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by jsmith12673 2166 days ago
This survey is incredibly suspect ... as the author themself states, there's an inherent bias for non-american brands.

I find it surprising the FCA and GM cars are topping the list, while being notoriously unreliable in the car community.

Also worth noting that both Toyota and Ford have been ranked as worse than industry average.

I'm not saying that Tesla(s) don't have quality issues, but this survey seems pretty meaningless.

3 comments

It sounds like you are saying that this survey is meaningless because it disagrees with your anecdotal experience. If the survey is conducted in a rigorous and valid way, then it's the perception, not the study, that needs to be suspect. Does J.D. publish their methodology and data? The best I could find was this PDF: https://www.jdpower.com/sites/default/files/file/2020-06/202....
review consumer reports reviews of FCA and GM cars. They are crap. JD Power looks at the first 3 months. That's before the first oil change! The reality is that high-reliability cars require no mechanical repairs in the first 100k miles.

anecdotal evidence: 1989 Honda Civic only needed a/c compressor from 100-180k miles. 1991 Honda Civic only needed a/c compressor from 98-140k miles. 2007 Toyota Camry required a CV joint and a sun visor in the first 100k miles. It needed a Power steering hose at 120k. 2010 Honda Pilot required a Fuel Tank Vacuum Valve in the first 100k miles, and a a/c compressor, power steering pump and rack at 190k. 2012 Chevy Sonic needed a new turbo in first 50k miles. 2003 Chevy Cavalier went through alternators like underpants, and would quit running if you turned off the a/c while stopped.

I won't by GM or FCA vehicles with the exception of Dodge RAM diesels. I do maintenance myself and always use OEM parts when I sub work out.

I don't think it's as black-and-white as you suggest. This link seems to support the narrative that FCA has greatly improved, and it also agrees that Subaru and BMW, in spite of their high quality stereotype, statistically suffer from more than their fair share of issues: https://www.consumerreports.org/car-reliability-owner-satisf...

Anecdotal evidence is fun, but it's useless for making any kind of informed decision. We happen to have a 2008 Toyota Sienna. The general consensus for that vehicle is that its practically bulletproof. But we've had chronic issues with it since 50,000 miles. AC went out, plastic seals falling off, engine knocking, and many other issues. But I wouldn't hesitate to consider a Toyota when we replace it, because I know our experience has been an outlier.

when has BMW had a high quality sterotype? Fancy pants? sure. but Audi/BMW/MB all suffer from reliability issues, with BMW leading the pack.

Completely agree about anecdotal evidence.

> I find it surprising the FCA and GM cars are topping the list, while being notoriously unreliable in the car community.

I'm convinced that nearly every brand is notoriously unreliable in the car community. Toyota is the only brand that seems to escape that mark. Though, Toyota is generally labelled as "vanilla and reliable" so it doesn't get a lot of attention in the car community.

JD Power has existed for decades and is known and trusted.