Korean brands dominated long-term vehicle dependability, while European nameplates garnered the most consumer complaints, according to J.D. Power’s 2022 Vehicle Dependability Study.
Quirky and glitchy infotainment systems have become the biggest source of consumer complaints throughout the industry, the study found.
Kia, Buick and Hyundai topped this year’s dependability rankings. Volvo, Ram and Land Rover ranked at the bottom.
Domestic brands did better than previous years, with four, including Buick, Dodge, Cadillac and Chevrolet, cracking the top 10. Only three scored below the industry average of 192 problems per 100 vehicles, an indication that domestic auto companies are closing the gap with Asian brands,” said David Amodeo, director of global automotive at J.D. Power.
J.D. Power has conducted the Vehicle Dependability Study for 33 consecutive years, researching the number of problems per 100 vehicles experienced by their owners during the past 12 months. This year’s study looked at vehicles from the 2019 model year (three years old) and was redesigned to focus more on automated safety systems, infotainment and connectivity. The market research company surveys about 30,000 car owners annually, asking about their experiences with their vehicles. In the 2021 VDS, Lexus, Porsche and Kia were the top brands.
5 Asian Brands in the Top 10
Asian brands placed five in the top 10, with Genesis, Toyota and Lexus joining Kia and Hyundai.
Porsche was the only European nameplate to reach the top 10. The Porsche 911, however, ranked as the most dependable model for the third time in the last four years. Mini and BMW also scored above average.
But European brands generally had poorer scores, with even luxury marques such as Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Jaguar and Alfa Romeo ranking below average. They had 212 problems per 100 cars, 20 points below the industry (and U.S. brands’) average of 192, while Asian brands were slightly better at 189.
“The European brands have more infotainment problems than Asian or American brands. They tend to load their vehicles up with a lot of stuff, and it isn’t always the best executed,” Amodeo said.
J.D. Power’s research has found that many European brands struggled with technology at the 90-day mark of a new vehicle’s ownership, which has continued through the next three years, he said.
“The Build of Mass-Market Vehicles Now Matches Premium Brands”
Amodeo noted that owners of mass-market brands, rather than luxury vehicles, experienced fewer problems. As a group, the mass-market brands averaged 190 problems per 100 vehicles. But luxury brands had 204, dragged down by the poor performance of many of the premium European nameplates.
“At the same time, the build quality of mass-market vehicles has improved considerably and now matches that of the premium brands,” he said.
The steady improvement by Kia, Hyundai and Genesis, all part of the larger Hyundai automotive group, has been impressive, Amodeo said.
“They are relentless. The whole company is focused on driving problems down and increasing quality. They want to be at the top of ranked charts and win awards,” Amodeo said.
Infotainment Caused More Than Half the Problems
J.D. Power found infotainment systems as the most problematic area for automakers, creating 51.9 problems per 100 vehicles. That was twice as high as any other problem.
Problems with voice recognition were the biggest complaint, followed by Android Auto and Apple CarPlay phone connectivity issues. Vehicle owners also complained about Bluetooth and navigation systems as well as a lack of useful power and USB ports.
Consumers increasingly want the technology on their vehicles to be as easy to update as their phone, and they pin problems on the manufacturers.
“If someone buys a new phone and the phone doesn’t work well with their vehicle, they don’t blame the phone. They blame the vehicle, especially if the vehicle is only a couple of years old,” Amodeo said.
J.D. Power did not rank Tesla because limitations in collecting data for the brand made the sample size too small to be valid. The electric vehicle manufacturer doesn’t grant J.D. Power permission to survey its owners in 15 states where it’s required, including large Tesla markets such as California. (Last year, Power’s informal data showed Tesla fourth from the bottom.)
The differences between many of the brands are often slight. Only three points separate top-ranked Kia from No. 3 Hyundai. Similarly, only seven points separate luxury brands Genesis, Lexus and Porsche.
Last-Place Land Rover Had Twice the Problems of Kia
But there are significant differences across the industry. Owners of last place Land Rover reported almost double the 145 problems of first place Kia. And nearly 50 problems separated Kia from the industry average.
This year’s study examined 184 specific problems grouped into nine major vehicle categories: climate; driving assistance; driving experience; exterior; controls and displays; infotainment; interior; powertrain; and seats. This was the first year J.D. Power evaluated advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).
Previously, vehicle quality didn’t always track between the J.D. Power dependability study and its Initial Quality study, a similar report it prepares for vehicles during their first 90 days of ownership. This year, Power says seven of the 10 highest-ranked brands in the firm’s 2019 IQS also are among the 10 highest-ranked brands in this year’s dependability report.
J.D. Power also highlighted the most reliable vehicles in various segments. The Toyota Corolla took that honor among compact cars. The BMW 4 Series topped the luxury compact segment while the Ford Mustang ranked highest among midsize sporty cars.
The Lexus NX was the top luxury compact SUV, while the Buick Envision scored highest in the similar mass-market segment. The Hyundai Santa Fe and Lexus RX were the top midsize SUVs.
The Toyota Tundra ranked highest among the half-ton pickups, and the Nissan Frontier was tops in the midsize group.
Other top-ranked vehicles included the Porsche Cayenne, the Kia Sorento, the Buick Encore, the Chevrolet Suburban, the Lexus UX and the now-discontinued Dodge Grand Caravan.
Power’s VDS scores give car-buyers a very good idea of which brands have more or fewer problems than average among cars sold three years ago. But there can be variations among the models that make up the brand.
| 2022 J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Problems Per 100 Cars | ||||||
| 2022 Rank | Brand | Score | Rank Change | |||
| 1 | Kia | 145 | +2 | |||
| 2 | Buick | 147 | +3 | |||
| 3 | Hyundai | 148 | +4 | |||
| 4 | Genesis | 155 | +4 | |||
| 5 | Toyota | 158 | -1 | |||
| 6 | Lexus | 159 | -5 | |||
| 7 | Porsche | 162 | -5 | |||
| 8 | Dodge | 166 | +9 | |||
| 9 | Cadillac | 168 | -4 | |||
| 10 | Chevrolet | 171 | +2 | |||
| 11 | Mini | 173 | +6 | |||
| 12 | Mazda | 179 | +2 | |||
| 13 | Lincoln | 180 | -4 | |||
| 14 | Mitsubishi | 183 | -1 | |||
| 15 | BMW | 187 | -5 | |||
| 16 | Ford | 188 | +6 | |||
| 17 | GMC | 192 | +8 | |||
| — | Industry Average | 192 | — | |||
| 18 | Mercedes-Benz | 195 | -3 | |||
| 19 | Jeep | 201 | +5 | |||
| 20 | Nissan | 205 | +1 | |||
| 21 | Volkswagen | 217 | +7 | |||
| 22 | Subaru | 226 | -5 | |||
| 23 | Infiniti | 228 | +0 | |||
| 24 | Honda | 230 | +3 | |||
| 25 | Audi | 232 | -5 | |||
| 26 | Jaguar | 233 | +4 | |||
| 27 | Chrysler | 240 | +2 | |||
| 28 | Acura | 244 | -18 | |||
| 29 | Alfa Romeo | 245 | +2 | |||
| 30 | Volvo | 256 | -5 | |||
| 31 | Ram | 266 | -15 | |||
| 32 | Land Rover | 284 | NC | |||
| Source: J.D. Power. VDS measures 3-year-old (2019) cars for 184 problem areas in 9 categories: climate control; driving assistance (new in 2022); driving experience; exterior; features, controls, displays; infotainment; interior; powertrain; and seats. A lower score is better. | ||||||
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Table shows automaker rank and name, score on the 2022 Vehicle Dependability Study and change in standing from 2021 VDS.
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