Despite being caught in the undertow of Toyota's recall and safety issues last year, Lexus tops J.D. Power and Associates' Initial Quality Study (IQS) as the best brand in the survey being released today. Even better, Lexus' flagship LS sedan had the fewest problems of any vehicle in the first 90 days of ownership.
Meanwhile Ford, which was fifth last year and the only mass-market brand in the top five, fell to 23rd this year. It had 116 problems per 100 vehicles,up from 93 last year and worse than the industry average of 107 owner-reported problems. Its Lincoln brand dropped from No. 8 to 17 this year, with 111 problems.
Power attributed Ford results partly to two specific issues about which owners have complained: complicated MyFord Touch communications controls and other controls and a dual-clutch automatic that some owners found balky and unpredictable.
Power also said new technologies were an increasing problem for all makers. While the overall industry average improved to 107 from 109 problems last year, the IQS scores for models all-new or with major redesigns was 10% worse: an average of 122 problems, up from 111 last year. Carryover or lightly freshened models, by contrast, improved to 103 from 108.
"Exciting models with the latest features are crucial for winning over today's demanding consumers," said David Sargent, vice president of global vehicle research at J.D. Power and Associates. "However, automakers must not lose their focus on the importance of these models also achieving exceptional quality levels. Expected reliability continues to be the single-most-important reason why new-vehicle buyers choose one model over another."
Said Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Michelle Krebs, "Ford was not surprised by today's results; Ford knew that people were finding the MyFord Touch problematic. The engineers who designed the system are more technically inclined than the average user. Ford engineers need to take a step back to understand what is intuitive for the typical driver."
She added that all "automakers are tweaking their engines and transmissions to maximize fuel economy, but their experiments have taken their toll in terms of the driving experience and quality ratings are suffering as a result."
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