Japanese cars lose ground on quality
Hyundai bypasses Toyota

by Earle Eldridge | Apr 29 '04

The latest J.D. Power and Associates survey of new car quality shows that some leading Japanese brands are having problems while some laggard brands of the past are making big strides.

As a group, Japanese brands had their best year ever, dominating the list of specific models with the fewest problems in Power's 2004 Initial Quality Study, released Wednesday. IQS is based on problems reported by new car buyers during the first 90 days of ownership.

But of the seven brands that scored worse in 2004 than in 2003, five were Japanese nameplates, including consistent leaders Lexus, owned by Toyota, and Acura, owned by Honda, along with Nissan, Mazda and Suzuki.

Volkswagen and Porsche, which jointly developed new sport-utility vehicles, were the other two brands whose owners reported more problems in 2004.

Brands showing the most improvement included South Korea's Hyundai, Ford Motor's Jaguar, General Motors' Hummer and DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes-Benz.

Hyundai improved to 102 problems per 100 vehicles from 143 problems in 2003, passing the Toyota brand and Nissan's luxury Infiniti brand.

"The fact that Hyundai is now outperforming even perennial quality leaders like Toyota -- and in a relatively short amount of time -- is nothing short of remarkable considering the vast quality gap it faced just a few years ago," says Joe Ivers, executive director of quality/customer satisfaction at J.D. Power.

Jaguar ranked third among brands, with 98 problems per 100 compared with 122 problems last year. But Hummer spun its wheels. Despite improving 23% -- to 173 problems per 100 vehicles from 225 problems last year -- it still ranked last among all brands.

Mercedes, which has been hurt by electrical and technology problems in previous models, improved 20% to 106 problems per 100 vehicles from 132 problems last year.

No domestic brand scored worse in 2004, and three of the top five brands, Cadillac, Mercury and Buick, are Detroit makes.

Overall, new car buyers reported fewer problems this year, with the industry average improving 11% to 119 problems per 100 vehicles from 133 problems in 2003, the survey found.

"The improvements we see are really widespread and deep," says Brian Walters, senior director of vehicle research for J.D. Power. "Thirty of 37 nameplates improved."

Lexus remained the top brand, but owners reported 87 problems per 100 vehicles compared with 76 problems in 2003.

Walters says problems reported by owners of the Lexus ES 330 entry-luxury sedan dragged down Lexus' overall performance.

Lexus' longtime reputation of building the most reliable vehicles makes buyers of the brand more critical of anything less than pleasing, says Xavier Dominicis, a Toyota spokesman.

"It's important to note that this is Lexus' fourth year at the top. Our focus is on long-term continued improvement and not short-term shifts," he says

Owners of the Toyota brand reported 104 problems per 100 vehicles, an improvement from 121 last year. But Toyota's new Scion brand -- aimed at selling models to youths -- ranked 34th out of the 37 brands.

For the study, J.D. Power asked 51,000 owners specific questions about mechanical problems encountered in the first 90 days. The study is in its 18th year.

Top models

* Compact car

Toyota Corolla

* Entry midsize car

Hyundai Sonata

* Premium midsize car

Buick Century

* Full-size car

Mercury Grand Marquis

* Entry luxury car

Acura TSX

* Mid luxury car

Lexus GS 300/430

* Premium luxury car

Lexus SC 430

* Sporty car

Dodge Stratus Coupe

* Premium sports car

Porsche 911

* Compact pickup

Ford Explorer Sport Trac

* Light-duty full-size pickup

Toyota Tundra

* Heavy-duty full-size pickup

Dodge Ram HD

* Entry SUV

Honda Element

* Midsize SUV

Toyota 4Runner

* Full-size SUV

Chevrolet Suburban

* Entry luxury SUV

Lexus RX 330

* Premium luxury SUV

Lexus LX 470

* Minivan

Honda Odyssey

Source: J.D. Power and Associates' 2004 Initial Quality Study

 

Acura TSX is the top entry luxury car. Anyone know what Acura's numbers were? Article doesn't say.

 

http://www.acura-tsx.com/forums/show...&threadid=8924

 

There has got to be something wrong with these surveys... Buick and Mercury? Top 5, ahead of Honda, Mercedes and Audi?
Man, they've gotta be on drugs...
I was at a Hyundai showroom not too long ago and all those cars looked and felt nasty to me.
Sonatas, Elantras, Accents... I could $hit on those cars.

 

One of the things to consider is that Hyundai, Mercury and Buick havent changed their lines much recently.

All the new cars in a line tend to equal more problems. With all the new cars Caddy keeps adding, their holding steady is damned impressive.

Cadillac will be a force to contend with in 5 years.