2024 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study Now Incorporates Repair Visits, Ram Tops List
J.D. Power’s signature Initial Quality Study is evolving. For the first time ever, the analytics firm is incorporating data on dealership repair visits into the study’s customer surveys. This year’s study is based on responses from 99,144 buyers and lessees of new model-year 2024 vehicles, and respondents were surveyed 90 days after acquiring their vehicles — and the survey is thorough.
J.D. Power asked customers 227 questions covering 10 categories: infotainment, features, controls and displays, exterior, driving assistance, interior, powertrain, seats, driving experience, climate and unspecified repair issues. J.D. Power says the newly included repair data covers hundreds of thousands of dealer visits.
Defining Quality and Problems
The study’s resulting metric, problems per 100 vehicles (which J.D. Power abbreviates as PP100), requires a bit of an explanation. When applied to something named Initial Quality Study, PP100 can give the impression that modern cars fall apart shortly after leaving the dealer lot. However, many of the things that count against a brand’s score might be better categorized as A/FP100, which is to say annoyances or frustrations per 100 vehicles. These are not build-quality issues or mechanical problems, but headaches like confusing infotainment systems and false warnings from active-safety features.
Illustrating this, J.D. Power notes that Tesla removed traditional controls like turn signals and windshield-wiper stalks, which contributed to the brand’s score increasing from 257 PP100 last year to 266 this year; that is not a quality issue so much as it is an ease-of-use problem. Ease of use is, of course, important when you’re piloting two or three tons of metal through traffic at 70 mph, but it seems important to distinguish such complaints from major mechanical malfunctions.
On the other hand, the new dealership-repair data lends more weight to the Q word. J.D. Power reports that owners of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles return to the dealership three times more often than owners of gas-powered vehicles. Gas- and diesel- powered vehicles averaged 180 PP100 in this year’s study, while EVs landed at 266. Also worth noting is that legacy automakers closed the EV gap for 2024, with EVs from other brands averaging the same 266 PP100 as Tesla’s vehicles.
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Full Rankings
The brand-by-brand results of the 2024 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study are as follows. The study’s average score was 195 PP100.
- Ram: 149
- Chevrolet: 160
- Hyundai: 162
- Kia: 163
- Buick: 164
- Nissan: 166
- Porsche: 172
- Lexus: 174
- Ford: 179
- Honda: 181
- Mini: 182
- Subaru: 183
- Genesis: 184
- Infiniti: 187
- Jaguar: 188
- Mitsubishi: 191
- Toyota: 192
- Acura: 193
- Jeep: 200
- GMC: 201
- BMW: 206
- Mercedes-Benz: 206
- Cadillac : 214
- Land Rover: 214
- Lincoln: 224
- Alfa Romeo: 226
- Mazda: 232
- Volkswagen: 241
- Audi: 242
- Volvo: 242
- Dodge: 301
J.D. Power considers the following brands’ rankings to be unofficial, as the firm does not have complete data on them:
- Rivian: 266
- Tesla: 266
- Polestar: 316
Notable areas of frustration among owners include infotainment systems and other features and controls, which rate as the top two most problematic categories. This will likely continue to be a problem area as screens grow and automakers incorporate more functions into their displays; witness Mercedes-Benz’s Hyperscreen, BMW’s Curved Display and the Lincoln Nautilus’ dash-spanning screen, which is controlled by a separate touchscreen. Of features and controls, J.D. Power notes that, “The PP100 incidence in this category is more than 30% higher in EVs than in gas-powered vehicles.”
And, as federal regulators push to mandate more active-safety features on new vehicles, such technologies continue to aggravate consumers. J.D. Power says rear-seat reminders — which are intended to remind drivers not to leave pets or children behind when exiting the vehicle — contributed 1.7 PP100 across the entire industry. The firm also called out rear cross-traffic alert and reverse automatic emergency braking as particularly irritating to owners.
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto do little to mitigate in-car tech complaints, ranking among the top 10 problem areas. J.D. Power reports that, “More than 50% of Apple users and 42% of Samsung users access their respective feature every time they drive,” but that “customers most frequently experience difficulties connecting to their vehicle or losing connection.”
Individual Model Awards
J.D. Power also highlights individual models within different market segments (as defined by the firm). The Lexus LC earned the single highest quality ranking of any model. Below are the top vehicles in each category.
Cars
- Small Premium Car: BMW 2 Series
- Compact Car: Kia Forte
- Compact Premium Car: Lexus IS
- Mid-Size Car: Toyota Camry
- Upper Mid-Size Premium Car: Genesis G80
- Premium Sporty Car: Lexus LC
SUVs
- Small SUV: Ford Bronco Sport
- Small Premium SUV: Lexus UX
- Compact SUV: Chevrolet Equinox
- Compact Premium SUV: BMW X4
- Mid-Size SUV: Nissan Murano
- Upper Mid-Size SUV: Chevrolet Traverse
- Mid-Size Premium SUV: Cadillac XT5
- Upper Mid-Size Premium SUV: Cadillac XT6
- Large SUV: Chevrolet Tahoe
- Large Premium SUV: Infiniti QX80
Trucks and Vans
- Minivan: Kia Carnival
- Mid-Size Pickup: Hyundai Santa Cruz
- Large Light-Duty Pickup: Ram 1500
- Large Heavy-Duty Pickup: Chevrolet Silverado HD
At the automaker level, GM earned the highest number of individual model awards with six, followed by Hyundai and Toyota with four each. By brand, Chevrolet leads with four awards, followed by Lexus, with three.
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