Toyota Shocker - Brand Drops To Well Under Industry Average In New 2025 Initial Quality Study - Below Dodge?

The Toyota brand is not flashy, the cars are not the most technically advanced inside, and Toyota often drags out its model generations endlessly rather than update its popular models. The reasons for this are sound. Toyota is built on a three-legged foundation of quality, durability, and reliability. If a new study by J.D. Power is to be believed, that stool just tipped over.

In its 2025 Initial Quality Study, IQS, now in its 39th year, J.D. Power ranks Toyota not first or second, as we usually expect, but 19th in initial quality. Notable brands that are above Toyota on this list are Dodge, Buick, Ford, and GMC. Toyota is suddenly lagging behind the legacy American brands.

While this is the first time we can ever remember Toyota being below the average, it is not the first year of trouble for Toyota on this study. Last year, Toyota barely made it above the industry average. Dodge was dead last in 2024 with a crazy 300 score,  unless you count Rivian, Polestar, and Tesla, who are in their own special losers' bracket for brands that have captive repair facilities (instead of independent dealers). However, Dodge in 2025 is now many places ahead of Toyota. 

Toyota has struggled with major engine problems over the past couple of years. The brand has also recently introduced an unusual number of new vehicle generations that have received their fair share of quality criticism.

With a 2025 score of 200 problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is now worlds apart from the number one brand, Lexus, which has a rating of just 166 and which we expect to see in first place. Toyota notably has the same score now as Tesla does. Quite a reversal from the days (years, decades) when Toyota was about first and Tesla was about last. Among mass market brands, Nissan ranks highest with a score of 169. Hyundai ranks second, and Chevrolet ranks third. This year, American manufacturers dominated the vehicle model wins. General Motors took five awards, followed by Ford Motor Company with four.

The IQS is based on surveys of approximately 100,000 owners of new 2025 model-year vehicles, conducted after 90 days of ownership. The study also incorporates repair visit data from hundreds of thousands of real-world events reported by franchised new-vehicle dealers. The methodology combines vehicle repair data with traditional J.D. Power Voice of the Customer (VOC) collected data. Automakers use this report to quickly identify emerging issues before they become major problems in quality.

The study survey features 227 questions of owners and also pulls in the relevant repair data. Major and minor issues are included. The data is organized into ten distinct vehicle categories. These include infotainment features, controls and displays, exterior, driving assistance, interior, powertrain, seats, driving experience, climate, and a special category that is specific to a given repair type.

If you are wondering how EVs are doing, J.D. Power says:

Gasoline (184 PP100) and hybrid (196 PP100) vehicles have fewer problems than PHEVs and BEVs. The improvement in BEVs is driven by a 62 PP100 improvement for Tesla.

Will Toyota return to its former podium finishes soon, or will its slow decline continue in future years? Click the red Add New Comment link below and share your thoughts with us.
 

John Goreham is a long-standing member of the New England Motor Press Association and an 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. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE int). 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 connect with John on LinkedIn and follow his work on his personal X channel or on our X channel. Please note that stories carrying John's by-line are never AI-generated, but he does employ grammar and punctuation software when proofreading and he also uses image generation tools. 

2025 IQS chart courtesy of J.D. Power.