[RahulNagaraj]

According to a recent report, Japanese automakers Toyota & Lexus have been ranked as the most reliable car brands in the USA.



Moreover, Asian automakers made up 7 of the top 10 most reliable car brands, with BMW, Audi & Lincoln being the only three non-Asian car brands to make it to the top 10. BMW came in 3rd, Audi occupied the 6th position, while Lincoln completed the list in 10th place. Coming in at the bottom of the list was Mercedes-Benz, with Jeep, Volkswagen, GMC, Chevrolet & Tesla fairing slightly better.



As per reports, full-size pickup trucks struggled in the reliability survey, averaging a score of just 30 out of 100. Electric vehicles also struggled to do well in the survey, with an average reliability score of 36. Owners of the Chevrolet Bolt, Ford Mustang Mach E, Hyundai Kona Electric & VW ID.4 reported issues with battery packs, motors & more.



However, hybrids & plug-in hybrids aced the survey, being among the most reliable vehicles, averaging a score of 65/100. Vehicles like the Lexus NX Hybrid, Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid and Toyota Highlander Hybrid were among the top models in the category. Cars (sedans, hatchbacks & coupes) registered an average score of 58, followed by SUVs with 51 & minivans with 44.



The survey is said to have gathered data from over 3 lakh vehicles from 2000 to 2023 model years. It has collected data in 17 trouble areas, including engine, transmission & in-vehicle electronics.

Source: ConsumerReports

Link to Team-BHP news

[yashg]

I tried to put together the list from the linked article but certain spots were missing, so Googled and found the list at
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money...g/10703135002/

Top 24 brands in terms on reliability

1. Toyota
2. Lexus
3. BMW
4. Mazda
5. Honda
6. Audi
7. Subaru
8. Acura
9. Kia
10. Lincoln
11. Buick
12. Genesis
13. Hyundai
14. Volvo
15. Nissan
16. Ram
17. Cadillac
18. Ford
19. Tesla
20. Chevrolet
21. GMC
22. Volkswagen
23. Jeep
24. Mercedes-Benz

Asian brands dominate, Americans are at the bottom.

[DicKy]

Merc deserves it for going all touch screeny and putting even touch controls on the steering wheel and doorpads. Tried to ape Tesla and now below even Tesla in reliability scores even though Tesla problems were more on the hardware side.

American cars were never the epitome of reliability, but if the full size trucks are on the bottom of reliability then it is just an effect of trying to cram in electronics and features to justify the higher prices, not to say the expectations of people who buy these for just commuting.

And happy to see that the most reliable ten models are the best examples of their respective segments. True to themselves, rather than being do it all, please all. KISS.

1. 2023 Toyota Corolla Hybrid
2. 2023 Lexus GX
3. 2023 Mini Cooper
4. 2022 Toyota Prius
5. 2022 Mazda MX-5 Miata
6. 2023 Lincoln Corsair
7. 2023 Toyota Corolla
8. 2023 Subaru Crosstrek
9. 2023 BMW 3 Series
10. 2022 Toyota Prius Prime

[ramki.grandhi]

Surprised to see BMW as more reliable brand than Honda. Looks like Mini aquisition is paying well to BMW brand. And Nissan is at 15th? I wonder what happened to this Japanese gaint.

I might be wrong but looks like these authors has put some extra "effort" to make it looks like Hybrids are more reliable than non-hybrids.

[Jeroen]

Interesting to see how the electric cars are doing. Not that well it appears. There goes the myth that electric cars would be more reliable than ICE cars as they have fewer parts.

Whereas the hybrid have pretty good reliability and also have by far the most parts!

It is not about the number of parts. It’s about how those parts were designed and put together to make the final car. A poorly made e-motor is going to be less reliable then a well made ICE.

Long way to go!

Jeroen

[GTO]

I love Consumer Reports and am a big believer in their way of doing things. In fact, many parts of Team-BHP (example of not taking car ads) was influenced by Consumer Reports.

Not only do I believe them, but I also have first hand experience here. My 9-year old 530d has proven to be almost as reliable as a Toyota. In so many years, one fault can be blamed on the car (water leakage due to a LHD plastic cap going bad), and another on Covid (long durations of no usage led to low voltage and finished the ABS board - related thread (Low voltage situations & weak batteries | The bane of German cars)). Not bad for 9 years in a car that is complex, powerful and loaded with electronics. The 530d just runs & runs without even a hiccup and has aged very well, thanks to its top quality construction. Other BMW owners on Team-BHP are also very impressed with their cars reliability.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Interesting to see how the electric cars are doing. Not that well it appears. There goes the myth that electric cars would be more reliable than ICE cars as they have fewer parts.

I think it's also because EVs are still a brand new technology for the mainstream car makers. Will take them a lot of time to learn it. But in 5 years or so, I think EVs will work out more reliable than ICE cars. Of course, don't know about Tesla which has many build quality issues, still.

[CarNerd]

Originally Posted by yashg

Top 24 brands in terms on reliability

20. Chevrolet
21. GMC
22. Volkswagen
23. Jeep
24. Mercedes-Benz

Asian brands dominate, Americans are at the bottom.

Well, the Germans are at the bottom! Interesting, considering the fact that Americans were never known for their reliability compared to Germans.

But as per J.D. Power, Land Rover is at the bottom of the list while the Koreans are at the top:



Link: https://www.jdpower.com/business/pre...dability-study

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by ramki.grandhi

Surprised to see BMW as more reliable brand than Honda.

I am not surprised at all. At least since F series, and now in G series, the BMWs are extremely reliable. I know of so many examples of friends and other BMW owners owning these cars and driving all over the country, and absolutely nothing goes wrong, except for routine maintenance requirements. These cars are as reliable as it can get.

Originally Posted by GTO

Not only do I believe them, but I also have first hand experience here. My 9-year old 530d has proven to be almost as reliable as a Toyota.

Agree 100%, from my first hand experience as well, with my 320d. Not just my own experience, but I can vouch for the reliability of modern BMWs (F and G series) based on a large number of BMW owners that I interact with (some of them are my close friends and we drive together all over the rural areas).

However, one point needs to be made clear to avoid painting a wrong picture. Reliable does not necessarily mean low maintenance or even low cost of maintenance. Although my car is reliable, it does require frequent, and expensive maintenance. In addition to regular oil change services (which happen at around 9k to 10k km, which itself is much smaller interval than the typical 15k km service intervals for most cars now) which cost about Rs. 20k, the car consumes tyres, brake pads and brake discs at alarming rates. I have already changed brake pads four times in about 78k km of car's life. And most recently, I also had to change both the rear ABS senors. Thus, the maintenance is rather frequent and not too cheap either.

However, where the car excels in is that there is never a surprise breakdown that leaves you stranded. All the above maintenance needs are monitored by the Condition Based Servicing (CBS) system and its array of sensors, and all requirements are clearly communicated to the driver well in advance. The car just never leaves you stranded on road due to some unexpected errors. And that is the true definition of reliability.

Thus, although neither low maintenance nor low cost of maintenance, BMWs are certainly very reliable as per the classical definition of reliability.

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by CarNerd

Well, the Germans are at the bottom! Interesting, considering the fact that Americans were never known for their reliability compared to Germans.

But as per J.D. Power, Land Rover is at the bottom of the list while the Koreans are at the top:

Attachment 2383832

Link: https://www.jdpower.com/business/pre...dability-study

JD power is basically an advertising company best known for making up awards for any car in existence based on how much car companies / dealerships are willing to pay for it. They are pretty much a meme at this point so I will take whatever they say with a grain of salt.

[steadfast]

Surprised how Audi is at 6th and parent company with whom maximum parts are shared is at bottom.

[dragracer567]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Interesting to see how the electric cars are doing. Not that well it appears. There goes the myth that electric cars would be more reliable than ICE cars as they have fewer parts.

Whereas the hybrid have pretty good reliability and also have by far the most parts!

Well, the hybrids weren't reliable when they first came to the market. Infact, I remember an article from the late 2000s where people who bought hybrids were moving back to ICEs due to constant niggles. Hybrids have had almost 25-30 years since the Prius - the first mainstream hybrid car, to perfect the technology. In comparison, we've had barely 9-10 years for electric cars since the Tesla Model S - probably the first properly mainstream electric car came about. I'd give it 5 years tops before electric cars are as reliable as ICEs and will keep getting better.

[PreludeSH]

Don't think there is any company that is purely electric other than Tesla which is at the lower half of the survey. It cannot taken as a measure for the electric segment. Tesla as a carmaker is still very young and not matured like others.

The motor and battery are not new and I dont think the issues are in those components. Else the coupling of the motor to the wheels etc will be same. Gets rid of gear, cranks, cooling and what not. It could be the other software and by wire controls that might be probelematic.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by PreludeSH

Gets rid of gear, cranks, cooling and what not. It could be the other software and by wire controls that might be probelematic.

Cooling is a big thing on many EVs and requires quite an elaborate system. EVs don’t have an ICE but they do have other system that an ICE car does not have.

Reliability is not just a function of the number of (moving) parts. It is very much about the individual design of each part, how the total integral design was done, production process etc etc. So many many variables.

At best you could say that EVs have a potential to be more reliable than ICE cars. Whether that is going to happen remains to be seen.

Once EV becomes more and more mainstream we are very likely to see a similar spread of reliability across manufacturers and models.

Jeroen

[CarNerd]

Originally Posted by Cresterk

JD power is basically an advertising company best known for making up awards for any car in existence based on how much car companies / dealerships are willing to pay for it. They are pretty much a meme at this point so I will take whatever they say with a grain of salt.

How exactly did you come to this conclusion? Did anyone find them guilty?

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by CarNerd

How exactly did you come to this conclusion? Did anyone find them guilty?

https://youtu.be/bKisRZd8VYw

https://youtu.be/zKN5Wl4uTyY