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Lexus remains the most dependable brand in the U.S., while Buick topped all non-luxury makes, according to J.D. Power’s U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study.

For the fifth year in a row, Lexus was deemed the most reliable vehicle in the study, which was released today. Buick made the top 10 for the second year in a row.

Ironically, the award for Lexus came one day after Consumer Reports dropped Lexus from first to third on its top 10 list.

The top five automakers on the J.D. Power list were Lexus, Porsche, Buick, Toyota and GMC.

The lowest-ranking brands were Dodge, Ford, Smart, Land Rover and Jeep – with Dodge at the bottom.

J.D. Power’s study was based on responses from 33,560 owners of 32 brands who were asked about problems over the last year.

Among automakers, General Motors led with eight segment wins, followed by Toyota with six. Included in GM’s awards was the GMC Yukon built at the GM Arlington plant, which was the highest-ranked full-size SUV.

Five of the top-ranked 10 brands in the study were domestics, four were Japanese and one was German.

Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Infiniti, Volvo and Cadillac all scored above the industry average of 152 flaws per 100 vehicles, but did not make the top 10. However, Volvo had the largest increase in the dependability measures.

The increasing number of technological features in new vehicles continues to pose challenges for automakers and owners, accounting for 20 percent of all customer-reported problems in the study, J.D. Power said.

“The increase in technology-related problems has two sources,” said Renee Stephens, vice president of U.S. automotive at J.D. Power. “Usability problems that customers reported during their first 90 days of ownership are still bothering them three years later in ever-higher numbers. At the same time, penetration of these features has increased year over year.”
Source: http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/2016/02/lexus-again-tops-j-d-power-dependability-study.html/