Lexus, Buick Lead J.D. Power Dependability Ratings

Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus luxury brand tops J.D. Power’s annual U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study for the seventh consecutive year. Buick led all other mass-market brands.

The closely watched survey rates vehicles in terms of the number of problems per 100 vehicles reported by customers over the first three years of ownership. This year’s results are for cars built during the 2015 model year.

The ratings range from a low of 99 problems per 100 cars for Lexus to a high of 211 for Chrysler. The industry average was 142, down from 156 last year.

Nissan Motor Co.’s Infiniti brand posted the greatest ranking advance this year. It zoomed to fourth from 29th in the 2017 study, slashing reported problems to 120 from 203. Kia advanced to fifth place from 11th with a score of 122.

Brands showing the worst decline in this year’s results are last-place Chrysler, whose score dropped by 52 points, Cadillac (from 152 to 186) and Land Rover (178 to 204).

Fiat, last year’s worst brand with 298 problems per 100 vehicles, slashed its score to 192—the biggest improvement for any marque. But that was enough to advance only to third-worst in this year’s ratings.​​​​