Lexus has taken out the top spot in JD Power’s 2023 Vehicle Dependability Study, with Kia taking out the mass market segment for the third year running, and Land Rover recording a last place finish.
The results, compiled in the format of problems per 100 vehicles, puts Lexus in first place for overall vehicle dependability with a score of 133 problems per 100 vehicles, followed by Genesis, Cadillac and BMW with scores of 144, 173 and 184, respectively.
Kia scored the highest for the mass market segment for the third consecutive year, beating out the likes of Chevrolet, Mitsubishi and Toyota with its score of 152 problems per 100 vehicles.
The honour of the most dependable model was split between two vehicles this year, with the Toyota C-HR and the Lexus RX reporting the fewest problems overall. All up, Toyota nabbed six awards split between the Lexus NX and RX, and the Toyota C-HR, Highlander, Sienna and Tacoma.
BMW and General Motors took out four model-specific awards, with the BMW 4 Series, X2, X5 and MINI Cooper scoring high, while GM’s Chevrolet Blazer, Silverado HD, Tahoe and GMC Sierra snagged four model-level awards.
On the other side of the spectrum, Land Rover took out the title for the least dependable vehicles, according to the study results. The study was compiled from feedback of 30,062 original owners of 2020 model-year vehicles after three years of ownership. Based on the responses from owners, the brand received a score of 273 problems per 100 vehicles. It was followed by Lincoln, Audi, Ford and Mercedes-Benz.
JD Power says that Volvo, Nissan and RAM have made the biggest improvements to their dependability score over time, while 2023 also marked the first time Tesla was included in the study, reporting 242 problems per 100 vehicles. However, Tesla is ineligible for awards because it does not allow the release of customer feedback in some states in the USA where there are no laws against it.
The results reveal an industry average score of 186 PP100, which is a 6-point improvement on last year.
