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The J.D. Power & Associates 2024 Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) has been released. The big news is that the perennial leaders in quality, durability, and reliability, Lexus and Toyota, are again numbers one and two overall. The pair of brands had dropped to as low as fifth and sixth place in 2022 but have now retaken the most coveted spots.
Many brands have had strong showings over the last few years. GM’s import brand, Buick, is one notable brand that has consistently vied for the premier ranking. However, it was Hyundai, Genesis, and Kia that made the biggest and most impressive gains in rankings. In 2020, Genesis was the highest-ranked brand. In 2022, Kia was ranked highest, and Hyundai third, with Genesis fourth overall. This pushed Toyota and Lexus down below all three of Hyundai’s brands.
The most shocking development for 2024 may be that Hyundai is now ranked below average. Quite a turnaround for a company that was on the podium very recently. Genesis has fallen to well below average. Kia is still above average but now trails Mazda.
The J.D. Power Dependability study looks at data from vehicle owners who reply to surveys. The vehicles for this study are all three-year-old models. This is not a study that examines new car problems. The researchers at J.D. Power noted, “The high number of problems owners encounter indicates a decline in long-term vehicle dependability, with increased levels of problems reported for nearly two-thirds of brands included in the study.”
Infotainment issues continue to be among the most reported by owners. We find this to relate directly to the overall results. For example, Hyundai’s, Kia’s, and Genesis’ newest generation of battery-electric vehicles that we tested all had old-fashioned wired Android Auto and Apple Car Play. By contrast, Toyota’s newest BEV, the bZ4X, has a simple-to-use wireless system. The study also determined that electric vehicles have the most problems.
Toyota was the top-ranked mass-market brand, and Lexus took the overall top spot in the 2024 study. You can learn more about how the study results are tabulated at the five links below which will take you directly to the J.D. Power studies for the years indicated.
2020 J.D. Power & Associates Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS)
2021 J.D. Power & Associates Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS)
2022 J.D. Power & Associates Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS)
2023 J.D. Power & Associates Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS)
2024 J.D. Power & Associates Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS)
John Goreham is an experienced New England Motor Press Association member and expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can follow John on Twitter, and connect with him at Linkedin.
Chart courtesy of J.D. Power. Top of page courtesy of Kate Silbaugh.
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