J.D. Power has released its annual U.S. vehicle dependability study with Lexus and Porsche tying for top honors.
The study, now in its 28th year, examines the problems experienced in the last 12 months by owners of 3-year-old vehicles. J.D. Power determines dependability by discovering how many problems are experienced per 100 vehicles with the lower score the better. This year’s study explored problems related to exterior, engine/transmission, audio/communication/entertainment/navigation, interior, the driving experience, features/controls/displays, heating/ventilation/air conditioning and seats.
In total, there were 35,186 respondents to the study with 224 models considered.
Lexus and Porsche both recorded 110 problems per 100 vehicles with Toyota taking home third place with 123. Buick, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, BMW, Chevrolet, Honda and Jaguar then rounded out the top 10. The industry average was 156 PP100 vehicles with Fiat easily taking last place with 298 issues PP100 vehicles.
As shown in the images below, awards are also given to individual cars in different market segments. Among the winners was the Chevrolet Sonic (Best Small Car), Toyota Prius (Best Compact Car), Toyota FJ Cruiser (Best Compact SUV), Lexus ES (Best Compact Premium Car) and Toyota Camry (Best Midsize Car). Of the 18 segments analyzed, Toyota and Lexus scored victory in 10 of them.
Compared to last year’s results, the industry average of 156 PP100 rose by 4 PP100. J.D. Power blames this on an increase in technology-related problems with the Audio/Communication/Entertainment/Navigation category accounting for 22 per cent of all problems reported. The most reported problems related to Bluetooth pairing/connectivity and built-in voice recognition software misinterpreting commands.
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