Consumer Reports' take on least reliable cars

Lexus was rated the most reliable automaker in Consumer Reports’ 2021 Auto Reliability Report, followed by Mazda and Toyota, while Jeep, Tesla and Lincoln were at the bottom of the list.

The report, which was released Thursday, focuses on what went wrong with owners’ cars in the last 12 months, and uses that data to predict how reliable the forthcoming models from major automakers will be.

Consumer Reports surveyed owners of more than 300,000 vehicles from model years 2000 to 2021, and used that data to make predictions about 269 different 2022 model year vehicles. The report encompasses 28 automakers and 144 models with an established history.

Battery-powered electric vehicles comprised a bigger segment of the list this year than ever before, and their reliability ratings varied widely, while gas-electric hybrids were among the most reliable vehicles overall.

Consumer Reports rated 11 fully electric models from eight brands, including five fully electric SUVs, according to Jake Fisher, senior director of auto testing at Consumer Reports.

“The whole market is going towards a full EV fleet. We’re very interested to see what this means in terms of reliability,” Fisher said.

Overall, Toyota’s luxury Lexus brand reclaimed its top spot in the reliability survey after Mazda overtook it a year ago, marking the first time in 15 years that a Toyota brand had not been No. 1.

Mazda ranked second in this year’s survey, followed by the main Toyota brand.

Domestic brands such as Chrysler, Chevrolet and Ford had average reliability, while others such as Ram, GMC and Jeep were below average. Ford’s luxury Lincoln brand ranked last at 28th, behind Tesla.

Going electric

Reliability ratings for EVs varied widely.

The Tesla Model X and Audi E-tron ranked dead last in this segment for reliability, while the Kia Niro EV ranked “well above average reliability.” The Nissan Leaf and newer Ford Mustang Mach-E scored “above average reliability.”

High-end electric SUVs were among the least reliable vehicles in the survey overall.

“There’s no reason fully electric cars can’t be as reliable or even more reliable than traditional vehicles with internal combustion engines,” Fisher said. “It’s how they implement the technology.”

Electric drivetrains weren’t the problem. Instead, Fisher blamed unnecessary high-tech bells and whistles.

“For EV introductions, there is a tendency to just add so much tech that is not necessary,” Fisher said.

The reliability rankings stand in stark contrast with Consumer Reports’ satisfaction survey, where Tesla topped the 2020 list, followed by Lincoln. Tesla’s success with customers has put pressure on other automakers to surprise and delight consumers with features from the entertaining to the serious, Fisher suggested. Elon Musk’s electric car company pioneered over-the-air software updates that can give owners’ cars new navigation features such as “waypoints” or deliver a recall fix without a dealership visit.

But introducing more software, hardware and features adds complexity, and that can hurt reliability, Fisher said.

Tesla

Tesla’s low standing primarily stemmed from issues with the company’s Model S, X and Y vehicles from 2019 through 2021 model years. The Tesla Model 3, which Consumer Reports continues to recommend, showed average reliability.

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[gabrielmartinez]

I am surprised BMW isn’t at the bottom of the list, worst care I’ve ever owned.

[vignesh]

Land rover and jaguar are very unreliable

[youtubesucks]

🤨

GM and BMW were the worst cars we’ve ever owned. Haven’t had a single problem with my Tesla yet. This was a trash report.

[ThreePuttBogeys]

I’ve had a Tesla for 2 years and it’s only cost me $16 for windshield wiper fluid. Software updates have given me a ton of features I didn’t have when I first bought it. It’s literally a better car two years later. I really do wonder where they get their data.

[dluchin]

So Tesla is penalized for constantly giving users free new software features and upgrades..

[raffiboi]

Love my Model 3P! No issues except my Bluetooth doesn’t always work when I try to open the door with my phone first world problems…

[fcan]

CONSUMER REPORT is getting more and more unreliable. I STOP reading them all together.

[ryansmithc]

Consumers Report is not a trusted source.

[glennalexon]

Just because Jeep still sells vehicles doesn't mean that poor reliability hasn't hurt sales. One can't know what sales would have been if they were reliable. Read a book, Phil.

[guslevy]

The two biggest “donors” to Consumer Reports are the Ford Foundation and the Alfred Sloan (GM) Foundation.

Have a good evening…

[markplott]

CNBC - if it's Diesel, gas or Hybrid, it's Already LESS Reliable than a Tesla model 3 Standard.
1 Million mile battery, 300, 000 mi to FIRST maintenance.
Tesla ALWAYS starts in the morning 🌅, even with ICE & SNOW ❄️.

[antnam]

I’m sure Model 3 is not in the sunken place like the Model Y.

[LookatBowen]

Ah! It is pick on Tesla day again. Who would have thought? Like it was yesterday and the day before! Consumer Reports - The bozos that tried tricking Auto-Pilot in a Tesla by tying the steering wheel with weights etc. Is that the same crowd doing this survey? For a car that has 49000 fewer parts than an ICE vehicle, I find that very hard to believe. I guess that is why the Ford Mustang is selling out of stock every day because so many people want the most reliable car. How many did they sell as opposed to Tesla Model 3 or Y?

[arieltccc]

CRIs the least reliable source of reliability for non ad paid cars.

[USGrantst]

Nothing is changing through the years, Lexus is still at the top and Tesla is still at the bottom.

[RussInGA]

My Kia's engine blew up.. My Tesla works great!

[TF-Times]

Nobody cares what consumer reports thinks.

[eric]

Most reliable: Japanese
Least reliable: American

[illlDCllli]

I've had a Tesla for 4 years now, and it's easily the most reliable car I've ever owned. After 3 years my wife got one as well. The best, safest cars out there. And all electric, no trips to the gas station.. just charge them while we sleep.

Also, every person I know who owns a Tesla loves their car. This consumer reports survey seems sus to me.

[Greenrivers]

You can not go wrong with Toyota/Lexus vehicles ain’t no such thing as a perfect car but they’re the closest to it