Unfortunately the Acura brand placed near the bottom on J.D. Power satisfaction survey.


Kia, Hyundai rise, Japanese fall in J.D. Power quality study

 

As usual (as with most things stemming from JD Power) this means absolutely nothing. Taken at face value Subarus are one of the worst rated cars. Amazing that other organisations rate them so highly for reliability and customer satisfaction. I thought the Porsche reliability reputation bubble had burst?

Bentley, Porsche cars less reliable than inexpensive rivals, UK survey shows

This survey is more these days about problems customers have getting to grips with all the touch screen infotainment confusion. Porsche does not use them. It's nothing to do with the go wrong factor.

 

This study has nothing to do with reliability.

It's called the "J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study." It measures initial quality of the vehicle during the first 90 days of ownership, not the more important (long term) reliability of it.

From the article:

Initial quality and reliability are not the same thing.

 

Indeed. The TLX didn't have a stellar launch, to say the least. They seem to have made strides in that area.

I am surprised that Acura is rated that low since the RDX/MdX sell well and haven't had the issues of the TLX (that I know of)

 

Funny you say that. I know a number of people with Subarus that have had zero issues with them. Some have STis, but others have the BRZ, XVcrosstrek, forester, whatever that hideous suv was, a few outbacks and legacies. No issues.

 

That UK survey is not very good. It only looks at a small sampling of people who have Warranty Direct policies. And it factors "cost of repair" into its reliability rating. What does "cost of repair" have to do with reliability?


It seems like the UK survey puts a lot of weight on "cost of repair". High end cars are usually more expensive to maintain and repair vs inexpensive econo cars. "Cost of repair" should not be a factor of reliability. The only important thing is failure rate.

 

Sure but doesnt change the fact that this survey is not mainly about reliability but about owners getting to grips with the technology. Most brand new cars are pretty reliable. Subaru have a generally excellent long term reliability record. As for Japanese being below average...has to be a nonsense. I have never seen an engine reliability survey not showing Toyota and Honda as best. The survey covers 90 days only. So it matters not. Or shouldn't.

 

Yup, our almost 9 year old Forester XT is still going strong. The only thing that had to be replaced was the fuel pump that luckily died just before the warranty was up. Original turbo, replaced the brakes once, and the rest was just regular maintenance.

My X3 on the other hand, if I can remember correctly, was in the shop 3 times in the first year, 2 in the second year, once in the third for major repairs and warranty work. So far so good this year but the warranty is done soon. I'm going back to Japanese.

 

All you need to do to doubt the "reliability" factor of this survey is sit in and drive a 7-10 year old Hyundai or Kia. Just a wild guess that any Acura/Honda will fare much better over time.

 

man I loved my car the very first 60 days 'til now... bad survey

 

Exactly.

Jalopnik actually posted an article which explains this very well.

What Poor Quality Looks Like in 2015: Understanding J.D. Power's IQS

The TLX is actually listed in this article for its touchscreen interface