Car Quality Still Suffering From Pandemic Era, J.D. Power Finds

2022 might not have been the best year to buy a new car. A new study finds that owners of 2022 model-year cars report more problems with their vehicles than any other group since 2009.

Analysts from J.D. Power study 3-year-old cars for their annual Vehicle Dependability Study. This year, they surveyed 34,175 owners of 2022 model year vehicles, tallying the number of problems they report per 100 cars.

The results weren’t just bad compared to last year. They were the worst seen since 2009.

Some old patterns held. Lexus, long a high performer in the study, did better than any other brand. Volkswagen once again struggled.

That result isn’t particularly surprising if you think back to 2022. During the COVID-19 pandemic, automakers were closing and reopening factories, dealing with part shortages and shipping delays, and still selling cars easily because supply was low compared to demand.

The cars factories turned out under those conditions might not have been their best work.

“While the increase in problems this year may be a thorn in the side of automakers and owners, it’s important to remember that today’s three-year-old vehicles were built during a time when the industry was grappling with major disruptions,” says Jason Norton, director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power.

J.D. Power analysts conduct two large quality studies. The Initial Quality Study examines problems found in the first 90 days of ownership. The Vehicle Dependability Study looks three years later. 2022’s Initial Quality Study showed a spike in problems. Three years later, those cars still have issues.

Software Problems Most Common

The most common complaint? Connectivity problems with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Those systems use a car’s touchscreen to mimic your phone screen, letting you use phone apps for streaming entertainment and navigation.

“Of the top 10 problems industry-wide, half are related to smartphone integration, usage or connectivity,” J.D. Power reports. Automakers tout the ability to fix software problems through over-the-air updates, but the patches don’t always work. The researchers note that 36% of owners said their car had received one, but “only 30% of these owners say there was an improvement after the update, while 56% of owners say there was no noticeable improvement.”

Hybrids Now the Most Reliable Vehicles

Hybrids had fewer problems per 100 vehicles (199) than any other kind of car. Gas-powered vehicles came in second at 200. Electric vehicles (EVs) slid in third with 223, and diesel-powered vehicles sat fourth at 233. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) proved the most plagued, with 242 problems per 100 vehicles.

Most automakers are still new to EV production. But they get better with experience. EVs experienced 33 fewer problems per 100 vehicles than in last year’s study.

But PHEVs saw their quality dip, experiencing 26 more problems than the year before. That’s likely due to the complexity of a PHEV powertrain, which essentially includes both an EV system and a gas-powered system in one car.

Brand Rankings

The industry’s average score was 202, 12 more than a year ago. Notably, J.D. Power excludes Tesla from a ranking because the company denies researchers access to some data. Using the partial data available, J.D. Power says that Tesla would have placed 13th with 209 problems per 100 cars.

Scores by Model

The vehicle with the highest overall dependability score was the since-discontinued Toyota Avalon.