Three-year-old cars are breaking more than at any point since the study was rebuilt

J.D. Power’s 2026 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study, released Feb. 12, 2026, found that vehicles owned for three years are logging more reported problems than at any point since the firm overhauled the study’s methodology in 2022. The industry average climbed to 204 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100), two points worse than 2025, with infotainment glitches, uneven over-the-air software updates and exterior defects cited as the biggest drivers. Because a lower score signals higher quality, the increase marks a continuation of a multiyear slide in long-term dependability rather than a one-year blip.

A Score Built From 184 Problem Areas

The study surveys original owners about the number and type of issues they experienced with their vehicle over the prior 12 months, once that vehicle has reached three years of age. This year’s edition draws on responses from 33,268 owners of 2023 model-year vehicles, fielded between December 2024 and November 2025, and tallies problems across 184 specific areas grouped into nine categories: climate, driving assistance, driving experience, exterior, features/controls/displays, infotainment, interior, powertrain and seats. Now in its 37th year overall, the Vehicle Dependability Study is J.D. Power’s longest-running ownership survey, tracking the same cohort of buyers it first measured three years earlier through the company’s Initial Quality Study.

Why the 2022 Redesign Resets the Comparison

The “since the study was rebuilt” framing matters because the current scoring is not directly comparable with anything measured before 2022. That year, J.D. Power’s 2022 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study restructured the survey to reflect the technology actually built into modern vehicles: it added an entirely new driving-assistance category, folded in questions about the vehicle’s condition and perceived appeal after three years of use, and began tracking whether owners had received software updates and how they rated the result. Those additions changed both the number of questions asked and the pool of problems being counted, so a 204 PP100 average today is only being measured against the years since that redesign, not against the study’s full history back to its founding. Within that redesigned framework, 2026 is now the worst year on record.

Infotainment and Software Updates Drive the Increase

Infotainment remains the single most problematic category, at 56.7 PP100, more than double the next-highest category, vehicle exterior, at 27.5 PP100. Four of the industry’s five most-reported problems trace back to owners connecting a phone to their vehicle: Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity was the top complaint industry-wide for a third straight year at 8.9 PP100, followed by built-in Bluetooth systems (5.5 PP100), wireless charging pads (5.1 PP100) and automaker app connectivity (4.7 PP100), together accounting for 24.2 PP100, nearly half of all infotainment complaints. Software updates compounded the problem rather than solving it: 40% of owners said they received an update in the past year, but only 27% of that group felt it improved their vehicle, while 58% noticed no difference at all. Updates delivered over the air, which made up 63% of the total, were tied to a roughly 14% increase in reported problems this year, adding 2.5 PP100 on their own. “Software updates and new technologies should enhance the ownership experience over time, yet many vehicle owners cite ongoing mobile phone integration problems and little to no benefit after an update is performed,” said Jason Norton, J.D. Power’s director of auto benchmarking.

Plug-In Hybrids Report More Problems Than Any Other Powertrain

Every electrified powertrain category got worse in 2026, but plug-in hybrids stand out. Their score jumped 39 PP100 year over year to 281 PP100, the highest of any powertrain type in the study. Battery-electric vehicles rose 14 PP100 to 237, and conventional hybrids also rose 14 PP100 to 213. Gasoline-only vehicles were the outlier, improving slightly by 2 PP100 to 198 — making them, for now, the least problematic powertrain to own three years in.

Premium Brands Are Falling Further Behind Mass-Market Rivals

After two years of relative stability, premium-brand dependability jumped 8 PP100 year over year to 217 PP100, its worst mark since the 2022 redesign. That widened the gap with mass-market brands to 17 PP100, with premium vehicles underperforming in seven of the study’s nine categories, most notably features/controls/displays and driving experience. Only in powertrain and seats did premium brands hold an edge over mass-market competitors.

Where Lexus, Buick and Toyota Still Stand Out

Lexus ranked highest among premium brands for a fourth consecutive year, at 151 PP100, ahead of Cadillac (175) and Porsche (182). Buick led mass-market brands for a second straight year at 160 PP100, followed by MINI (168) and Chevrolet (178). Toyota Motor Corporation collected the most individual model awards, eight in total, led by the Lexus IS, which ranked as the single most dependable model in the 2026 Vehicle Dependability Study; General Motors added four model-level awards, including the Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Tahoe. J.D. Power has said its next study, covering the 2027 model year, will add year-round data collection and repair-record tracking so automakers can catch software and reliability problems earlier rather than waiting for the three-year mark to reveal them.

This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.

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