so for the common consumer who does late oil changes, cheap oil, rarerly cleans out the airbox/filters, cheap fuel, etc. They just implode.
No. The stats don't support you. You simply got lucky. Just as there's a lemon among all good vehicles, there's a the occasional winner among junk.
@scottysgarage4393 Well, then I got lucky twice. I also had a 2010 Eddie Bauer Expedition with the 5.4 Triton. I used it to tow my 25ft travel trailer all over the country and parts of Canada. Again, following the advice of Brian, of the "fordtechmakeyouloco" channel, I was very diligent with maintenance and oil changes. It had 160,000 miles on it, and was running great, when I traded it in on a 2019 Expedition Limited with the 3.5 Ecoboost.
Ya it's a bad design with the oil passages. But it can last if you do regular oil changes. Sadly many trucks have issues if they were work trucks because they are poorly maintained. Avoid those if you are looking at one.
Did you do a timing chain, guides, tensioner and phaser replacement?
I had a 2007 f150 with oner 250k miles. Was very reliable. I only experienced minor maintenance issues that were easily fixed.
did you know it was an SUV ? learn something new every day
Add to the list any Subaru Outback, Ascent, or Legacy made in 2021-2024 that have the new "Infotainment" center in the dash! There are so many know problems with it freezing up, shutting down not linking with an iPhone, etc. And out of nowhere it will have a situation where the "Eyesight" or automatic braking system go out. I bought a new 2023 Outback and in less that 6 months it was in the shop for 59 days, exceeding the states requirement for a lemon law claim. Subaru decided to buy it back from me, I assume to avoid the lemon law claim.
My 2009 Wrangler Rubicon has been spot on reliable. Maybe not the most quickest but has never left me stranded.
We bought our 4 door 2011 Wrangler in 2011....still have it and love it. Super fun little thing. Between oil changes about every 5 months we need to put a quart in. I thought it was due to the required oil being like water. Super thin stuff.
I just bought a 2010 Honda Pilot. It has 200k miles, but it's a Honda. The first thing I had to do was replace a front catalytic converter due the the dreaded cvm (continuous valve management). Secondly, I installed a vcm bypass kit.
Wife had a Caravan with the 3.8 and put almost 200k miles on it until it was totaled out. I dont recall it ever burning that much oil even towards the end.
Yeah the 3.8L's were reliable as hell in the 2001-2007 Chrysler minivans - I assume alot of changes were made for the Jeep Wrangler application which made them more troublesome.
3.8’s in Dodge an Jeeps did consume 1 quart every 1,500 miles but they were reliable engines. You still see them running today with 300k to 500k miles.
Fair, but that's a ton of oil, and very easy to miss an add. And no oil in the motor will make lots of issues quickly.
I have a 2010 wrangler with the 3.8 that has almost 250k miles and no oil consumption issues!
@@davidg4026 odd man out. Glad to hear it, but that's a fluke.
@@davidg4026 Same here, with a 2009 and 85k miles. I add zero oil between 5k mile changes with 5w30 M1. The 07 into 08 had the oil problems with poorly installed rings from the factory IIRC.
2009 3.8 207000 mi. 0 oil burn penzoil 0-20 platinum.
With the 5.4 3v. Yes they have problems but if you do proper oil changes you won't have half the problems. You will still have to replace the tensioners and such eventually but once you do that they run pretty good. Mine has 222,000 on it and still going. I did do the time job myself for around 1000 dollars. Ford tech makuloco has good step by step videos on how to repair. Because they are worth repairing as the rest of the truck is really solid.
10:33 Replacing the timing components was actually pretty easy on the 5.4s. I think the hardest part was getting the valve covers off, probably one of the simplest setups compared to the newer DuraTec, EcoBoost and 5.0 Coyote timing systems.
And it's really because of lack of maintenance that caused a lot of issues with the 5.4. I got over 200k on my 5.4 before it needed any timing work. And it was just the VCTs at first. Most people hate the 5.4 3v when it was a pretty robust engine that was screwed by EPA standards and the push for better fuel economy 5w20 that killed the engine
@@gman3563 EXACTLY!! Those engines hate 5w20 especially when they get up in miles. They love 5w30 a lot!
Thanks for this info. I have f150 5.4 and I'm now gonna start using 5w30. What do you think about switching to synthetic?
As long as the work is done before the low oil pressure scores the camshaft bearings…
I’ve got 320k all original but a radiator on a 05 . . Rode on 35x12.50s the whole time . . Sure it’s noisy now and needs a timing job but made it past 300k
Thanks again guys, I ❤ all of your videos. The best solution for the Jeep is to be different & swap in a 4 cylinder Cummins diesel, you’ll get plenty of 🙂, some🤔 & possibly some☹️. You would probably get our oldest son to add his ‘08 GMC Yukon with the 6.2L with automatic transmission. He bought it pre-owned, transmission went out he pulled the tranny & took it to have it rebuilt, the guy said that you have my sympathy. He installed the rebuilt tranny, two months later the 6.2 LS puked all of motor oil out. The SUV only has 175k miles & his wife was using it to haul her Photography equipment. Keep’m coming
You recommend 4bt Cummins or which one? What transmission with that engine?
That's the gamble you take when buying a used vehicle. It's not an inherent design issue, it's an issue with not knowing the history of a used vehicle. There are plenty of very high mileage GMC Yukons from that generation out there that have not "puked all of the motor oil out".
Everyone hates on the 5.4 3v. Engine replacement isn't always needed, just shops find it easier as they don't know the engine all that well. A timing job, with new ford parts, with a melling high volume pump, and 5w30 oil often fixes the issue regarding cam phasers.
My 2013 expedition limited runs like new after 10 years. The only maintenance I do is oil and filters every 2 months regardless of the mileage. The car has never seen the dealership since the warranty expired. I have a feeling it will last another 10 20 years I hope because we love it. And not too much to break without all the digital crap and turbos that today's disposable cars have
Key word “my”. Not most.
Oil change 3 every 2 months? Unless you are packing on at least 3k miles that is nuts.
I have a 2012, on it’s 2nd engine. It’s used mostly for towing, or the odd large cargo, so runs 5000 miles a year, tops. And it gets fresh oil every 6 months.
@@shiftfocus1 (it's = it is)
5:56 ...in case you ever wondered what it's like being large on an airliner... That is almost exactly my experience on any of the big 3's jets. JetBlue and Southwest thankfully offer just a little more legroom, and I use them almost exclusively.
Some model years of Outbacks have serious electrical issues. They'll start burning through headlights and taillights, some not even lasting a year. Some model years also require either removing the bumper or the fender liner to get at the bulb so it's a pain.
Jeep Wrangler 2007-2011
Gmc Acadia with 3.6?
Subaru tribeca
Ford f150 5.4 Tritan 3 valve
I dont even live in the US but as a car guy, I love videos like this!
That's the way to be! I love seeing cars from around the world, good and bad.
The Jeep oil issue was mostly 2007 into 2008 and no, you don't need a ton of HP on the trail. The 3.8L, with it's torque down low, does great on the trail plus it's a very simple pushrod engine that doesn't break down often and is easy to work on. Definitely under powered on the road, especially the highway though.
Buy but but you need 400 HP to spin those tires inflated to 40 psi when off road (watch their 4wheeling videos for reference)
I completely agree with you! I had a 2009 with the 3.8L for 11 years and 157,000 miles, it was flawless, never broke down on me and only consumed 1 qt of oil between 5000 mile oil change intervals. My daughter has a 2012 with the 3.6 Pentastar and it has been terrible, consumes 2 qts of oil between oil changes and have had multiple issues with it.
I currently have a 2008 JKU with 230,000 km on my 3.8l. I am very particular and careful with my maintenance. It is a lifted Jeep with a heavy duty suspension and big wheels. It is my daily driver but does see a lot of off road action. I tow with it on a regular basis. It only consumes 1 litre of oil every 5,000km. It takes 6 litres of oil. I confirmed with a mechanic that this is not an issue. Yes it is a gas hog and has very little horse power but it is a very reliable engine. It does have plenty of low end torque for off roading. I love my Jeep and will be keeping it for many many years.
I agree with you on the fact that the 3.8 Wranglers were underpowered, and oil consumption was high. My wife's Grand Caravan used 1-2 quarts in 3000 miles. BUT, that engine didn't really care, and could last 350,000 miles, one of the longest lasting engines anywhere. Buy the Wrangler, re-gear it as needed, and it's crazy reliable.
My 2008 town an country with the 3.8 didn’t use a drop of oil in 4000 mi oil changes
They mentioned 2 qt in 100 miles. I have trouble believing that. It would leave a blinding smoke screen and the cops would pull you over & order you off the road.
Also in the 2006 F150 and F250 with the 5.4 were also real bad at the planetary going out in the transmissions. Has 2 of them do it.
@@-OhThatGuyAgain- Sometimes auto journalists lose track of reality after driving so many nice cars. They always complain about the steering on the Wrangler. It's got a solid front axle! It's an excellent offroader! It's not meant to be a sports car going around corners at full speed... Cracks me up every time. It's also funny when they complain about an SUV or small truck ONLY having 285 horsepower.
I just posted a similar comment. Those engines didn't/don't actually consume almost any oil at all. What does happen is that they often have some oil leaks, so many people think it's consuming oil. But once you fix the leaks you won't likely even need to add oil at all between changes. A very simple and a very reliable engine indeed
Got the 2 valve 5.4 only problem was coil pack. 155000 miles still running strong. But worst fuel mileage. Get 14 as long as there is moving traffic get in a jam 9 to 10. But a beautiful ride nice driver. Definitely keeping her cause not spending 80 grand for a new one. Bought it new and kept up the maintenance.
I own a 2007 Wrangler as my daily. I haven't really had a problem with it. The one downside to the 3.8L is the lack of documentation online. Good luck if you're trying to diagnose something yourself from online resources.
I have a 2010 Jeep wrangler rubicon unlimited never had a oil issue. I really have to say the standard option was the best way to go. Bought for my daily driver and still going strong. Has enough power to keep up with traffic not speed demons.
Those 5.4s also had the dog-dingy spark plugs that liked to seize in the cylinder head and break off when trying to remove. Plus exhaust manifolds that love to rust and crack, and are a pain to replace.
Plus cab corners that rusted out remarkably fast
Part of the timing issues was the tensioners were hydraulic, and the stock oil pump couldn't put out enough pressure to keep up with everything.
@@justintarvid Oil pump volume had nothing to do with tensioners being hydraulic.
When everything is working correctly the 3V pump puts out more than enough oil volume.
It’s actually very high volume pump. The problems come from the cam phasers when they begin to leak causes systemwide oil pressure loss and wear. This is when you begin to see roller follower wear, cam journal wear, guide wear, main bearing wear and oil pressure loss.
The 3V V10 which didn’t have cam phasers have none of these problems
@@mikekempin7917 just like gm
products
@@BC08 The oil pump was still a pretty big issue. Hot oil idle oil pressure fell below Ford's own minimum oil spec.... so in order to avoid having to deal with that nightmare Ford simply lowered the spec for minimum oil pressure at hot idle. Like magic the problem was "solved".
Nonsense. Our 2010 Tribeca pulled 3,500 lbs, was amazing on snow, had great body integrity, handled better that the Porsche and VW SUVs of the period, was comfortable, super reliable over a couple of hundred thousand Kms and was fast. The third row was a stow and go, meant for occasional use and it required the middle seat to be in the forward position. Great car, great engine too bad they were replaced by a minivan powered by a turbo 4 cylinder. If you find a good used Tribeca, buy it. Avoid the F150.
I love the 5.4. I’ve owned 5 different 5.4 and never had any problems and 3 of them had over 350,000 miles. But with that said. I’ll take the 3.5 ecoboost all day long.
I agree had a couple 3v 5.4s that went over 250,000 nothing but oil..Now I’m a Coyote lover 😂
The new 3.5 eco boost or the original from around 2014?
@@vinbia either.
@@leec409 I’ve had the older version and it was fantastic. Don’t know much about the newer
@@leec409 the 5.0 is an awesome motor so is the 3.5 but with an exhaust intake and tune with the 10 speed the 5.0 is for me
Had an absolute nightmare of an experience with my dealer at that time and one of those f150’s. After that I vowed to never give ford any of my money ever again. Glad to see it mentioned and hope that this video helps someone in the future.
Keep it going guys, fun and different type videos. like it that you walk around and find the vehicles and see them in real time and real shape.
As someone in the industry myself, I must say that just because a dealership sends a vehicle to auction does not necessarily mean they "don't want to" sell it on their lot. It could just be that they are trying turn some money, or perhaps the unit is due soon on their floor plan so they need to unload soon for that reason.
Most vehicles at auction are either impending floor plans, too old for the dealerships preferred market, or too many miles. Outright junk is rare. I'd say you encounter more junk on large new dealers used lots than at auction, because they want the cash and aren't hurt by the resulting angry customer("Shoulda bought a new one of our brand, buddy").
I'm surprised that you didn't include a Land Rover. While great off road, they are very expensive to maintain and parts like wheel bearings and control arm bushings wear out at 60-70K miles. BTW, I have had 4 Land Rovers!
I believe they included a Range Rover in a similar video they did before.
Had a Sonata and engine caught fire suddenly.
Traitor!
Horrible vehicles for sure!
09 Wrangler JK and I don't burn any oil. The 3.8 was designed to use 10w30. It's identical to what was used in other vehicles with w30. They lowered it to 5w20 for better fuel economy in the Wrangler. No bearing clearance change, nothing. Run 5w or 10w30 depending on winter/summer and you're good.
I think the problem with the 3.8 is that certain years had issues with the way the rings were installed. On the ones that are bad, the oil gets by them and burns.
For practicality reason, I do understand why the Subaru is on this list. My family has owned one for quite a while, and we actually really love it. Then again, we are a small family so haven’t really needed to use the third row seat but maybe once. And I specifically picked it out for the flat six engine, because I just enjoy those engines. It should be noted that you are also supposed to only run premium unleaded fuel on those. Mine definitely makes a spark, knock, pinging noise if I run it on regular or mid grade. And also, I have to say that you guys don’t have the actual 5.4 L three valve engine issues, correct. Yes, it does have timing and cam phaser issues, but the underlying issue is poor design of the engine itself. The oil passageways are not large enough and After sludge develops, does not allow the top end of the engine to get the lubrication that it needs, which causes these other failures. So you could see the failures listed in this videos are the symptoms not the disease.
Ya, I'm not a Subaru guy but I disagree with the b9 being on this list. I think it's uniquely good looking, has a strong, cool engine and is reliable. If you don't need to tow or seat the third row it's fine.
Let's see how those turbo 2.5s hold up in 15 years from now on those Ascents, which I think are clunky-looking compared to the second gen Tribeca.
The Subaru notwithstanding, your list should have been any Jeep, any GMC and any Ford with the 5.4 Triton engine.
What’s crazy is that jeep 3.8 v6 was way better of an engine than the early pentastar especially in the vans dodge produced. Coming from a mechanic
For some reason on the Jeep engine they changed the crankshaft bearing and piston ring design. "Lugging" the engine caused carbon to build up, causing the rings to seize. Mopar has a decarbon spray that will help.
As a mechanic I love the 3.6. I believe I wouldn't have as much work if Chrysler didn't make these. These engines are like job security lol
I bought a new 2006 5.4 Triton F150 4x4 Crew Cab and it was the best truck I ever owned except for the abysmal gas mileage. It always amazes me when people call a vehicle junk, and yes I get when there are common problems. But my feeling has always been, the majority or at least a very, very large minority of people don't properly maintain or care for their vehicles. I put 80,000 miles on in less than 3 years but back then Ford was still cheaping out on the oil put in the block from the factory. Even though full synthetic oil was available, they were selling more F150's than any other vehicle on the planet, so having them leave the factory with synthetic would have been a huge amount of money.
The very first thing I did to my truck was drain the factory oil and start with high grade full synthetic and then religiously change it every 5 thousand miles. I ran that truck hard. Never a tick out of that truck. As a matter of fact, it still had the original brakes on it that passed inspection and the tires lasted over 60,000 miles.
I don't know where my new Chevy will take me in the long run, but I do know one thing, when these tires wear out, I'll be putting on a set of BFG's.
People spend huge money on new vehicles now but completely cheap out on maintenance then blame the manufacturers when they fail. If you care about the vehicle you own, do better than what the owners manual suggests.
Running it through a slappy, scrappy, scratchy corner car wash is not taking care of your ride. Which reminds me, I'm due for a fresh spring coat of Carnuba wax.
Cheers.
I have a 2008 ford f150 with the 5.4 with 350,000 miles same motor and trans never gave me an issue no check engine light or anything you can't really say that about every truck I know that engine like I created it it all comes down to the oil ford puts thick oil just put some thinner oil and it will be just fine the cams 98% of the time it's just the sensor fords have more issues with sensors then anything else easy fix not like the 5.3 Chevys lifters and cams and oil pump water pump there's no preventing that from going bad besides not driving it and the electrical issues that those trucks have I've owned tones of 5.3 chevy and 5.4 ford's the triton is not as bad as you guys are making it and even when that timing chain starts to make noise doesn't mean the truck is done you can still drive it ive seen people dive them for years like that all it will do is make noise but wont leave you stranded it will just flop around a little but they sell metal ones that you can install in it instead ford didnt put it from factory because they said that it made noise that they didnt like but its not even noticeable
I have a 2004 Ford F150 extacab longbed I use for work, change the oil myself every 3,000 miles, also change the Plugs myself, add WD40 in the spark plug tubes before removing plugs , truck has now 210,000 miles and still runs strong and no problems yet.
My 2004 F150 5.4L 3 valve has been ticking since 80k miles. I’m currently at 270,000 miles on the original motor. Never put a dime into the motor other than some routine maintenance and oil changes. So far so good. Borla cat back exhaust from early on and Mobil 1 full synthetic at every 5-7k intervals. I’m hoping to get 300k, so I’m driving it till it grenades.
Check the exhaust manifolds.
Have a 2009 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited X with 111k miles, engine has been bulletproof. I think it ate a quart of oil in like 5k miles. Also have zero issues pulling into traffic, the main road I live on is 55mph. Not an issue.
They really should have made this a top 10 list and/or in 2 parts
These cars are hard to find, they shouldn’t have even made the video.
I own two of those vehicles, an 08 JK and an 09 f350 with the 5.4. TFL is right, BUT, with strict maintenance both of mine have been trouble free for 100,000+. I consider them problem children… you keep them cuz you love them but you work hard to keep it together!
I agree about the crappy 3.8 liter engine, I test drove one and it lost speed in 5th gear on flat land. However, I’ll bet that Wrangler still sold for a ludicrous price.
I bought a 2013 Toyota Venza back in 2019 for $13k because my Focus' steering rack needed replacing. I've put almost 100k more miles on it since, and have only done basic maintenance. It's been an amazing crossover, and just enough room.
The 3.8 really isn't that bad, especially in the 2 door Jeep. They are actually decently reliable. I think that take is a bit overblown.
My wife wanted a 2012 GMC Terrain with 105,000 on the 2.4 Ecotec. It rates right up there with that Acadia and the Triton as a time bomb. But I'd done the research and knew that, so I simply did a preemptive timing job with better parts from Cloyes. Key on them is that there's a strange two-piece bolt holding a timing idler that always breaks..remember that factory stuff is engineered to fail right after the warranty dies. Cloyes replaces it with a solid one piece bolt. There's a separate chain that runs the water pump that also is prone to break. I also replaced the VVT cam gears and the high pressure mechanical fuel pump on the engine that's prone to leaking into the oil. I replaced the oil cap with a vented Corvette cap to eliminate high block pressure that blows out the rear main seal. It runs great and she loves it, so my life is happy. I'm still tens of thousands of $$$ ahead compared to these new POS rolling shtiboxes.
The reasons you mentioned for the Subaru are really not good reasons not to consider it as a used vehicle. Actually, reasons to get it and maybe get a good deal on it.
That GM VVT 3.6 is a great engine if you buy it new. If you keep a quart of oil in the trunk. After 100k we simply started adding a half quart two-thirds of the way through an oil change. We could have replaced the car with a new one, but $55k versus $8 a year for an extra quart of oil.....................
I always LOVED the look of the early B9 Tribeca!! It looks like an Alfa Romeo !
It looks like a flying vagina
I had one of those 3-valve fords as soon as the phasers started going bad just yanked it and put in a 2-valve been running problem free ever since and that was 7 years ago
Good information Gentlemen, I'd like to see more of these 'recommendations.
Yeah when I used to sell CDJ in a past life I can tell you a lot of Wrangler owners were pissed when they went from the 3.8 to the 3.6 in 2012. Increase the reliability and added 80 HP. I'm right there with you on the 5.4 Triton. I had a 2001 F-150 with a 5.4 2 valve and I ended up selling that truck with almost 200,000 mi on it to a guy who drove it for another 120,000 on the same motor and transmission.
Yeah my 2018 JK is pretty fast in truth. Way nicer than the 2008 by Centuries
I love the tribeca's nose, it looks almost like a Peugeot.
While he picked the Acadia it seems like the only one where the issue is preventable. Check and change your oil often and don’t let it get low and you can expect a long life out of it.
I have hear so many bad things about the 5.4 three valve but I have multiple friends with over 300k on them and they are still running fine.
As a used vehicle, the issue would be how well the previous owner cared for it. One really had to be a stickler about following service intervals for the Acadia and its Buick, Chevy, and Cadillac siblings; if they recommend 10,000 or even 7,500 mile intervals for oil change, 5,000 is actually the safe bet for longevity for these engines.
subaru Tribeca seems ok. i know people that own gmc arcadeia take off water pump then chain engine in.
A F-150 is a SUV? That was a new one on me. I always thought it was a pick-up truck. Learn something new everyday... A lot to do with how long a vehicle lasts is how you drive it and do you maintain it properly.
The 3.8 to the 3.6 wasn't much of a jump in torque(23 ft lbs and 800 rpm difference) despite the big jump in HP.
23 peak. The 3.6 made it peak later, and more consistently
i daily a lifted 2007 jeep wrangler jk with the 3.8l engine. 127k miles no major issues or leaks. I regularly check the oil level and it does not seem to be losing any (maybe i got really lucky) 35 inch tires, metal bumpers and a 2 inch lift. I don't really notice how sluggish it is due to a heavy foot. I find myself passing regular traffic going uphill lol maybe a previous owner had it re geared for bigger tires
Thank you, Tommy and Brendon, always appreciate your opinions and reviews
Anything GM! -the end
I have a 2004 5.4 F150. Changed the spark plugs myself, did have several to break. Also have the timing chain tensioner issue, not going to touch it. It's been that way for almost 10 years. Currently 143k miles, I'll keep driving it until it dies. Has the timing chain noise on cold starts due to bad tensioners but other than that runs just fine.
My neighbor got his done for only a grand. Maybe shop around could be worth it.
@@midnightwaterdragon4725 Did he do it himself or have a shop do it. Considering doing it myself.
The 3.8L only had consumption issues in the 07-08 model years. The 09-11 seem to be super reliable. There are plenty of them out there with 200k plus mileage. They seem to last longer than the 3.6. Just lacking some power.
I actually have an 11 with the oil consumption issue that rears its head during winter. I switched over to 10w-30 from the recommended 5w-20 and it has decreased the consumption drastically. 28k so far on the 10w-30 with no issues.
To add to this, the 3.8 was happy at higher RPMs, quite the opposite of the 4.0. It was still more powerful than a 4.0, but to pass, you needed to drop two gears and floor it. I had one in a 2009 with a 6-speed, and didn't experience any oil consumption issues. Jeep guys just aren't used to running at the high RPMs the engine woke up at. The 3.6 in my 2015 is much more useable though.
Sorry, I had a 2010 2 door rubicon from new. Used a quart every 2500 to 3000 miles since new. 200 hp it couldn't get out of its own way ! Have a 2021 gladiator rubicon with 3.6. No oil consummation and 100 hp more, difference is night and day !!
@@jeffbelter768 You realize that a quart every 2500 miles is really good? Manufacters allow oil burn down to something like a quart per 800 miles before they will consider warranty work.
@@Gremavich I have an 09 with zero oil added between 4/5k mile oil changes. I use either 5w30 or 10w30 too, that thin 5w20 is really not ideal for our old tech, pushrod engine.
I have a 2011 JKU with 220,000 miles and other than normal wear parts has been flawless. Also gets wheeled on the regular here in Colorado. I also have driven it across country at least 20 times, even as late as 2 months ago.
I had a 2005 Ford F150 XLT with the 5.4 triton three valve I kept it at 2013. I never had a problem with it oil changes and maybe two brake jobs. It was one dependable vehicle especially in the winter.
Cant forget the 2.4l Equinox...
The 3.0 and 3.6 are just as bad.
I have a 2005 F-150 4 × 4 with the 5.4 3 valve motor and I have three hundred and fifty thousand miles on it right now, never any problems with the motor or the timing chains or anything like that had to put a new transmission in it at 280,000 Mi still have it use it for my drywall company been a damn good truck!
JK 3.8s also are reported with 250k miles still going strong. The oil burners are by now long gone. The 3.6 has been every bit as problematic as the early 3.8s.
Had my 2017 3.6 Jk 4door Sahara 6spd manual since new. 245,000 miles. Never a single issue. Annnnndddd it’s supercharged making 430 hp. Stupid reliable
The Subaru with 3 rows gives me claustrophobia. Ridiculous lack of leg room.
Surprised by the Jeep with the 3.8 liter. That same motor in our Town and Country easily ran to 200k miles, was smooth, torquey, and efficient.
Doubt
@@somecarnet no one cares
Tommy has always been about putting opinions ahead of facts, when it comes down to it he's not a real car guy and misleads many people with his nonsense.
I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. I drive a 2007 Jeep and, while its not zippy, it does great on trails. Currently has 167,000 miles abd so far, no oil consumption at all. I think it boils down to how well one keeps up on maintenance as well as not abusing them.
If only people would change their oil, all these vehicles would be perfect in every way.
😂 you joke, but some people really believe that shit.
I have a 2017 jeep wrangler and it's mostly driven on rough dirt roads and at 40k miles I've never had a problem with it. Great rig I rarely have to put it in 4 wheel drive. Only in mud or deep sand.
Had a 2012 Wrangler J/K and it was flawless. The Penestar engine was awesome, coupled with a 6 speed manual, it had plenty of pep and could go damn near anywhere.
Same as mine...got it when it was 2 years old and still have it...zero issues and goes straight up a wall...🧐
@@robertallen6710 Yep...that was a damned fine Wrangler.
Yes I have the 2012 Wrangler , Pentastar engine, with the 6 speed manual . No problems so far, a great car ...
The first 3 or so years the acadia had problems. It was a supplier problems. Once they switches to another supplier for the timing chain. The problem went away. My family goes out of our way to buy GM products with this engine and they are all perfectly fine. We have owned about 6 of them. They have all proven to be very reliable. Your "information" you are providing needs to be updated.
I picked up a 2017 Acadia V6 recently and it is great. I have a family member who works for GM as a mechanic and he says the only issue he really sees with the new ones is the thermostat failing in them. It happened in mine but was fixed for free by the dealership. Been great ever since. Just as long as you do proper maintenance (oil changes and such) the engine/vehicle is very reliable.
@joeb3202 - I have a 2017 Equinox with the 3.6 liter HF engine with AWD. I bought it as a bad title car. It was very well equipped heated seats and steering wheel NAV/Pioneer stereo. Anyway, it was a flood car. It had an MSRP of $36,800 (new) mine had 17,245 miles on it when I got it in early 2020. I bought it for $13,500. I have a little over 100,000 miles on it now. I change the oil and maintain it with full synthetic motor oil every 5,000 miles. The car hasn't given me a seconds worth of problems. I researched the car a lot before I bought it. No regrets.
The Outback for sure. Oil leaks head gaskets Geeeeeez
Acadia for sure. You forgot the horrible transmission as well. Wave plate failure.
Honda pilots. Transmissions. I have been burned on those as well.
All jeeps in general. The 3.6 is powerful. But has a terrible ticking problem that customers are screaming at Chrysler for help on. If repaired. It is repaired with the same parts.
Amen to the 3v Tritons. Ugh.
Tribeca*
@@Dankcatvacs that too. But I saw all the horrible outback’s in the background So I honorable mentioned those based off my experience
I had a 2010 JKU. We put 130,000 miles on it with no major problems. Like you said lack of power was biggest complaint.
Its good the car wizard made the channel!
It would have been cool if they added in a clip of the car whizard don't buy these junk.
The car wizard is another joker who puts opinions ahead of facts.
@@vegasfordguy glad I'm not the only one
Well, I guess my collection of original low mileage Tribecas will have to be appreciated elsewhere!
5.4’s can be okay if you change the oil like you’re supposed to. Problem is the people that buy them don’t typically.
I have a 2009 F150 5.4 and 120000 k trouble free miles. I looked into the cam phaser problem and they can be easily replaced without taking off more than the valve covers so not to worried. Cam followers can be a problem as well but they have been redesigned and can be changed without removing the cam.
I like this series. Could you also do new cars too. Also talk about electronic stuff because I had a 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee and it was an absolute lemon countless electronic issues including the radio heated seats power windows, I also had the timing belt, differential, and the fuel line were just a few of the issues it had. And the worst thing about it is it started having issues while still under warranty. Let me be clear though I loved it was one of the most comfortable smooth riding cars I have owned and I would buy it all over again it wasn’t a lemon.
I’m zeroed in on that early 70’s Ranchero 2:14
Omg that B9 Tribeca 3rd row 😂😂😂😂😂
Not to mention you lose a ton of cargo space. I wonder if you can remove the back seats ?
I never realized it was that bad 😬
@NCrdwlf They fold down, you know. Plus there's versions of the Tribeca without 3rd row seats.
I had an ‘08 Wrangler for 12 years that I loved for all of the Jeep aspects of it: 4 door off road beast with removable top and doors, but when it came to all the basic car aspects, boy did the quality suck! I am SO glad Ford has released the Bronco to force Jeep to step up their game.
It was a great formula on paper, but Chrysler failed hard on the basics.
You guys are absolutely clueless. The 3.8 liter in the Jeep JK is pretty much bulletproof as long as you keep the oil changed. I know several people with over 300,000 miles on the original 3.8 liter and still going strong. The 5.4 liter 3 valve engine is solid if you keep the oil changed on a regular basis. All timing chain guides are plastic, again just more misinformation. People simply don't change the engine oil or any other fluids. The problem with your channel is opinions vs facts.
Yes it all comes down to maintenance Oil is cheap engines are not and 10,000 miles between oil changes is absurd
Jeeps are pieces of shit lol
My 2004 Ford F150 with the 3 value 5.4 L with 235000 miles is still running great with no problems.
Any way to remove that Subarus rear seat to at least gain some cargo room ?
Fold the seats? They also made 5 seat only models as well.
I got the 2012 Wrangler jk, not a terrible car. But never really been off-road much. No issue with trans/engine so far, knock on wood. At about 100k miles now
Yikes, choosing the 3.8l JK to lead off this video was a major miss.
Bit late here. But the 5.4l 3v on the ford is actually a great engine! the 5w-20 they recommend putting in it is a bit thin for the motor, so putting something a little thicker in it really helps. Had a 2004 expedition Eddie Bauer that had 503k on it before it died. Only reason it was "doomed from production" was that one side gets oil before the other does instead of in unison like most vehicles do.
Subaru Tribeca b9 has very good Corenering! It's very good at winter and snowy weather, so Tahoe hasn't this all.
My 2006 Tacoma 2.7L 5 speed has now 207,000 miles on the odometer, and doesn't burn a drop of oil. I don't plan to replace it, it does the job and costs very little to maintain.
those 3.8l engines are super reliable. should have changed the oil more often? i had one and it lasted. body rotted around the running engine. 2006 T&C. one issue i ran with tho was the dip stick. i went to the dealer and bought a new dipstick from the handle luckily breaking off after pulling out the dipstick. wasnt thinking and just threw the old one away. the new one has the safe markings way too low. reads full after just putting in ~2 quarts. the engine takes ~4.5quarts. had to make my own markings on the dipstick.
i've ran into other folks unknowingly with the same issue also. when replacing the dipstick, replace the handle only, not the metal stick.
Yes I have one new from 2007 JK and wish I had one from about 2014 to 2017and 4 dr but it only cost $18,000 new and got new 5:13 axles in 2015 but probably did not need to change those. Heating is the only problem I had once but mine is still running with near zero problems. The only real problem was a radiator leak and when a women rear ended me on ice and I had to replace the rear bumper and her car was totalled . I usually only have to add about 1 quart before the next oil change is due. Only got my first rattle in 2022 that comes and goes. However I am looking for a new one but the prices of those probably means I will have mine another 16 years. Only upgrade I probably could have done without is the aluminium skid plates. Only time I needed the winch is not recovery but farm related work.