Less than a week after J. D. Power and Associates revealed the auto brands that ranked best in the annual Customer Satisfaction (CSI) survey, the prolific research firm has now announced results of the 2011 Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS). This study measures the problems experienced during the past 12 months by owners of three-year-old (model year 2008) vehicles. Ranking is based on the lowest number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles.
The big surprise though is that Lexus did not rank highest – it only managed to rank second behind Lincoln, which hit the top spot for the first time. Jaguar, Porsche and Toyota rounded out the top five nameplates.
The other surprise is that Mini, which ranked as the best mass-market nameplate in CSI, ranked at the bottom in VDS. I guess this just confirms that if a customer has problems with a product as long as it is taken care off efficiently, he or she will be a satisfied customer.
At the model level, Toyota received seven segment awards and Ford four awards out of a total of 20 issued.
Overall vehicle dependability has improved with the lowest rate of problems since the survey was first conducted in 1990. The good news is that even if you own a vehicle that ranks below average in VDS, all vehicles are much more dependable nowadays.
However, the rate of improvement has slowed largely because of problems with electronic features in vehicles, including audio, entertainment and navigation systems and new safety features, such as tire pressure monitoring systems.
Automakers, as a whole, have made significant improvements in reducing traditional problems, particularly with vehicle interiors; engines and transmissions; and steering and braking during the past several years, said David Sargent, vice president of global vehicle research at J. D. Power and Associates. However, as manufacturers add new features and technologies to satisfy customer demand and new legislation, they face the potential for introducing new problems.
According to Sargent, as newer technologies become more widespread, enhancing the dependability of these features has become an important point of differentiation among automakers.
In case youre interested here is a list of the award winners in each segment where there were sufficient responses from among the 43,700 owners who responded:
Top Three 2008 Models per Segment
Sub-Compact Car Highest Ranked:
Honda Fit
Toyota Yaris
Hyundai Accent
Compact Car Highest Ranked:
Toyota Prius
Hyundai Elantra Sedan
Toyota Matrix
Compact Sporty Car Highest Ranked:
Mazda MX-5 Miata
Scion tC
Midsize Sporty Car Highest Ranked:
Ford Mustang
Midsize Car Highest Ranked:
Ford Fusion
Buick LaCrosse
Mitsubishi Galant
Large Car Highest Ranked:
Buick Lucerne
Ford Taurus
Chevrolet Impala
Compact Premium Sporty Car Highest Ranked:
Mercedes-Benz CLK-Class
Entry Premium Car Highest Ranked:
Lincoln MKZ
Lexus ES 350
Acura TL (tie)
Acura TSX (tie)
Midsize Premium Car Highest Ranked:
Acura RL
Mercedes-Benz E-Class
Lexus GS
Large Premium Car Highest Ranked:
Cadillac DTS
Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Compact Multi-Purpose Vehicle Highest Ranked:
Scion xB
Chrysler PT Cruiser
Compact Crossover/SUV Highest Ranked:
Honda CR-V
Subaru Forester
Toyota RAV4
Entry Premium Crossover/SUV Highest Ranked:
BMW X3
Midsize Crossover/SUV Highest Ranked:
Toyota 4Runner
Hyundai Santa Fe
Ford Edge
Large Crossover/SUV Highest Ranked:
Chevrolet Tahoe
GMC Yukon
Toyota Sequoia
Large Pickup Highest Ranked:
Toyota Tundra
Ford F-150 LD
Ram 1500 LD
Midsize Pickup Highest Ranked:
Toyota Tacoma
Honda Ridgeline
Minivan Highest Ranked:
Toyota Sienna
Honda Odyssey
Chevrolet Uplander
Midsize Premium Crossover/SUV Highest Ranked:
Lexus RX
Lexus GX 470
Volvo XC70
Large Premium Crossover/SUV Highest Ranked:
Lincoln Navigator
Mercedes-Benz GL-Class
No other model in this segment performs above the segment average.
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