survey reveals which vehicle models give owners the most problems, grief
3 minute read
the jeep gladiator shines in j.d. power's latest survey.
tracy law
/
postmedia news
general motors and ford motor company earned the most individual model wins in j.d. power’s latest 2025 initial quality study.
gm had five vehicles rated tops in their category while ford had four. stellantis had one model rated first while the windsor-built pacifica minivan finished second in its class behind the honda odyssey.
stellantis dodge products that are also built at windsor assembly plant were the company’s top-rated brand finishing seventh out of the 33 brands in the study for fewest problems per 100 vehicles.
gm vehicles had the fewest problems in small suv (buick encore gx), midsize suv (chevrolet blazer), tied for first with the ford 150 in light duty pick ups (chevrolet silverado), large suv (chevrolet tahoe) and midsize premium suv (cadillac xt5).
ford also was top-ranked in large heavy-duty pickup (super duty), compact suv (escape) and sporty car (mustang) categories.
stellantis’s jeep gladiator tied for first in the small pickup category with the hyundai santa cruz.
among the different powertrain segments, plug-in hybrids had the most issues, with 236 problems per 100 vehicles. battery-electric vehicles had 212 issues.
gas-powered vehicles had the fewest problems, with 184 followed by hybrids at 196.
the area responsible for the most complaints remains infotainment systems. though there were nearly two fewer problems this year, the sector was still responsible for 42.6 problems per 100 vehicles.
in the overall brand rankings, lexus topped the premium category with 166 problems per 100 vehicles in the first 90 days of ownership. among mass market brands, nissan had the fewest issues with 169.
rounding out the top 10, with problems per 100 vehicles in brackets, were: hyundai (173), jaguar (175), chevrolet (178), honda (179), dodge (180), kia (181), buick (183) and jeep (183).
advertisement
the windsor-built chrysler products ranked 23rd, with 213 problems, which was an improvement of 16 over 2024.
the bottom three finishers of the 31 gas-powered brands were infiniti (242), volvo (258) and audi (269). the electric vehicles in the study were tesla (200), which improved by 62 issues per 100 vehicles, and rivian (274).
volkswagen ag’s porsche 911 had the best individual score with 116 problems per 100 vehicles.
the overall average number of problems for all brands in the first 90 days of ownership dropped from 194 to 192 compared to last year.
ontario’s auto plants claimed two of the top three spots for quality in north america as toyota’s cambridge, ont. (south) plant and toyota’s georgetown 3, kentucky plant tied for the gold award, with 27 initial problems. alliston’s honda plant was close behind in third with 31 problems to earn a bronze award.
the complete set of rankings is available online at jdpower.com.
regarding vehicle infotainment systems, “while customers do find the larger touchscreens visually appealing, their functionality within the vehicle is an increasing source of frustration,” j.d. power’s senior director of auto benchmarking, frank hanley, said in a statement.
“customers are having to tap and swipe through multiple screens to access key vehicle functions like climate settings and built-in garage door openers.
“owners find these things to be overly complicated and too distracting to use while driving. by retaining dedicated physical controls for some of these interactions, automakers can alleviate pain points and simplify the overall customer experience.”
the 39th annual initial quality study was based on the responses of 92,694 purchasers and lessees of new 2025 model-year vehicles.
the study looks at infotainment, features, driving experience, climate features, exterior, driving assistance, interior; powertrain; seats, controls and displays and unspecified (unique to repair).
advertisement
