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Genesis wins J.D. Power Tech Experience Study for third straight time

The results are out for the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Tech Experience Index (TXI) Study, which "focuses on the user experience with advanced vehicle technology as it first comes to market and is an early measure of problems encountered by vehicle owners." Its measurement metric is problems per 100 vehicles (PP100), same as with the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS). The takeaway this year isn't that owners aren't using advanced technologies, as was the case with the 2022 study, or that they're having more problems with them overall. It's that owners of battery-electric vehicles are having more problems with advanced tech than owners of ICE-powered vehicles. According to the study, 17 of 21 features that can be had on both propulsion types — such as remote parking assistance and gesture controls — get lower satisfaction ratings by owners of BEVs, in some cases nearly 20 PP100.  The survey organization says this tracks with what its found in the IQS, where total vehicle problems were "46% higher among BEVs (excluding Tesla) than ICE vehicles and satisfaction is lower among owners of BEVs across nine of 10 APEAL categories than among owners of ICE vehicles." Findings regarding biometric measurements are among those that go against the overall study findings. Whether a fingerprint reader or an eye tracker, car owners in general said "they do not consider them to be useful." In terms of ease-of-use and satisfaction, plug-and-charge capability on EVs gets good marks. This allows EV owners to plug into a public charger and have payment taken care of automatically; the vehicle communicates with any charging station compatible with an automaker's plug-and-play system, so the vehicle can automatically submit a bill for the charging session to a central owner account with no further action needed at the station. Survey respondents noted a mere 6 PP100 and an 88.9% satisfaction.    Among manufacturers, repeat winners took the top prizes. Genesis earned the highest rank for innovation overall and among premium brands for the third straight year. Hyundai not only won the tech innovation banner for mass market brands for the fourth straight year, ahead of Kia, GMC, Ram and Subaru, Hyundai finished in second in the overall standings. On that overall chart, the top five are Genesis, Hyundai, Cadillac, Lexus and BMW. On the premium chart, Genesis is followed by Cadillac, Lexus, BMW and Mercedes-Benz in the top five. It wasn't close from the first to the rest, though.

Kia recalls 507,000 vehicles in U.S. for airbag issues

WASHINGTON — Kia Motors Corp said on Friday it was recalling more than 507,000 vehicles in the United States because an electronic glitch may prevent airbags from deploying in a crash. The recall follows an announcement in March by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that it was investigating why some airbags had failed to deploy in Kia vehicles and its affiliate Hyundai after crashes in which four people were killed and another six were injured. The two Korean automakers have now recalled nearly 1.1 million U.S. vehicles to address the issue. NHTSA said in March that it was aware of six serious crashes in which airbags failed to deploy in frontal crashes, including four in 2011 model Hyundai Sonatas and two in 2012 and 2013 Kia Forte vehicles. The crash of the 2013 Forte occurred in Canada. Kia's recall issued on Friday covers 2010-2013 Kia Fortes, 2011-2013 Kia Optimas and 2011-2012 Kia Optima Hybrid and Sedona vehicles. The company said the airbag control unit may short circuit because they may be susceptible to electrical overstress, preventing the frontal airbags and seat belt pretensioners, which pull the driver and front seat passenger firmly back into their seats, from deploying. The company said it does not yet have a fix, but is working with its supplier on the issue. Kia spokesman James Bell said the company "is attempting to have a remedy by the scheduled owner notification date of July 27. If Kia does not have a remedy by that date or if any customer feels unsafe in his/her vehicle, we will provide a rental car until the repair has been completed." Hyundai in February issued a recall for 154,000 U.S. Sonatas after non-deployment reports were linked to electrical overstress in the air bag control unit. In April, Hyundai recalled an additional 425,000 U.S. vehicles to address the same issue. Hyundai said in March that it was aware of reports of two deaths in its vehicles, which occurred in head-on collisions at extremely high rates of speed. NHTSA said the airbag control module under investigation was built by ZF Friedrichshafen AG, a German auto supplier. ZF said on Friday that it has worked with Kia and "continues to cooperate and support NHTSA and its customers in the investigation." The safety agency also said that electrical overstress appeared to be the root cause in a 2016 recall by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV of 1.4 million U.S. vehicles for airbag non-deployments in significant frontal crashes.

2021 Ford Bronco is here, and a Stellantis is born | Autoblog Podcast #636

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by West Coast Editor James Riswick and Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. They kick things off by diving headfirst into the Ford Bronco and Bronco Sport before moving to what they've been driving: 2020 BMW X3 xDrive 30e, 2020 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid and a 2020 Ford Expedition. Then, the three tackle Stellantis, Chrysler's new corporate name. Finally, James and Zac reminisce and discuss their time in a couple classic Honda coupes. Autoblog Podcast #636 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Introducing the 2021 Ford Bronco and Bronco Sport Cars we're driving 2020 BMW X3 xDrive 30e 2020 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid 2020 Ford Expedition News Stellantis Retro Hondas 1999 Honda Prelude Type SH and 1999 Honda Civic Si Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: