Bought a lemon recently?
That was bad luck because new vehicles, on the whole, are more dependable than ever.
That’s according to J.D. Power’s 2020 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study, which was released Wednesday. The closely-tracked index has found that 2020 is the best year ever for vehicle performance.
The bottom line: Your new vehicle should hold up well. Really well. Either that or something went terribly awry.
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The study, which automakers often trumpet to market their vehicles, tracks the number of problems in three-year-old vehicles during the previous 12 months. Per 100 vehicles, the average was 134. Seethe full list of brands lower down.
Despite the increased adoption of complex vehicle technology, dependability continues to improve, Dave Sargent, vice president of global automotive at J.D. Power, said in a statement. Theres no question that three-year-old vehicles today are better built and more dependable than same-age vehicles were in previous years.”
Of the 32 automotive brands tracked by J.D. Power, Genesis the luxury brand sold by Hyundai topped the list of highest-quality brands. It was followed, in order, by Lexus, Buick, Porsche and Toyota.
At the bottom of the list is Land Rover. Second to last: Chrysler.
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(Tesla was not included because it does not grant permission to contact its owners in states where it’s required – and those states represent too much of Tesla sales for J.D. Power to achieve a representative sample of its customers.)
The most common trouble for new vehicles continues to be glitches with the audio, entertainment and navigation systems. These issues include touchscreen flaws, voice recognition failures and Bluetooth connectivity shortcomings.
Among the vehicles tracked by J.D. Power, Japanese automaker Toyota’s Lexus ES topped the list as the most dependable model.
Toyota had six winners overall, including two Lexus models. General Motors had four, including three Chevrolet models, while Nissan and Ford had two apiece.
Most dependable model per segment:
Small car: Honda Fit
Compact car: Nissan Leaf
Midsize car: Buick Regal
Large car: Toyota Avalon
Small premium car: BMW 2 Series
Compact premium car: Lexus ES
Midsize premium car: Genesis G80
Compact sporty car: Mazda MX-5 Miata
Midsize sporty car: Ford Mustang
Small SUV: Buick Encore
Compact SUV: Chevrolet Equinox
Midsize SUV: Toyota 4Runner
Large SUV: Chevrolet Tahoe
Small premium SUV: Mercedes-Benz GLA
Compact premium SUV: Porsche Macan
Midsize premium SUV: Lexus GX
Minivan: Toyota Sienna
Midsize pickup: Nissan Frontier
Large light-duty pickup: Ford F-150 and Toyota Tundra (tie)
Large heavy-duty pickup: Chevrolet Silverado HD
The most dependable brands (problems per 100 vehicles):
- Genesis (80)
- Lexus (100)
- Buick (103)
- Porsche (104)
- Toyota (113)
- Volkswagen (116)
- Lincoln (119)
- BMW (123)
- Chevrolet (123)
- Ford (126)
- Mazda (130)
- Cadillac (131)
- Hyundai (132)
- Kia (132)
- Audi (136)
- Nissan (136)
- Acura (139)
- Honda (139)
- Ram (140)
- Mitsubishi (146)
- Mini (147)
- Mercedes-Benz (152)
- Subaru (154)
- Infiniti (155)
- Dodge (158)
- Jeep (159)
- Fiat (160)
- GMC (162)
- Volvo (185)
- Jaguar (186)
- Chrysler (214)
- Land Rover (220)
Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.
