With today’s stubbornly high auto prices and interest rates, buying a car, new or used, is a high-stakes financial decision.
Consumer Reports is here to help with its just-released exclusive car reliability report of cars that owners consider the most reliable and the ones that are regulars at the repair shop.
Related: Consumer Reports: Electric vehicles less reliable, on average, than conventional cars and trucks
Every year Consumer Reports surveys hundreds of thousands of its members asking them simple but important questions – What problems have they had with their vehicles in the past year?
“…Everything from the engine to transmission issues, leaks, paint and trim problems,” Keith Barry with Consumer Reports said. “And with EVs growing in popularity, we ask electric car owners about battery and charging issues. And then we can crunch those numbers to calculate the predicted reliability of new and used cars, almost every car on the market!”
Lexus and Toyota took the top spots for brand reliability, followed by Mini, Acura, Honda, and Subaru.
And while EVs are growing in popularity, CR’s members experience 79 percent MORE problems with their EVs compared to gas-powered cars. EV trouble spots include issues with charging, electric motors, and battery problems.
“Our members are reporting the same issues with most EVs as they are with vehicles that have been designed brand new from the ground up, whether they’re gas or electric. And EVs are about the newest technology out there,” Barry said. “And it’s taking a while, even for established carmakers to work through those growing pains.”
But automakers seem to have worked out the growing pains for hybrid vehicles.
CR’s members reported their hybrids have 26 percent fewer problems on average than a gas-only car.
And CR found the type of vehicle you drive also matters. -- Sedans, along with hatchbacks and wagons, remain the most reliable vehicle types.
Pickup trucks have been at the bottom CRs of the reliability rankings for seven of the past eight years, with EV trucks coming in last in 2023.
Auto brands at the bottom of the reliability report were Rivian, Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler.