Lexus retakes No. 1 spot in J.D. Power dependability study

Lexus has climbed back to the top of the annual J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study, outranking all brands, including Kia, which held the top position last year.

While Kia fell to No. 3 for the overall market, it still ranks as the highest-performing mass-market brand in dependability for the third year in a row.

Both mass-market and premium brands show an improvement over 2022, but the gap dividing the two has grown to its widest since the study launched 34 years ago, with the mass-market segment turning in a stronger performance.

That's because premium vehicles are getting more high-tech features than mainstream nameplates, and those features often have problems, according to Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power.

"It is typical in the automotive industry to roll out concepts and features by putting them in premium vehicles first," Hanley said in a statement.

The J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study tracks problems per 100 vehicles over a 12-month period by owners of three-year-old vehicles. The 2023 study examined vehicles from the 2020 model year in terms of quality, component replacement and appeal.

Infotainment technology continues to be a sticking point for many automakers, representing twice as many problems as the next largest category, vehicle exteriors. Six of the top 10 problem areas relate to infotainment issues in this year’s study, including voice recognition and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.

In 2022, J.D. Power revised the study to include new features and technology, causing an uptick in overall problems.
Mass-market brands had 182 problems per 100 vehicles, while premium brands had 205 problems per 100 vehicles.

The study resulted in a tie between the Toyota C-HR and Lexus RX for the industry’s most dependable model, with both vehicles improving in eight of the nine problem categories over a year ago.

Overall, the industry improved slightly from a year ago, with an average of 186 problems per 100 vehicles — down by six problems from the 2022 study.

Last year, Lexus ranked No. 6 with 159 problems per vehicle, a large drop from its first-place position in 2021. This year, Lexus reported 133 problems per 100 vehicles, jumping back to the No. 1 spot.

Genesis rose from No. 4 in 2022 to second place this year with 144 problems per 100 vehicles. Kia owners reported 152 problems per 100 vehicles vs. the 145 problems last year that earned the brand the top spot.

Last year, all three Hyundai Motor Group brands — Hyundai, Kia and Genesis — placed in the top five. This year, the Hyundai brand dropped from third to eighth place with a reported 170 problems per 100 vehicles.

General Motors' Buick brand dropped two rankings from its No. 4 spot in the 2022 study, while Chevrolet placed fifth.

Toyota Motor Corp. took home six model awards, the most of all brands, for the Lexus NX and RX and the Toyota C-HR, Highlander, Sienna and Tacoma.

BMW received four segment awards, for its BMW 4 Series, X2 and X5 and for its Mini Cooper. General Motors also took home four awards for its Chevrolet Blazer, Silverado HD and Tahoe and its GMC Sierra.

Hyundai Motor Group earned three segment awards for the Kia Forte, Optima and Sportage.

This year's study includes Tesla owner responses for the first time, with Tesla scoring 242 problems per 100 vehicles. But the brand remains unranked because Tesla does not allow J.D. Power access to owner information in states where that permission is required by law.