Ford and Toyota Top 2011 J.D. Power Dependability Study

Ford and Toyota’s luxury nameplates sit atop this year’s J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study. Lincoln comes in at No. 1 and Lexus at No. 2, while seven Toyota models and four Ford models won top honors in their respective segments.

The study takes into account a year’s worth of issues in cars that are 3 years old. The vehicles included would be from the 2008 model year. J.D. Power also has an Initial Quality Study that looks at the first 90 days of ownership.

Surprisingly, this year’s dependability study reinforces findings from the 2008 Initial Quality Study in terms of how imports outrank domestic models in reliability. There is an 18-point gap between the two. While there is only a 12-point gap between cars, the study found that imported light trucks, SUVs and crossovers are significantly more reliable than domestics.

This might also be the benchmark study to see how the domestics improved during post-economic downturn and bankruptcy. Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge make up three of the bottom five brands on the list, while Chevy and GMC fall below the industry average. However, Buick and Cadillac come in at No. 7 and No. 9, respectively. Check out the full list below.

Comments

It's good to see Detroit is back!!! I'm a huge Ford/Lincoln fan so I like this. I do think Toyota makes a great vehicle as well. What is most impressive is the overall car quality in the survey has dramatically improved over the last 3 years. Great to See!!!

I'm continuously impressed by Hyundai's new quality/ability. Beating out both Honda and Ford is awesome!

Oh man, I should have purchased a Ford Edge instead of a Nissan Murano. Nissan beating Ford was back in the old days, now the tables have turned. Congrats Ford!!!

To be frank, I always skip any sort of J.D. Power's ratings , which are routinely doped with trash.

Nissan quality has been circumspect for a long, long time.

Ford may be doing ok now but they'll soon run out of the stuff they're bringing in from their overseas markets that America is currently in love with. For their sake, the One Ford concept better work or we'll have a repeat of history....where quality was job N"one"

Can anyone explain why these results differ so much from consumer reports? Why is cr data accepted as gospel when this data shows a different story?

This is on the J.D. Power website:

"Consumer Reports is published by a non-profit organization that focuses on testing and reviewing products in various categories. The company has a testing facility in New York and employs experts who review numerous consumer products on a regular basis. By contrast, JDPower.com provides ratings based on “voice of the customer” information, which is derived from independent and unbiased consumer feedback—opinions, perceptions, and expectations of consumers who actually own the products and services being rated."

Skank:

I was talking about inconsistencies in reliability data between the two sources. I understand jdp doesn't test vehicles.

I would certainly think a consumer opinion on reliability would differ then that of an expert opinion. Of course, you have to ask yourself is there such thing as "unbiased consumer feedback" and what their definition of "expert" would be. You may never get a clear answer to your question.

Consumer reports reliability data comes from owners, not experts. There should be little discrepency between the findings in a perfect world consumer reports data basically indicates reliability is directly tied to country of origin. Asian cars rank highly across the board with german cars coming in behind them. Ford is the only exception since it ranks near the top asian brands.

I had a 99 Maxima SE and before that, a 93 Altima, both seemed like they would never die and were a blast to drive. I recently drove a'11 Altima, and while it was nice, I could tell that Nissan has been cutting corners because I don't know if it was me, but my Maxima felt more solid and it was more fun to drive.

I wish Nissan would still incorporate the same fun and durability like they used to. The cars are now overgrown and the Maxima is now way over priced. I guess I can see why Nissan ranks lower and lower every year.

M,
I had a '91 Maxima and I too could feel the differences between that car - which had around 300k when I got rid of it and the current cars. Nissans now feel kinda dainty compared to my car that felt like it was indestructible.

wow, I have some serious typos there. Sorry about that. :-)