Lexus tops reliability study
It is fair to say that vehicular dependability has improved leaps and bounds over the last decade in particular and within those woes of buying a car these days, reliability is nowhere near as much a concern as it was in the past. But with advancement in technology comes more gadgets/electronics and more gadgets mean more possible headaches for drivers.
Consulting firm J.D. Power and Associates recently posted the results of a study they had carried out to see which brand ranks highest in reliability.
A total of 31,000 owners of 2009 model-year vehicles were pooled and the brands were rated by the number of problems owners have experienced in the last 12 months.
Problems could range from stalling engines and transmission issues to peeling paint and electronic glitches.
Lexus topped that chart, but was also interesting was that most other brands also showed improvement in an industry that has reached historically high dependability levels, which equates to good news for us.
Admittedly this was not exactly the largest pool for testing subjects, but Lexus owners reported 86 problems per 100 vehicles and Porsche, Cadillac, Toyota and Scion rounded out the top five.
The worst?
Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Jaguar. Chrysler owners reported 192 problems per 100 vehicles (please remember these were 2009 models that were tested).
The industry average was 132 problems per 100 vehicles, a 13 per cent improvement from last year and the highest rate since the survey began in 1990.
J.D. Power said 25 of 32 brands improved their scores, with Scion and Mini making the biggest leaps. Lincoln, Acura, Kia, Infiniti, Ram and Jaguar all saw their scores fall from a year ago. Buick's score stayed the same.
Most impressive were Toyota Motor Corp. who had eight winners at the segment level, the most of any automaker. The Toyota Yaris was the most dependable subcompact, the Toyota Prius was the best compact and the Toyota Tundra was the best pickup truck. Toyota began a series of safety recalls in late 2009, and some 2009 model-year vehicles were included in those recalls, but that wasn't reflected in the company's results.
So knowing this, would these results sway your decision if you were looking for a new or used car right now or are other factors more important today?
Billy Lyon
MotoringTV Online Editor
