These Are the Most Reliable Cars in Each Category, Says J.D. Power

by TTAC Staff

Published: February 12th, 2024

Photo credit: Honcharuk Andrii / Shutterstock.com

Recent findings from J.D. Power show that after three years of ownership, vehicle dependability has diminished. Owners are reporting more problems compared to the previous year, with the industry average escalating to 190 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100). The disparity in problem rates between the initial 90 days and three years of ownership has surged, indicating a notable decrease in vehicle dependability over time.

Electrified Vehicles: A Mixed Bag

Owners of BEVs and PHEVs report more problems than those with gasoline and hybrid vehicles, with tire replacement being a notable issue for BEV owners.

Segment-by-Segment Breakdown

The study lists the most reliable vehicles across different categories, with Toyota Motor Corporation achieving the most segment awards. Here is an organized summary of the top-ranking models:

Compact Cars:

Toyota Corolla
Honda Civic
Toyota Prius

Compact Premium Cars:

Lexus IS
BMW 4 Series
BMW 3 Series

Midsize Cars:

Toyota Camry
Chevrolet Malibu
Hyundai Sonata

Midsize Premium Cars:

Lexus ES

Premium Sporty Cars:

Porsche 718
Chevrolet Corvette

Pickup and Van Segments:

Large Heavy Duty Pickups:

Ford Super Duty
GMC Sierra HD
Chevrolet Silverado HD

Large Light Duty Pickups:

Toyota Tundra
GMC Sierra
Chevrolet Silverado

Midsize Pickups:

Toyota Tacoma
Chevrolet Colorado
Ford Ranger

Minivans:

Kia Sedona
Toyota Sienna
Honda Odyssey

Standout Brands

Lexus is recognized as the most reliable brand overall, followed by Porsche and BMW for premium brands. In the mass market, Toyota ranks highest with Buick and Chevrolet in a close contest for reliability.

Methodology of the Study

The study reflects the experiences of over 30,000 owners of 2021 model-year vehicles after three years. It encompasses 184 problem areas across nine vehicle categories to provide a detailed analysis of long-term vehicle reliability.

This article was co-written using AI and was then heavily edited and optimized by our editorial team.

TTAC Staff

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Fred We want our manufacturing to pay good wages, provide healthcare, not pollute and provide a safe workplace. Many places around the world don't, so we put a tariff on them to force them. That's the way it should be, but I'm afraid this is just a political move by Biden to take away one of Trump's talking points.
Orange260z Modern Cadillac sedans look and drive great. Yeah, the interior materials aren't quite as good as the competition, but if they undercut them in price it can offset. IMHO, they need to step up in a big way on their warranty, service and customer service. H/K/G shows confidence in the quality of the product by offering long standard B2B warranties and low-cost exclusionary extensions. My Caddy became a money pit after the warranty with only 75K kms; yes, the Germans do that, but they have the established cachet that they get away with it. They need to make sure that their cars still look good after 10 years (i.e. no trim issues, no undercarriage rust issues, etc) - my CTS was all rusty underneath after two years, they told me that was acceptable and not under warranty. Cadillac needs to do more.In Canada, there are few (if any) standalone Cadillac dealerships; they are typically co-located with all the other (remaining) GM brands. However, this doesn't have to be a kiss of death - Lexus successfully built their rep despite co-location, by investing in dedicated Lexus sales areas, sales people, service advisors, technicians, lounge areas with private offices, perks (free coffee/treats, car wash and vacuum with any service, a large complimentary Lexus loaner fleet available for any service visit), etc. By contrast, for Cadillac service I would line up with the 20 other people waiting for one of 5-7 service writers that know nothing about my car because they service 10,000 different GM models, answering a question about maintenance requirements "How am I supposed to know?". During the first 4 years I had access to complimentary Enterprise rental cars as loaners, but I had to spend 20-30 mins going through a car rental process every time. The guy who would do complimentary service washes did so with a big scrub brush he just used to wash a work truck that was covered in mud. They can't sell a premium car with crappy service like that, they have to be better than their competition.If it weren't for these issues I would not have hesitated to buy a new CT5 V-sport (winter DD, want AWD). I bought a G70 instead, we'll see how that goes - but at least I have a long B2B warranty.
Jalop1991 Are tariffs the right answer? Ask China and Japan. They've imposed lots of protectionist tariffs over the years, but somehow our doing so is horrible or something like that.Let's do the Japanese inspection to the Chinese junk imports, and make the Chinese pay for them.BYD--now available at Walmart and Amazon.
Scott This seems very BOEING of FORD....
Mebgardner That's not what I'm talking about, and you know it.