Toyota's iron-clad reputation for quality has been reinforced by the influential JD Power dependability survey.
The US-based survey of more than 35,000 new car buyers found that Toyota is the mainstream brand least likely to offer trouble for consumers.
Lexus finished on top of the survey with 110 problems per 100 vehicles, the least amount of issues in the survey. Porsche finished second, followed by Toyota, Buick, Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai.
Data shows that vehicles are becoming more reliable despite increasing levels of complexity.
Though many of the top-performing manufacturers are luxury brands, JD Power spokesman Dave Sargent says strong performances by Toyota and Hyundai are evidence that consumers don't need to pay premiums to secure a quality vehicle.
"While many expensive and niche vehicles do have excellent quality, the fact is that most consumers are shopping in the high-volume mainstream segments," he says.
"The good news is that consumers don't have to spend a lot of money to get a very dependable vehicle."
The bottom of the list is anchored by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles machinery. Fiat was the worst-performing brand with 298 problems, followed by Jeep, Infiniti, Dodge and RAM. The news comes as Jeep moves to address sliding sales in Australia by introducing a five-year warranty and lifetime roadside assistance.
"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," Sargent says.
More information: JD Power
6 Comments
TK | 2017-02-24 01:30:14
a sample of what .3%? how many new cars are sold in the US every year?
Selector 2 | 2017-02-24 02:10:02
Yes TK we are aware of its limitations, of course you have another published study with a larger sample size? ...crickets chirping.
DJM61 | 2017-02-24 04:53:24
Buick in fourth place just behind Toyota. Surprising!
Selector 2 | 2017-02-24 05:23:32
Yeah DJM, someone is listening, not Jeep though.
| 2017-02-24 05:50:00
The big thing to get from these figures is that even the most reliable brand will have at least one fault and that the most unreliable brand will only have two or three. Depending on the nature of the faults, most of which you have to believe are minor, it doesn't seem to be anything upon which to base any purchasing decision, does it? The othe rinteresting thing ot se ei show poorly most Japanese brands performed. I assume that is sdown to the fact they make them in the US, where we are lucky enough to get most of ours from Japan.
Circling Buzzard | 2017-02-24 07:33:50
The poor results for certain Japanese makers is a surprise, Infiniti especially given that it is supposedly a prestige brand, also Nissan wouldn't be happy to see both their divisions so far down in this survey.Honda and Acura are also well down on where Aussies would expect them to be. Perhaps as one respondent suggested it has something to do with US builds although Toyota build many vehicles in the US. yet are in the top 3.,????? Perhaps as one person suggested it's because