Vehicles hailing from the Ford brand contributed to its above average ranking in the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Vehicle Satisfaction Study. As Ford Authority previously reported, the brand ranked average in the 2021 Initial Vehicle Quality Study and placed a respectable fifth in the 2021 APEAL Study. Now, the organization rated how older vehicles measured up, and Ford performed about mid-pack when compared with its chief rivals.
Ford averaged 188 problems per 100 vehicles, which placed it behind key rivals like Toyota (158), Dodge (166), Chevrolet (171), and Kia (145), which was the top rated mass market brand. Notably, The Blue Oval ranked higher than Jeep (201), Honda (230), Chrysler (240), and Ram (266), which was the lowest ranked mass market brand for 2022. The automaker’s ranking placed it a bit above the industry average of 192 problems per 100 vehicles.
The J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study surveyed 29,487 original owners of 2019 model year vehicles to gauge how they feel after three years of ownership. The study encompasses all aspects of modern cars, like infotainment, driving experience, interior, features, powertrain, and seating. In a break with prior studies, it now asks owners more directly about their time with the vehicles and if they find them just as appealing as when they were new.
This year’s study revealed that owners are having more issues with their infotainment systems than ever, especially when it relates to voice recognition technology, Android Auto/Apple CarPlay compatibility, and Bluetooth connectivity. However, mass markets brands have reached or exceeded quality parity with more premium brands, although as the organization points out, luxury automakers tend to pack their vehicles with cutting edge technology, a trend that has impacted their overall performance with earlier iterations of the study. As Ford Authority previously reported, the brand ranked above average in the Chinese market dependability study and below average in the Mexican market dependability study.
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Comments
This really surprises me in light of the Hyundai & Kia just announced recalls which their engines catch fire.
J.D. Power and all these self-appointed opinion-setters are working 20 years behind the times.
To read these reports comparing unrelated vehicles is to question their methods and their purpose. It’s patently misleading and simply wrong to compare a small number of Land Rovers to a million Toyota Camrys.
They need to think about what they’re measuring:
1) separate their ratings into categories that relegate “gosh I don’t like the touchscreen icons” and focus on real world quality metrics (e.g. recalls, life-threatening defects with airbags or fire risk, days-off-road in the first year … separate from UX and ownership experience.)
2) quantify owner expectations. A Porsche owner will report every, little nuisance. A Kia owner will accept far lower standards. A Mercedes or Lexus owner expects perfection and white glove service.
3) categorize vehicles. A Camry is a simple and uncomplicated two wheel drive economy vehicle that rolls along freeways and spends its days parked outside home or work, unchanged in a decade beyond cosmetic model year differences. A Land Rover has 10x the components and used under far more challenging conditions and pursuing a diverse range of purposes with enthusiast owners who ask their vehicles to deliver their full performance.
The ironically low quality, incompetence and apparent biases of these “quality” reporting corporations perpetuates mistaken opinions about vehicle manufacturers in terms of the value of the vehicle taken out of context of comparing disparate vehicles as if they are the same, purchased by the same demographic, used to the same purposes under the same conditions.
Recalls have nothing to do with reliability and are only safety related. They can cover multiple years and models within a brand. In many cases, the actual incidents can be low and are issued as preventative measures.
When it comes to reliability surveys, the number of vehicles produced is not a factory as long as the sample is random. In the case of Telsa, the sample size was too low to form an opinion.