Ram, Porsche Build the Best New Cars (at First)

New cars keep getting more complex, and that’s hurting vehicle quality. J.D. Power researchers report that car buyers experienced more problems early in ownership last year than ever before.

The company’s Initial Quality Study, now in its 38th year, asks new vehicle buyers to log the problems they experience during the first 90 days they own their car. Researchers then give each vehicle brand a score, expressed as the number of problems per 100 vehicles, or PP100.   

Last year, buyers cited an average of 192. This year, they logged 195.

Related: Consumer Reports Names 10 Least Reliable Cars for 2024

Nearly every brand performed worse in 2024 than in 2023. But there are winners even in a worsening market. Ram earned the best overall score, with just 149.

Porsche did best among luxury brands, with 172. Luxury cars typically perform worse on this measure because of their complexity. More features mean more potential bugs.

“It is not surprising that the introduction of new technology has challenged manufacturers to maintain vehicle quality,” said Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power. “However, the industry can take solace in the fact that some problem areas such as voice recognition and parking cameras are seen as less problematic now than they were a year ago.”

Electric Vehicles Particularly Bug-Prone

Many mainstream manufacturers have introduced the first of a planned lineup of electric cars in recent years. The newest technologies, unsurprisingly, are the least mature and refined.

“Newly incorporated repair data shows BEVs [battery electric vehicles], as well as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), require more repairs than gas-powered vehicles in all repair categories,” the researchers write.

With more experience than most companies building electric cars, Tesla traditionally scores higher. That’s not true this year. The brand scored 266 — the same as the average EV from other brands, the researchers say. “In the past, Tesla has performed better, but that is not the case this year, and the removal of traditional feature controls, such as turn signals and wiper stalks, has not been well received by Tesla customers.”

Stop Beeping At Me

Researchers cited a new frustration this year — today’s cars send too many warning signals. “Advanced driver assistance systems, intended to save lives and reduce injuries, are irritating vehicle owners with inaccurate and annoying alerts from rear cross-traffic warning and reverse automatic emergency braking features, a newly added feature to the survey this year.”

The Rankings:

*Rivian, Tesla, and Polestar are not officially ranked. J.D. Power did not explain why this year. In past years, researchers have said the companies “do not grant J.D. Power permission to survey its owners in states where authorization is required. Nonetheless, a score was calculated based on a sample of surveys from owners in the other states.”