Thursday, June 23, 2011
DETROIT (AP) — Cars that are redesigned or completely new for the 2011 model year had more quality problems, partly because of glitches in navigation systems and other dashboard technology.
J.D. Power released its annual survey of new vehicle quality today. Lexus, Honda and Acura were the top performers. Dodge was the worst-performing brand.
The survey questioned 78,000 people about the problems they had with 2011 model-year vehicles in the first three months of ownership.
Owners reported an average of 107 problems per 100 vehicles. That jumped to 122 problems for cars that were all-new or redesigned.
Ford dropped from fifth place to 23rd. The company says it has since improved its My Ford Touch voice-activated system.
The Toyota brand jumped 14 spots to seventh place, but Toyota introduced few new products in 2011.