Piston Slap: The Life Cycle of Structural Enhancements

Chris writes:

Hi Sajeev,

I’m in the market for a new(er) car to replace my 2005 Nissan Quest. Safety is a very important precondition for my purchase since it will be used to transport my kids around our very congested city. I was thinking about leasing a 2017 model and narrowed my search down to a Chevy Equinox, Nissan Rogue, or Mitsubishi Outlander (all about $200/month for 36 months with $3K down). In crunching the numbers, I quickly realized that with the $10,200 or so that I’d spend on leasing a car that I’d eventually have to part ways with, I could easily buy a low mileage example that was between 3-6 years old.

Looking on Craigslist, I found a nice 2010 Equinox with around 60K miles for $9500. It looks just like the 2017 model.

In doing my research on it, I could not find any data on its performance on the IIHS small overlap crash test, though it earned a rating of “good” for the 2014 model. I contacted the Chevrolet support center for information about any structural enhancements that might have been added after MY’10, but they were no help. So, here’s my question:

Could a new car that was engineered a few years before being tested be counted on to perform equally well as its nearly identical younger brother?

Sajeev answers:

First off, kudos to you for keeping safety in mind. Newer vehicles in general are safer than older ones, but the short answer to your question is a definite maybe.

Long answer: dig into parts interchange reference manuals, looking for part number variances between bumpers, subframes, core supports or any other structural item that bolts to the same body over the life cycle of its design. That’s because safety is sometimes bolted on for higher crash test scores.

Whether the “older” bumpers of the Honda Fit are truly inferior is up for debate: re-designing a part to pass a specific test doesn’t imply overall frontal collision superiority. Not to get on the defensive, but manufacturers do their real-world tests (and computer simulations) before IIHS gets their hands on a production model. Plus, after hearing about fatalities from collisions with trees or head-on impacts with DWI speeders, I reckon lab testing–from any source–has a finite amount of significance in the real world.

While I hesitate to bring up dieselgate in this discussion, I’m still going there: the notion of designing a vehicle to pass a specific test while wholly ignoring the spirit of the exercise comes to mind. Unfair analogy? Opening myself up for a flame war?

I am willing to take my lumps so have at it, Best and Brightest.

[Image: IIHS]

Send your queries to sajeev@thetruthaboutcars.com. Spare no details and ask for a speedy resolution if you’re in a hurry…but be realistic, and use your make/model specific forums instead of TTAC for more timely advice.