Lexus falls to #3
03-19-09, 06:37 AM
#1
Lexus falls to #3
Toyota quality has been dropping.
Our RX has been solid.Only complaint is wind noise.
A IS and GS we've owned were disappointing.
I'll probably go German built on my next vehicle purchase.
Jaguar, Buick dethrone Lexus in reliability study
Thursday, March 19, 2009 7:20:24 AM
British luxury carmaker Jaguar surged to the top of J.D. Power and Associates' closely watched vehicle dependability study this year, tying Buick for the No. 1 spot and dethroning Lexus for the first time since the Japanese luxury brand has been a part of the survey.
Lexus, Toyota Motor Corp.'s luxury brand, took second place in the study released Thursday, followed by Toyota's namesake brand, then Mercury, Infiniti and Acura.
"Buick and Jaguar both lead the industry in nameplate performance," said Neal Oddes, director of product research and analysis at J.D. Power. "In terms of individual model performance, Lexus and Toyota still do very, very well."
The annual study measures problems experienced by the original owners of vehicles after three years. Suzuki owners reported the most problems among the 37 brands assessed by J.D. Power.
Despite losing its crown to Jaguar and Buick, Lexus still swept top awards in four segments, while Toyota's namesake brand took five awards. General Motors Corp.'s Buick LaCrosse was J.D. Power's top midsize car, while Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln brand took two awards. Chrysler LLC, which took no segment awards last year, won top honors for its Dodge Caravan in the van segment.
Jaguar's sudden jump to the top from its No. 10 spot in 2008 was notable for a study that is fairly consistent from year to year. Oddes said the brand has made significant improvements across many areas.
"We see improvements all over the board with Jaguar," Oddes said, citing fewer reported problems with vehicle exterior, sound system and the overall driving experience. "The improvement at a nameplate level is significant."
Still, Jaguar, which Indian car giant Tata Motors Ltd. bought from Ford in 2007, remains a relatively small-volume brand in the U.S. It sold just 14,000 vehicles here in 2008, while Buick sold 128,000.
Oddes said this year's study was redesigned to exclude routine fixes from a vehicle's list of problems. For example, the study no longer counts tire or windshield wiper replacements as a reportable problem. The intended result is a study that focuses on actual glitches with a vehicle, Oddes said, though it also makes it difficult to make year-over-year comparisons.
"We cleaned up the survey to really try to focus in on things that are truly broken," he said.
The industry average was 170 problems per 100 vehicles, or somewhat less than two problems per vehicle. Last year, the industry average was 206 problems per 100 vehicles, but year-over-year improvements this year are much less pronounced when accounting for the changes in the study's methodology, Oddes said.
The most frequently reported problem was wind noise, followed by brake noise, peeling paint, brake vibrations and problems with a vehicle's lights, Oddes said. The problems have been fairly consistent from year to year, he said.
J.D. Power's dependability study surveyed 46,313 original owners of 2006 model-year vehicles in October 2008. The results are watched closely by automakers and are often used in advertising. Owners' opinion of a car after three years can be a major influence on their opinion to buy that brand again.
The firm also releases an initial quality study, which measures problems in the first 90 days of ownership.
Our RX has been solid.Only complaint is wind noise.
A IS and GS we've owned were disappointing.
I'll probably go German built on my next vehicle purchase.
Jaguar, Buick dethrone Lexus in reliability study
Thursday, March 19, 2009 7:20:24 AM
British luxury carmaker Jaguar surged to the top of J.D. Power and Associates' closely watched vehicle dependability study this year, tying Buick for the No. 1 spot and dethroning Lexus for the first time since the Japanese luxury brand has been a part of the survey.
Lexus, Toyota Motor Corp.'s luxury brand, took second place in the study released Thursday, followed by Toyota's namesake brand, then Mercury, Infiniti and Acura.
"Buick and Jaguar both lead the industry in nameplate performance," said Neal Oddes, director of product research and analysis at J.D. Power. "In terms of individual model performance, Lexus and Toyota still do very, very well."
The annual study measures problems experienced by the original owners of vehicles after three years. Suzuki owners reported the most problems among the 37 brands assessed by J.D. Power.
Despite losing its crown to Jaguar and Buick, Lexus still swept top awards in four segments, while Toyota's namesake brand took five awards. General Motors Corp.'s Buick LaCrosse was J.D. Power's top midsize car, while Ford Motor Co.'s Lincoln brand took two awards. Chrysler LLC, which took no segment awards last year, won top honors for its Dodge Caravan in the van segment.
Jaguar's sudden jump to the top from its No. 10 spot in 2008 was notable for a study that is fairly consistent from year to year. Oddes said the brand has made significant improvements across many areas.
"We see improvements all over the board with Jaguar," Oddes said, citing fewer reported problems with vehicle exterior, sound system and the overall driving experience. "The improvement at a nameplate level is significant."
Still, Jaguar, which Indian car giant Tata Motors Ltd. bought from Ford in 2007, remains a relatively small-volume brand in the U.S. It sold just 14,000 vehicles here in 2008, while Buick sold 128,000.
Oddes said this year's study was redesigned to exclude routine fixes from a vehicle's list of problems. For example, the study no longer counts tire or windshield wiper replacements as a reportable problem. The intended result is a study that focuses on actual glitches with a vehicle, Oddes said, though it also makes it difficult to make year-over-year comparisons.
"We cleaned up the survey to really try to focus in on things that are truly broken," he said.
The industry average was 170 problems per 100 vehicles, or somewhat less than two problems per vehicle. Last year, the industry average was 206 problems per 100 vehicles, but year-over-year improvements this year are much less pronounced when accounting for the changes in the study's methodology, Oddes said.
The most frequently reported problem was wind noise, followed by brake noise, peeling paint, brake vibrations and problems with a vehicle's lights, Oddes said. The problems have been fairly consistent from year to year, he said.
J.D. Power's dependability study surveyed 46,313 original owners of 2006 model-year vehicles in October 2008. The results are watched closely by automakers and are often used in advertising. Owners' opinion of a car after three years can be a major influence on their opinion to buy that brand again.
The firm also releases an initial quality study, which measures problems in the first 90 days of ownership.
03-19-09, 06:47 AM
#2
Lexus Test Driver
With the exception of the Lexus suv lineup, the recent Lexus sadens have been a real disappointment. Lexus need to drop back and punt as they say in football and come up with a different stratagy.
03-19-09, 09:38 AM
#3
Lexus Test Driver
Now that Lexus is no longer #1 in reliablility, what else does Lexus have going for them. They have fallen out of #1 in customer service as well, their recent designs have certainly been questionable. Performance wise, they are near the bottom.
03-19-09, 11:54 AM
#4
I'm not too concerned about J.D. Power's reports. All the surveys I have ever received from them came within the first weeks of ownership of a car and I don't see how that can be an accurate survey. I am much more interested in what is reported here on this forum, examples like door panels separating and wind noise that cannot be fixed are my top concerns.
Like you G Man, I think it is time to drop back and punt.
03-19-09, 12:25 PM
#5
Lexus Test Driver
DNC, this article is the result of a 3 year long term reliability survey. Personally, my own experience with Lexus reflects the survey's results. I have been driving Lexus for over 10 years now and have owned 4 of them. Every newer Lexus I had was built more poorly than the previous one. Sure there were more toys on the newer model and it perform better, but the cost cutting by Lexus is noticable to me. My 1st Lexus was a used LS, that sedan was like a tank, no rattles and squeak for the 3 years that I owned it. The leather was better quality in the older models as well as all the other built material. Those are the Lexus I would compare to the German cars in the old days. Those old Lexus was built soild just like the German cars and the built material was every bit as good as the German car, the difference was the price, the Lexus was way cheaper. Sure the German cars handle better, but Lexus made up for that in reliability. Now a days, it seems like the Germans are buildling better quality cars than Lexus and the newer Lexus are not that much cheaper than the Germans.
03-19-09, 12:28 PM
#6
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