J.D Power Ranks Most Reliable Cars in America: Lexus Tops, Toyota and Porsche Tie

Porsche 911
Porsche's 911 ranked one of the most dependable cars of the year.

J.D Power—considered the world’s most trusted in consumer ratings—released the results of their annual U.S Vehicle Dependability Study.

The results? Lexus ranked the highest for vehicle dependability while Toyota and Porsche tied for second. In fact, this year J.D Power found a 4 percent improvement for the entire industry.

Lexus
Lexus took the cake for reliability. Source: Consumer Reports

However, J.D Power is quick to point out that automakers still struggle with issues—the results for this year just show a shift towards improved dependability.

How J.D Power Evaluates Automakers

The study looks at vehicles that are three years old (so these results are for the 2016 model year) and studies them over a period of twelve months.

Toyota Supra
Toyota revealed its new Supra after much anticipation at the Detroit Auto Show. Source: Bloomberg

What exactly are they looking for?

J.D Power ranks dependability by looking for 177 specific problems in 8 categories for every 100 vehicles. By doing so, they not only help vehicle buyers choose the most reliable cars, but also give owners an idea of what the resale value will be like down the line.

How Did the Other Vehicles Measure Up?

While Lexus ranked highest for the eighth year in a row, it’s certainly worth noting that all the German brands stepped up their game. VW, Audi, BMW, and Mercedes improved and did better than the industry average for the first time in three decades.

So it’s not surprising that Porsche tied for second place and won its first award for its 911 sports car.

Porsche 911
Porsche’s 911 received its first-ever award for dependability this year. Source: Motor1

All the top-ranking vehicles were the only ones that earned more than one award for being the most dependable. This includes GM’s Chevrolet and Buick brands, which took fourth and fifth place, respectively. 

Cars That Flopped 

Land Rover and Fiat didn’t do well, but it’s worth noting that Chrysler improved the most out of any brand, although it did still fall short of the industry average.

Tesla wasn’t evaluated because it didn’t have a large enough sample size (the company has restrictions on the sharing of vehicle data, according to Kyle Reuter, the spokesperson for J.D Power).

Three of the vehicles that ranked most dependable for this year have been discontinued, redesigned, or are scheduled to be discontinued (think the Buick LaCrosse and Chrysler Town & Country).

The Full List

In case you were interested to see where your vehicle ranks, here’s the complete list of which automakers ranked on J.D Power’s U.S Vehicle Dependability Study for 2019:

J.D Power Dependability Study 2019
J.D Power released its Dependability Study results for 2019. Source: CNET

Source: USA Today