J.D. Power Dependability Study ranks RAV4 highest small SUV

[DVS]

J.D. Power just released its study of 3-year old vehicles for dependability, which is apparantly based on the number of problems experienced by original owners during the past year per 100 vehicles.

For the compact SUV segment, the 2010 RAV4 came out on top, with the Honda CR-V coming in second, and the F J Cruiser coming in 3rd:

Car, SUV & Truck Reliability Ratings - 2013 Vehicle Dependability Study | J.D. Power

I was unable to (quickly) find the list of all models in the segment and see how they all compared. It'd be nice to see a study for vehicles that are 5 years old and even 10 years old.

Not surprisingly, Toyota and its related brands did exceptionally well overall. In fact, Lexus came out on top: Press Release - 2013 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study | J.D. Power

"Toyota Motor Corporation continues to perform well in long-term dependability and earns seven segment awards--more than any other automaker in 2013--for the Lexus ES 350; Lexus RX; Scion xB; Scion xD; Toyota Prius; Toyota Sienna; and Toyota RAV4."

[Blogson]

It would be nice if the study were accurate and it may be, but based upon a situation a couple of years ago where they rated a tech company first for customer service when even Consumer Reports surveys and personal experience indicated that their service was mediocre, I'm rather wary.

[The Ravster]

J. D. Power is a much more reputable organization than Consumer Reports...in my opinion.

[RAV4Don]

My Lexus and my RAV4 have been the most reliable vehicles I have ever owned. I wish I could say that for my beloved Chevy's

[WJBertrand]

Originally Posted by The Ravster

J. D. Power is a much more reputable organization than Consumer Reports...in my opinion.

I dunno about that. J.D. Power is after all funded by the auto makers who pay for the reports.

Consumer reports is independent from any company or industry and subsists on subscription dues and donations. There's a lot less motivation for bias with CR.

Having said that, at least with respect to cars, CR and JDP seem to mostly agree on quality / reliability issues in my experience.

[BigSwede]

Where are all the people telling us that Toyota is so bad these days (usually based on a sample size of one vehicle - theirs).

[The Ravster]

Well, it says right on the first page of J. D. Power's website that they are not funded by those they test or rate...

[Blogson]

I'm always suspicious of any product review company which allows reviewed companies to use its reviews in their advertising . .CR doesn't allow that and takes action if a company uses its reviews in their advertising.

With that said, CR and JDP use different criteria in their evaluations of cars, with CR using especially longer term reliability as well as intitial tester observations, while JDP uses the criterion of initial quality - results of owner surveys and evaluations reportedly basically covering the first three months of ownership of new cars and problems reported by those owners, which are not necessarily defects but also involve owner problems in using various functions.

[JuneBug]

Originally Posted by Blogson

With that said, CR and JDP use different criteria in their evaluations of cars, with CR using especially longer term reliability as well as intitial tester observations, while JDP uses the criterion of initial quality - results of owner surveys and evaluations reportedly basically covering the first three months of ownership of new cars and problems reported by those owners, which are not necessarily defects but also involve owner problems in using various functions.

I totally agree with you! Pretty much all new cars have great initial quality, but what about 3 or 4 years down the road? That's more important to me.

[BigSwede]

What are you guys talking about? The very first sentence of the JD Power study says it is for 3-year old vehicles.