Car reliability in 2026, Volkswagen sank to the bottom, with Volvo and Land Rover close behind
The 2026 JD Power reliability study delivered a painful verdict for a few big name car makers. In the US, owners pushed Volkswagen to the foot of the table, with Volvo and Land Rover uncomfortably close behind, while Lexus calmly collected top spot once again. The awkward detail is this, most of the grumbling was not about engines or gearboxes at all. It centred on screens, phone pairing and software promises that were supposed to make life easier, but instead found more elegant ways to ruin it.
JD Power looked at three year old cars
JD Power surveyed 33,268 original US owners of 2023 model year cars after three years of use. The study covered 184 problem areas across nine categories, from the powertrain to seats, body hardware and infotainment. That matters, because this is not a European workshop repair log. It is an American owner survey measuring how much irritation a car caused in everyday life.
Familiar names filled the bottom of the table
Volkswagen posted the worst result, with 301 problems per 100 vehicles. Volvo finished on 296, Land Rover on 274, Jeep on 267 and Audi on 244. That does not mean every one of those cars ended up stranded at the roadside in a cloud of smoke and existential doubt. It means owners reported that many different issues over three years. That is precisely why Volvo’s position in this company feels especially pointed. A reputation for sober, sensible Nordic dependability does not rescue anyone in a table like this.
The biggest headache came from screens, not engines
The main source of frustration sat in the infotainment system. According to JD Power, four of the five most common complaints were linked to phone connectivity. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay glitches accounted for 8.9 PP100, Bluetooth for 5.5, wireless charging for 5.1 and manufacturer apps for 4.7. Over the past 12 months, 40 per cent of owners received software updates, but only 27 per cent felt any real benefit from them, while 58 per cent noticed no difference at all. The car industry spent years insisting that more code meant more convenience. Owners answered with a table.
Lexus made old school calm fashionable again
Lexus topped the rankings for the fourth year in a row, with 151 PP100. In the mainstream market, Buick led with 160 points, followed by Mini on 168 and Chevrolet on 178. Premium brands averaged 217 problems per 100 vehicles, which left them 17 points worse off than mainstream marques. The contrast makes the point rather clearly. Reliability does not come from the size of the screen or the number of menus. It comes from whether the car does its basic job without turning daily use into theatre.
The wider picture is even more telling. Plug in hybrids recorded 281 problems per 100 vehicles, fully electric cars 237, conventional hybrids 213 and petrol cars 198. That does not mean electrification itself is a failure. It does suggest, rather mercilessly, that the industry crammed more software and connectivity into cars than quality control could properly digest. Some engineers probably knew that already. The marketing department will, no doubt, arrive at the same conclusion a little later.
