Vehicle Reliability According to J.D. Power

Every year, the well-known American firm J.D. Power surveys vehicle owners to determine the most reliable brands on the market. It asks consumers who bought a new vehicle three years ago to report problems that occurred in the last 12 months with their car or truck. Issues can be of the mechanical type or even concern the vehicles’ infotainment system, and a ranking is established using a coefficient called PP100, or the number of problems reported per 100 vehicles.

This year, Lexus and Porsche share first place in the list of the most reliable brands with a score of 110 PP100, or 1.1 problems per vehicle. By the way, this isn’t anything new for Lexus, who has been ranking first for the last six years. In third place, we find Toyota with a score of 123 PP100, or 1.23 problems per vehicle, followed by Buick (126 PP100) and Mercedes-Benz (131 PP100). The Top 10 list is completed by Hyundai (133 PP100), who notably climbed from 19th place to sixth in a year, BMW (139 PP100), Chevrolet (142 PP100), Honda (143 PP100) and Jaguar (144 PP100). The industry average this year is set at 156 PP100.

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According to J.D. Power’s list, the least reliable brands are Ford (183 PP100), Ram (183 PP100), Dodge (187 PP100), Infiniti (203 PP100) and Jeep (209 PP100). However, it’s Fiat that takes last place—by far—with a score of 298 PP100, 2.98 problems per vehicle.

Amongst all the problems reported by the owners surveyed by J.D. Power, 22% of all owners’ complaints concerned their vehicles’ infotainment, audio and navigation systems. While cars and trucks are mechanically more reliable than before, the number of defective batteries that need replacement is on the rise.