2008 JD Powers Initial Quality

[Thai]

Toyota/Lexus remains near the top. What is shocking is how much Mercedes has moved up...woohooo, this may add a few pennies to my G's resale value!

 

[Ryan32]

Toyota/Lexus remains near the top. What is shocking is how much Mercedes has moved up...woohooo, this may add a few pennies to my G's resale value!

When i first looked at it, i thought a higher number was better... I was thinking "holy sh*# they have dropped in quality!"...

Then i took another look. :bigok:

 

[mikehinthehouse]

Re: Re: 2008 JD Powers Initial Quality

When i first looked at it, i thought a higher number was better... I was thinking "holy sh*# they have dropped in quality!"...

Then i took another look. :bigok:

Me too.. I was like how the hell did jeep get so high?? lol

 

[JungleJim]

Maybe Toyota should take a look at their Scion line.

Interesting that Acura is below the rest of the Honda line.

 

[Thai]

Maybe Toyota should take a look at their Scion line.

Interesting that Acura is below the rest of the Honda line.

Not sure if it's true lately, but the Acura RL had a lot of issues when it came out.

 

[Koz]

Who gives a rat's a$$ about initial quality!

Koz

 

[Thai]

Who gives a rat's a$$ about initial quality!

Koz

I am sure that many do...this is why JD Powers do this survey.

 

[Uneek]

Who gives a rat's a$$ about initial quality!

Koz

Cause if it's a POS new, it'll be a large heeping pile when it's old.

I highly doubt something like a rattling sunroof, squeaky seat, thumping driveshaft will go away later on down the line.

 

[JungleJim]

Who gives a rat's a$$ about initial quality!

I do! (For the reasons already stated above).

A vehicle could be overall reliable for 10 years (always start, etc.), yet still shake, rattle and roll during those ten years. And that reliable vehicle would drive me crazy during all of it's low quality ten years :

 

[Thai]

You guys are forgetting that this is KOZ you're talking to...anything that rates Toyota short of being #1 will be hated by Koz! See no evil, hear no evil.

 

[TheBlueWave]

Who gives a rat's a$$ about initial quality!

Koz

I partly agree. Initial quality is important, but not as important as long term dependability.
These surveys should be taken with a grain of salt, anyway. CR does the same things over longer periods with the vehicles, and many people hate CR and think they are "toaster testers." Why is JD any different?

 

[Thai]

I partly agree. Initial quality is important, but not as important as long term dependability.
These surveys should be taken with a grain of salt, anyway. CR does the same things over longer periods with the vehicles, and many people hate CR and think they are "toaster testers." Why is JD any different?

Although some people may not like these surveys, it is pretty clear that auto manufacturers take these surveys seriously. For example, Mercedes made it their mission to improve quality in their recent offerings due to past JD powers piss poor ratings. Mercedes mentioned clearly that they wanted to improve JD Powers ratings.

So, although some may not like these surveys, it is clear that auto manufacturers respect and take these surveys seriously.

 

[Mark86]

I didn't think Porsche's were that reliable. Aren't they related to Audi and VW? Nice to see that Toyota and Lexus are still at the top.

I think Acura had a lot of problems with the very early 2007 MDX's. There are a ton of TSB's on them. We have a late 2007 MDX and it is problem free.

 

[Thai]

I didn't think Porsche's were that reliable. Aren't they related to Audi and VW?

I think that Porsche shares a few components with VW/Audi...most recently, the DSG sequential transmission. They do share the Touareg/Cayenne platform but that is about it. Otherwise, Porsche is it's own brand.

From past readings, Porsche apparently has some initial issues when you first buy it, but after fixing it (under warranty), they rank right up there with the best in reliability and durability. So, this new JD Powers survey is quite interesting...it shows that Porsche is now trouble free even when you first buy it. This is very good news for Porsche owners.

 

[Thai]

Here is the actual JD Powers Press Release

Link: http://www.jdpower.com/corporate/news/releases/pressrelease.aspx?ID=2008063

"The Initial Quality Study serves as the industry benchmark for new-vehicle quality measured at 90 days of ownership. The study is used extensively by vehicle manufacturers worldwide to help them design and build better vehicles and by consumers to help them in their vehicle purchase decisions. Initial quality has been shown over the years to be an excellent predictor of long-term durability, which can significantly impact consumer purchase decisions. The study captures problems experienced by owners in two distinct categories

 

[Falls]

I think the further Benz can distance themselves from Chrysler the better !!!

WOW , cancel my Jeep order. The local Jeep dealership (across from Toyota) is a brand new mega mopar facility , pretty impressive , but absolutely dead in the water (per a sales person) as far as sales . Someone has a big nut to bite off every month.

 

[JungleJim]

I didn't think Porsche's were that reliable. Aren't they related to Audi and VW?

They are sister companies, but there is a world of difference between them. I'm a looooong time VW person and I would agree about the poor quality of current VW's.
But Audi is a totally different story. (Many rate the quality of their interiors higher than any other Euro brand.)

I think Acura had a lot of problems with the very early 2007 MDX's. There are a ton of TSB's on them. We have a late 2007 MDX and it is problem free.

What kind of problems did they have with the gen 2 MDX? I remember all the transmission failures of the first year 1st gen MDX until they changed it for 2003. (Then Honda decided to put the 2002 MDX transmission in the new 2003 Pilot.....guess what type of issues the early Pilot's had?)

 

[TeryT]

Rating Bias?

I've always suspected there is some inherent bias in these ratings, in that people may expect more of a certain brand. Therefore they may report more things gone wrong. For instance, if I buy a certain brand, that is not known for high quality, I may overlook a small defect and not report it.

If this is true, maybe some got into the top end because people didn't report everything, 100%, as they might with a brand they expected much more from.

So, if this is the case, then staying on top would get increasingly difficult. Being on the bottom might mean there was even more wrong than was showing up in the ratings - people were just not actually reporting everything as much.

Not to say JD Powers initial quality should be dismissed outright - it does have value - but it also may be seriously skewed. I wonder how closely this correlates with ratings like Consumer Reports (but of course, they could suffer from the same bias somewhat)?

 

[Mark86]

What kind of problems did they have with the gen 2 MDX? I remember all the transmission failures of the first year 1st gen MDX until they changed it for 2003. (Then Honda decided to put the 2002 MDX transmission in the new 2003 Pilot.....guess what type of issues the early Pilot's had?)

Radio drawing too much power from the battery, bushing problems, sunroof design problems, gas tank freezes shut in winter time because water got in and lots of rattles.