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Kia leads J.D. Power's Vehicle Dependability Study for 2022

For the first year ever, Kia leads J.D. Power's annual Vehicle Dependability Study with a score of 145 problems per 100 vehicles. Buick (147) and Hyundai (148) round out the top three. The highest premium brand on the list is Genesis, with a score of 148. It's common for so-called "mass market" brands to lead this particular study, according to J.D. Power, as "premium" brands "typically incorporate more technology in their vehicles, which increases the likelihood for problems to occur" and aren't necessarily built to a higher standard that less-expensive brands. The highest-rated single nameplate is the Porsche 911. It's the third time out of the past four years and the second year in a row that Porsche's quintessential sports car has taken top honors. Porsche as a brand sits in seventh place (162) just behind Lexus (159) and ahead of Dodge (166). At the very bottom of the list is Land Rover with a dismal score of 284; the SUV specialist held the same unfortunate distinction on last year's list. Ram (266), Volvo (256), Alfa Romeo (245) and Acura (244) also performed poorly. The overall industry average score sits at 192 — mass market brands average a score of 190 while premium brands sit 14 points lower at 204. While Tesla is unofficially included in some of J.D. Power's results, the agency says the sample size it has access to for this study is too small to include. As has been the case for the past several years, infotainment systems dominate the list of problems reported by owners. Popular (or unpopular, depending on your point of view) complaints include built-in voice recognition (8.3 PP100), Android Auto/Apple CarPlay connectivity (5.4 PP100), built-in Bluetooth system (4.5 PP100), not enough power plugs/USB ports (4.2 PP100), navigation systems difficult to understand/use (3.7 PP100), touchscreen/display screen (3.6 PP100), and navigation system inaccurate/outdated map (3.6 PP100). While problems with the car's infotainment and technology packages are indeed bothersome, it's important to remember that such issues aren't usually leaving owners stranded with an immovable vehicle like a broken transmission or blown engine would. Culling infotainment complaints from the results would reduce the average problem-per-100-vehicle score by a staggering 51.9 points. The vehicles included in this study are from the 2019 model year. That means owners have had three years to get to know their cars and trucks. It's the 33rd year that J.D.

Lexus celebrates 10 years of F performance with special RC F, GS F

Ten years ago, Lexus launched its F performance brand in a big way with the V8-powered IS F. To celebrate its decade-long life so far, a pair of also-V8-powered Lexus F models, the RC F and GS F, will get special editions. Sadly, they don't get any performance upgrades over the normal models, but they are visually striking. Both cars are finished in a matte paint called Nebula Gray, which the company says makes these special Lexus models the only ones to receive factory matte paint besides the LFA. The wheels are painted in a gloss black, and the brake calipers are painted a bright blue to match the F brand's colors. The F badges on the outside of the car also get little blue lines around their edges. Inside, both cars go wonderfully overboard with blue highlights. They each get bright blue leather seats with gray accents, blue suede shift knobs, and window switch panels adorned with blue, silver, and black carbon fiber. Naturally, serial number plates also appear inside to denote which example the car is. The GS F, despite being a more sober looking sedan, has the wilder interior. The back seats get blue leather highlights to match the fronts, the dash is wrapped in blue suede, and more blue carbon fiber trim is fitted to the center console. These 10th-anniversary edition cars are extremely limited production. Only 240 of the RC F will be produced, a number chosen because there are 240 Lexus dealers in the U.S. Only 100 of the GS F will be sold. They'll be available to purchase this summer, but Lexus hasn't finalized pricing for the cars. Related Video:

Lexus recalls 4,200 NX crossovers due to missing welds

Lexus is recalling about 4,200 units of the 2022 NX due to missing spot-welds. Announced in April 2022, the campaign includes the NX250, the NX350, the NX350h, and the NX450h+, and the Japanese company has asked its dealers to stop selling the vehicles in their inventory. Documents published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) explain that some spot-welds might have been missed during the production process. They're located around the mounting areas for the front shock absorbers. Leaving out these welds can cause some of the other welds and the surrounding panels to weaken or crack over time, which could in turn make it possible for the front shock absorbers to separate from their mounting area. This would increase the risk of a crash by causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle. The recall includes 4,215 examples of the NX, though Lexus estimates that fewer than 1% of those are missing welds. It will begin notifying owners of potentially affected vehicles by mail on June 6, 2022. They'll be asked to take their NX to an authorized dealer so that a mechanic can check for missing welds. Lexus is still developing a solution to the problem. In the meantime, it has asked its dealers to stop selling the NXs potentially affected by the recall that are still in inventories across the nation, though as of writing only 12 units have been identified. Weld-related recalls are mercifully rare but not unheard of. In 2019, Subaru recalled 2,107 new Outback and Legacy models due to faulty welds below the cowl panel, and 293 units of the Ascent were recalled in 2018 because they were missing a series of spot welds on the B-pillar. At the time, the company explained that the 293 crossovers without the proper welds would be destroyed and replaced. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.