Here’s some good news if you’re in the market for a three-year-old car or truck – they are more dependable than ever, according to results from the latest J. D. Power and Associates 2012 Vehicle Dependability Study. The California research company has just tallied results from over 31,000 original owners of 2009 model year vehicles that responded to the survey.
Dependability is determined by the level of problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100), with a lower score reflecting higher quality. Overall vehicle dependability averaged 132 PP100—an improvement of 13 percent from last year’s average of 151, which is the lowest problem rate since the inception of the study in 1990.
Results show that 25 of 32 brands have improved in dependability from 2011, while only six have declined and one has remained stable. Domestic nameplates have improved in 2012 at a slightly faster rate than imports, narrowing the dependability gap to 13 PP100 from 18 PP100 in 2011.
Lexus ranks highest in vehicle dependability among all nameplates in 2012. In addition, the Lexus LS had the fewest problems of any car, with just 72 PP100. Rounding out the five highest-ranking nameplates are Porsche, Cadillac, Toyota and Scion, respectively. Mini and Scion posted the greatest year-over-year improvements by 60 PP100 and 55 PP100, respectively.
Toyota Motor Corporation also performed well in long-term dependability with eight segment awards—more than any other automaker in 2012—for the Lexus ES 350 (in a tie with the Lincoln MKZ); Lexus RX 350; Scion tC; Scion xB; Toyota Prius; Toyota Sienna; Toyota Tundra; and Toyota Yaris.
Ford Motor Company received three model awards for the Ford Explorer (in a tie with the Nissan Murano); Ford Fusion; and Lincoln MKZ (in a tie). General Motors (Buick Lucerne and Chevrolet Equinox) and Nissan Motor (Nissan Frontier and Nissan Murano, in a tie with the Ford Explorer) each received two awards. In addition, the Hyundai Genesis also received an award.
Although there are no awards in their respective segments due to an insufficient number of award-eligible models, or insufficient market share of award-eligible models in the segment, these models also performed particularly well: Ford Mustang, GMC Yukon and Porsche 911.
If you want to check out how different makes faired in the results in three key categories — powertrain, body and interior or features and accessories — you can find a more comprehensive chart here.
Related posts:
- Most Appealing 2011 Cars by J.D. Power and Associates
- Lincoln Beats Lexus in Latest J.D. Power Survey
- Lexus Ranked Highest in J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Index – Again
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