After years of steady improvement, the typical new car, truck, and crossover models have started having long-term reliability problems, according to a new study by J.D. Power. You might think of this as the long-term version of “long COVID,” as many of the problems are related to hardware and software issues related to the chip shortages manufacturers faced during the recent pandemic.
The number of problems reported by owners of 3-year-old vehicles rose 6% in the research firm’s latest annual U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS), reversing years of relatively steady improvements. It marks the highest level of trouble since 2009, the research firm said in a summary of the 2025 VDS findings.

Pandemic Era Issues
At least some of the blame goes to COVID, explained Jason Norton, J.D. Power’s director of auto benchmarking. Among other things, manufacturers were forced to frequently stop and then restart production — always a headache — due to on-and-off shortages of critical semiconductors.
“While the increase in problems this year may be a thorn in the side of automakers and owners, it’s important to remember that today’s three-year-old vehicles were built during a time when the industry was grappling with major disruptions,” he noted. “Supply chain issues, record-high vehicle prices, and personnel disruption in the wake of the pandemic were problematic.”

2025 J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study
- Cadillac was the second-ranked premium brand, at 169 PP100, with Porsche third at 186 PP100.
- Mazda was second among mass-market brands at 161 PP100, with Toyota third at 162.
- In terms of individual model-level winners, Toyota had the top product in the 2025 Vehicle Dependability Study, the now out-of-production Avalon.
Software Defects

Problem-Plagued Vehicle Categories

Reliable Models

- Toyota: Lexus GX, Toyota Camry, Toyota Corolla, Toyota RAV4, Toyota Sienna, and Toyota Tacoma
- GM: Cadillac XT6, Chevrolet Corvette, Chevrolet Silverado, Chevrolet Silverado HD, Chevrolet Tahoe, and GMC Acadia
- Nissan had two model-level awards for Nissan Kicks and Nissan Murano