Tesla Model S - the car that started it all…

[69Mach390]

After a decade of driving Teslas, and knowing people who have been driving Teslas, I think the phrase that most people seem to repeat is "it just works". Whether car enthusiasts, or people who couldn't tell a Hyundai from a Honda - maybe especially those people. The complaints are usually about changes in how things work ("they moved my button elsewhere", "they changed the font on the speedometer") or new bugs introduced but most often fixed quickly. Compare things like batteries catching on fire, and how Tesla handled the issue (2 weeks) vs. Chevy Bolt (2 years).

Perhaps reliability surveys should consider a way to incorporate remediation duration (how long before >80% of affected cars are fixed) together with number of fixes. A car which has only 1 issue, but that issue makes it undrivable, is much worse customer experience than a car with 10 issues, which are just annoying and fixed within a week each.

For sure more detailed data would be helpful- Type of issue, duration of repair, cost of repair (out of warranty) etc.

I would take 10 bugs fixed by OTA updates vs a single major repair that takes weeks (or months) in the shop.

I just haven’t seen that kind of detail in a study. Would be nice for sure. Might hold manufacturers more accountable as well to change things for the better.

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[whitex]

For sure more detailed data would be helpful- Type of issue, duration of repair, cost of repair (out of warranty) etc.

I would take 10 bugs fixed by OTA updates vs a single major repair that takes weeks (or months) in the shop.

I just haven’t seen that kind of detail in a study. Would be nice for sure. Might hold manufacturers more accountable as well to change things for the better.

I’d settle for a simple metric, an average number of days per year that the car cannot be driven by the owner, either due it the car refusing to start/drive (e.g. Taycan red electrical error) or being unsafe to drive (e.g. dead cabin heater), or stuck in service bay (whether being repaired, recalled, waiting for parts, whatever).

Not perfect, I agree, but I think it would be a good start, and better than recall count that counts every OTA. It might cause manufacturers to start focusing on making their car more reliable, and fixing them quicker.

 

[babylou66]

If an OTA is not so much a fix but is an improvement are the makers getting dinged as that is a "recall" or "problem"? For example my former Rivian had an OTA that improved throttle control while reversing and another that improved ride over bumps. Are those dings?

 

[daveo4EV]

For sure more detailed data would be helpful- Type of issue, duration of repair, cost of repair (out of warranty) etc.

I would take 10 bugs fixed by OTA updates vs a single major repair that takes weeks (or months) in the shop.

I just haven’t seen that kind of detail in a study. Would be nice for sure. Might hold manufacturers more accountable as well to change things for the better.

 

[AutoX]

JD powers should parse their data and release a separate chart for EVs. It would be much more relevant.

 

[AutoX]

If an OTA is not so much a fix but is an improvement are the makers getting dinged as that is a "recall" or "problem"? For example my former Rivian had an OTA that improved throttle control while reversing and another that improved ride over bumps. Are those dings?

The majority of OTA updates are not recalls. They can be fixes, improvements, or just updates. Tesla, RIvian, and to a lesser extent Ford does this quite frequently.

 

[69Mach390]

JD powers should parse their data and release a separate chart for EVs. It would be much more relevant.

They do

• Problems increase across all electrified powertrain types: Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) remain the most problematic of any powertrain type in the study, increasing 39 PP100 year over year to 281 PP100. Problems among battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and hybrids also increase by 14 PP100 each to 237 PP100 and 213 PP100, respectively. By contrast, the long-term dependability of gas-powered vehicles improves slightly by 2 PP100 to 198 PP100—the least problematic among all powertrains.
  https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2026-us-vehicle-dependability-study-vds
• 
  The study even breaks down by type of car and breaks down by specific models too. I’m guessing you’d have to pay to see the full study and not just the generic “by brand” chart.
  

 

[AutoX]

They do

• Problems increase across all electrified powertrain types: Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) remain the most problematic of any powertrain type in the study, increasing 39 PP100 year over year to 281 PP100. Problems among battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and hybrids also increase by 14 PP100 each to 237 PP100 and 213 PP100, respectively. By contrast, the long-term dependability of gas-powered vehicles improves slightly by 2 PP100 to 198 PP100—the least problematic among all powertrains.
  https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2026-us-vehicle-dependability-study-vds
• 
  The study even breaks down by type of car and breaks down by specific models too. I’m guessing you’d have to pay to see the full study and not just the generic “by brand” chart.

Found this article:

https://www.jdpower.com/business/pr...ectric-vehicle-experience-evx-ownership-study

It includes reliability as one of the criteria. Still haven't found a reliability rank list exclusive to EVs

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