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
In Power-speak, owners reported an industry-wide average of 202 problems for every 100 vehicles, or 202 PP100. That was a 6% — or 12 PP100 — increase worse than the findings from 2024.
But there were big gaps between the best and worst brands. Lexus came out on top overall, with an average of 140 problems per 100 vehicles, while Buick was the top-ranked mainstream marque at 143 PP100. At the other extreme, Volkswagen anchored the industry with 285 PP100.
- 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.
The study covered 30 brands. Tesla was not included because it does not allow access to owner names in a number of states. Based on the surveys submitted by owners elsewhere, Tesla came in with a below-average score of 209 problems per 100.
Software Defects
As to what went wrong, Power found “problems related to software defects” gave owners the most headaches, especially issues related to Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity. Bluetooth and onboard Wi-Fi also created nagging issues for owners.
Automakers have been trying to correct these and other software-related issues by making their vehicles capable of smartphone-style over-the-air updates. But, for those whose vehicles had OTA capabilities, “56% of owners say there was no noticeable improvement” after software updates, Power said in its summary.
Problem-Plagued Vehicle Categories
The number of owner-reported problems in the 2025 study got worse for almost every category of vehicle — with the exception of EVs, found Power, which had a 33 PP100 year-over-year improvement. On the whole, owners of all-electric models registered about the same number of complaints, an average of 223 PP100, as models using internal combustion engines. Those vehicles averaged 200 problems per 100.
That didn’t hold true for plug-in hybrids, however. Collectively, they were the most problem-plagued products in the VDS this year, averaging 241 PP100. Conventional hybrids, in contrast, were the least troublesome, coming in at 199 problems. Diesels were almost as problem-plagued as plug-ins, at 233 PP100.
Owners found products that had been in showrooms for a few years were less likely to cause problems than all-new and significantly updated model lines.
Reliable Models
Toyota Motor Corp. and General Motors Co. tied with the most winners in individual model segments at six each. These included:
- 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
36th Annual J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study
This marks the 36th year for the J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study. The 2025 U.S. VDS results were based on results from studies returned by 34,175 original owners of 2022 model-year vehicles between August and November 2024.
