TOYOTA MOTOR SALES, U.S.A., INC. COMMENTS ON J.D POWER AND ASSOCIATES 2010 VEHICLE DEPENDABILITY STUDY

TORRANCE, Calif., March 18, 2010 – J.D. Power and Associates today announced the results from their 2010 Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS), covering 2007 model year vehicles. The following comments on the VDS can be attributed to Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc.

“We are pleased that TMS has once again led the way with the most segment awards in the J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study. We’re especially proud of our consistency in the annual study. Since 1994 Lexus has continued to place among the top three nameplates in every year of eligibility, while Toyota has been in the top five among non-luxury manufacturers since 1990. Toyota has once again topped this year’s study as the top-ranking full-line manufacturer.

“This is great news and timely for both our customers and our dealers, as it provides reassurance our vehicles continue to be an industry benchmark for quality.”

Other examples of Toyota’s commitment to excellence, quality products and customer satisfaction include:

• Toyota received four 1st place awards – more than any other brand.
• 18 Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles made the list of “Most Reliable New Car” in 10 different vehicle categories by a leading national consumer publication.
• Toyota owner loyalty remains the highest in the industry, according to internal studies.
• The Tundra full-size pickup and the GX 470 midsize premium SUV each topped its respective segments for the fifth year in a row.
• The Highlander midsize SUV and Sequoia full-size SUV each topped their respective segments for the third consecutive year.

Courtesy: Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.

 

..........Only to turn right around and drop it.

 

What year ranges are used for the 2010 rankings? I just noticed the Chevy Monte Carlo on the sporty mid-size segment and I don't think that car has been sold for at least the past two model years (2009/2010).

 

I posted 2003, 2005 Kia numbers to prove that how much kia has gotten better.

they got better and better every year. as dependable as volvo. that's not bad at all. they were worst every year. so if Kia can do it, then so should VW.

 

better than scion.


their quality isn't up there with hyundai yet. they still have catching up to do. give them 3-4 more years. they will be well above average.

 

FWIW, 2007 was the year of wind noise for the LS and tranny flares for the ES, plus some of the ongoing interior squeaks and rattles for the GS and IS.

Not particularly surprised with the results based on those things.

 

That's exactly what I was thinking. Next years results will probably be better because a lot of the 1st/2nd year kinks were being worked out. It's amazing in 2007 Lexus had an almost completely redesigned lineup.

Anyway, I'm surprised that the Buick of 2007 got above Lexus, but they only had 4 nearly decade old cars/minivan/SUV in their lineup then...

 

ancient V6s, ancient gear boxes, ancient platforms, no nav or upmarket electrical systems...Buick should be FIRST.

 

Not to take any ranking away here but it's hard to take these up and down rankings too seriously with the amount of variables to consider in such a survey.

First, check out the top five. Aside from Lexus, they are small, low volume brands. In all fairness, Lexus isn't a full line brand either although they move a lot of cars for a luxury brand.

I don't doubt the quality of Porsche, but are Porsche customers really going to be complaining about little issues about a car that is essentially a race car in the same way people judge what is expected to be a reliable, headache free appliance such as Toyota or Honda? I doubt it.

How about Buick with 3 models driven mostly by people who frankly don't drive much. The survey doesn't measure mileage, just the age of 3 years. A 70 year old Buick owner who has racked up 15,000 miles in its first 3 years is ranked the same way that the Yaris owner I just posted who has racked up 400,000 miles in the same period. Is that an accurate side by side quality assessment? Oh, and Porsche again. How many miles do Porsche owners drive? Porsche's are rarely daily drivers. They and other like cars shouldn't be rated alongside workhorses.

And as others have pointed out, there are wide variances with people's reporting. There are so many types of owners who know a lot about cars, and those that know nothing. Those that baby their cars, and those that abuse the hell out of them. Those that perform every maintenance procedure with 3K oil changes and those that do nothing but an oil change once a year. There are those that will complain with things that aren't actually problems but simply things they don't like. There are polar opposite people who are the pickiest you can be, and those that don't let anything bother them.

At last the survey doesn't weigh the severity of problems. The same one point is added to an engine exploding as is added because of a power mirror not working. Or a transmission replacement equaling that of a tail light bulb prematurely burning out. Is that an accurate account of vehicle quality?

 

Well, discounting Porsche, which many of us feel is somewhat of a fluke in the ratings, Buick, Lincoln, and Lexus ARE pretty much tied for first.

Consumer Reports, BTW, generally agrees with the Lexus and Buick overall high reliability ratings....not so for Lincoln.

Buicks, BTW, are not as dated as you portray, if you consider that they are not the only manufacturer that is still using 4-speed automatics and push-rod engines. And the new 2010 LaCrosse (which, of course, is too new to be on this list), dumps much of that for a lot of all-new features.

 

Lincoln Tops New Power Survey of Vehicle Dependability

Lincoln now leads the industry with the most reliable vehicles, according to a closely watched annual survey, marking the 1st time Ford Motor Co.'s premium brand has captured the crown.

Lincoln unseated Porsche in J.D. Power and Associates' 2011 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study released today. Lincoln was followed by Lexus, Jaguar, Porsche, Toyota, Acura, Buick, Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac, Hyundai and Honda.

Overall vehicle dependability continues to improve, though the gains are slowing as automakers conquer traditional mechanical problems but struggle with newer, electronic-based features, Power said.

Power's annual study looks at how well vehicles hold up after 3 years of ownership by measuring how many problems original owners experienced during the past 12 months with 2008 models.

The study looks at 202 problem areas and scores are based on problems reported per 100 vehicles.

The study found import brands still outperform U.S. automakers in long-term dependability despite closing the gap in recent years in a separate survey that measures initial quality.

The industry posted the highest rate of dependability since the study was launched in 1990, with an average of 151 problems reported per 100 vehicles in 2011, down from 155 problems in 2010.

PHP Code:

J.D. Power 2011 Vehicle Dependability Study
Nameplate ranking -- problems per 100 vehicles
Lincoln    101
Lexus    109
Jaguar    112
Porsche    114
Toyota    122
Acura    123
Buick    125
Mercedes-Benz    128
Cadillac    130
Hyundai    132
Honda    139
Ford    140
Saab    146
Infiniti    151
Industry average    151
Smart    152
Chevrolet    156
Volvo    156
Subaru    157
Kia    160
Audi    161
BMW    164
Scion    166
Ram    173
Mazda    181
Nissan    183
GMC    184
Mitsubishi    186
Suzuki    190
Volkswagen    191
Chrysler    202
Dodge    206
Land Rover    212
Jeep    214
Mini    221 

Gains slow

In recent years, between 2009 and 2011, automakers have improved dependability at an annual rate of 6%. That is lower than the 8% annual improvement rate of the last decade, Power said.

Cars made by Detroit automakers are more dependable than those made by import brands. But the light trucks, vans, SUVs and crossovers sold by Asian and European automakers have fewer problems than domestic models, the study said.

"The renaissance by the domestics was largely led by cars – like mid-size and the large vehicles that were very strong," said David Sargent, vice president of global vehicle research at J.D. Power, citing the Ford Fusion, Mustang, and Taurus as well as the Buick Lucerne. "These were all 1st or 2nd in their segments."

The imports continue to lead in light truck dependability with small crossovers, including the Honda CR-V, Subaru Forester and Toyota RAV4, and in the mid-size truck segment with the Toyota 4Runner, Hyundai Sante Fe, BMW X3 and the Lexus RX and GX, Sargent said

Lincoln placed No. 2 last year. Lexus moved into 2nd place in the 2011 study, up from 4th a year earlier. Jaguar was the 3rd highest rated, catapulting up from below average in 2010.

Buick, Cadillac and Ford were all rated above average with fewer than 151 problems per 100 vehicles. 6 Asian brands – Lexus, Toyota, Acura, Hyundai, Honda and Infiniti – were also above average.

The Porsche 911 sports car had the fewest problems in the industry, with 68 per 100 vehicles.

BMW's Mini brand finished at the bottom with 221 problems per 100 vehicles. Jeep, Land Rover, Dodge and Chrysler also had more than 200 problems per 100 models surveyed.

High-tech, electronics new problem area

Power said scores are being dragged down by increased problems with electrical features such as audio, entertainment and navigation systems, as well as safety features such as tire pressure monitoring systems.

In contrast, automakers have made improvements in the long-term durability of vehicle interiors, engines and transmissions, as well as steering and braking.

Sargent said problems with electronics and high-technology features primarily affected premium brands – which tend to be the 1st to adopt such features.

"As manufacturers add new features and technologies to satisfy customer demand and new legislation, they face the potential for introducing new problems," he said.

The problems are not massive, "but it is significant in the context that the industry only improves a few percentage points each year," Sargent said.

"I don't say 50% of all cars have these problems. The incident of any problem is very low but you don't need too many people to have a problem for it to affect scores."

Sargent said problematic electronic systems included early versions of BMW's iDrive that controls navigation, climate, entertainment and other vehicle settings, as well as bugs that plagued the last generation of the Mercedes-Benz E-class.

Systems like Ford's Sync are too new to have been included in this year's dependability study.

"This will be a pervasive issue in the industry and the differentiation will come with how they introduce (new systems) and how easy it is for the owner to use," Sargent said.

Safety-related technology that posed problems include tire-pressure monitoring devices that became federally mandated for all cars starting with the 2008 model year.

"About 4% of consumers reported problems - 4 problems per 100 - and generally that was due to a false positive coming on when there wasn't a problem," Sargent said.

According to Power, dependability affects not only brand image and loyalty but whether a consumer takes the vehicle to a dealer for paid repair work.

The survey found 76% of owners who experienced no problems with their vehicles said they "definitely will" return to the dealer for paid service, but that number fell to 42% for owners who had 6 or more problems.

Majority of brands improved

In the 2011 study, 22 out of 32 brands surveyed improved their scores from last year. Smart wasn't in the 2010 study and J.D. Power listed Dodge and Ram as separate brands.

Jaguar was the most improved brand followed by Suzuki, Land Rover, Scion and Volkswagen.

Sargent said Jaguar was tied for 1st 2 years ago, but in 2010 the brand skidded to 23rd out of 36 with a number of owners reporting problems. Sargent said J.D. Power simply "couldn't put our finger," on what caused last year's decline.

He attributes Jaguar's improvement to quality systems implemented while it was under Ford Motor ownership. Ford sold the brand in 2008 to India's Tata Motors Ltd.

Lincoln's jump from second in 2010 reflects "a lot of years of improvement," said Sargent. "They have been working hard on this for 10 years."

Lincoln's MKZ sedan, MKX crossover and the Navigator SUV all performed well, he said. For the 2008 model year, Lincoln also marketed the LT pickup and venerable Town Car sedan.

The Mini brand was last, falling from 32nd out of 36 in 2010, because of a number of problems with the Cooper. The biggest problem areas were interior controls and seats which owners find "difficult to operate," rather than mechanical quality, said Sargent.

Toyota's recent recalls did not affect the 2008 model-year study.

Segment winners

Toyota Motor Corp. did better than any other automaker for reliability awards in individual model segments.

Its 7 model awards were for the Lexus RX, Scion xB, Toyota 4Runner, Toyota Prius, Toyota Sienna, Toyota Tacoma and Toyota Tundra.

Ford Motor received 4 segment awards for the Ford Fusion, Ford Mustang, Lincoln MKZ and Lincoln Navigator.

General Motors got top models in the segment awards for the Buick Lucerne, Cadillac DTS, and Chevrolet Tahoe.

Honda Motor Co. also had 3 winners with the Acura RL, Honda CR-V and Honda Fit.

Other segment leaders were the BMW X3, Mazda MX-5 Miata, and Mercedes-Benz CLK.

 

This is just me, but I don't really look at Lincoln, Buick, or Acura as having made significant achievements here because they are more like trim levels instead of real brands. We already know who owns who so I won't go into that, but when you have a mainstream parent company that works out all the kinks before restyling the sheetmetal and adding standard leather seating and wood trim, it's just not very impressive IMO.

That said...

This is an interesting list and I am not surprised to see Lexus' jump. The 2006 and 2007 models negatively impacted their previous scores largely because of rattles and new interior hardware in the IS and GS, and tranny flares in the and ES. This shows that Lexus got their kinks worked out and has hopefully figured out what to do differently next time.

2008 was the first year of the Jaguar XF, so seeing them shoot back up the list with a brand new model is a great achievement I heard a few concerns about electrical systems and transmission issues, but those instances must have been far and few between.

Mercedes has another significant win here as well, IMO. They released the new C Class and refreshed some others, so it's great to see them continuing to improve on this list.

I expect Toyota to tank on the 2011 and 2012 lists, for obvious reasons

Honda seems to have slipped here - behind Mercedes, Hyundai, and Cadillac, and just barely better than Ford.

Audi and BMW are lack luster, but I think this is when the HPFP issues started popping up on the 3er?

You would think the folks at Land Rover would get sick of seeing their names at the very bottom of these lists and try to do something about it, but I guess not.

 

Lincoln .....Really?????

 

A quote from the news item:

Lincoln, with a reported 101 problems per 100 vehicles, unseated Porsche in J.D. Power and Associates’ 2011 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) released today. Lincoln was followed by Lexus, Jaguar, Porsche, Toyota, Acura, Buick, Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac, Hyundai and Honda.

However, Toyota’s seven model awards went to the Lexus RX, Scion xB, Toyota 4Runner, Toyota Prius, Toyota Sienna, Toyota Tacoma and Toyota Tundra.

Hmmm.... where's BMW?

Edit:
Looks like the original article is from The Globe and Mail (Toronto): http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe...rticle1946070/

... and I found BMW - it's below the industry average in the list.

 

In the shop