The latest Reliability Survey from Consumer Reports shows continued dominance of Japanese brands and further declines at Ford. The ratings are based on 1.2 million responses to the 2012 annual survey. Consumer Reports subscribers reported on any serious problems they had with their vehicles during the past 12 months that they considered serious because of cost, failure, safety, or downtime. The company uses the data to predict how well new cars that are currently on sale will likely hold up.
In the 2012 survey, Japanese brands took the top seven spots: Scion, Toyota, Lexus, Mazda, Subaru, Honda and Acura. Toyota alone accounted for the top three. Audi was the leading non-Japanese brand, taking eighth place.
On the other hand, Ford plunged in the reliability rankings and now stands in 27th place out of a total 28 brands. Last year it plunged from 10th to 20th place. The Lincoln brand dropped from 14th to 26th. The latest report puts 60% of Ford models at below average, with the worst at 226% worse than the average car.
A number of factors were at work in Ford’s decline in the rankings. The latest Explorer, Fiesta, and Focus all launched with more problems than usual, and the OEM’s MyFord/MyLincoln Touch infotainment system, which has been expanded to a growing range of models, has suffered several glitches. Problems with increasingly sophisticated multimedia systems, such as MyFord Touch, were highlighted by this year’s US Initial Quality Study (IQS) by JD Power as well. To compound the situation, Ford’s traditionally strong players in the rankings – the Ford Escape and Fusion and Lincoln MKZ – were redesigned for 2013 and not included in this year’s analysis.
In the rankings of the least reliable, Ford and Lincoln topped the lists. Among the ten least reliability new cars included in the study, Ford and Lincoln account for five. The Ford Explorer (V6, AWD) is rated as the least reliable model in the rankings, followed by the Ford Focus (hatchback). The Ford Explorer (V6, 2WD) is rated as the fifth least reliable, followed by the Lincoln MKX as the sixth and the Lincoln MKT as the ninth least reliable model.
GM’s Cadillac brand grabbed the top domestic brand spot thanks to a 14-spot improvement this year. In fact, all of GM’s nameplates (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC) showed improvement.
Chrysler’s Jeep, last year’s leading domestic brand, fell six positions this year to 19th. Chrysler took 23rd, followed by Dodge in 24th. Consumer Reports notes that some of the recently revamped Chrysler and Dodge models dampened the nameplates’ rankings.
The European players generally fared well, with all of the German luxury brands improving. Of the seven Audi models included in the rankings, six rated average or better. Of the 12 BMWs included, 10 rated average or better. The V6 E-Class from Mercedes-Benz improved from an average rating to above average, though the redesigned M-Class was given a below average rating in its first year. For Volkswagen, the survey revealed mixed results due to problems with the Beetle, GTI, Jett and Touareg.
