Ford Ranked Below Average In 2025 Vehicle Dependability Study

Ford has been publicly battling a variety of issues pertaining to initial quality, warranty costs, and recalls for years now, and those problems have been reflected by some real world data via a number of studies. One of those reports is J.D. Power’s U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS), in which Ford ranked above average in 2022 before plummeting significantly in 2023 to the point where it fell well below the industry average. Ford did improve in 2024 – though it still ranked below the mean – and that was once again the case in the 2025 VDS.

In the 2025 version of J.D. Power’s U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study, Ford ranked just below the industry average of 202 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) at 208, ranking it 13^th among the pack. This is a big improvement compared to last year, however – the biggest of any brand, in fact – when Ford was 23^rd among all automotive brands after averaging 239 problems per 100 vehicles in 2024. As for the entire industry, its average PP100 actually increased from 190 last year to 202 this year, so The Blue Oval certainly bucked that trend. In fact. J.D. Power noted that vehicle problems after three years of ownership have reached the highest level since 2009, much of which can be attributed to a rise in software defects.

J.D. Power’s U.S. VDS covers 184 specific areas across nine major vehicle categories – including driver assistance, driving experience, infotainment, interior, and powertrain. The results are based on responses from more than 34,000 original owners of 2022 model year vehicles after three years of ownership. A lower score in the survey indicates higher vehicle quality.

“We’re encouraged by the progress we’re making to improve quality while staying focused on tougher testing and rigorous monitoring of new vehicles to make sure they are as good as they can be when they leave the factory,” said Josh Halliburton, Ford’s Executive Director of Quality. “We believe these actions will result in better long-term ownership experiences for our customers, like we saw in this year’s Vehicle Dependability Survey.”