Lexus Ranks Best, Ford Freefalls On 2023 J.D. Power Dependability Study

Every February, the researchers at J.D. Power release an annual dependability study for vehicles that are a few years old. This year, the study is based on the feedback from 30,062 owners of three-year-old vehicles that were purchased new. The overall takeaway is that dependability is improving slowly across the board, though issues persist with advanced technology and infotainment systems.

J.D. Power compiles its information and generates a ranking in terms of problems per 100 vehicles (PP100). Lower numbers are obviously better, and for 2023, Lexus takes the overall crown with a score of 133. As such, Lexus also ranks best for luxury brands, while Kia is the best mass-market automaker with a score of 152. On the other end of the scale, Land Rover holds the unfortunate distinction of ranking last at 273. J.D. Power lists the industry average this year at 186, an improvement of 6 from 2022.

^{Bottom Five Brands, 2023 J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study}

For the most part, this year’s automaker rankings haven’t shifted much, but there are notable exceptions and Ford is arguably the most shocking among them. Having ranked above average in 2022 with a score of 188, the Blue Oval plunged 61 points to land at 249. It’s now the lowest-ranked mass-market brand, finishing just ahead of Audi at 252. Ford’s own luxury brand Lincoln is one step up from Land Rover at 259. Rounding out the bottom five is Mercedes-Benz with a score of 240 – another shocking freefall considering the German brand was in average territory last year at 195.

Back at the top, General Motors has two brands in the top five. Buick ranks fourth at 159 and Chevrolet is fifth with 162. Aside from Lexus and Kia, Genesis is the other top-five brand at 144. Though still not quite up to the industry average, Ram’s dependability index increased an impressive 77 points from last year to land at 189. Volvo increased 41 points to score 215, and Nissan logged a 35-point improvement to reach 170. That’s good enough for the Japanese company to finish in the top 10.

^{Top Five Brands, 2023 J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study}

As for specific vehicles, J.D. Power lists the Lexux RX and Toyota C-HR in a tie for the most dependable models overall. Kia ranked highest for compact and mid-size cars with the Forte and Optima, and in the SUV world, the Kia Sportage also received the best score for compact SUV. Other notable rankings include the Chevrolet Tahoe for large SUV, Chevrolet Blazer for mid-size SUV, GMC Sierra for full-size light-duty pickup, and the Toyota Tacoma for mid-size pickup.

Full results of the dependability study are available at J.D. Power.