Toyota and its Lexus subsidiary earned the top two spots in Consumer Reports' 2014 Auto Survey (subscription required), which rates reliability from consumer surveys of some 1.1 million vehicles over the past 12 months. Of the 28 brands ranked in terms of predicted reliability, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Fiat, Jeep, Ram and Dodge brands landed in the bottom four slots. At the top and bottom of the survey, those results played out similarly to Consumer Reports' study a year ago.
Related: Porsche Flies, Fiat Flails in 2014 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study
Buggy multimedia systems, including navigation systems, Bluetooth and smartphone compatibility, garnered the most complaints. It's a recurring trend, Consumer Reports notes, and respondents to J.D. Power and Associates' Initial Quality Study have expressed similar frustrations.
But rankings between the two have otherwise limited correlation. Consumer Reports says its reliability study surveys subscribers for malfunctions on existing cars, whether recently purchased or older. J.D. Power says its IQS surveys those who recently bought a new car for objective malfunctions and subjective dislikes in the first 90 days of ownership. J.D. Power ranked 32 brands in its IQS this year; Consumer Reports ranked 28. Five brands made the top 10 in both studies: Honda, Kia, Lexus, Porsche and Toyota. Just three brands made the bottom 10 in both: Fiat, Infiniti and Jeep. To some degree, that cements the reliability — or lack thereof — for those eight.
In the case of Infiniti, poor electronics play heavily into Consumer Reports' survey ratings. More than one in five owners reported issues with the Q50's InTouch system, the magazine says. A multitude of issues sunk the Fiat 500L, Consumer Reports' "most problematic new car" from its surveys. On the flip side, the magazine says the most reliable car you can buy right now is the xB from Toyota's youth-oriented Scion division. But the boxy hatchback entered its seventh model year for 2014, and it faces imminent discontinuation.
Want a full report with all the numbers? Check out the full list of most and least reliable brands from our friends at USA Today.
Cars.com photo by Evan Sears
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