Do you expect your new car to be free from glitches?
Posted by rubenthecuban3@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 35 comments
So after I bought my RAV4, there were some glitches that I had to hunt down and fix. First was a climate control issue that I "resolved" using a Carista module. The dealership didn't know about this issue since it's such a rare and intermittent error that I couldn't reproduce. The second is the brakes squeaking when backing up. It seems from some internet searches this is common.
So after you buy a new car, is your expectation it to be perfect? Or there to always be some glitches. Are you okay paying $30-$60k for a new car to be glitches? I know some of us buy the first model year of a car (like the new RAV4). For those of you who do so, do you expect some glitches but that they are fixed later on? Or are you okay living some with some?
Ok-Huckleberry1970@reddit
Is it a new generation?
rubenthecuban3@reddit (OP)
Sorry I have gen 5 2021. I was talking with a friend who is looking to buy new 6th gen 2026 and they heard there are just may be a few random glitches here and there.
Ok-Huckleberry1970@reddit
Usually new generations do come with issues for the first year or two
Motor_Arugula_4282@reddit
Today’s cars are the worst quality new cars to ever leave the factory. I would expect to pay out the ass and then be massively disappointed, that’s why I won’t buy a new car ever again. They also are trying to fuck everyone with recurring fees for using the shit your car came with as options or standard. Example, your smart cruise control might only work if you subscribe. The middle class is being fucked like never before
Spring__Warrior@reddit
A new car purchased from a dealer should have zero issues at all thats the entire point.
nolongerbanned99@reddit
Should be perfect and usually is from the factory. Most dealers are inept.
reidft@reddit
If I'm buying a new car that shit should be FLAWLESS for at least the first 5+ years
aquatone61@reddit
I don’t have a new car but a 11 year old VW GTI with 114k (78k are from me) miles. It has some glitches but the cool thing is after this many miles I know what’s normal and what’s not. Every car has got something that makes you go what da fuq is that.
Prudent_Situation_29@reddit
No.
Ideally, a car would be faultless when new. Unfortunately, we live in this universe.
There are entirely too many factors involved in how a car works for it to be possible to have zero issues. It would be like embracing nuclear power and being surprised when there's a meltdown. It's statistically impossible to have new cars be 100% correct.
An engineer is tasked with producing a vehicle on a fixed timetable. They have to make it as inexpensive as possible, all while meeting reliability, fuel economy, safety and performance constraints. They have to juggle a hundred different suppliers, each with their own potential issues, and satisfy all the government regulations as well.
You simply cannot engineer and produce a machine this complex and have it be trouble-free, not in the short time they have, and not for the price they charge.
If you want a car that has no issues, humanity could deliver. It would take tens of billions of dollars and twenty years to develop, it would cost ten million dollars per unit and would have the performance of a lawnmower.
That being said, dealers could do a lot better in terms of tenaciously attacking issues until they're solved. They won't, but they could.
Crazy_Judgment_4186@reddit
I think perfect is a bit unrealistic, modern cars are so complex that minor glitches or quirks do happen, especially with newer models or first year releases. That said, for that price range, it's fair to expect anything affecting safety or core functions to be addressed quickly, while small annoyances are more of a gray area people tolerate differently.
eldredo_M@reddit
The reason you buy a new car rather than a used one is so that you have trouble free ownership.
Glitches would be extremely disappointing.
ImamTrump@reddit
No. Glitches are rather expected as it’s new. But also expected to be resolved quickly and for free.
By glitch I mean infotainment gremlins. Not dashboard issues or battery related.
OGDirtDude117@reddit
Cars usually have a 4 year development cycle and have to undergo a lot of QC.
I would fully expect it to be glitch free and mechanically sound.
However, it's 2026 and they are pinching pennies harder than ever to maximize profits. The OTA update stuff is, conceptually great, but in practice it's like buying a Video Game that takes 6mo or 1 year of updates to be as expected.
I wouldn't buy a new car
Binford6100User@reddit
Living with a Rivian that gets OTAs about once a quarter or so.......yea, it's always a 2 steps forward 1 step back scenario. They broke the heater just before winter. They broke the phone as a key system on this last update and had to stop deployment until it was resolved.
Far more sizzle than steak IMO.
LankyNihilist@reddit
Glitches are to be expected when you have so many components working together. Unreliable garbage is not, which is pretty much all thats made anymore.
sioux612@reddit
I got myself an Audi SQ6 after having driven a 2017 SQ5 for 100k miles, really liking it, and seeing that the SQ6 had the exact specs I wanted in an EV (800V and 100khw+)
It was THE worst vehicle I've ever been in. I'd rather drive a ssangyong with 100k miles on it than that POS. The experience was bad enough that our company won't buy Audi vehicles anymore.
Now we come to the part that may be hard to believe, but I'm fine with glitches. I have what I like to call magnetic autism. Any device near me starts developing weird glitches. I've never been able to use an electronic compass, GPS tends to show me hundreds of meters next to my actual position, that type of thing.
And I don't care as long as the issues can be solved, and the service until they get solved is good
But the Audi had so many glitches that made no sense at all that I gave up when Audi kept saying they couldn't solve them. Also the service is horse shit. They wanted me to pay 50 bucks a day for a rental Audi A1 while fixing my less than a month old 100k+ EV
Short summary of all the errors I can remember of the top of my head. This list doesn't include intended features that were though up and implemented by an idiot:
Auto headlight control lighting up only a meter in front of the car, bluetooth not working, Cruise control fails 50% of the time, errors get worse if temps drop below 10°c, car forgets features for weeks at a time but they suddenly appear again by themselves, the electronic charge port opener killed itself thrice in two months, plug and charge never worked, every feature that isn't directly linked to driving the vehicle sometimes just rebooted while driving which caused all the screens and lights of the vehicle to turn off, sometimes it just wouldn't recognize my phone as the key which is great fun when you actually depended on that feature for once, when leaving the car my phone would continue to play music, the alarm system would go off dayily if I didn't disable it (had to do it daily, no feature for that)
UniquePotato@reddit
There’s tens of thousands of components stuck together on a production line, I’d hope to be glitch free, but I accept there is a high chance one of those components isn’t quite right.
One_Evil_Monkey@reddit
Last brand new vehicle I bought was my 2003 S10. It was the last year they were being made. I absolutely expected ZERO glitches or issues... and that's what I got. Zero issues or glitches.
Only recall my truck has ever had was for the tailgate cables and that was TEN YEARS after I bought it. 23yrs later and it's still doing just fine with nothing but a tight maintenance schedule.
On something that's brand new today. You would think/expect a vehicle to be top notch. However you've got a few things working against you.
One is all the damn electronics they use now. Sorry, but software is gonna glitch. That's why you're constantly having to do those stupid OTA updates. To fix the glitches, then more updates to fix the fixes.
2nd is manufacturers are trying to save every penny they can so they can maximize their profits.
3rd is you bought a first year vehicle. NEVER buy a first year vehicle. Regarless of what R&D and testing they've done, there's still always going to be something they didn't get right that won't immediately show up.
Only good thing is that you at least have a warranty for a little while.
halfuhsandwich@reddit
As someone who works in quality control for software, I would expect absolutely zero glitches from a new car. We are too tolerant of some of these issues that large corporations are not taking the time to address in making a quality product.
S83884Q@reddit
You quality control software? Do you quality control the hardware? Do you have several manufacturing plants and quality control every process and every person building a machine?
goranlepuz@reddit
I mean... Presumably they control what's in their domain. If it works according to whatever standards, it works.
Do you expect that one person/department/factory/whatever controls everything underneath...?
Ok, but that doesn't sound reasonable TBH...
Senior-Dog-9735@reddit
If you are worried about electrical hardware do yourself a favor and look into IPC 610. Automotive grade electronics often will be close to reliability as the stuff that gets put on fighter jets and air planes. :)
Because standards exist this means all manufacturing plants and quality control have the same standard. Regardless if its Ford to Honda to Kia.
EuroCanadian2@reddit
Software never works perfectly, that's why there are patches and suppprt departments. I was in IT sales for 20 years, the imperfections in competitors products and older versions drove a lot of sales.
cshmn@reddit
You have hundreds of modules, a few thousand km of super thin wiring, all of the mechanical stuff is engineered to do what was pretty much impossible 20 years ago on the cheap while adhering to ever stricter emissions standards and the neverending demand for more electronic wizardry...
Take this witches brew and throw in the variables introduced by parts suppliers and human assembly and a healthy dose of planned obsolescence supercharged via our current speedrun of late stage capitalism, it's a wonder any of this shit runs at all. When we send rockets into space, it's kind of understood that despite taking every safety precaution, every once and awhile one is going to blow up on the launchpad. Cars need to start up and drive, day in, day out with minimal or non existent maintenance and do it safely.
EuroCanadian2@reddit
I hope it will be teouble free, but cars are complicated and that's what the warranty is for.
Manyconnections@reddit
No but in 2020 my ford explorer was beyond ridiculous. My 2023 tesla has been all software updates. Very easy car to deal with issues ( there haven’t been any)
Ragnar-Wave9002@reddit
My ford escape hybrid battery kept dieing.
Found out they ship it with a battery that isn't powerful enough. Upgraded battery and it's heen years of no issues.
lazarinewyvren@reddit
Never bought a new car. But any singular thing I perceived to be an issue? Right back to the dealer immediately.
TorkSpex@reddit
I bought a basically new variant of the Hyundai Veloster N in Sept 2019. Beat the absolute daily death out of it. Had it 60hp over stock. It had adjustable suspension, exhaust, steering and engine modes. I was shocked at its ability to be an ally. Everyday she just showed up. I did my oil changes and trans changes and she never changed. Loved her soo much I bought a 25 Elantra N sight unseen. Man. Such a difference. I'll meld it into a Veloster in soul. It's taking some work. And money. But my Velo will be out shined eventually. That little demon had a soul that's meant to be chased.
adjusterjackc@reddit
I don't expect any brand new car to be glitch free. That's what warranties are for.
Slipknot31286sic6@reddit
Brakes will squeak till you upgrade them. Power stop all the way. Brakes and rotors.
Usually brakes stop squealing after driving a little. Usually cold mornings from condensation is the worst.
Sparky62075@reddit
It should be free of glitches, snd if there are any, the dealership should be the one fixing them
SevroAuShitTalker@reddit
Got a new car a couple years ago. I expected it to have its own little things like any machine
Gunk_Olgidar@reddit
High volume vehicles should be glitch free. However, year 1 redesigns or major updates often do come with glitches, which is why most folks don't buy year 1 vehicles. The 2026 RAV4 is no different, as you have discovered.
rudbri93@reddit
For a brand new vehicle id expect it to be free of issues, buuuut part of the reason i spent all that money was the warranty, just in case.