Quality is an ever-moving target; it’s something automakers have to constantly monitor. And like the Mongol hordes conquering vast swaths of Asia in the 13th century, problems can easily overwhelm an unsuspecting company’s defenses. Like arrows toppling a mighty war elephant, just a few small issues can devastate even the most reliable vehicle on the road. To keep these nomadic defects at bay, engineers and product planners must remain vigilant.
Along with Consumer Reports, J.D. Power is one of the major firms that tracks automotive quality. Its annual Vehicle Dependability Study is highly anticipated by OEMs and media alike. Think of it as a report card for automakers.
For nearly a quarter-century the study has kept a careful eye on quality by tracking problems per 100 vehicles (PP100). It measures things that have gone wrong with 3-year-old cars and trucks as reported by their original owners.
Like America’s Most Wanted, J.D. power has just released a list of 10 vehicles that have suffered the largest declines in quality. These vehicles have had the greatest year-over-year increase in PP100. Some of the cars and trucks on the list may really surprise you.
Landing at No. 10 is the Toyota Corolla. This C-Segment stalwart has a strong track record for quality and dependability but it declined by 29 PP100 in the 2013 Vehicle Dependability Study. That gives the car an overall score of 122 problems per 100 vehicles, slightly better than the industry average of 126, which itself is a 5 percent improvement compared to last year. Still the decline is very strange for a model that’s been in production so long; it’s especially unusual for Toyota.
Topping the Corolla yet curiously tying it at the same time is the Nissan Frontier. This midsize pickup suffered a decline of 30 PP100 in the latest J.D. Power survey, one more than the Toyota. But at the end of the day it still drove away with an overall score of 122 things-gone-wrong per 100 vehicles, the same as the Corolla. Again, the industry average is 126 PP100, so even with a significant decline in dependability this truck is doing better than many other vehicles.
The Toyota Corolla and Nissan Frontier may have suffered noteworthy quality declines but they still remained better than average in the 2013 Vehicle Dependability Study. Like these Japanese competitors, the Jeep Compass also took quite a tumble, but where it landed was far from the industry average. This compact SUV declined by 32 PP100, yielding a score of 178 problems per 100 vehicles. Ouch! It looks like the Compass is lost in the quality wilderness. Somebody give Jeep a map and directions.
Topping Jeep’s 32-point drop is the Honda Fit, another surprising addition to this list. The versatile hatchback declined by 36 PP100, giving it a grand total of 154 problems per 100 vehicles. This is considerably worse than the industry average of 126 PP100 and very surprising for Honda. Like Toyota, they’re a company that’s built on a foundation of quality. Could this be indicative of major issues at these top Japanese automakers?
Against the odds another Toyota made the list. The company’s Scion xB compact hatchback rolls in at No. 6. In J.D. Power’s latest dependability survey the car’s quality decreased by 38 PP100. That drop gives it an overall score of 138 problems per 100 vehicles. Again, that’s slightly worse than the industry average.
Honest Abe may have freed slaves and kept the Union intact but he’s been a lot less successful building cars. Over the last 15 years or so Ford’s Lincoln luxury division has fallen on hard times, losing ground to resurgent Cadillac as well as high-end German and Japanese competitors. And unfortunately the bad news doesn’t end there. The brand’s MKX crossover vehicle earned a spot on this Top 10 list. The vehicle declined by 40 PP100 in the latest J.D. Power survey. Its total score for the 2010 model year is 133 problems per 100 vehicles, which is slightly worse than average.
Hyundai is one brand that’s been storming ahead over the last decade. The company’s vehicles used to be the automotive equivalent of a one-time-use camera, but today they’re building some remarkably good products. The Elantra compact car is one such vehicle. Unfortunately reliability is not one of its virtues. According to the folks at J.D. Power the 2010 model fell 51 points in their annual dependability study. That works out to 157 problems per 100 vehicles, which is considerably below average.
The Dodge Charger dropped by an eye-watering amount in the 2013 J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study. This full-size, rear-wheel-drive sedan tumbled by 67 problems per 100 vehicles. That drop yields a whopping score of 182 PP100! Once more, the industry average is just 126. Hopefully Chrysler has gotten its act together with later versions of the Charger so its score can improve in future studies.
Topping the Charger’s face-contorting plunge is Chevrolet’s Equinox. This versatile crossover had too much to drink and fell off its barstool, plunging clear through the floor and landing in the cellar. Its problems-per-100-vehicles score increased by 70. That year-over-year decline resulted in an overall rating of 162 PP100, well below the industry average.
Topping the charts, or rather bottoming them out is the 2010 Hyundai Genesis Sedan. This large, rear-wheel-drive four-door plummeted like a meteor in J.D. Power’s latest quality survey. The car declined by a whopping 114 problems per 100 vehicles, a devastating drop that resulted in an overall score of 195 PP100. Owners reported having issues with the seat memory and ventilation systems as well as the power tilt/telescoping steering column. For a little perspective the Genesis sedan’s decline was exactly TWICE the overall number of problems per 100 vehicles reported by Lexus RX owners, the highest-rated vehicle in the 2013 survey. Its overall score was just 57 PP100.