Kia tops J.D. Power reliability study as Korean brands grab 3 of top 4 spots

Kia for the first time topped all brands in vehicle reliability over the first three years of ownership as Korean brands claimed three of the top four spots in an annual J.D. Power study.

The 2022 Vehicle Dependability Study was redesigned this year to include additional tech-focused inputs, such as software updates. As a result, overall problems per 100 vehicles jumped to an average of 192 this year from an average of 121 last year.

Kia, which finished third a year ago, led all brands with a reported 145 problems per 100 vehicles. General Motors' Buick brand climbed into second after tying for the fifth spot last year, while Hyundai placed third and Genesis came in fourth, but first among luxury brands.

The results mark a continued streak of dominance from the Korean brands, which have also led recent J.D. Power Initial Quality Studies, examining the first 90 days of ownership.

"They have a relentless drive and a relentless focus on quality, dependability and making sure the vehicles hold up over a longer period of time," David Amodeo, director of global automotive at J.D. Power, told Automotive News. "This certainly wasn't an area in the past where they were as strong."

Among the Detroit 3, the Ford and GMC brands posted big improvements to move above the industry average. Conversely, Ram tumbled down the chart to finish second-to-last.

Amodeo said those changes are largely the result of the cadence of vehicle redesigns.

"If a brand launches a lot of new product in a given year, it sets them up to slip in the rankings," he said.

Although it appeared in the survey last year, Tesla does not appear in this year's Vehicle Dependability Study because it does not allow J.D. Power to survey owners in 15 key states including California, Amodeo said. Still, he said the electric vehicle maker was "about where they were last year," when Tesla scored an average of 176 problems per 100 vehicles, based off data from owners in the remaining 35 states.

The survey, conducted for 33 years, tracks problems per 100 vehicles during a 12-month period by owners of 3-year-old vehicles. It covers 184 specific problem areas across nine major vehicle categories: climate; driving assistance; driving experience; exterior; features/controls/displays; infotainment; interior; powertrain; and seats.

As in recent years, the infotainment category continues to be the most problematic. Seven of the top 10 problem areas in the study are infotainment-related, and the category averaged more than twice as many problems per 100 vehicles as the next-highest category.

"Customer demands are requiring more and more tech in the vehicle," Amodeo said. "Some OEMs have figured out how to add some of this stuff and others haven't."

Overall, the study showed that mass market vehicles experienced fewer problems per 100 vehicles than their premium counterparts. Amodeo noted luxury vehicles typically include more problem-prone tech features and that automakers have improved the build quality of mass-market products.

Among awards for individual nameplates, the Porsche 911 was the highest-ranked model in the study — the second-straight time and third time in the past four year it has earned the distinction.

GM and Toyota Motor Corp. each won five segment awards, while Hyundai Motor Group won three.

GM won with the Buick Encore, Buick Envision, Chevrolet Impala, Chevrolet Silverado HD and Chevrolet Suburban. Toyota won with the Lexus NX, Lexus RX, Lexus UX, Toyota Corolla and Toyota Tundra.

Ford Motor won two segment awards, including for the Lincoln MKZ, which was discontinued in 2020.