Car Reliability Survey findings

Consumer Reports announced the highlights from its 2007 Annual Car Reliability Survey on Tuesday, revealing that Toyota is showing cracks in its armor, while Ford's domestic brands have made considerable improvements.

Based on responses on almost 1.3 million vehicles owned or leased by subscribers to Consumer Reports or ConsumerReports.org, we present other reliability findings:

* Nineteen domestic models have been added to CR's 'Newly Recommended' list. They include the new GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook, in their first years, and the Dodge Charger, which was not recommended in last year's survey because of below-average reliability.

* Of the domestic models for which CR had sufficient data in the 2007 survey, 93% of Ford, 49% of General Motors, and 67% of Chrysler models had average or better predicted reliability.

* 34 of the 39 models in the "Most Reliable" list are Asian: 17 are from Toyota (including Lexus and Scion); 7 are from Honda (including Acura); 3 each from Hyundai and Nissan (including Infiniti); 2 are from Subaru; and 1 each from Mitsubishi and Mazda.

* The Pontiac Solstice has the worst new-car prediction score in the 2007 survey.

* When ranked by make, Honda and Acura have the highest average scores of the 36 brands. Closely following are Scion, Subaru, and Toyota. Buick is the highest-ranked domestic brand. 

* Among the 36 makes, Land Rover is the least reliable, on average.

Consumer Reports annual reliability survey is used in determining which makes and models are recommended to consumers by CR. Consumer Reports recommends only models that have performed well in tests conducted at its 327-acre Auto Test Center in Connecticut, and that have average or better predicted reliability based on its annual survey. In addition, vehicles must perform well in government or insurance-industry crash and rollover tests, if tested, in order to be recommended. Occasionally, Consumer Reports may recommend a new or redesigned model too new to have compiled a reliability record if the previous generation, or the manufacturer's reliability track record has been consistently outstanding, and if the model scores well in CR's tests.

Complete charts and ratings are available at ConsumerReports.org in the Reliability section and in the Model Overview pages (available to online subscribers by searching the ratings on a specific model).

The results will also be available in the latest Consumer Reports Cars publication "Best & Worst for 2008" on sale November 6, 2007.

Discuss reliability in the Cars forums.

Comments

[Chris]

It would be interesting to see the reliability of Honda hybrids relative to other makes and models. Ostensibly, there are some serious reliability issues with some Honda vehicles, particularly the Accord Hybrid:

[Parker]

I currently own a F-150 FX4 Lariat, but I am considering buying a new Double Cab TRD 4x4 Tundra.

I'm curious on why the Tundra V8 4x2 gets the best in class rating and the Tundra V8 4x4 gets one of the lowest.

I read the article and it said the Tundra " four wheel drive system had problems"; what exactly are those. I haven't heard anything about it.

[Carol]

I was wondering if anyone had any personal experiences with the Nissan Armada...it really doesn't matter about the year but I want to see how good they are built and how reliable they seem to be? Any and all information would be appreciated..thanks

[Mike Quincy]

Carol:

This is Mike Quincy from CR.

Unfortunately, there really isn’t a good year for decent Armada reliability. This big SUV has had major problems with brakes, squeaks and rattles, and body hardware. Still, when we were testing it, I used it to trailer my 1965 Mustang. I thought the seats were good and it had lots of power to pull the load. Fuel economy is not a strong point (only 13 mpg overall in our tests). Overall, I didn’t mind how the Armada drove, but its poor reliability would make me look elsewhere.

I hope this helps.

--Mike Quincy

[Allen L. Kemp]

Driving lights are good but why not also illuminate the taillights as most accidents are "Rear-Enders". This would especially be helpful during inclement weather when many people forget or just don't think to turn their headlights on.