J.D. Power's New Initial Quality Survey Has Good News for Lexus

For 39 years now, J.D. Power has released its U.S. Initial Quality Study, offering plenty of insights into what drivers do and don’t like about their vehicles — and what automakers seem to be doing the best at satisfying them. This year’s edition has plenty for car and truck enthusiasts to think about — as well as very good news for decisionmakers at Lexus, Nissan and GM.

In calculating the results of this year’s survey, J.D. Power polled 92,694 people who either bought or leased vehicles from the current model year, as well as factoring in repair data. Here are a few takeaways on the state of model year 2025 vehicles.

Lexus and Nissan Get Points for Reliability

J.D. Power ranked automakers using the “problems per 100 vehicles” (or PP100) metric. The lowest score overall was Lexus, with 166 PP100; Nissan placed highest in the “mass market brands” category with 169 PP100. That said, neither automaker had the highest-ranking vehicle overall; that was the Porsche 911.

Not to be outdone, five different General Motors vehicles placed highest in their respective categories. Those would be the Buick Encore GX, the Cadillac XT5 and three Chevrolet models: the Blazer, Silverado and Tahoe.

A Warning Sign for Plug-In Hybrids?

One of the key points highlighted in the study was a rise in issues with plug-in electric hybrids. That class of vehicles had the highest amount of problems per 100 vehicles, with 237 PP100. Battery electric vehicles has 212 PP100, while hybrid vehicles and gas-powered vehicles had fewer — 196 PP100 and 184 PP100, respectively.

Given the increasing popularity of hybrids, it’ll be interesting to see if automakers are able to address this by this time next year — or if these issues will persist.

GM Is Now Canada’s Top EV Seller

Sales data from the first quarter of this year looks encouraging

Interior Design Choices Frustrate Some Drivers

J.D. Power’s findings also featured a few interesting data points about where automotive interiors are and are not measuring up to drivers’ expectations. The humble cupholder was one of the areas singled out — as J.D. Power phrased it, with the rise of re-usable containers, “manufacturers are struggling to keep up with being able to accommodate all the different shapes and sizes that are increasingly available.” That’s understandable: the same cupholder might not accomodate a coffee cup and a larger water bottle.

Infotainment systems also sparked frustration for some drivers. J.D. Power noted that, at 42.6 PP100, it was “the most problematic vehicle category in the study” — though it had improved by 1.9 PP100 compared to last year.

“Customers are having to tap and swipe through multiple screens to access key vehicle functions like climate settings and built-in garage door openers,” J.D. Power’s senior director of auto benchmarking Frank Hanley said in a statement. “Owners find these things to be overly complicated and too distracting to use while driving.”