• by Tanya Gazdik , Yesterday

New vehicles are more sophisticated than ever and quality remains a top priority for every automaker. 

But infotainment is a weak spot, according to the JD Power 2026 U.S. Initial Quality Study (IQS).

It is the only category experiencing an increase in reported problems this year, driven largely by Android Auto/Apple CarPlay connectivity issues. Otherwise, initial quality improves in nine of 10 categories in the study.

The study also finds that the trend of migrating more features into the touchscreen is pulling attention from the road: 46% of distracted-driving complaints are tied to infotainment/touchscreens, while 18% are from driver assistance alerts.

“As more technology is introduced into vehicles, keeping the experience simple matters more than ever,” says Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at JD Power, in a release. “The biggest gains in quality come from features that are easy to use—simple controls, less-intrusive driver assistance and software that works the way customers expect. When technology becomes too complicated, the likelihood of customers experiencing a problem rises considerably.”

This year sees notable improvements in cupholder usability, driver assistance alerts, EV range, road noise and fit/finish. In fact, cupholders are the biggest single contributor to the year-over-year improvement in initial quality based on more accessible location and capacity to hold a variety of sizes of cups/water bottles.

Overall, the total number of reported problems with new vehicles improves industrywide to 175 problems per 100 vehicles from 192 PP100 a year ago, which is the best year-over-year improvement in reported problems since 1997 and the fourth-best performance in the 40-year history of IQS. 

A lower PP100 score indicates a higher level of vehicle quality and fewer problems experienced. 

Porsche is the highest-ranking brand overall in initial quality with a score of 138 PP100. Among premium brands, Genesis (151 PP100) ranks second and Lexus (156 PP100) ranks third.

Among mass-market brands, Ford ranks highest with a score of 152 PP100. Nissan (156 PP100) ranks second and Buick (162 PP100) ranks third.

The parent company receiving the most model-level awards is BMW (six awards). Hyundai (five awards) ranks second and General Motors (four awards) ranks third. Among brands, BMW receives the most segment awards (six). Ford and Hyundai rank second, in a tie, each with three segment awards. 

The U.S. Initial Quality Study, now in its 40th year, is based this year on responses from 78,514 purchasers and lessees of new 2026 model-year vehicles who were surveyed after 90 days of ownership. The data was collected from June 2025 through May 2026.

The dataset is based on a battery of 227 questions plus relevant repair data, all of which is organized into 10 vehicle categories: infotainment; features, controls and displays; exterior; driving assistance; interior; seats; powertrain; driving experience; climate; and unspecified (unique to repair).