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After years of regular enchancment, the standard new automotive, truck, and crossover fashions have began having long-term reliability issues, in response to a brand new research by J.D. Energy. You may consider this because the long-term model of “long COVID,” as lots of the issues are associated to {hardware} and software program points associated to the chip shortages producers confronted in the course of the latest pandemic.
The variety of issues reported by house owners of 3-year-old automobiles rose 6% within the analysis agency’s newest annual U.S. Automobile Dependability Research (VDS), reversing years of comparatively regular enhancements. It marks the best stage of bother since 2009, the analysis agency mentioned in a abstract of the 2025 VDS findings.
VW Golf R and GTI Debut at 2021 Chicago Auto Present; (picture/Paul Eisenstein)
Pandemic Period Points
Not less than a number of the blame goes to COVID, defined Jason Norton, J.D. Energy’s director of auto benchmarking. Amongst different issues, producers have been compelled to incessantly cease after which restart manufacturing — at all times a headache — as a result of on-and-off shortages of important semiconductors.
“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,” he famous. “Supply chain issues, record-high vehicle prices, and personnel disruption in the wake of the pandemic were problematic.”
2025 J.D. Energy Automobile Dependability Research
In Energy-speak, house owners reported an industry-wide common of 202 issues for each 100 automobiles, or 202 PP100. That was a 6% — or 12 PP100 — enhance worse than the findings from 2024.
However there have been huge gaps between the perfect and worst manufacturers. Lexus got here out on prime total, with a median of 140 issues per 100 automobiles, whereas Buick was the top-ranked mainstream marque at 143 PP100. On the different excessive, Volkswagen anchored the {industry} with 285 PP100.
Cadillac was the second-ranked premium model, at 169 PP100, with Porsche third at 186 PP100.
Mazda was second amongst mass-market manufacturers at 161 PP100, with Toyota third at 162.
By way of particular person model-level winners, Toyota had the highest product within the 2025 Automobile Dependability Research, the now out-of-production Avalon.
The research coated 30 manufacturers. Tesla was not included as a result of it doesn’t enable entry to proprietor names in a variety of states. Primarily based on the surveys submitted by house owners elsewhere, Tesla got here in with a below-average rating of 209 issues per 100.
Software program Defects
2022 Jeep Compass infotainment display screen; (picture/Jeep)
As to what went incorrect, Energy discovered “problems related to software defects” gave house owners probably the most complications, particularly points associated to Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity. Bluetooth and onboard Wi-Fi additionally created nagging points for house owners.
Automakers have been attempting to appropriate these and different software-related points by making their automobiles able to smartphone-style over-the-air updates. However, for these whose automobiles had OTA capabilities, “56% of owners say there was no noticeable improvement” after software program updates, Energy mentioned in its abstract.
Drawback-Plagued Automobile Classes
2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS 580 4Matic; (picture/Paul Eisenstein)
The variety of owner-reported issues within the 2025 research bought worse for nearly each class of auto — apart from EVs, discovered Energy, which had a 33 PP100 year-over-year enchancment. On the entire, house owners of all-electric fashions registered about the identical variety of complaints, a median of 223 PP100, as fashions utilizing inside combustion engines. These automobiles averaged 200 issues per 100.
That didn’t maintain true for plug-in hybrids, nevertheless. Collectively, they have been probably the most problem-plagued merchandise within the VDS this 12 months, averaging 241 PP100. Standard hybrids, in distinction, have been the least troublesome, coming in at 199 issues. Diesels have been nearly as problem-plagued as plug-ins, at 233 PP100.
Homeowners discovered merchandise that had been in showrooms for just a few years have been much less prone to trigger issues than all-new and considerably up to date mannequin strains.
Dependable Fashions
Toyota Motor Corp. and Normal Motors Co. tied with probably the most winners in particular person mannequin segments at six every. These included:
Toyota: Lexus GX, Toyota Camry, Toyota Corolla, Toyota RAV4, Toyota Sienna, and Toyota Tacoma
GM: Cadillac XT6, Chevrolet Corvette, Chevrolet Silverado, Chevrolet Silverado HD, Chevrolet Tahoe, and GMC Acadia
Nissan had two model-level awards for Nissan Kicks and Nissan Murano
thirty sixth Annual J.D. Energy Automobile Dependability Research
This marks the thirty sixth 12 months for the J.D. Energy Automobile Dependability Research. The 2025 U.S. VDS outcomes have been primarily based on outcomes from research returned by 34,175 authentic house owners of 2022 model-year automobiles between August and November 2024.