Lexus Tops J.D. Power Dependability Study

By adpock - February 25, 2016

Lexus GS 350

The Lexus brass can talk all they want about changing the brand’s “emotional direction,” but if the cars aren’t dependable first, then it doesn’t matter what they look like, sound like, and handle like. Fortunately, according to the latest J.D. Power’s U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study, Lexus has that whole dependability thing covered.

For five years running, Lexus has bested J.D. Power’s venerable Study as the most reliable automaker around. Boom.

The U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS), which was released yesterday, asked 33,560 owners of 32 different car brands about problems with their vehicles over the last year. The problem symptoms are broken down into eight separate categories: exterior, features/controls/displays, seats, interior, the driving experience, Audio/Entertainment/Navigation, HVAC, and Engine/Transmission.

With a score of 95, Lexus had fewer problems per 100 vehicles than every other marque. Porsche scored a 97 and was the only other brand to come in under 100 in the VDS. With a score of 106, Buick took third place and bested the non-luxury automakers, their second year in a row cracking the top 10. All in all, the total average score for this year was 152 problems per 100 vehicles, which is an increase from last year’s 147 average.

Here’s the full list:

2016_vds_rank_1

Like topping the American Customer Satisfaction Index, besting J.D. Power’s Vehicle Dependability Study is very welcome news. Especially if Lexus can keep it up while they move towards more emotional cars. Dependability and performance is a powerful combination.