Problems with Infotainment Systems Most Prevalent
Among the nine major vehicle categories measured in the
2024 VDS, owners experience the most problems with their infotainment systems. At 49.1 PP100, owners experience nearly twice as many problems with their infotainment systems as the next-highest category, Exterior.
Irritating Driver-Assistance System Alerts
As automakers continue rolling out new advanced driver assistance systems (
ADAS), presumably to make drivers' lives easier, many owners are having difficulty adjusting to the technology. One primary source of their discontent is the associated warnings accompanying these various technologies. Indeed, the number of problems related to ADAS alerts has increased between the IQS ownership period (90 days) and the
2024 VDS (third year).
"Many would think that after three years, owners would become used to the alerts on their vehicle," Hanley said. "However, that is not the case. Increased problem levels are experienced across multiple driver-assistance features including, but not limited to,
lane-departure warning/lane-keeping assistance and
forward-collision warning/
automatic emergency braking."
EV Owners Experience More Problems
Undoubtedly, the global auto industry is shifting toward
electrification. But as the
Vehicle Dependability Study has shown over the years, cutting-edge technology brings new challenges related to long-term vehicle quality. Perhaps not surprisingly, the results of the
2024 VDS bear this out.
According to the study, owners of gas-powered and
hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) experience fewer problems than battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). While BEV and PHEV owners experience 256 PP100 and 216 PP100, respectively, HEV (191 PP100) and gasoline vehicle (187 PP100) owners fare significantly better.
Interestingly, BEV owners had to replace their tires during the third year of ownership at nearly twice the rate of gas-powered vehicles—39 percent to 20 percent. That may be attributable to EVs being heavier than their gas-powered counterparts.