Lexus, Porsche and Buick are most dependable

“If you think about the technology problems from the study in the context of conversations around autonomous vehicles, the industry clearly has more work to do to secure the trust of consumers”, said Stephens. For the fifth year running, Toyota’s luxury brand has topped the annual JD Power US Vehicle Dependency study but domestic brands are also starting to show improvements in reliability.

It rated brands by the number of problems those owners had experienced in the past 12 months. The penetration of these features has increased each year, and that, she noted, does not bode well for consumer acceptance of autonomous cars, the ultimate statement on navigation and communication technology.

Fussy communications – drivers zeroed in on Bluetooth connectivity and voice recognition issues – as well as entertainment and navigation systems have become the most problematic area, the impetus for the industry’s 3 per cent decline in dependability scores compared to a year ago.

Navigation system hard to use, and navigation system inaccurate. J.D. Power again cited technology issues as the industry average rose to 152 problems per 100 vehicles, from 147 a year earlier.

As mentioned, Lexus was the most dependable brand with a PP100 of 95. Other segment leaders were the Honda Fit, best small vehicle with 114 problems per 100, Buick Encore (small SUV, 110), Buick Verano (compact auto, 77), Toyota Prius V (compact MPV, 130), Mini Cooper and Mini Coupe/Roadster (tied for best compact sporty auto with a score of 161 for both), Chevrolet Equinox (compact SUV, 85) and Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class (compact premium SUV, 115). “Dependability has a direct impact on purchase decisions and brand loyalty”.

On top of that, two other Chevy models placed in the top three of their segments, giving the American automaker its best results ever in the benchmark dependability study.

Among owners who experienced a Bluetooth pairing/connectivity problem, 53 per cent said the vehicle didn’t find/recognize their mobile phone/device.

Among owners who indicate having experienced a voice recognition problem, 67% say the problem was related to the system not recognizing/misinterpreting verbal commands. But the number of engine/transmission problems decreases to 24 from 26 a year ago.

Overall, dependability fell slightly from the 2015 study. But Mark Rosekind, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, has taken a much more aggressive stance on defining safety related problems that require recalls. Design-related problems account for 39% of problems reported in the study (60 PP100), a 2-percentage-point increase from 2015.