Over the years, Ford has produced some mixed results in various studies and surveys, both in terms of individual models and as a brand. Last year, that included a below average ranking in terms of dependability from J.D. Power, but for the most part, those types of studies are centered around new vehicles and the first few years of ownership. Recently, Consumer Reports released its first-ever ranking by automotive brand for used cars, however, and it produced some interesting results, too.
This new study focused on 150,000 vehicles from the 2014 to 2019 model years, and found that certain brands tend to offer a huge advantage in terms of reliability over others – though there are also some individual models that are outliers. To come up with this list, Consumer Reports looked at 20 potential trouble areas reported by owners of those models ranging from squeaky brakes to broken interior trim to more major problems like engine and transmission woes.
When that data was tabulated, Lexus came out on top among all automotive brands with an average reliability score of 75 out of 100 possible points, followed by Toyota (72), both of which dominated this list – in fact, third-place Mazda scored a mere 59. As for Ford, it ranked rather far down in 20th place with a score of 36 – tying GMC and beating out only Ram, Jeep, Tesla, Dodge, and Chrysler.
Given Ford’s struggles with initial quality over the past few years, this disappointing result doesn’t come as a huge surprise. However, Consumer Reports has also praised certain used Blue Oval models as of late – including the Ford Edge and Ford C-Max – while highlighting others as ones that it recommends avoiding – such as the 2021 Ford Escape, the 2017-2019 Ford Expedition, and the 2021-2022 Ford F-150 PowerBoost hybrid.
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Comments
Stellantis has been at the bottom for years, but Ford is making fast work of joining it.
The really bad sign in all this?
It’s based on 2014-2019 vehicles, which were significantly better than their more recent vehicles.
Ford battling Srelantis for last place!
Sooooo frustrating. I really WANT to buy a new Ranger. But at today’s prices Ford just keeps making the case for Toyota. Even though I’m not a fan of Tacoma styling and they’ve stumbled a bit lately with reliability themselves.
The ones they recommended have been discontinued.
Sounds about right for this CEO.
I believe our 2016 Edge is the best car I’ve ever owned. It’s solid, very quiet, and comfortable. It’s never been in the shop for anything except a recall for something (I can’t remember what). It has 75k miles, and I’ve never had to add coolant to it, although I watch coolant level because of the ecoboosts’ coolant intrusion issue. It’s a shame they’ve discontinued the best model that Ford makes.