Is 5 years & 50,000 miles an acceptable life for a gearbox?

[cv01jw]

Simple question really, would you consider 5 years and 50,000 miles to be an acceptable lifespan for a modern gearbox?

[900T-R]

Depends. 2.0 turbodiesel daily commuter - no; AWD turbo nutter special with boost upgrade package being regularly taken to Santa Pod - well maybe

[0000]

In a 320d, no. In a Formula 1 car I should imagine that would be more than acceptable. I guess there's a balance in between the two.

[Superhoop]

Surely that depends on the use over 5 years/50k??

If that's 5 years and 50k of normal, careful, everyday driving - No

If it's 5 years and 50k including several track days a year and abuse on every journey - Yes

[kambites]

You could probably kill a gearbox in a week if you really abused it, but if looked after properly any road-car gearbox should run well into six figures.

[BoRED S2upid]

No. But it depends what car really some bog standard KIA maybe thats why they have the warranty they dont expect things to last on them but on most cars that would be unacceptable.

[kambites]

BoRED S2upid said:

No. But it depends what car really some bog standard KIA maybe thats why they have the warranty they dont expect things to last on them but on most cars that would be unacceptable.

Surely Kia can afford to offer a seven year warranty entirely because they don't break.

[Captain Muppet]

kambites said:

BoRED S2upid said:

No. But it depends what car really some bog standard KIA maybe thats why they have the warranty they dont expect things to last on them but on most cars that would be unacceptable.

Surely Kia can afford to offer a seven year warranty entirely because they don't break.

Yeah, you only offer to replace stuff for free if you know you won't have to.

Eight year warranty on all my posts BTW.

[XJSJohn]

actual gearbox or clutch?!?!

[sinizter]

While I am never going to be happy with my gearbox going pop, 5 years is outside the warranty period by 2 years.

So, palatable - no, acceptable - yes.

[KrazyIvan]

Need more info on the car and type of driving before voting!

[900T-R]

doogz said:

sinizter said:

While I am never going to be happy with my gearbox going pop, 5 years is outside the warranty period by 2 years.

So, palatable - no, acceptable - yes.

So if the TV you bought with a one year warranty, stopped working after 370 days, that'd be "acceptable"?

I see the point you're making, but i don't think "acceptable" is the right word.

The point is sort of wrong, anyway. No matter the length of the manufacturer warranty, if something major breaks outside the warranty period but well within 'reasonable expectation' of the lifespan for the product category, the 'conformity principle' according to European guidelines applies, i.e. if your television breaks after 370 days the seller can't just say 'tough luck'. A court would probably in this case decide that one should have at least 5 years of use from ones television set without any issues, you've only had one year so the seller should contribute towards 4/5th of the repair or replacement cost.

Edited by 900T-R on Thursday 12th April 09:10

[ikarl]

OP - can you give us some more details about the car, type of driving so we can give a more helpful answer

[cv01jw]

I created this poll following this thread:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[smugglersvin]

If it was a post 2002 Renault Laguna everything else would have gone wrong or fallen off the car long before 50,000 miles, plus you would have been lucky if it made 5 years old.

I think our one ended up as spares by the time it was 5 years old.

So it would only be hypothetical lol

[ikarl]

ok, is it acceptable...no, but maybe yes.

it all depends on use, if the LR in quesiton has been abused off road (although I suppose that may be somewhat the point of that type of car?!) and been towing heavy horseboxes/boats etc, then maybe 50k is acceptable.

if however the car has not been off road, not towed anything heavy than a light trailer, in that case no, it' is definitely not acceptable

[sinizter]

doogz said:

sinizter said:

While I am never going to be happy with my gearbox going pop, 5 years is outside the warranty period by 2 years.

So, palatable - no, acceptable - yes.

So if the TV you bought with a one year warranty, stopped working after 370 days, that'd be "acceptable"?

I see the point you're making, but i don't think "acceptable" is the right word.

I see the point you are making, but all my TVs and most electronic gadgets would have 2+ years of warranty either due to manufacturer/retailer/credit card offers. If it dies 1 days outside the 24 months, I would be very peeved, but I would spend my time buying another TV, not asking for opinions on the internet.

If you feel it is worth fighting for, do so. For me, the time spent arguing with people over the phone, waiting for engineers and waiting for pick ups and deliveries as far as TV goes, would cost more than a new TV.

Different scale for a car, but you knew what warranty was offered when you purchased it. If that was insufficient, there were options to purchase an extended warranty.

I will stick with unpalatable, but acceptable.

[BorkFactor]

Not at all - in a normal road car that is completely unacceptable for a gearbox to be giving up the ghost after that time.

My youngest car was a 52 plate Mondeo with 90k on it, and my oldest was a 1998 car with 104k on it, with a couple more in between. They were driven hard on occasion (especially the Astra) and the worst that happened was a bolt in the gear linkage breaking on my ST24 leaving it stuck in 1st. An afternoon in the workshop later, and it was fine again.

All cars on original gearboxes and clutches, all 100% fine.

[Minemapper]

Utterly unacceptable.

With normal use, any modern road vehicle box should last at least 200k without breaking a sweat. Hell, the one in my MG turns 40 this year and hasn't been touched in the last 15 years. During the last (minor) running restoration in 1997, it was opened, checked and closed up again. Needed nothing.

[tradepro]

BoRED S2upid said:

No. But it depends what car really some bog standard KIA maybe thats why they have the warranty they dont expect things to last on them but on most cars that would be unacceptable.

As someone who now sells Kia for a living (worked with many other brands though since the late 80's), I do hope this misunderstanding is a one-off?