New technologies tend to be less reliable than proven technologies. But the Consumer Reports’ 2023 Auto Reliability Survey headline is still jarring. “On average, new electric vehicles (EVs) have 79% more problems than Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles,” CR reports.
Plug-in hybrids (PHEVS), the halfway point between the two capable of using electricity for short trips and gas for long trips, performed even worse in the survey. Those, CR says, have 146% more problems than ICE vehicles.
Consumer Reports’ Approach Is Unique
Consumer Reports’ rankings differ from most automotive reliability studies because CR polls its members. This has advantages and disadvantages.
Only a certain kind of consumer subscribes to a publication that exists to study reliability and sound buying decisions. That may leave some brands overrepresented and others nearly absent from CR’s poll.
But the data is extensive for the cars it does represent. Laws give automakers the right to opt out of studies in some states, but the nature of CR’s surveys gets around that problem. Tesla, which famously refuses to participate in many quality studies, appears in CR’s results.
The magazine asks its members to report problems they’ve had with their cars in the last 12 months. It only reports results for vehicles from model years 2001 through 2024. This year, it studied more than 330,000 individual vehicles.
Nearly every automaker did better than last year.
Lexus, Toyota Did Very Well
“Of the top ten most reliable brands, seven are headquartered in Asia, with Lexus and Toyota in the top two spots,” CR says. Every Lexus model but one – the NX – had above-average reliability.
The aging Toyota 4Runner – last redesigned for the 2009 model year – was the most reliable vehicle in the survey.
The Scores:
| Brand | Score (0-100 point scale) |
| Toyota | 79 |
| Lexus | 76 |
| Mini | 71 |
| Acura | 70 |
| Honda | 70 |
| Subaru | 69 |
| Mazda | 67 |
| Porsche | 66 |
| BMW | 64 |
| Kia | 61 |
| Hyundai | 56 |
| Buick | 55 |
| Infiniti | 53 |
| Tesla | 48 |
| Ram | 46 |
| Cadillac | 45 |
| Nissan | 45 |
| Genesis | 44 |
| Audi | 43 |
| Chevrolet | 43 |
| Dodge | 42 |
| Ford | 40 |
| Lincoln | 38 |
| GMC | 36 |
| Volvo | 28 |
| Jeep | 26 |
| Volkswagen | 26 |
| Rivian | 24 |
| Mercedes-Benz | 23 |
| Chrysler | 18 |
Newness, Complexity Are Issues
There’s a lesson in the 4Runner’s strong score. It may even explain the EV results.
Cars are complex machines. It takes time for automakers to find all the flaws in a design and correct them. “And as our data has consistently shown, reliability-minded consumers would be best served by forgoing brand new vehicles in their first model year,” explains Jake Fisher, senior director of auto testing for CR.
That same logic applies not just to individual models but to technologies.
CR calls the troubling scores of EVs “growing pains.”
With well-established batteries and electric motors that have been on the market for years now, Tesla has “issues with body hardware, paint and trim, and climate system on its models.”
Other EV builders working with the technology for less time “had fewer reported problems related to build quality, but higher rates of powertrain, battery, and charging issues,” CR explains.
And plug-in hybrids, with essentially two powertrains, take more time to perfect. More parts mean more things that can go wrong.
Hybrids a Bright Spot
EVs and PHEVs experienced more problems than gas-powered cars in CR’s survey. Hybrids experienced less.
“On average, hybrids are 26 percent more reliable than vehicles with only an internal combustion engine,” CR explains.
“This is because hybrid technology is now over 25 years old and is offered mainly from the most reliable automakers,” Fisher says.
Hybrid sales have been rising throughout 2023 as many Americans seek a way to save on gasoline without tying themselves to a new technology experiencing growing pains.
