This article talks about the longevity of pickups. According to the author, the most reliable pickup trucks are the Honda Ridgeline and the Toyota Tacoma. The only criteria was the percentage of vehicles that made it to 200,000 miles.
I submit this for your consideration: the reason why these two vehicles last longer than other trucks is that they are not trucks. The Tacoma and the Ridgeline have low cargo capacity, low towing capacity, and are essentially cars with a cab and bed. Don’t get me wrong, I think that they are fine, as long as you aren’t going to be using them for doing, well, truck stuff. Many of those who buy vehicles like those are not using them to haul materials to construction sites, nor are they pulling a heavy trailer. Nope, these vehicles are mostly daily drivers that do nothing more strenuous than take city dwellers back and forth to the cube farm.
The F150 and the SIlverado are used as workhorses. You see them hauling bricks, farm equipment, and trailers with lawn equipment. They are work trucks, and as such, they see harder duty than hauling the husband to the hardware store for some LED lightbulbs. For that reason, they are less likely to see 200,000 miles.
If you want to look at reliability between work trucks and others, there needs to be a way to control for commuters versus construction workers, versus farmers.
18 Comments
joe · February 11, 2022 at 5:17 am
meh
Jonathan · February 11, 2022 at 7:54 am
Right on. I know many people who don’t consider F150 to be a truck now either, with electric power steering, aluminum body panels, etc.
You also need to control for how many there are – despite their popularity in certain high visibility areas, those trucks are MUCH less common than Fors or Chevy.
Don Curton · February 11, 2022 at 8:43 am
I also have a question about their data. From where did their data come from? Dealer sales? Used car lots? Private party? State registrations? I’m betting a large number of 200k+ mile trucks (Ford, Ram, and Chevy) are sold private party vs trade-in and resale at a dealer lot. I’m also willing to bet there’s a significant number of people who purchase said old truck and never bother to change the title or register it. Either they drive it illegally (mostly by illegals from the southern border) or it ends up as a farm truck which doesn’t need registration. And that’s not counting the large number of people who use a truck as a daily driver until it reaches that certain age and then keep it as a spare vehicle while buying something new. It’s still a 200k+ vehicle out there on the road (occasionally) that’s never going to be in their dataset. Oh, and before we forget, there’s a pipeline of old cars and trucks heading for our southern border. I’ve private party sold several old vehicles to Mexicans who then transport it back to Mexico for sale there. As such, they never bother to switch the title or register it here, so the sale is also likely never to enter their dataset too.
I’d also quibble that the Tacoma can be a work truck of sorts. Mount a quad 50 in back and call it a technical.
TechieDude · February 11, 2022 at 9:34 am
Not So.
The ridgeline, maybe. But not the Tacoma (which is known as the HiLux everywhere else in the world). I drove these trucks for years as a telecom tech – loaded down, thousands of miles a week. I also had a 4runner. While true, their capacity is less, they are also overbuilt for the task. My 4runner had a bigger frame and brakes than a full size chevy van I had at the time as well. They are also easier and cheaper to fix, if they even break in the first place.
The Toyota pickups we had would routinely go 300-400K miles. That said, so would the Ford vans. Difference is, at 400K the Ford would be falling apart – no AC, wandering front end, burning oil. The Toyotas would be spares that still ran ok, but were flat worn out. They’d end up selling them to an Arab dude that would ship them overseas.
I live in Texas, where they practically issue you an F-150. No one I know with one does any work with it. Sometimes they haul boxes. I only know two dudes that actually use their trucks working, and those are super-duty diesels.
BTW, on the Fords and Chevies I’ve had, the drivetrain is usually fine. It’s the other stuff that breaks and is annoying – The window switch breaks – sometimes failing, sometimes popping out and falling inside the door, the light switch fails, hoses leak, catalytic converters and O2 sensors fail. I’ve replaced starters, alternators, and water pumps on nearly every GM product I’ve owned. Never replaced one, not once, on any toyota I’ve owned.
Divemedic · February 11, 2022 at 9:38 am
On the flip, I had a Tacoma that had metal shavings in the oil at 72,000 miles. I traded it in on a Ford.
Jonathan · February 11, 2022 at 10:30 am
The Tacoma is NOT the same as a Hi Lux; those have never been offered in the US and are much more a real truck than the Tacoma.
greg · February 11, 2022 at 10:11 am
280,000 miles on my F250 01′ diesel. Bought it with 50K miles. Runs on straight vegetable oil and I’ve pulled trailers at least half of those miles. I got a good one. Just got a 81′ toyota pickup SR5. Not many 40 year old vehicles in good enough shape to be daily drivers like this one.
Steve · February 11, 2022 at 10:38 am
Got an 3/4 ton ’88 Dodge Ram been treated like any other farm truck, and other than grinding the valves at 200,000, it’s been good to me. 480,000 at the moment. Though it has extra leaves, it’s been on the overloads quite a bit.
My 3/4 ton 2000 Silverado is over 500,000, since around 100,0000 it’s been ridden hard and put away wet. and all I’ve ever done to it is replace all the stupid rusted out brake lines with stainless.
The ’77 Dodge I gave my brother 20 years ago is still going fine, Only got rid of it because it got a little squirrely with a ton in the back. Other than the fact that goes through ignition modules like there’s no tomorrow, a “feature” to those early generation vehicles, nothing but regular oil changes.
At a guess, only about 10% of any of those miles are highway.
Anonymous · February 11, 2022 at 2:53 pm
I drive a Tacoma. You are correct, it is mainly used as a transport vehicle to take me to work and back. maybe 4 to 5 times a year I need it as a truck, and it does the job well. I am not trying to haul a trailer better suited for a semi, or trying to load the bed down enough to compress the springs to bottom of travel. However I need to haul brush to the landfill, help a person move, or pick up supplies from the big box hardware store.
I sit nice and high above most of the traffic and ride in comfort. Millage is not great, but I don’t drive that far. after 12 years I have about 120,000 miles. Its need no major repairs.
Curtis · February 11, 2022 at 4:45 pm
I have never seen a Ridgeling being driven by anyone under the age of 70. A daily trip to the Country Kitchen Buffet and weekly excursions to the bingo hall are not all that taxing.
Fred · February 12, 2022 at 4:10 pm
Honda Ridgeline is an extremely rare vehicle on any construction site. And when you do see one, it’s usually because sum dood has a job but doesn’t carry much besides a lunch box and some weed…
Top shelf construction hands and contractors usually drive a full size truck with lots of tools and maybe a trailer.
That Ridgeline and the Toyotas are usually brought into the site by the more junior members of the crew…
But the later model Toyotas and Nissans are showing up more and more now that they’ve beefed them up. The Nissan Titan might become more common now that they’re offering the Cummins diesel in them. Not sure if the frame and running gear are strong enough but the Cummins diesel will get. it. done.
But nonetheless, none of the imports offer ANYTHING that’s competitive with a 1 ton diesel dually. None of them… If you want an import truck of that nature, you’re gonna wind up with some flat nose Asian cab and chassis with a mini turbo diesel. And then parts and service are not as readily available. Stick with a domestic full size truck of at least a 3/4 ton rating. You get what you pay for. Sometimes.
Dirk Diggler · February 11, 2022 at 6:54 pm
1993 F250 diesel here. Rebuilt the engine at 305k because I wanted a new engine to drop a Banks turbo on it. (The wife got it for me for Christmas. Score!!!) It runs great, pretty good fuel mileage and it can PULL. Parts are cheap, too. Took me literally 7 minutes to replace an alternator. Never going to sell it. My son will inherit it and drive it all his life, too.
The Neon Madman · February 11, 2022 at 7:08 pm
Love my Ridgeline. 50k miles on it now, and I use it both as a general vehicle and to pull my 18 foot trailer. Very impressed with the engineering- everything about the user controls and interfaces is very well done. Comfortable, rides great, no complaints at all. Possibly the best vehicle that I have owned, and I have been driving for 50 years.
Tennessee Budd · February 12, 2022 at 12:38 am
It depends on maintenance, mostly. I have an ’04 F150 with 242k, 125k mine, and it’s never given me more than the usual problems; a coil pack, power steering pump, etc. My company truck is a 2013 Nissan Titan. I was issued it 3 years ago & have put 84k of its 243k on it. Same thing: water line valve for the heater core, rotor scored when a brake started dragging ( I heard it quickly, one benefit of being the son of a pro mechanic).
I’ve seen fleet trucks last a long time, & some die early. Fleet trucks get a lot of & some extreme use, but the ones that break down the most are those less attentively cared for.
21stCenturyCassandra · February 12, 2022 at 6:26 am
Have had 2 Hondas and 4 Toyotas over the last 25 years. Haven’t worn a single one out. All of them were totaled in wrecks. All had well over 100k, 3 of them over 200k.
Shitz Popinoff · February 12, 2022 at 8:43 am
I agree a Tacoma is not a hilux, and a ridgeline is a glorified minivan. My vote for best truck would be ’88-’93 C/K silverados, I have an ’88 scsb 4×4 automatic with near 400k on it still daily driven, and a ’93 scsb 4×4 manual with 300k on it, had these trucks nearly 20yrs with minimal repairs. I can personally attest that no Honda or yota would survive some of the things these 2 trucks have done/hauled over the years.
NIdahoCatholic · February 12, 2022 at 11:54 am
Has anyone else noticed the proliferation of short bed trucks? Especially crew cabs with a 5′ bed? What are they going to haul in that? Groceries? I think their drivers are just cosplaying. The next time you drive down a busy interstate, see how many actual trucks you see – 8′ bed.
Fred · February 12, 2022 at 3:59 pm
2000 Chevy Silverado 2500
About 350,000 miles.
I’ve torn up a crap ton of half ton pickups by overworking them. Get a 3/4 ton or bigger if you’re gonna use it as a work tool. It’ll last longer. Never send a boy to do a man’s job. Just saying…
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