I appreciate your efforts, but the data is probably invalid due to acquisition method. You are soliciting data from people frequenting car repair forums, an obvious source of people having problems instead of people not having problems, and those owning trucks are (IMHO) far more apt to do their own repairs and consult on them than someone owning a Toyota Corolla for example. Someone whose car failed then took it directly to a shop for repair is far less likely to report any problems meaning that it is not only sample size that is significant but also the cause to be included in a survey.

To get valid data you would have to work in conjunction with dealerships or the DMV to get stats about # of automobiles in a given area, then work with repair shops to get their stats on frequency of repair per make/model/year, but even then the result wouldn't be quite accurate due to the issue mentioned above, that certain types of people DIY and certain types don't, and these different people tend to buy different types and models of vehicles.

 

Thanks for your comment, as I'm sure many others are thinking the same.

What might not be obvious (okay, it isn't): The research process handles these potential sources of distortion by including DIYs and excluding past repairs. Instead it asks about repairs that occur after joining. This has proven effective--in any given month less than ten percent of participants report a repair.

 

We have updated results for the Explorer to include owner experiences through March 2009. In terms of successful repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2006: 119, worse than average, but marginal sample size

2003: 60, better than average, small sample size

2002: 122, about average, small sample size

A big thanks to everyone who has been helping. We'll have further updates in August and November. With more participants, we could provide more precise information and cover all model years.

Ford Explorer reliability comparisons

 

416 Explorer owners now signed up. A good start, but more are needed to provide precise results for all model years from 1995 on.

Vehicle reliability research

 

We have updated results for the Explorer to include owner experiences through June 2009. In terms of successful repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2006: 71, about average

2003: 71, about average, small sample size

2002: 110, about average, small sample size

Everyone who has been helping, thanks, I certainly appreciate it. We'll have further updates in November and February. With more participants, we could provide more precise information and cover all model years.

Ford Explorer reliability comparisons

 

Updated results again next month.

We're going to start providing new stats for the odds of requiring no repairs and the odds of getting a lemon. These require larger sample sizes, so additional participants would be helpful.

For the details, and to sign up:

Car reliability research

 

We have updated results for the Explorer to include owner experiences through September 30, 2009. In terms of successful repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2006: 59

2005: 76

2003: 84

2002: 90

All are about average. Small sample sizes for the 2003 and 2005.

We've also introduced two new statistics, "Nada-odds" and "Lemon-odds," to indicate the percentage of cars with no repairs in the past year and those that required 3+ trips to the repair shop. We don't have these for the Explorer yet, though, because they require a larger number of responses.

Everyone who has been helping, thanks, I certainly appreciate it. We'll have further updates in February and May. With more participants, we could provide all three stats for all model years.

Ford Explorer reliability comparisons

 

479 Explorer owners now signed up. A good start, but more are needed to provide precise results for all model years.

For the details, and to sign up to help:

Car reliability research

 

We have updated results for the Explorer to include owner experiences through December 31, 2009. In terms of repair trips per 100 cars per year:

2006: 69 - about average

2005: 38 - better than average, but small sample size

2003: 67 - better than average, but small sample size

2002: 103 - about average

Thank you, once again, to everyone who has been helping. We'll have further updates in May and August. With more participants, we could provide complete stats for all model years.

Ford Explorer reliability comparisons

 

To provide an additional benefit, I recently enhanced the related repair history survey so that it can (optionally) be used as a personal car maintenance record for cars 2000 MY and newer.

As always, more participants would be helpful. Updated Car Reliability Survey results in May.

Car reliability research