Lexus Back on Top of 2012 J.D. Power Dependability Study, Chrysler Last
Written by: Christian Seabaugh [G+] on February 15 2012 3:00 PM
A year after being unseated by Lincoln, Lexus is back on top in the 2012 J.D. Power and Associates Dependability Study. Toyota Motor Corp. is well represented in the list's top five, with all three of its brands earning a spot. The top five was rounded out with Porsche in second, Cadillac and Toyota sharing the third spot on the podium, Scion in fourth, and Mercedes-Benz in fifth.
J.D. Power's 2012 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study is based on 31,000 original owners of 2009 model year vehicles after three years of ownership, with the rating of Problems per 100 Vehicles (PP100) behind based on issues experienced in the past year.
2011 saw an overall reliability improvement across the board, with J.D. Power reporting that 25 of 32 brands saw an increase in reliability compared to last year. Six brands dropped in the rankings, while one saw no change. J.D. Power noted that a strong initial vehicle quality in 2009 translated directly to the historical high dependability of 132 PP100 we have now in 2012. The Lexus LS led the industry with just 72 PP100.J.D. Power also pointed out that domestic automakers rose slightly faster than their imported counterparts, and that some automakers (particularly domestic), face unfounded questions about overall reliability from customers. During the last four years Buick, Cadillac, Ford, Hyundai, and Lincoln all faced a high proportion of new-vehicle buyers expressing reliability concerns, when all five brands have consistently reported strong levels of dependability in J.D. Power's research.
Of the 14 different segments that J.D. Power and Associates break vehicles down into, Toyota products topped eight of them. Ford products took three segments, GM and Nissan products captured two each, and Hyundai won one segment. J.D. Power also noted that the Ford Mustang, GMC Yukon, and Porsche
911 all performed especially well - though they didn't receive awards due to either an insufficient number of award-eligible vehicles, or insufficient market share of award-eligible vehicles.Sitting at the bottom five of the nameplate rankings were all Chrysler nameplates. Chrysler was last, with Dodge, Jeep and Ram following closely behind. The bottom five was rounded out by Jaguar and Infiniti in a fifth place tie. You can check out the full list of the rankings below.
2012 Nameplate RankingBrand, Problems per 100 Vehicles - Industry average 132 PP100
- Lexus, 86
- Porsche, 98
- Cadillac, 104
- Toyota, 104
- Scion, 111
- Mercedes-Benz, 112
- Lincoln, 116
- Ford, 124
- Buick, 125
- Hyundai, 125
- Acura, 129
- Honda, 131
- Chevrolet, 135
- Volvo, 143
- Audi, 148
- Audi, 148
- Smart, 148
- Subaru, 149
- Nissan, 152
- Mitsubishi, 153
- BMW, 154
- GMC, 158
- Mini, 161
- Mazda, 163
- Suzuki, 167
- Kia, 169
- Volkswagen, 169
- Infiniti, 172
- Jaguar, 172
- Ram, 174
- Jeep, 179
- Dodge, 183
- Chrysler, 192
Top Three Models per Segment
Sub-Compact Car
- Toyota Yaris
- Scion xD
- Honda Fit
Compact Car
- Toyota Prius
- Toyota Corolla
- Hyundai Elantra
Compact Sporty Car
- Scion tC
Midsize Car
- Ford Fusion
- Mitsubishi Galant
- Toyota Camry
Large Car
- Buick Lucerne
- Toyota Avalon
- Ford Taurus
Entry Premium Car
- Lexus ES 350 (tie)
- Lincoln MKZ (tie)
- Acura TL
Midsize Premium Car
- Hyundai Genesis
- Mercedes-Benz E-Class
- Volvo S80
Compact Multi-Purpose Vehicle
- Scion xB
Compact Crossover/SUV
- Chevrolet Equinox
- Honda CR-V
- Toyota RAV4
Midsize Crossover/SUV
- Ford Explorer (tie)
- Nissan Murano (tie)
- Toyota Highlander
Midsize Premium Crossover/SUV
- Lexus RX 350
- Lincoln MKX
Midsize Pickup
- Nissan Frontier
- Ford Ranger
- Honda Ridgeline
Minivan
- Toyota Sienna
- Honda Odyssey
Large Pickup
- Toyota Tundra
- GMC Sierra HD
- Chevrolet Silverado
Source: J.D. Power and Associates
Read more: