The tech race is crippling new car reliability, study finds

A huge annual survey in the US has found new vehicles are increasingly troubled by fancy new technology features – all the way down to door handles.

Based on 93,380 participants, who owned or leased new 2023 model-year vehicles in America, the The JD Power 2023 US Initial Quality Study [↗] concluded that the industry average went up to 192 number of problems per 100 vehicles – compared to 180 in 2022.

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Major automakers such as Toyota, Lexus, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Mazda, BMW and Mercedes-Benz all saw slight dips in new vehicle quality rankings.

A number of brands couldn’t be included in the survey, however – including electric carmakers Tesla, Polestar, Rivian, and Lucid Motors. These companies declined to allow JD Power to survey their owners in states where consent was required, and therefore weren’t able to collect representative data relative to other car brands.

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Which brands impressed?

Stellantis brands Dodge, Ram and Alfa Romeo improved their scores and topped the 2023 Initial Quality Study.

Models such as the Toyota Camry sedan, Ford Ranger ute, Jeep Gladiator ute, Kia Carnival people mover, and Audi Q3 SUV were also awarded top honours for reliability

In contrast, Volvo, Chrysler and Volkswagen were at the bottom of the survey’s reliability list – with the latter experiencing 19 more reported problems per 100 vehicles this year.

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Full 2023 car brand quality rankings