Technology woes hurt reliability ratings JD Power
Problems with technology continue to hurt vehicle reliability ratings, according to the J.D. Power 2016 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study. The problems with infotainment, navigation and in-vehicle communication systems have increased and now account for 20 percent of all customer-reported problems in the study. Those problems are the cause of the industryês three percent year-over-year decline in vehicle dependability.
The problems most often reported by owners are Bluetooth pairing/connectivity and built-in voice recognition systems misinterpreting commands. Navigation systems that are inaccurate or hard to use are also in the top 10 reported problems.
If consumers canêt rely on their vehicle to connect to their smartphone, or have faith that their navigation system will route them to their destination, theyêre certainly not yet ready to trust that autonomous technology will keep their vehicle out of the ditch, said Renee Stephens, vice president of U.S. automotive at J.D. Power.
The company found in a previous study that more than half of owners cite expected reliability as one of the most influential reasons for choosing a specific make and model. And only 41 percent of owners who experienced three or more problems with their vehicle stayed with the same brand for their next purchase, according to NHTSA.
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