Lexus Tops J.D. Power Dependability Study for Eighth Consecutive Year

Parent company, Toyota, and German sports car giant Porsche were tied for second, with Chevrolet and Buick rounding up the top five.

For those of you who don’t know: the Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) “measures the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100) during the past 12 months by original owners of three-year-old model-year vehicles.” The lower the score, the better is an OEM’s ranking.

So Lexus finished at the top because it accumulated 106 problems per 100 vehicles, compared to 108 PP100 for Porsche and Toyota, 115 PP100 for Chevrolet and 118 PP100 for Buick. Notably, BMW averaged 122 PP100, Audi 124 PP100 and Mercedes 134 PP100. The industry-average was 136 PP100.

Additionally, the Lexus ES sedan and the GX SUV also topped their individual segments, giving Lexus a total of three awards, the same as Toyota and more than any other premium automaker. That said, the best-rated overall car was the Porsche 911 (yup, we are serious).

Since durability is one of the main reasons why Japanese carmakers have been able to cultivate a respectable following in the United States, these results should help to preserve and enhance the credibility of the Toyota and Lexus nameplates, albeit not the same can be said for their colleagues, Honda and Acura, who finished below the industry average.

“Vehicle dependability continues to improve, but I wouldn’t say that everything is rosy,” says Dave Sargent, VP of Global Automotive at J.D. Power. “Vehicles are more reliable than ever, but automakers are wrestling with problems such as voice recognition, transmission shifts and battery failures. Flawless dependability is a determining factor in whether customers remain loyal to a brand, so manufacturers need to help customers who are currently experiencing vehicle problems and address these trouble spots on future models.”