Toyota and Lexus dominate most reliable car brands list and you'll be surprised what's last

MSN via Fox News ^ | 11/19/2022 | Gary Gastelu

[SeekAndFind]

TOYOTA IS ON TOP

Last year's second-place finisher has replaced its sister luxury brand Lexus at the top of Consumer Report's reliability ranking list.

The two tied with a rounded-up predicted reliability score of 72, but Toyota was a few decimals better, and they were followed by BMW (65), Mazda (65) and Honda (62).

The study surveyed more than 300,000 owners of 2000 to early 2023 model year cars about 17 potential problem areas.

" Consumers tell us reliability is one of the most important factors when buying a car," Jake Fisher, senior director of auto testing at Consumer Reports, said. "Our data can help people choose a satisfying car that can go the distance and avoid headaches at the repair shop, which is more important than ever with high prices, low inventory and more vehicle choices."

The highest-ranked American brand was Lincoln , which was also the higest mover up the list 10th with a score of 54, followed by Buick, which also scored a rounded 54.

Tesla, Chevrolet, GMC, Volkswagen, Jeep and Mercedes-Benz filled out the bottom of the list of 24 brands.

Several automakers, including Dodge, Land Rover and Porsche, are not part of the study due to "low model count or insufficient data."

Hybrid cars led the way among model types ahead of sports cars, hybrid SUVs midsize/large cars and compact pickups, while full-size pickups were at the bottom of the list below plug-in hybrid/electric vehicles.

The Toyota Corolla Hybrid was the most reliable car model with a score of 93, the Lexus GX was second (91), the Mini Cooper was third (89), the Toyota Prius was fourth (89) and the Mazda MX-5 was fifth (85).

[SeekAndFind]

Here’s a look at the full brand ranking:

1. Toyota

2. Lexus

3. BMW

4. Mazda

5. Honda

6. Audi

7. Subaru

8. Acura

9. Kia

10. Lincoln

11. Buick

12. Genesis

13. Hyundai

14. Volvo

15. Nissan

16. Ram

17. Cadillac

18. Ford

19. Tesla

20. Chevrolet

21. GMC

22. Volkswagen

23. Jeep

24. Mercedes-Benz

[SeekAndFind]

While Toyota and Lexus traded places year-over-year, German manufacturer BMW climbed 10 spots and won the bronze medal in terms of reliability. Dropping 10 ranks, on the other hand, is Chevrolet, which only scored 40 out of 100 possible index points across all its models.

Notably, seven of the 10 highest-rated brands are Japanese.

The most valuable car company in the world, Tesla, which came in second-to-last in 2020, managed to climb four ranks. According to Reuters coverage of the report, the EV manufacturer still faces problems concerning "body hardware, steering/suspension, paint and trim, and climate system on its models."

Jeep and Volkswagen dropped even further compared to 2020.

Coming in last is Mercedes-Benz, earning a reliability score of 26 out of 100.

Consumer Reports' annual study analyzes consumer feedback for car manufacturers with more than two models and includes only the brands with enough data. By aggregating statistically significant weak points of popular car brands in the new car market, the report offers valuable insight into the market in the United States. It is considered vital information for every branch of the domestic automobile industry.

In case you were wondering, Consumer Reports notes that this year we have insufficient data to rank Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Maserati, Mini, Mitsubishi, Polestar, Porsche, and Rivian.

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[TheWriterTX]

Every Toyota we ever owed was rock solid and required very little aside from tires, brakes, and routine maintenance.

Our 1992 Toyota Truck was still going strong after 30 years. We sold it for $3K this year.

[Albion Wilde]

I’m a fan. It has a very well calibrated transmission. The car accelerates well but does not leap ahead almost out of control at the slightest touch of the gas pedal like the Honda.

[Albion Wilde]

Speaking of the Toyota. ^

[ifinnegan]

Thanks.

Toyota for sure. Lexus is Toyota.

[FrankRizzo890]

Whew good thing! There are some STINKERS in there!

Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jaguar, Land Rover, Maserati.

[BigEdLB]

My wife just replaced her 2017 Toyota RAV4, 200,000 miles with a new 2023 RAV4. Toyota is very good. Made in Tennessee. Southern fried sushi.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

What I especially like about BMW is that they throw in three years of schedule maintenance - good luck getting that with the other German auto-makers. Plus the usual solid steering and chassis. What I don’t like about BMW is that their designs are almost deliberately ugly and unless you pay extra for Nappa leather or Merino leather, you will get some cheap, dyed leather - it’s probably better to just go with their vinyl seating if you don’t want to pay extra for the good stuff.

[lurk]

The Toyota Avalon is comfy and reliable. The Camry and Avalon need brake rotors and struts replaced, otherwise no complaints.

[MachIV]

Not surprised with last place. Nothing but a money pit.

[VA is for Freepers]

Ha. I only believe Scotty Kilmer YouTube rankings. Got the first 2 right. No way on #3.

[sushiman]

6 out of top 10 Japanese - no surprise there . Best vehicles for the $ for sure .

[21twelve]

We bought a used 2005 Toyota Highlander. Even at 5,000 miles since the last oil change the oil on the dipstick looks brand new. Every other car I have (and some fairly new) the oil is black.

Although reading up on it, black oil is not necessarily bad in a car, I guess different engines do different things to the oil color. But it still looks impressive on the Toyota.

So far no issues with it either. Although I did notice some decaying rubber boots (lower control arm vertical bushings or something). Looked up the faults it will cause (thumps at stops and vibrations at speed). It still rides fine with no symptoms, but that will be up for repair.

[C19fan]

The Japanese manufacturers dominating the top sports once again. Teslas are POS cars rich people drive for moral preening? for some reason, Nissan has also been the worst Japanese manufacturer.
This list is the reason why I never owned an American car and never will. The whole term “American” is a bit misleading with more likely than not your “Japanese” car was manufactured at a factory in the United State.

[C19fan]

Wasn’t there an episode of the classic “Top Gear” where Clarkson and company put a Toyota Camry through the ringer and it kept “ticking”. If I remember right, the trio were very impressed at the manufacturing quality of this most vanilla of vanilla cars.

[nosf40]

If we factor in the original car price and the driving experience, Mazda looks even better than #4 on this list.