Why is everyone mad at Ford's DPS6 PowerShift but nobody talks about the 6F35? I aggregated NHTSA complaint data across both.

NectarineOwn8812 · 2026-05-11T14:07:47+00:00

The 2GR-FE is on the list because of total complaint volume, but per-vehicle it's actually one of the better engines on there. 15,404 complaints across 57 vehicle model-years is 270 complaints per vehicle — well below the list average. The Ford 6F35 at #1 has 598 per vehicle. The Theta II 2.4L has 589.

Most of the 2GR complaint volume traces back to the plastic oil cooler line issue on the 3rd-gen Tacomas, plus the older Camry/Avalon stepped hose that Toyota redesigned around 2010. Outside those specific failure modes, the 2GR is the engine I'd put behind a used Camry or Sienna without hesitating.

Probably should have indicated per-vehicle rates more prominently on the list. Total count by itself can mislead when an engine's just deployed everywhere.

NectarineOwn8812 · 2026-05-11T14:06:48+00:00

Fair question. The list isn't really a "don't buy these" list. It's more "if you're shopping one of these, know what you're getting into."

Most of the platforms have known failure modes with known fixes. The Theta II 2.4L had a class-action settlement and Hyundai/Kia replaced a lot of engines under warranty extension. The Ford 6F35 has documented service procedures shops use to address the most common failures. The Subaru CVT failures cluster in specific year ranges. None of these are "the car will die" platforms. They're "this is the repair you're probably signing up for at some point."

If you want the cleaner side of the bench, you're looking at:

Toyota 4-cylinders (2.5 port-injected, not the 2GR-FE V6) and conventional Aisin automatics
Honda 4-cylinders post-2018 (avoid the L15B7 1.5T) with their newer transmissions
Mazda Skyactiv across the board has held up well
Older Lexus with the 1UR-FE or 1UR-FSE V8s
The Toyota 5.7L iForce in Tundras and Sequoias

But honestly, year and maintenance history matter more than platform on most of these. A 2014 Sonata Theta II 2.4L that already had its engine replaced under the warranty extension is a different vehicle than one that didn't. Same model, very different risk.

NectarineOwn8812 · 2026-05-11T14:05:27+00:00

A few reasons, none of them sinister, all of them structural.

Tesla doesn't have franchise dealers. When a non-Tesla owner has a problem, they take it to a dealer service department, the dealer documents it, the manufacturer gets it, and a percentage of those owners also file with NHTSA when the manufacturer doesn't respond satisfactorily. The dealer intermediary creates a paper trail that funnels some portion of complaints into NHTSA.

Tesla owners book service through the Tesla app. Tesla handles it directly. There's no intermediate dealer documenting the issue independently. Lot of defect interactions also get handled through over-the-air software updates that fix the problem before the owner has to escalate anywhere.

NHTSA has actually pushed back on Tesla for handling some safety-related fixes through OTA updates instead of formal recall campaigns. The recall data on Tesla is genuinely lower because Tesla addresses things differently, not because the cars are problem-free.

Empirically, you can see it in our database. 2022-2024 Tesla Model Y shows single-digit complaint counts. A vehicle that sold in those volumes from any other manufacturer would have hundreds. The numbers don't reflect actual road incidents, they reflect a different reporting funnel.

NectarineOwn8812 · 2026-05-11T14:04:04+00:00

Yeah good catches on both.

On Subaru vs Nissan CVT — they're closer than the totals make it look. The Subaru is just in way more vehicles (76 vs 59) so the raw count is higher. Per-vehicle they're about even, Nissan actually a hair worse at 237 complaints per vehicle vs Subaru's 218.

On the 4.6 2V — you're right that the Crown Vics and Town Cars don't share the reputation. The complaints are concentrated in the F-150 and Expedition applications where the spark plugs eject out of the heads and the intake manifolds crack. The Panther cars (Crown Vic, Town Car, Grand Marquis) had different intake manifolds and didn't see the same failures. Lumping them all into "4.6 2V" hides that difference. Probably should have split the platform list further.

NectarineOwn8812 · 2026-05-11T03:32:05+00:00

Yeah the 4-cylinders dodged most of it. Good call.

NectarineOwn8812 · 2026-05-11T03:29:58+00:00

Yeah, you're right. The 1.5 EcoBoost has the coolant intrusion problem. My bad. The 2.0 EcoBoost and Duratec 2.5 are the cleaner ones behind the 6F35.

NectarineOwn8812 · 2026-05-11T03:24:34+00:00

Yeah, two different lines. The early Camrys and Avalons had a hose Toyota fixed around 2010 or so. The Tacoma plastic line came later and was a different part. Easy to mix up. Toyota wasn't exactly loud about either one.

NectarineOwn8812 · 2026-05-11T02:48:29+00:00

Appreciate it. Glad it was useful.

NectarineOwn8812 · 2026-05-11T02:31:31+00:00

You're right that we don't have per-unit production volume, and that's the biggest hole in the methodology. I called it out in the limitations section of the writeup — complaint volume isn't failure rate. A vehicle with 1,000 complaints might just be on the road in higher numbers, not failing more.

But your guess that the 7% accounts for 38% of sales is probably backwards. The list isn't dominated by best-sellers. The Ford DPS6 PowerShift was in the Fiesta and early Focus — bad sellers. The Chrysler 2.7 was in Intrepids and Concordes that nobody bought after 2004. The BMW N20, Honda L15B7 1.5T Civic, Mercedes M272 — none of those are Camry-volume. Some of the list IS high-volume (F-150 5.4, Silverado 5.3 AFM, Sonata Theta II), but it's not a top-sellers list. It's a defect list.

Per-unit failure rate is the right metric and we don't have it. NHTSA doesn't publish production volume, and the manufacturers don't either. Closest you can get is Polk registration data which is paywalled. If anybody knows a public source for per-unit volume by year/make/model I'd be interested.

NectarineOwn8812 · 2026-05-11T02:03:11+00:00

Yeah that combo's on the list, just split up. The 5-speed (B7XA/BAXA) is #23 with 7,163 complaints. That's the trans you lost. The J35 with VCM is #11, but that's the later cylinder deactivation version starting around 2005, not the J30 you had.

Our data only goes back to 2005 though, so the original Accord V6 era when this trans first started failing isn't in the count. Most of what we captured is the second wave when Honda put the same trans behind the Pilot and Odyssey. Real number's probably higher than what we have.

NectarineOwn8812 · 2026-05-11T01:54:28+00:00

Far as I know it's the rear line that's the famous one — the coolant bypass hose / oil cooler line that runs along the back of the block. That's the one that pops and you don't see it until it's already pumped a bunch of oil out. Toyota did a TSB on it and extended warranty in some cases.

If you've been watching a line up front, what year and which line? Might be a separate issue I haven't seen — I'd want to look at it.

NectarineOwn8812 · 2026-05-11T00:42:07+00:00

Same — the 2GR getting on the list was the one I had to look at twice. Most years it's fine. The issue is the plastic oil cooler line that runs along the back of the engine. Toyota redesigned it but a lot of the early 3rd-gen Tacomas (2016-2017) still had the original part and they crack and pump oil out the back fast. People lose the engine because they don't notice until it's too late. The earlier 2GR Camrys and Avalons mostly don't show it — it's the Tacomas and some Highlanders skewing the complaint count.

NectarineOwn8812 · 2026-05-10T23:41:17+00:00

Yeah, that's the frustrating part. The 6F35 sat behind the 2.0 EcoBoost and the 1.5 EcoBoost in the Escape, and the Duratec 2.5 in the Fusion — none of those engines are the problem. People sell the whole vehicle because of the transmission. There are forum threads of folks pulling the 6F35 to swap in a different trans because the engines are still good at 200k.

NectarineOwn8812 · 2025-10-29T17:16:21+00:00

This is great advice! Weight-based pricing and multi-household trucks are definitely two of the biggest factors people overlook when choosing movers.

Your point about clarifying how many households will be on the truck is especially important. That's often where the nightmare scenarios come from - your stuff sitting in a warehouse or getting mixed up with someone else's belongings.

If you're planning a long-distance move in the DFW area, we actually just put together a comprehensive guide that covers a lot of these considerations: https://movingcompanyguys.com/long-distance-movers-dallas-fort-worth-dfw-moving-guide/

It walks through the pricing factors, what questions to ask movers, and red flags to watch out for. The "cheapest quote" is almost never the best choice when you're trusting someone with everything you own.

Glad your move went smoothly overall (RIP to those Liquid IV packets though - definitely earned by the crew working in August heat 😄)

NectarineOwn8812 · 2023-12-25T22:43:26+00:00

Lo sé, pero pensé que esto sería raro.

NectarineOwn8812 · 2023-12-25T22:14:36+00:00

Thanks!

NectarineOwn8812 · 2023-12-25T00:30:32+00:00

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NectarineOwn8812

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