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J D Power Dependability study for 2018 just came out. This is seven years in a row #1. Lexus improved 11 points from last years score of 110.
Lexus GS won top honors in midsize premium car. ES won top honors in compact premium car. RX won top in midsize premium suv. Small premium car Lexus CT wins top honor.
Lexus and Porsche killing it. Buick gets kudos to round out the top 3. The rest of the field is pretty close when it comes to Average. Acura do better. FCA and LR do better.
Props to Buick and Kia being consistently near the top over recent years.
Big surprise Infiniti and BMW improved, Toyota slipping. Subaru not great over the years and no surprise, FCA consistently at the bottom.
Lexus being at the top and FCA being at or near the the bottom pretty much matches the data from Consumer Reports....although CR gives the Chrysler Pacifica a high enough reliability rating that it is recommended.....the only FCA product to be recommend by CR.
I've heard it argued (though I'm not sure I agree) that Buick's extremely high reliability rating from several different publications is because the old folks who drive them baby them so much, at low speeds and gentle starts/stops, that the vehicles never get any stress put on them. But that at least partially ignores the fact that most of the smaller and mid-size Buicks, being rebadged German Opel products, are, in reality, quite well-built, and have earned their good reliability record, even in Europe. The larger Lacrosse and Enclave, being more traditional American-designed, are not quite in the same class as the Opel-rebadges for build-solidness, though they are also the ones that tend to be driven by the most conservative drivers. Consumer Reports panned the 2017 Lacrosse for poor reliability, though my 2018, which is the same car except for the new 9-speed transmission, hasn't shown any significant problems yet.
I've also heard a lot of reliability complaints about Nissan and Infiniti, though it doesn't seem apparent from this list, which has Nissan better than average and Infiniti way up there, right behind Buick.
Last edited by mmarshall; Apr 11, 2018 at 06:17 PM.
Let's focus on the bottom, Cry Slur, awesome news!
I think I will treat myself to some ice cream to celebrate.
Well, one of our Car Chat members leased a new Pacifica for his wife several months ago, and they love it. Unlike the rest of the FCA American-market fleet, Consumer Reports recommends the Pacifica....its reliability is good enough. It also has very high customer-satisfaction ratings.
Last edited by mmarshall; Apr 11, 2018 at 06:28 PM.
Well, one of our Car Chat posters leased a new Pacifica for his wife several months ago, and they love it. Unlike the rest of the FCA American-market fleet, Consumer Reports recommends the Pacifica....its reliability is good enough. It also has very high Customer-satisfaction ratings.
You will NEVER change his opinion of FCA. So just let him eat his ice cream and leave it at that.
You will NEVER change his opinion of FCA. So just let him eat his ice cream and leave it at that.
FCA does, in fact (by today's standards) make a fair number of sub-standard vehicles....I won't deny that. I was just pointing out there is also another side of the coin though....a couple of good products. But, OK...if it's time for ice cream, then feast away.
Subaru builds excellent, reliable, durable vehicles that lots of folks buy and enjoy, and they appear kind of middle of the pack
The ice cream was Graeter's mocha chip tonight (sugar and caffeine) and I had nice Spring weather for the drives to work and home in the NSX today so I am in a good mood
Subaru builds excellent, reliable, durable vehicles that lots of folks buy and enjoy, and they appear kind of middle of the pack
At one time, Subies were like tanks, but, over the years, they developed reputations for serious head-gasket and rear-wheel-bearing failures, requiring extended warranties. And newer ones, in the last several years, have had defective piston rings which led to early oil-consumption problems, even with a proper break-in. I had a 2006 Outback, and, while not a lemon by any means, was not as reliable as I had hoped. Brakes didn't last very long, even with my conservative driving style, and I had an early failure of the engine cooling fans which, fortunately, at least allowed me to get to the dealership before any serious overheating. But was it ever a snow bunny.....nothing could stop it in the winter.
Last edited by mmarshall; Apr 11, 2018 at 07:57 PM.
I've heard it argued (though I'm not sure I agree) that Buick's extremely high reliability rating from several different publications is because the old folks who drive them baby them so much, at low speeds and gentle starts/stops, that the vehicles never get any stress put on them. But that at least partially ignores the fact that most of the smaller and mid-size Buicks, being rebadged German Opel products, are, in reality, quite well-built, and have earned their good reliability record, even in Europe. The larger Lacrosse and Enclave, being more traditional American-designed, are not quite in the same class as the Opel-rebadges for build-solidness, though they are also the ones that tend to be driven by the most conservative drivers. Consumer Reports panned the 2017 Lacrosse for poor reliability, though my 2018, which is the same car except for the new 9-speed transmission, hasn't shown any significant problems yet.
k.
It would be wonderful if JD Power would just release their collected data so one could simply determine age miles of Buick responses. This would make all of their data more valuable across all makes and brands.
It would be wonderful if JD Power would just release their collected data so one could simply determine age miles of Buick responses. This would make all of their data more valuable across all makes and brands.
It also might (?) help explain why Lincoln does so much better than Ford. Lincoln, like Buick, has an older-than-average buyer base. But, to be honest, I have not been impressed with the way the MKC and MKZ are built....I'm not sure driver-age and driving-habits are a factor in those two specific vehicles.
It's also a study of 3 year old cars. That means they're under warranty. We don't know what happens after that. But if you were to draw a conclusion, BMW and Toyota are equally dependable over a three year period from new
Seven in a row
