Lexus and Porsche Lead New JD Power Dependability Study

By Douglas A. McIntyre Updated Jan 12, 2:37PM EST · Published Feb 22, 11:10AM EST

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Lexus and Porsche Lead New JD Power Dependability Study — © courtesy of Porsche

[cnxvideo id=”508130″ placement=”ros”]Lexus and Porsche were the winners in the J.D. Power 2017 Vehicle Dependability Study, one of the benchmark reviews in the auto industry. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU) brands took up several of the bottom spots.

The study looks at vehicle dependability of 2014 models as measured over the past 12 months. Ratings are based on problems per 100 vehicles. The study covered 33 brands, and the industry average score was 156. Lexus and Porsche each scored 110.

Rounding out the top 10, Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) posted a score of 123, followed by Buick at 126, Mercedes-Benz at 131, Hyundai at 133, BMW at 139, Chevrolet at 142, Honda at 143 and Jaguar at 144.

At the very bottom of the list, Fiat posted a rating of 298 problems per 100 cars. The next worst brand was another division of Fiat Chrysler: Jeep at 209. That was followed by Nissan’s Infiniti at 203; another Fiat Chrysler division, Dodge, at 187; and the Fiat Chrysler truck division Ram at 183. Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) tied Ram with the same score.

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Dave Sargent, Vice President, Global Automotive at J.D. Power, said:

We find buyers are increasingly avoiding models with poor reputations for dependability, so manufacturers can’t afford to let quality slip, particularly on their best sellers. … While many expensive and niche vehicles do have excellent quality, the fact is that most consumers are shopping in the high-volume mainstream segments. The good news is that consumers don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a very dependable vehicle.

In the luxury car segment, German manufacturers did well. Mercedes ranked fifth, BMW seventh and Audi 16th. Among Japanese luxury brands, Lexus ranked first, Acura ranked 22nd and Infiniti 31st. U.S. brands Lincoln and Cadillac ranked 12th and 15th, respectively.

Methodology: The study, now in its 28th year, examines problems experienced during the past 12 months by original owners of 2014 model-year vehicles. Overall dependability is determined by the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100), with a lower score reflecting higher quality. The study covers 177 specific problems grouped into eight major vehicle categories.

The 2017 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study is based on responses from 35,186 original owners of 2014 model-year vehicles after three years of ownership. The study was fielded from October through December 2016.
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About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.