• by Tanya Gazdik , Staff Writer, July 1, 2024

Ram ranks highest overall in this year’s J.D. Power Initial Quality Study, while Porsche ranks highest among premium brands.

In its inaugural year incorporating franchise dealership repair visits with the customer data to create a more expansive metric for problems per 100 vehicles, the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Initial Quality Study, the industry average is 195 PP100. 

Mass market brands, with a combined average of 181 PP100, outperform the industry average. Meanwhile, premium brands—often including more complicated systems and thus more reliance on connectivity—average 232 PP100. A lower score reflects higher vehicle quality.

“It is not surprising that the introduction of new technology has challenged manufacturers to maintain vehicle quality,” said Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power, in a release. “However, the industry can take solace in the fact that some problem areas such as voice recognition and parking cameras are seen as less problematic now than they were a year ago.”

Ram is the highest-ranking brand overall in initial quality with a score of 149 PP100. Among mass market brands, Chevrolet (160 PP100) ranks second and Hyundai (162 PP100) ranks third.

Among premium brands, Porsche ranks highest with a score of 172 PP100. Lexus (174 PP100) ranks second and Genesis (184 PP100) ranks third.

The parent corporation receiving the most model-level awards is General Motors Company (six awards), followed by Hyundai Motor Group and Toyota Motor Corporation, each with four awards. Among brands, Chevrolet receives the most segment awards (four), followed by Lexus (three).

General Motors Company models that rank highest in their respective segment are Cadillac XT5, Cadillac XT6, Chevrolet Equinox, Chevrolet Silverado HD, Chevrolet Tahoe and Chevrolet Traverse.

Hyundai Motor Group models that rank highest in their respective segment are Genesis G80, Hyundai Santa Cruz, Kia Carnival and Kia Forte.

Toyota Motor Corporation models that rank highest in their respective segment are Lexus IS, Lexus LC, Lexus UX and Toyota Camry. Toyota has the highest-ranking model overall, the Lexus LC, with 106 PP100.

Proponents of battery electric vehicles often state these vehicles should be less problematic and require fewer repairs than gas-powered vehicles since they have fewer parts and systems. However, newly incorporated repair data shows BEVs, as well as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), require more repairs than gas-powered vehicles in all repair categories. 

“Owners of cutting edge, tech-filled BEVs and PHEVs are experiencing problems that are of a severity level high enough for them to take their new vehicle into the dealership at a rate three times higher than that of gas-powered vehicle owners,” Hanley said.

The U.S. Initial Quality Study, now in its 38th year, is based this year on responses from 99,144 purchasers and lessees of new 2024 model-year vehicles who were surveyed after 90 days of ownership. For the first time, the study additionally incorporates repair visit data based on hundreds of thousands of real-world events reported to franchised new-vehicle dealers. 

The study is based on a battery of 227 customer voice questions plus relevant repair data, all of which is organized into 10 vehicle categories: infotainment; features, controls and displays; exterior; driving assistance; interior; powertrain; seats; driving experience; climate; and unspecified (unique to repair).  It was fielded from July 2023 through May 2024.