Just the facts, ma'am - Latest JD Power report on vehicle dependability

[Scott Asheville]

https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2023-us-vehicle-dependability-studyvds

FWIW, purely anecdotal, all my Fords have been reasonably reliable. That includes my Maverick Ecoboost, at 21,000 trouble free miles and counting. But I trust statistics and don't trust anecdotes (even my own). Ford ranks near the bottom and well below the industry average (and WAAAAY below the oft-hated-on-this-site Hyundai). That said, I'm optimistic Ford is working hard on quality. I trust Jim Farley is pushing really hard on the quality front. He seems like a really solid "car guy's guy" (say that ten times fast).

I've seen postings on MTC about how you can't trust JD Power because OEMs pay for the results. That's plain ignorant. They do pay for the results, because they want accurate competitive information, not to influence the results. See Autoline After Hours past episodes for conversations (and no, I'm not going to find the link for lazy people screaming "CITATION") by auto insiders on the JD Power survey and the urban myths associated with it. I do advise interpreting the results, as they're for Ford as a whole. The Maverick may be more or less reliable than Ford in general. Dunno.

Edit: Motormouth talks about this survey...


PS: I love that this quote is apparently an urban legend...

https://www.bonfire.com/joe-friday-never-said-just-the-facts-maam/

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[710-oil-614]

Ford's reputation for quality, or lack thereof, is definitely a major factor in getting the PremiumCare extended warranty.

Love the designs. Very comfortable and practical, but not very dependable.

 

[RedRider]

So the Fusion and the Edge made the most reliable lists, but Ford is otherwise not mentioned. Its interesting that both of these vehicles are discontinued models, so I'd like to see how they got new owner satisfaction surveys done when that is not possible on those models. Something is not right at JD Power...

 

[Maverickman74]

Reliability and fixabilIty are all relative. Longevity is as well. Alot of vehicles break down, then are passed on to the dealers or insurance who fix em and resell them to live out long lives. A lot of some of the more reliable brands don't always get that treatment because of parts availability. Repair costs total them as a loss.

 

[710-oil-614]

Reliability and fixabilIty are all relative. Longevity is as well. Alot of vehicles break down, then are passed on to the dealers or insurance who fix em and resell them to live out long lives. A lot of some of the more reliable brands don't always get that treatment because of parts availability. Repair costs total them as a loss.

I do agree with that and I am (and plan to continue) to follow a strict preventive maintenance schedule but I can't service my drive shafts and the like so I'm happy to have that protected so I can get it fixed and continue to drive my Maverick for a long time.

 

[Maverickman74]

Ohh

I do agree with that and I am (and plan to continue) to follow a strict preventive maintenance schedule but I can't service my drive shafts and the like so I'm happy to have that protected so I can get it fixed and continue to drive my Maverick for a long time.

Drive shafts, half shafts, any old shaft. They are the next easiest thing to mess with under there after the brakes. Easy as pie. And are built to take way more abuse than we think. I actually am excited how simple the Maverick appears to work on. If ya think of it like a focus. It's all the same guts just with a lot more room to get in there, because of the larger body. It's no 74 Maverick but even that had 1 spark plug that required 2 wobble adapters to reach.

 

[Packer Bill]

I bought the extended warranty for my Maverick because it is a Ford product. I have owned Mazda vehicles since 1992 and never bought an extended warranty because of their reliability has been fantastic for me.

 

[First Sergeant]

https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2023-us-vehicle-dependability-studyvds

FWIW, purely anecdotal, all my Fords have been reasonably reliable. That includes my Maverick Ecoboost, at 21,000 trouble free miles and counting. But I trust statistics and don't trust anecdotes (even my own). Ford ranks near the bottom and well below the industry average (and WAAAAY below the oft-hated-on-this-site Hyundai). That said, I'm optimistic Ford is working hard on quality. I trust Jim Farley is pushing really hard on the quality front. He seems like a really solid "car guy's guy" (say that ten times fast).

I've seen postings on MTC about how you can't trust JD Power because OEMs pay for the results. That's plain ignorant. They do pay for the results, because they want accurate competitive information, not to influence the results. See Autoline After Hours past episodes for conversations (and no, I'm not going to find the link for lazy people screaming "CITATION") by auto insiders on the JD Power survey and the urban myths associated with it. I do advise interpreting the results, as they're for Ford as a whole. The Maverick may be more or less reliable than Ford in general. Dunno.

PS: I love that this quote is apparently an urban legend...

https://www.bonfire.com/joe-friday-never-said-just-the-facts-maam/

I do agree with your opinion. I bought a new Toyota Tundra in 2008 (2nd year they were built) based on Motor Trend Truck of the year award. A friend had me go back and analyze all the past years awards for "Truck of the Year and Car of the Year" He then pointed to an article he dug up somewhere showing how many and how much money was spent on advertising in Motor Trend by these corporations. Guess what? He (insert car manufacturer here) who spent the most on advertising was awarded the top dog of the year award by Motor Trend. Not saying there were bad vehicles, just how simple it is to just "PAY" to be the top car/truck. My Tundra turned out to be best truck I've ever owned. Pulled anything you wanted, dependable/reliable and other than sucking down the go juice never put any money into it. Replaced it with my Maverick as I have no need to pull any size trailer these days except my side by side on a small, light trailer. My son made off with my Tundra and loves it! Me? I now enjoy that 40 plus mpg instead of 17! Just my opinion.

 

[colinl]

I bought the extended warranty for my Maverick because it is a Ford product. I have owned Mazda vehicles since 1992 and never bought an extended warranty because of their reliability has been fantastic for me.

I never buy extended warranties on new vehicles and I don't find them a good value on new or used. funny you mention Mazda though.

I bought a leftover 2016 Mazda cx9 in summer 2017 with a nice discount as the 17s were arriving. that was the first year of their 2.5 turbo that's in very widespread use now, and the engine self destructed 4 years later with 47k on the odo despite using premium 91 fuel. Mazda says it could run on 87, and you could use premium for optimum performance... just like an ecoboost.

back on topic I don't find this survey useful at all without details of what complaints were logged for each brand or at least the brands I own or would consider owning. it says infotainment is and has been the highest problem area. so how many Ford issues are that? how many infotainment complaints for the Maverick? - I bet it's very high for non sync3 trucks which are a majority of them.

 

[Ozarkbeard]

...it says infotainment is and has been the highest problem area. so how many Ford issues are that?

Infotainment system issues are one of the most common complaints with new vehicles, regardless of brand/model.

 

[ndmiller]

It's my first ford product ever, bought for the price point. I expect that level of dependability and service, not that of a vehicle 3-5 times the cost. If money was no object, I would have purchased a Lexus/Toyota, but alas money doesn't grow on trees.

As it's my daughters vehicle, I'll be watching it like a hawk to ensure any problems are address to avoid them having issues on their own. A small mindset shift and honestly I like the little truck, the ease of parking and maneuverability along with the auto limiting fan speed is pretty neat.

 

[generalmgr]

https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2023-us-vehicle-dependability-studyvds

FWIW, purely anecdotal, all my Fords have been reasonably reliable. That includes my Maverick Ecoboost, at 21,000 trouble free miles and counting. But I trust statistics and don't trust anecdotes (even my own). Ford ranks near the bottom and well below the industry average (and WAAAAY below the oft-hated-on-this-site Hyundai). That said, I'm optimistic Ford is working hard on quality. I trust Jim Farley is pushing really hard on the quality front. He seems like a really solid "car guy's guy" (say that ten times fast).

I've seen postings on MTC about how you can't trust JD Power because OEMs pay for the results. That's plain ignorant. They do pay for the results, because they want accurate competitive information, not to influence the results. See Autoline After Hours past episodes for conversations (and no, I'm not going to find the link for lazy people screaming "CITATION") by auto insiders on the JD Power survey and the urban myths associated with it. I do advise interpreting the results, as they're for Ford as a whole. The Maverick may be more or less reliable than Ford in general. Dunno.

PS: I love that this quote is apparently an urban legend...

https://www.bonfire.com/joe-friday-never-said-just-the-facts-maam/

You’re so right about car co’s “paying” for jd power. They don’t pay them to do the survey, in essence they pay them for the rights to see the detailed results. Totally different thing. I’ve been selected to fill out jd power surveys twice in my lifetime and can tell you first hand that they seem as unbiased as a survey can be. With that large of a sample size, you can pretty much take them to the bank. And it’s good to keep in mind, the “awards” are based on generalities, not really based on specifics. In general, Fords score lower. So do VWs. I own both, and like them both. And I know that I may need to get things fixed now and then, possibly more than If I had a brand that ranked higher. Lots of choices in life, and you choose things knowing what you know, good and bad. Expect the best and plan for the worst.

 

[Rileyotta]

I bought the extended warranty for my Maverick because it is a Ford product. I have owned Mazda vehicles since 1992 and never bought an extended warranty because of their reliability has been fantastic for me.

Doesn’t Ford make Mazdas?

 

[Markii56]

2 things:
1) Infotainment leads the list of problem areas and Apple Car Play/ Android Auto are the most trouble-prone in that area. Excellent: we've entered an era where the most problematic part of your vehicle is something you can truly live without. Remember when the top problem areas were rust and driveline issues? Don't get me wrong, I love my Android Auto, but if it quits on me I still have a fully-functioning vehicle to drive.
2) Consistent quality issues (primarily with domestic manufacturers) stem from parts suppliers. Corporate bean-counters beat them down on price year after year, then wonder why they have problems. I was a Ford service writer during the 3.8 Essex V6 head-gasket debacle. What could be the cost difference between a bad and a good head gasket: 50 Cents? Five dollars? Ford was paying us at least $1,300 per engine to change out head gaskets, on hundreds of thousands of Mustangs, T-Birds, Cougars, Lincoln Continentals, Taurus, Sables and Windstars/ Freestars. The ultimate example of "penny-wise and pound-foolish."

 

[Markii56]

Doesn’t Ford make Mazdas?

Ford started getting out of Mazda in 2008, and sold their last portion in the company in 2015. They never completely owned the company, just a portion of the stock. Joint ventures included the Probe/ MX6, Ranger/ Courier and Escape/ Tribute. IMHO, I think Mazda is now much better off. Go test-drive a Mazda3 and tell me why you'd spend the extra money for almost any European sport sedan.

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