JD Power: Korean brands at top of initial quality, Lexus tops Dependability
06-21-19, 11:00 AM
#31
Never put much credence in their initial quality rankings. This is surveying owners within the first six months of any problems. The vehicle is under warranty so just a nuisance having to take it make for any fixes however I would not want Lexus in the bottom half. I put much more weight on their dependability study which looks at three year old vehicles. Here Lexus has been #1 for eight years in a row.
I rarely keep a car more than 3 years, so long term reliability is not so much of an issue with me. I just want everything right while I have the car.
06-21-19, 11:10 AM
#32
Lexus Fanatic
Personally, I feel the Initial Quality Ratings are very important. It would bug the hell out of me if my brand new car had a bunch of issues even if it didn't cost anything to fix. Even relative small problems like rattles, vibration, non-functioning electronics, crooked seams, water leaks, etc. would take the luster off the new car. Toyota and Honda used to be the masters at getting these things right - now not so much. Hyundai and Kia are trying to overcome the perceptions of poor quality from their early cars so are really working at getting this right. Genesis, as the new kid on the luxury block, must really get this right and it looks like so far they have nailed it.
I rarely keep a car more than 3 years, so long term reliability is not so much of an issue with me. I just want everything right while I have the car.
I rarely keep a car more than 3 years, so long term reliability is not so much of an issue with me. I just want everything right while I have the car.
You bring up some good points. Initial quality is indeed the main issue for many people...particulary those who lease. From what I have seen recently, Genesis is the hands-down leader in how solidly screwed-together their new vehicles come from the factory. It used be Honda and Acura, but now, as you note, not so much.
06-21-19, 11:42 AM
#33
I find it odd that Chevy and Buick are rated so much higher than Cadillac. Unless Cadillac has a really bad model out there I'm not aware of it makes no sense to me.
These surveys are subject to much false input from owners. I received three of these recently, the first had a dollar bill inside. A lot of questions seem not pertaining to the subject. In fact at the end of the survey they were asking me personal questions about my life style thatI didn't like. At the end of the third survey i just answered as quickly as possible without thought. If I get any more I will probably tear it up.
Lastly, I don't think infotainment complaints should carry much weight. I know many friends even myself have issues with dealing with all the new electronics and get frustrated even though there is nothing wrong with system.
I have had 2 Cadillac's that have zero issues with them the same as my 4 Lexus's in the past.
I think these surveys are total junk.
These surveys are subject to much false input from owners. I received three of these recently, the first had a dollar bill inside. A lot of questions seem not pertaining to the subject. In fact at the end of the survey they were asking me personal questions about my life style thatI didn't like. At the end of the third survey i just answered as quickly as possible without thought. If I get any more I will probably tear it up.
Lastly, I don't think infotainment complaints should carry much weight. I know many friends even myself have issues with dealing with all the new electronics and get frustrated even though there is nothing wrong with system.
I have had 2 Cadillac's that have zero issues with them the same as my 4 Lexus's in the past.
I think these surveys are total junk.
06-22-19, 05:13 AM
#34
The pursuit of F
Correct, here are the main ones that came up a few months into ownership and got a bit worse over time:
- Paddle shifter looseness/cheapness.
- Door moves slightly vertically causing some squeaking around the B-pillar/door frame
- Pano-roof rattles (recently new)
- Rear hatch rattle (TSB and two unsuccessful attempts by the dealer).
- DRL LED strip burnt out. Dealer replaced entire driver's front light module under warranty ($3K!)
- Uneven driver door panel gap.
- Paint quality issues - dust under clearcoat
- Rubber trim/adhesive detaching in some areas
- Pre-mature color wear on the driver's seat (lumbar area). Entire seat leather replaced. ($1K)
- Erratic radio volume. Entire head unit replaced ($4K!)
With my Lexus vehicles, I have experienced mainly just one of the 10 issues above: a squeak/rattle which I mostly fixed (or got fixed).
06-23-19, 10:04 PM
#35
Intermediate
"JD Powah" is a running joke on Reddit. Mostly due to those fake Chevy ads. Not surprised at the results. Nothing has changed much the past few years with H/K doing well. Wait for the long-term study though...
06-26-19, 01:25 PM
#36
Lexus Fanatic
Been reading elsewhere that the 90 date surveys are very closely related to infotainment screen ease of use. I know today, some one at my office got a brand new Hyundai, Apple Car Play took less than 30 seconds to engage. My fathers avalon was not so easy, buried in some dumb menu was an Car Play on/off toggle, none needed for Hyundai.
06-26-19, 04:08 PM
#37
Lexus Champion
Been reading elsewhere that the 90 date surveys are very closely related to infotainment screen ease of use. I know today, some one at my office got a brand new Hyundai, Apple Car Play took less than 30 seconds to engage. My fathers avalon was not so easy, buried in some dumb menu was an Car Play on/off toggle, none needed for Hyundai.
What model did you get? I don't remember you posting recently about it.
06-27-19, 05:27 AM
#40
Lexus Champion
06-27-19, 05:58 AM
#42
unless they split up the vehicle problems into categories these things get less credible over time. Your bluetooth not connecting is a problem just like the engine cratering. If you take the winner and loser there really isnt much of a difference 1.06 problems per vehicle vs 2.49 problems per vehicle
08-22-19, 03:26 PM
#43
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
just catching up on this ...
that's exactly right. 
also, the VDS report is feedback from owners of 3 year old cars, so 2016 year. IQS is feedback from owners of 90 days old cars, so 2019. so of 3 year old cars lexus/porsche/toyota make the most trouble-free vehicles. of new cars, genesis/hyundai/kia make the most trouble-free cars.
of course no one can predict the future, and while corrado indicated problems with his stinger (2017?), who knows if he'd have the same issues over the ownership period if he bought one today. also, was that stinger the first year of the model, which we all know tends to have more issues.
but g/h/k leading IQS is still a significant achievement, even if it is more about usability than reliability.
but clearly if you're in the market for a very reliable vehicle over the long haul, particularly a used one, lexus/toyota (oh and porsche
) are the best options.
like oldcajun, i personally no longer have any interest in keeping a vehicle for a long time (they change too much and the changes are just too exciting) so the VDS is of less interest to me.
my genesis g90 had 2 issues in 18mos to date... one was a bad tire (not really genesis' fault), and the other was the volume **** turning the volume down when i was turning it up (clockwise)
which they fixed of course. certainly didn't affect "dependability" so i think that study title is very misnamed... it's HIGHLY unlikely any 3 year old car is not going to be dependable. it may have glitches and be annoying in one way or another, but you're likely to get where you're going.
unless they split up the vehicle problems into categories these things get less credible over time. Your bluetooth not connecting is a problem just like the engine cratering. If you take the winner and loser there really isnt much of a difference 1.06 problems per vehicle vs 2.49 problems per vehicle
also, the VDS report is feedback from owners of 3 year old cars, so 2016 year. IQS is feedback from owners of 90 days old cars, so 2019. so of 3 year old cars lexus/porsche/toyota make the most trouble-free vehicles. of new cars, genesis/hyundai/kia make the most trouble-free cars.
of course no one can predict the future, and while corrado indicated problems with his stinger (2017?), who knows if he'd have the same issues over the ownership period if he bought one today. also, was that stinger the first year of the model, which we all know tends to have more issues.
but g/h/k leading IQS is still a significant achievement, even if it is more about usability than reliability.
but clearly if you're in the market for a very reliable vehicle over the long haul, particularly a used one, lexus/toyota (oh and porsche
) are the best options.like oldcajun, i personally no longer have any interest in keeping a vehicle for a long time (they change too much and the changes are just too exciting
) so the VDS is of less interest to me.my genesis g90 had 2 issues in 18mos to date... one was a bad tire (not really genesis' fault), and the other was the volume **** turning the volume down when i was turning it up (clockwise)
which they fixed of course. certainly didn't affect "dependability" so i think that study title is very misnamed... it's HIGHLY unlikely any 3 year old car is not going to be dependable. it may have glitches and be annoying in one way or another, but you're likely to get where you're going.
08-22-19, 03:38 PM
#44
Lexus Fanatic
That's a device, under the **** itself, that allows the current-flow to vary in and out of the component, which is partially responsible for the speaker-output and volume level.
08-22-19, 09:15 PM
#45
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
That's an interesting problem.....I don't think I've ever heard of it before. What did it turn out be........the variable-resistor (potentiometer) installed backwards? That's a device, under the **** itself, that allows the current-flow to vary in and out of the component, which is partially responsible for the speaker-output and volume level.
That's a device, under the **** itself, that allows the current-flow to vary in and out of the component, which is partially responsible for the speaker-output and volume level.