J.D. Power’s 2017 Vehicle Dependability Study showed that Lexus and Porsche are the industry leaders in vehicle quality. However the study also showed that excellent vehicle quality is available in many mainstream vehicle brands.
The continually improving performances from affordable vehicle brands such as Toyota (third) and Hyundai (sixth) are proving that high quality vehicles and affordable vehicles are no longer mutually exclusive.
The results of this study have helped to reinforce Toyota’s reputation as the most reliable mainstream vehicle brand available.
“The good news is that consumers don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a very dependable vehicle” said Dave Sargent, vice president, global automotive at J.D. Power.
“We find buyers are increasingly avoiding models with poor reputations for dependability, so manufacturers can’t afford to let quality slip”.
The study is now in its 28th year, and included more than 35’000 vehicles. It examines the problems experienced in the last 12 months by new car purchasers from 3 years ago (2014 model year).
The study’s results are represented as “problems per 100 vehicles” (PP100). This means the average number of problems experienced in 12 months by 100 owners of the vehicle.
Results of J.D. Power 2017 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study
Photo: J.D. Power
While Toyota has consistently been one of the top finishers in J.D. Power’s Vehicle Dependability Study’s, Hyundai’s performance improved by 25 PP100 since last years study.
With Ford also improving by over 20 PP100 on their 2016 performance, this shows the commitment to vehicle quality made by many mainstream vehicle brands is being realised.
However this year’s study is not all good news. Similar to last years Vehicle Dependability Study, a similar trend has been identified with the increase of vehicle technology continuing to affect vehicle reliability.
With this year’s average PP100 of 156 being four higher than 2016’s average, the significant increase of problems related to technology is the main cause. The audio/communication/entertainment/navigation category made up for 22% of all reported problems in the study, up 2% from 2016.
For the third consecutive year, the most reported problems experienced were related to Bluetooth pairing/connectivity and built-in voice recognition.
Other Key Findings
- Continuing increases in technology-related problems have contributed to dependability worsening in the industry for a second consecutive year. The industry average of 156 PP100 is a 4 PP100 increase from 2016.
- The Audio/Communication/Entertainment/Navigation (ACEN) category continues to be the most problematic area, accounting for 22% of all problems reported—up from 20% last year.
- For a third consecutive year, the problems most reported by owners are Bluetooth pairing/connectivity and built-in voice recognition misinterpreting commands.
- New to the top 10 list of problems reported in 2017 is battery failure. In fact, 44% more owners report a battery failure this year than in 2016. Batteries are the most frequently replaced component not related to normal wear and tear in 3-year-old vehicles at 6.1%—up 1.3 percentage points from 2016.
Source: J.D. Power 2017 Vehicle Dependability Study press release
To view the results of J.D. Power’s 2017 Vehicle Dependability Study yourself, visit www.jdpower.com/dependability.