I haven't worked on Korean cars, so I'll hold judgement on their quality until I do. I'd discount the surveys conclusions since nobody can seem to agree on the value and validity of them. If one is truly interested in knowing how well Korean vehicles are put together, ask a mechanic who works on them and all other types of vehicles.

The quality of vehicle, beside the obvious fit, finish, road manners and specs, is predicated upon the quality of its mechanical underpinnings. How well was the metallurgy engineered? How well were the rubber hoses, belts, gaskets, etc., manufactured to withstand the test of time? Are the mechanical parts sized properly for the stresses they will endure? Are the electrical systems built to military-type specifications for vibration/corrosion/heat resistance? The answers to these questions become painfully obvious to the poor mechanic who is tasked to diagnose and repair problems that arise.

Any mechanics out there with experience working on Korean vehicles? If so, please give us your opinion on their quality?

I've personally worked on most other brands of cars from America, Germany, Japan, and Great Brittan. While all brands have improved over the 50+ years I've been wrenching, my opinion is Japan's quality is generally best. Too, they are generally the easiest to work on as the Japanese excel in designing them for easy serviceability. Simple things like quality bolts, screws, clamps and other fasteners are taken seriously. Sure, they're not perfect, they're just the best among the competition.

 

30 recalls for fire is a lot since 2015. Recalls, not examples of fires...

I wonder how much money the settlement will be and how much money each owner will actually get.

Certainly not $24 million like the whistleblower.

 

Sup.

They are below Honda 100%. Much more rust prone, and more importantly they will fail REGAURDLESS of owner care.....this is more inline with GM/Chrysler and totally unlike the German brands that do NOT fail if you respect them or Japanese brands that generally wont fail even with idiot owners. Germans cars are the KINGS of serviceability in terms of resisting rust/issues that WILL compromise the ease working on the car, they are complex, you have to remove a LOT of stuff sometimes but they will NOT fight you. US cars are well laid out for the most part but suffer from both rust and the occasional cost cutting/stupid reuse of outdated design packaging. Japanese cars are EXTREMELY conservative with certain parts being carried over for 20+ years making them mindlessly easy to work on IF you know them but hell if you don't know the tricks but Toyota in particular always overbuilds/oversized parts/systems to make them idiot proof. Just look at how much fluids a same class Toyota uses vs VW/Honda, it allows you to ignore the maintenance interval to an almost hilarious extent.

However even Toyota/Lexus cheaps out on certain fasteners/connectors vs the Germans, the major difference is the Germans take it for granted you will NOT keep the car past 10 years old so past that plastics start shattering sooner than the Asian brands. Bolts/fasteners as well as METHOD of attachment are far better in mid level German vs Asian. Flagships are very similar......my ES is NOTHING like a 5 series or E class but my LSs are comparable to S/A8/7s

 

i have noticed this. Very few rusty German cars from what I have seen. I don’t see many Hyundai’s with body rust I must say

 

It's in the underbody/suspension. Don't know about the Koreans, but not too long ago get an American car on the lift, and it was a rust galore. Germans use the most corrosion free materials - galvanized sheet metal, zinc plated bolts, stainless exhaust, aluminum engines and suspensions, there's just not much to rust.

 

They are on par with ford in my experience.

Lexus is still THE best if we are looking at flagships. Mercedes would tie if it weren't for the W220 and early 221

 

Here is Toyota Tundra rust I recently saw at Toyota.

 

That's funny considering Honda recalled half a million cars for corroding driveshafts two years ago.

Honda Recalls 1.4 Million Vehicles, Including 430K for Salt Corrosion Problem

 

Better that than the whole subframe rusting through at 80-100k miles out here in the Midwest like I have seen. Hyundai doesn't cover them vs Honda who issued a recall over shafts that failed after most domestics

 

Miles? That kinda proves my point, early 2000s with known too soft frame materials and still going along.....early Kia's are just gone ay this point.

Same year fords are blowing spring shackles, shock mounts, sway mounts and actually entering into unsafe grounds/I'm scared to lift them to work.

Also Lexus is not Toyota. Vast difference between an ES and Camry of the same years, I have a 07 ES that is perfectly clean right now at 216k in Ohio vs most Camrys that are rusty visibly by 175k

 

It's actually 33 recalls for the same problem. And the funny thing is Hyundai/Kia/Genesis have been issuing these recalls EVERY year since 2015. Seems like they don't want to fix this serious problem. I mean 2021 models are being recalled for vehicle fires! This is last year's models and already they're being recalled?

 

Interesting standard, so when Honda issues a recall they're doing the right thing by being accountable, whereas when the Koreans do so they're making dangerous cars?

 

No idea the miles. The frame recalls seems to be a American Toyota thing. That 07 ES was still Japan exclusive at the time

 

Not at all, they just issue far more indicating greater failure points worthy of recall. Plus post warranty tells a vastly different story

 

Recalls apply regardless of warranty. The matter of fact is that Honda has a big recall to address a rust problem with their vehicles, contradicting your claim that they're more rustproof.

Don't get me wrong, Hyundai and Kia's from twenty years ago had serious rust issues, often mentioned in surveys like CR, but the last time they had a major rust recall was in 2013 for cars from the mid-2000s.