Consumer Reports Annual Car Reliability Survey (updated October 2011)
Lexus Champion
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 2,485
Likes: 0
From: Park Ridge IL
At first, seeing Lexus ranked 7th almost made me choke, but glancing down the rest of the list makes 7th seem as attractive as first. Don't get me wrong - Lexus has room to improve - but don't forget that this study is looking at data that is 3 years old and we are still seeing some of those 2006 quality quibbles showing through in that timeframe. However, looking at the rest of the list and judging Lexus against it's rivals makes 7th place seem worthy of a trophy.
19 - Buick (Since Lexus is GM's target)
23 - Mercedes
24 - Audi
26 - BMW
32 - Cadillac
?? - Jaguar?
My initial reaction of shock for Lexus quickly turned to disbelief when considering the others. What happened to Mercedes alleged strides in reliability? And the improvement from Audi and BMW? Cadillac is just ridiculous...
19 - Buick (Since Lexus is GM's target)
23 - Mercedes
24 - Audi
26 - BMW
32 - Cadillac
?? - Jaguar?
My initial reaction of shock for Lexus quickly turned to disbelief when considering the others. What happened to Mercedes alleged strides in reliability? And the improvement from Audi and BMW? Cadillac is just ridiculous...
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 8,809
Likes: 143
From: MA
I wish there was a reliability rating on these reliability survey 
Look at the difference between the top two auto relaibility survey reports, Consumer report and JD power. Chrysler went from last place to above average. All 3 German brand went from below average to about average, Scion went from 1st place to near the bottom. Suzuki went from 13th place to the very last place. Cadillac went from 32th place to the 8th place. SAAB went from 11th to 35th place, Mitsubishi went from 6th place to below average. Mazda went from 15 to near the very bottom. Buick went from 19th to 1st place. Jaguar, who was 1st place in JD power was not even mentioned in the CR report. The difference between the 2 list just goes on and on, somehow, the JD power report seems more reliable to me.
CR's reliability rating:
1. Scion
2. Honda
3. Toyota
4. Infiniti
5. Acura
6. Mitsubishi
7. Lexus
8. Hyundai
9. Porsche
10. Mercury
11. Saab
12. Subaru
13. Suzuki
14. Kia
15. Mazda
16. Ford
17. Nissan
18. Volvo
19. Buick
20. Lincoln
21. Volkswagen
22. Pontiac
23. Mercedes-Benz
24. Audi
25. Chevrolet
26. BMW
27. Mini
28. GMC
29. Saturn
30. Jeep
31. Dodge
32. Cadillac
33. Chrysler
JD power's 2009 reliability rating:
Look at the difference between the top two auto relaibility survey reports, Consumer report and JD power. Chrysler went from last place to above average. All 3 German brand went from below average to about average, Scion went from 1st place to near the bottom. Suzuki went from 13th place to the very last place. Cadillac went from 32th place to the 8th place. SAAB went from 11th to 35th place, Mitsubishi went from 6th place to below average. Mazda went from 15 to near the very bottom. Buick went from 19th to 1st place. Jaguar, who was 1st place in JD power was not even mentioned in the CR report. The difference between the 2 list just goes on and on, somehow, the JD power report seems more reliable to me.CR's reliability rating:
1. Scion
2. Honda
3. Toyota
4. Infiniti
5. Acura
6. Mitsubishi
7. Lexus
8. Hyundai
9. Porsche
10. Mercury
11. Saab
12. Subaru
13. Suzuki
14. Kia
15. Mazda
16. Ford
17. Nissan
18. Volvo
19. Buick
20. Lincoln
21. Volkswagen
22. Pontiac
23. Mercedes-Benz
24. Audi
25. Chevrolet
26. BMW
27. Mini
28. GMC
29. Saturn
30. Jeep
31. Dodge
32. Cadillac
33. Chrysler
JD power's 2009 reliability rating:
Last edited by The G Man; Oct 27, 2009 at 03:22 PM.
Thread Starter
Lexus Champion
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 8,695
Likes: 2
From: CA
Don't get me wrong - Lexus has room to improve - but don't forget that this study is looking at data that is 3 years old and we are still seeing some of those 2006 quality quibbles showing through in that timeframe. However, looking at the rest of the list and judging Lexus against it's rivals makes 7th place seem worthy of a trophy.
F is for Fraud
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,174
Likes: 0
From: Québec
I've always found JD Powers' findings to be right on par with real life, where-as CR usually falls kind of short. Lincolns have always been kind of bulletproof... there are several really old Lincolns in my family (10+ years old) that are still going strong with several hundred thousand kilometers on the odometer, and I'd be willing to say that Lincoln has always been making a high-quality product that can stand up to Lexus in terms of luxury and reliability. Jaguars have always been high quality and virtually bulletproof too, at least outside of Ford hands.
JD Powers' list just makes more 'real-life' sense to me than Customer Reports'.
JD Powers' list just makes more 'real-life' sense to me than Customer Reports'.
Guest
Posts: n/a
To Nissan's credit, they really tackled the QX's issues after the first couple years were so horridly built. Still they are so disapointed in the quality of the Mississippi plant the next QX will be now Petrol based, not Armada based and built in Japan.
ClubLexus Stories
Celebrating Lexus & Toyota from Around the Globe
Top 10 Most Confusing Things Lexus Has Ever Done!
Joe Kucinski
2026 Lexus ES Review: Lexus Re-Embraces Founding Principles
Michael S. Palmer
10 Lexus Bargains That are Cheaper Than a New Toyota RAV4
Joe Kucinski
8 Weirdest Things Lexus Has Ever Built
Verdad Gallardo
10 Lexus Designs That Have Aged Like Fine Wine
Verdad Gallardo
8 Tips for Improving Your Hybrid or Plug-in Hybrid's Efficiency!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Best Lexus Models No One Remembers
Joe Kucinski
TRD Off-Road Premium: Best 2026 4Runner, Except This One Thing
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Lexus & Toyotas to Drive Before You Die!
Joe Kucinski
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,574
Likes: 265
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
While you, of course, are entitled to your opinion, most of us feel that CR is one of the best sources out there (if not THE best) for auto reliability. True, they don't do the same kind of sport-oriented testing that the enthusiast mags do, but that is not their purpose.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,574
Likes: 265
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
If you look at the actual RANGE of reliability (from best to worst) instead of just the overall brand rankings (which, of course, are based on the median for each company), you will see that VW has some of the most unreliable vehicles out there.....and the Touraeg is at the bottom of those.
[/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]
Last edited by mmarshall; Oct 27, 2009 at 04:35 PM.
I'd be willing to say that Lincoln has always been making a high-quality product that can stand up to Lexus in terms of luxury and reliability. Jaguars have always been high quality and virtually bulletproof too, at least outside of Ford hands.
Lincoln...I don't know where to start. My roommate's dad has a fleet of Navigator XLs (big bucks) for work and every single one is trash. All the silver paint has chipped off the plastic in the interior in all of them, they all vibrate constantly and rattle like a wind chime. Sad, because IMO it's a nice truck otherwise.
F is for Fraud
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,174
Likes: 0
From: Québec
While I do respect your opinions and personal experiences, mine are the polar opposite. We owned an XJ that was pure and utter garbage and the XF, from what I have seen, has been plagued with it's fair share of issues. Take a look at some of the Jaguar forums and long term reliability/dependability data from major sources.
Lincoln...I don't know where to start. My roommate's dad has a fleet of Navigator XLs (big bucks) for work and every single one is trash. All the silver paint has chipped off the plastic in the interior in all of them, they all vibrate constantly and rattle like a wind chime. Sad, because IMO it's a nice truck otherwise.
Lincoln...I don't know where to start. My roommate's dad has a fleet of Navigator XLs (big bucks) for work and every single one is trash. All the silver paint has chipped off the plastic in the interior in all of them, they all vibrate constantly and rattle like a wind chime. Sad, because IMO it's a nice truck otherwise.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,574
Likes: 265
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
When was Scion ever that bad? I sure don't remember it. Most Scions, except for the tC, were essentially redone Toyota Tercels, Echos, and Corollas.......some of the most reliable cars in the buisness.
If you want to see a REAL turnaround, it was Hyundai from late 90's to the early 2000's.
As you and I both know, they are rather unimpressive and cheaply built, but their mechanicicals are not that bad. Older Mitsubushi engines often had upper-block problems starting around 80K miles, but not so much on newer ones.
The Insight is another example of a car that is rather cheaply built with unimpressive trim, but that, otherwise, has Swiss-Watch assembly quality...I noted that in my Insight review.
If you want to see a REAL turnaround, it was Hyundai from late 90's to the early 2000's.
Mitsubishi is kind of shocking, never seen them so high.
There are vast differences between models. A new Honda Insight is 27 times less likely to have a problem than the biggest dog in the pack, the Volkswagen Touareg
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 7,285
Likes: 0
From: A better place
Certain generations of Jaguars, even out of Ford's hands, still had numerous reliability problems. In fact, a lot of British cars over the decades have a famous reputation of reliability problems.