Lexus Named Most Dependable Brand In J.D. Power Survey

Lexus has regained its crown as the most dependable vehicle, according to the latest rankings from J.D. Power & Associates.

Overall, long-term reliability measures posted their best result ever in the 32-year history of J.D. Power’s annual Vehicle Dependability Study. A total of 121 problems per 100 vehicles surveyed were reported in the latest study. That’s compared to 134 problems per 100 vehicles in the previous 2020 report.

Porsche Lands In 2nd Place

Across all vehicle brands, Porsche ranked second behind Lexus in terms of overall dependability. The German brand’s 911 model took top honors for fewest reported problems for the second time in three years. Toyota placed fourth, while Cadillac and Buick tied at number five with 100 reported problems per 100 vehicles.

Hyundai, Genesis — the winner of last year’s dependability crown — Lincoln, Acura and BMW filled out the top ten.

Tesla Near The Bottom

Tesla was included in the J.D. Power study for the first time. However, they placed 30 out of 33 brands surveyed. Their tanking is not considered official, though. Tesla did not allow J.D. Power to survey its owners in a total of 15 states. For that reason, J.D. Power adds an asterisk beside their ranking. In all, Tesla was found to have 176 problems per 100 vehicles manufactured.

Lexus ranked highest among the premium brands. Meanwhile Kia was considered the best among mass market brands.

In addition to the top ten brands, Chevrolet and Mitsubishi did better than the industry average. Mazda performed right at the average. Aside from Kia, other brands above the industry average that showed strong improvement were Cadillac, Acura, Hyundai, and Mitsubishi.

Audio and Navigation Problems

At the bottom of this year’s rankings are Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, and Land Rover. Together, they averaged more than two reported problems per vehicle. Volkswagen had the biggest performance decline across all brands, slipping from sixth place overall in 2019 to 23rd place in 2020. Only Chrysler, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, and Land Rover placed lower in this year’s rankings.

Of the eight problem categories covered in the study, all showed overall improvement. The gains were led by exterior and driving experience. Audio, communication, entertainment, and GPS navigation categories showed minimal improvements as well. However, they also remained the category with the most problems reported.

The study measures the number of problems reported per 100 vehicles over the past 12 months. The 2021 study is based on responses from 33,251 original owners of 2018 model year vehicles after three years of ownership. Responses were collected from July to November 2020.

J.D. POWER 2021 U.S. VEHICLE DEPENDABILITY STUDY

The full rankings of this year’s survey are as follows:

1. Lexus
2. Porsche
3. Kia
4. Toyota
5. Buick & Cadillac
6. Hyundai
7. Genesis
8. Lincoln
9. Acura
10. BMW
11. Chevrolet
12. Mitsubishi
13. Mazda
14. Industry Average
15. Mercedes-Benz
16. Ram
17. Dodge
18. Mini
19. Subaru
20. Audi
21. Nissan
22. Ford
23. Infiniti
24. Jeep
25. GMC
26. Volvo
27. Honda
28. Volkswagen
29. Chrysler
30. *Tesla
31. Jaguar
32. Alfa Romeo
33. Land Rover

*Unofficial ranking due to limited surveying.

Shutterstock