Lexus once again tops JD Power reliability study

[marincounty]

Lexus once again in the top spot in the annual JD Power reliability rankings, which measure the problems experienced by original owners after three years of ownership. Buick slipped from tied with Lexus last year, to number six.

Text

Broken out by segment, Lexus took top honors in six categories for its IS 300, ES 300 and LS 300 sedans, the SC 430 coupe, and the GX 470 and LX 470 utility vehicles. Toyota led four categories and tied Honda for a fifth. Toyota's Prius hybrid was the top-ranked vehicle in the compact car segment.

Besides the Buick Century, one other GM vehicle was ranked the best in its segment: The Chevrolet Monte Carlo took the honor amid midsize sporty cars. Ford led three categories with the Crown Victoria large car, the Ford Ranger midsize pickup and the Mercury Monterey minivan.

Chrysler LLC was the only Detroit automaker with no brands ranked better than the industry average.

GM's Saab brand was the most improved in this year's study, improving to 254 problems from 319. More than 60 percent of the 38 brands in the study improved from last year

Text

Brand Problems per 100 vehicles
Lexus 120
Mercury 151
Cadillac 155
Toyota 159
Acura 160
Buick 163
BMW 164
Lincoln 165
Honda 177
Jaguar 178
Porsche 193
Mitsubishi 197
Hyundai 200
Ford 204
Infiniti 204
INDUSTRY AVERAGE 206
Audi 207
Mercedes-Benz 215
Nissan 224
Pontiac 225
GMC 226
Mazda 228
Subaru 228
Chrysler 229
Dodge 230
Mini 233
Chevrolet 239
Hummer 241
Scion 243
Volvo 244
Saturn 250
Jeep 253
Volkswagen 253
Saab 254
Isuzu 274
Kia 278
Suzuki 302
Land Rover 344


Apparently, Ford does not equal Toyota in quality. Ford is barely better than average at 204 problems versus an average of 206 problems.

 

[zoiks]

Isn't Mercury by Ford? Wow, even Cadillac beat Toyota.

 

[marincounty]

Originally posted by: zoiks
Isn't Mercury by Ford? Wow, even Cadillac beat Toyota.

But where is Ford? And even Lexus beat Cadillac, for fourteen straight years!

 

[joesmoke]

Originally posted by: marincounty

Originally posted by: zoiks
Isn't Mercury by Ford? Wow, even Cadillac beat Toyota.

But where is Ford? And even Lexus beat Cadillac, for fourteen straight years!

So... what kind of car do YOU drive marincounty?

 

[marincounty]

Originally posted by: joesmoke

Originally posted by: marincounty

Originally posted by: zoiks
Isn't Mercury by Ford? Wow, even Cadillac beat Toyota.

But where is Ford? And even Lexus beat Cadillac, for fourteen straight years!

So... what kind of car do YOU drive marincounty?

I drive an '87 Toyota Corolla. Why do you ask?

 

[BassBomb]

Reason toyota does not beat cadillac is the range of vehicles they have

We are happy with our ES350 purchase

 

[joesmoke]

Originally posted by: marincounty

Originally posted by: joesmoke

Originally posted by: marincounty

Originally posted by: zoiks
Isn't Mercury by Ford? Wow, even Cadillac beat Toyota.

But where is Ford? And even Lexus beat Cadillac, for fourteen straight years!

So... what kind of car do YOU drive marincounty?

I drive an '87 Toyota Corolla. Why do you ask?

I wanted to know where you were coming from in your comments.

 

[JulesMaximus]

<--Smug Lexus owner.

Love that list of auto makers that scored below average. Audi, Pontiac, GMC, Chrysler, Dodge, Chevrolet, Hummer, Scion, Saturn, Jeep, VW, Isuzu, Kia, Suzuki and Land Rover are all on the short list of vehicles I will never own.

 

[marincounty]

Originally posted by: BassBomb
Reason toyota does not beat cadillac is the range of vehicles they have

We are happy with our ES350 purchase

Text
February 18, 2008 - 12:01 am ET

SAN FRANCISCO ? Cadillac leaders challenged dealers to ride the momentum of the new CTS sedan and bring the brand's annual sales back to the 2005 level of 192,000 retail sales.

Text
Amid the carnage in the auto industry, Toyota's results aren't as bleak as many expected?earlier, a Bloomberg News survey of Tokyo analysts had projected Toyota would make $3 billion. And at least Toyota is still in the black: During the same quarter GM (GM) and Ford (F) lost more than $24 billion between them. Despite Toyota's North American sales falling by 33,000, to 729,000 vehicles, during the quarter, and by 32,000, to 301,000 in Europe, Japan's No.1 carmaker still managed to raise sales by 41,000, to 2.4 million vehicles, during the quarter.

Perhaps most important, Toyota maintained its full-year earnings and sales forecasts. Through March 2009, it aims to make a net profit of $11.4 billion from sales of $228 billion.

In other words, Toyota sells four times as many cars here as Cadillac, and is still profitable.

 

[zoiks]

Originally posted by: marincounty

Originally posted by: BassBomb
Reason toyota does not beat cadillac is the range of vehicles they have

We are happy with our ES350 purchase

Text
February 18, 2008 - 12:01 am ET

SAN FRANCISCO ? Cadillac leaders challenged dealers to ride the momentum of the new CTS sedan and bring the brand's annual sales back to the 2005 level of 192,000 retail sales.

Text
Amid the carnage in the auto industry, Toyota's results aren't as bleak as many expected?earlier, a Bloomberg News survey of Tokyo analysts had projected Toyota would make $3 billion. And at least Toyota is still in the black: During the same quarter GM (GM) and Ford (F) lost more than $24 billion between them. Despite Toyota's North American sales falling by 33,000, to 729,000 vehicles, during the quarter, and by 32,000, to 301,000 in Europe, Japan's No.1 carmaker still managed to raise sales by 41,000, to 2.4 million vehicles, during the quarter.

Perhaps most important, Toyota maintained its full-year earnings and sales forecasts. Through March 2009, it aims to make a net profit of $11.4 billion from sales of $228 billion.

In other words, Toyota sells four times as many cars here as Cadillac, and is still profitable.

Toyota greatest blah blah blah. Reliability is blah blah blah. It can go on forever blah blah blah.
Yet its under Mercury and Cadillac on the list of # of defects/100 vehicles. And look at Honduh. Under Lincoln and Buick. Amazing.

 

[marincounty]

Originally posted by: zoiks

Originally posted by: marincounty

Originally posted by: BassBomb
Reason toyota does not beat cadillac is the range of vehicles they have

We are happy with our ES350 purchase

Text
February 18, 2008 - 12:01 am ET

SAN FRANCISCO ? Cadillac leaders challenged dealers to ride the momentum of the new CTS sedan and bring the brand's annual sales back to the 2005 level of 192,000 retail sales.

Text
Amid the carnage in the auto industry, Toyota's results aren't as bleak as many expected?earlier, a Bloomberg News survey of Tokyo analysts had projected Toyota would make $3 billion. And at least Toyota is still in the black: During the same quarter GM (GM) and Ford (F) lost more than $24 billion between them. Despite Toyota's North American sales falling by 33,000, to 729,000 vehicles, during the quarter, and by 32,000, to 301,000 in Europe, Japan's No.1 carmaker still managed to raise sales by 41,000, to 2.4 million vehicles, during the quarter.

Perhaps most important, Toyota maintained its full-year earnings and sales forecasts. Through March 2009, it aims to make a net profit of $11.4 billion from sales of $228 billion.

In other words, Toyota sells four times as many cars here as Cadillac, and is still profitable.

Toyota greatest blah blah blah. Reliability is blah blah blah. It can go on forever blah blah blah.
Yet its under Mercury and Cadillac on the list of # of defects/100 vehicles. And look at Honduh. Under Lincoln and Buick. Amazing.

Cadillac is the luxury division of GM, Lexus is the luxury division of Toyota.
Lexus still more reliable than Cadillac. OK?

 

[Dman877]

Surprised at some of those above average, BMW? Jag? Porsche?

And aren't all Mercury vehicles simply re-badged Fords? How can the discrepancy in their ranking be explained?

Mercury just sells the reliable fords?

 

[FeuerFrei]

I really wish they'd figure mileage into the scores. Some brands may have lower mileage after 3 years than others and you cannot ignore mileage when calculating reliability.

 

[FeuerFrei]

Originally posted by: Dman877
Surprised at some of those above average, BMW? Jag? Porsche?

And aren't all Mercury vehicles simply re-badged Fords? How can the discrepancy in their ranking be explained?

My theory is Mercury vehicles, as a whole, are driven fewer miles.

 

[zoiks]

Originally posted by: marincounty

Originally posted by: zoiks

Originally posted by: marincounty

Originally posted by: BassBomb
Reason toyota does not beat cadillac is the range of vehicles they have

We are happy with our ES350 purchase

Text
February 18, 2008 - 12:01 am ET

SAN FRANCISCO ? Cadillac leaders challenged dealers to ride the momentum of the new CTS sedan and bring the brand's annual sales back to the 2005 level of 192,000 retail sales.

Text
Amid the carnage in the auto industry, Toyota's results aren't as bleak as many expected?earlier, a Bloomberg News survey of Tokyo analysts had projected Toyota would make $3 billion. And at least Toyota is still in the black: During the same quarter GM (GM) and Ford (F) lost more than $24 billion between them. Despite Toyota's North American sales falling by 33,000, to 729,000 vehicles, during the quarter, and by 32,000, to 301,000 in Europe, Japan's No.1 carmaker still managed to raise sales by 41,000, to 2.4 million vehicles, during the quarter.

Perhaps most important, Toyota maintained its full-year earnings and sales forecasts. Through March 2009, it aims to make a net profit of $11.4 billion from sales of $228 billion.

In other words, Toyota sells four times as many cars here as Cadillac, and is still profitable.

Toyota greatest blah blah blah. Reliability is blah blah blah. It can go on forever blah blah blah.
Yet its under Mercury and Cadillac on the list of # of defects/100 vehicles. And look at Honduh. Under Lincoln and Buick. Amazing.

Cadillac is the luxury division of GM, Lexus is the luxury division of Toyota.
Lexus still more reliable than Cadillac. OK?

Hmm.. You forgot to mention Mercury which is not really highest end Ford product but seems to be #2 on your list. Speaking of luxury brands, Cadillac beat Acura. Awww.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: FeuerFrei

Originally posted by: Dman877
Surprised at some of those above average, BMW? Jag? Porsche?

And aren't all Mercury vehicles simply re-badged Fords? How can the discrepancy in their ranking be explained?

My theory is Mercury vehicles, as a whole, are driven fewer miles.

Another thing not mentioned is the type of problem. You could have defective engines and transmissions in one brand and another that scored worse could have had problems with the cup holder.

 

[jtvang125]

<----Lexus owner. Don't mean to brag but the only thing I had to replace on my 10 yr old GS besides regular maintenance items was the starter. I don't drive like a race driver but I do push it every now and then. I just hit the 120k mark and got it when it was at 63k.

It's really no surprise on the top 3. Most of the owners of those cars never push them that hard and probably don't drive it that often.

 

[jtvang125]

Originally posted by: zoiks

Originally posted by: marincounty

Originally posted by: zoiks

Originally posted by: marincounty

Originally posted by: BassBomb
Reason toyota does not beat cadillac is the range of vehicles they have

We are happy with our ES350 purchase

Text
February 18, 2008 - 12:01 am ET

SAN FRANCISCO ? Cadillac leaders challenged dealers to ride the momentum of the new CTS sedan and bring the brand's annual sales back to the 2005 level of 192,000 retail sales.

Text
Amid the carnage in the auto industry, Toyota's results aren't as bleak as many expected?earlier, a Bloomberg News survey of Tokyo analysts had projected Toyota would make $3 billion. And at least Toyota is still in the black: During the same quarter GM (GM) and Ford (F) lost more than $24 billion between them. Despite Toyota's North American sales falling by 33,000, to 729,000 vehicles, during the quarter, and by 32,000, to 301,000 in Europe, Japan's No.1 carmaker still managed to raise sales by 41,000, to 2.4 million vehicles, during the quarter.

Perhaps most important, Toyota maintained its full-year earnings and sales forecasts. Through March 2009, it aims to make a net profit of $11.4 billion from sales of $228 billion.

In other words, Toyota sells four times as many cars here as Cadillac, and is still profitable.

Toyota greatest blah blah blah. Reliability is blah blah blah. It can go on forever blah blah blah.
Yet its under Mercury and Cadillac on the list of # of defects/100 vehicles. And look at Honduh. Under Lincoln and Buick. Amazing.

Cadillac is the luxury division of GM, Lexus is the luxury division of Toyota.
Lexus still more reliable than Cadillac. OK?

Hmm.. You forgot to mention Mercury which is not really highest end Ford product but seems to be #2 on your list. Speaking of luxury brands, Cadillac beat Acura. Awww.

Just a theory but acura does have a few "sporty" cars in their line up (RSX, NSX, TL) that attracts the younger crowds. These younger drivers tend to push their cars a lot harder than a Lexus or Cadillac owner would and possibly leading to a higher number of problems.

 

[Muadib]

So how do you explain the Scion results? I believe they are a Toyota brand.

 

[BUTCH1]

Originally posted by: marincounty

Originally posted by: zoiks
Isn't Mercury by Ford? Wow, even Cadillac beat Toyota.

But where is Ford? And even Lexus beat Cadillac, for fourteen straight years!

My guess is either a Lexus or Cadillac would provide a good experience, are you trying
to choose between these two vehicles??

 

[senseamp]

Originally posted by: marincounty
Lexus once again in the top spot in the annual JD Power reliability rankings, which measure the problems experienced by original owners after three years of ownership. Buick slipped from tied with Lexus last year, to number six.

Text

Broken out by segment, Lexus took top honors in six categories for its IS 300, ES 300 and LS 300 sedans, the SC 430 coupe, and the GX 470 and LX 470 utility vehicles. Toyota led four categories and tied Honda for a fifth. Toyota's Prius hybrid was the top-ranked vehicle in the compact car segment.

Besides the Buick Century, one other GM vehicle was ranked the best in its segment: The Chevrolet Monte Carlo took the honor amid midsize sporty cars. Ford led three categories with the Crown Victoria large car, the Ford Ranger midsize pickup and the Mercury Monterey minivan.

Chrysler LLC was the only Detroit automaker with no brands ranked better than the industry average.

GM's Saab brand was the most improved in this year's study, improving to 254 problems from 319. More than 60 percent of the 38 brands in the study improved from last year

Text

Brand Problems per 100 vehicles
Lexus 120
Mercury 151
Cadillac 155
Toyota 159
Acura 160
Buick 163
BMW 164
Lincoln 165
Honda 177
Jaguar 178
Porsche 193
Mitsubishi 197
Hyundai 200
Ford 204
Infiniti 204
INDUSTRY AVERAGE 206
Audi 207
Mercedes-Benz 215
Nissan 224
Pontiac 225
GMC 226
Mazda 228
Subaru 228
Chrysler 229
Dodge 230
Mini 233
Chevrolet 239
Hummer 241
Scion 243
Volvo 244
Saturn 250
Jeep 253
Volkswagen 253
Saab 254
Isuzu 274
Kia 278
Suzuki 302
Land Rover 344


Apparently, Ford does not equal Toyota in quality. Ford is barely better than average at 204 problems versus an average of 206 problems.

Yeah, well Mercury is better than Toyota in quality, and Ford is better than Toyota's Scion.

 

[Bignate603]

Originally posted by: marincounty

Originally posted by: joesmoke

Originally posted by: marincounty

Originally posted by: zoiks
Isn't Mercury by Ford? Wow, even Cadillac beat Toyota.

But where is Ford? And even Lexus beat Cadillac, for fourteen straight years!

So... what kind of car do YOU drive marincounty?

I drive an '87 Toyota Corolla. Why do you ask?

Because you're talking about how bad this company is and how great that company is. It sounds like you're bragging about how great Lexus is and how horrible Ford is, but you don't have either one. If you're driving an 87 Corolla any new vehicle from that list would be more reliable than your vehicle.

I have issues with how these surveys are done. People's perceptions of cars will affect how they answer a the questionnaire (correct me if I'm wrong, that's how they used to collect their data). For example, a Prius owner will think his vehicle is amazing and can do no wrong, while a Hummer vehicle will be regretting that purchase every fill up. Which one do you think is more likely to notice the little problems?

Also, some vehicles are just used harder. A jeep or GMC truck is more likely to be used and abused in ways a car would never see. Of course they are going to end up with more issues. It's how life is, you can't compare a luxury vehicle to a truck. While you can easily compare companies that only make one kind of vehicle this causes problems for companies like Ford and Chevy that produce multiple kinds. The abuse that the trucks take or people pounding on their mustangs could bring down the average even though their less aggressive vehicles are comparable. This study is far from perfect and really doesn't prove much to me. The numbers aren't specific enough.

I think it's telling though how much the American brands have risen (well, everybody except Chrysler). Ford has brought itself and most of its brands above average. GM really is making a competitive vehicle for the luxury market and has beaten all but one of the major players. I'd say that's a win right there.

 

[Bignate603]

Originally posted by: FeuerFrei
I really wish they'd figure mileage into the scores. Some brands may have lower mileage after 3 years than others and you cannot ignore mileage when calculating reliability.

How does gas mileage = reliability?

Isn't reliability the ability to run without breaking?

 

[NaOH]

these were taken from 2005 models....so meh

 

[senseamp]

Seems to me like the OP is trying to make himself feel better about driving a 22 year old POS car by pretending it's somehow superior to better domestic cars just because its a Toyota.