Vehicle dependability after three years of ownership is still suffering from pandemic aftershocks and has reached the highest level since 2009, according to J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study.
“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,” said Jason Norton, Director of Auto Benchmarking at J.D. Power, in a statement.
He added that supply chain issues, record-high vehicle prices, and personnel disruption as a result of the pandemic were problematic.
Compared with its 2024 results, J.D. Power said the industry experienced a 6 per cent increase in problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) — which they noted was 12 PP100 worse than a year ago. (The lower the score, the higher the vehicle quality.) This brings the industry average to 202 PP100.
The growing issues can be attributable to mass market brands experiencing a 16 PP100 increase that is partly related to software defects.
“Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity remains the top problem in the industry for a second consecutive year, increasing to 8.4 PP100 from 6.3 PP100 in 2024,” said J.D. Power in its update. “Built-in Bluetooth systems (4.6 PP100) and Wi-Fi (2.4 PP100) are also among the top problems related to software defects this year.”
They also highlighted that, although software defects only make up 9 per cent of the total problems owners experience, there is a risk that these issues become more significant as vehicles become more software-reliant.
The study, which was fielded from August through November 2024, is based on responses from 34,175 original owners of 2022 model-year vehicles after three years of ownership. To review the highest ranking brands, see below:
