Electric cars are now the second least reliable vehicle category in the US as Tesla climbs to make it in the top 20
While Tesla's reliability ratings have been improving compared to previous years, the latest Consumer Reports ranking puts its cars in the unenviable 19th place among all car brands in the US. The first two places are occupied by the perennial quality aces from Toyota and its Lexus luxury offshoot, as has become customary, while hybrid cars and plug-in models presented the most reliable vehicle category overall.
Purely electric vehicles, on the other hand, were the second least reliable category after full-sized pickup trucks, due to issues with either the batteries, the drivetrain, the charging system, or the assembly quality. Tesla, in particular, had its Model 3 score the highest in reliability, with the Model Y and Model S trailing far behind. Even the Model 3, however, has 58/100 reliability rating, while the Toyota Corolla Hybrid, for instance, is in the 92/100 category. For the Model S, in particular, one exasperated owner had the following to say not long ago:
...for the money, I was beyond disappointed with the quality and poor customer service. The carpet is like something you’d find in a Corolla, the panel gaps are as bad as everyone says, the screen was yellowing after 2 years, and the replacement parts are hard to get and extremely expensive ($1k and 3 months for a cracked mirror)!
In terms of origin, Asian automakers occupy 7 of the top 10 most reliable brand places in the US, with only BMW shooting up to become third thanks to the reliability of its Series 3 and Series 4 models. Another Western carmaker in the top 10 is Audi, because of the A5, while US manufacturers are represented by Lincoln which shot up the whopping 14 places compared to last year, riding on the wings of the Corsair and Nautilus models.
The other US-made models with high reliability ratings include the Buick Encore GX and the Chevy Trailblazer, as well as several Ford SUVs like the Edge, the Maverick, and the Maverick's hybrid version. Buick, in particular, was also highly rated in another market research firm rankings - the J.D. Power US Initial Quality Study - making its good reliability score here even more credible.
Tesla, however, climbed four positions to find its place among the top 20 most reliable car brands in the US and, hopefully, the supply chain challenges that some of its low build quality issues stemmed from, are firmly behind it. The company has to scale its production capacity dramatically while at the same time introducing new models like the Cybertruck, Semi, or the mythical mass market Model 2 in the next few years which could be an obstacle before its reliability improvement crusade.
Buyers would still be better to grab a Lexus, basically any Lexus, as all of its models have reliability way above the average in their respective categories.
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