In the past, former Chrysler brands have tended to be either in the top or the bottom of the J.D. Power listings, but for 2022, they are literally all over it. Dodge was just below Buick as the second most reliable car; Chrysler was below even Tesla at the other end of the scale. Indeed, for a humiliating first time, Chrysler was below Tesla, Land Rover, and, yes, Alfa Romeo. To be fair, Chrysler and Volvo were quite close.
Aside from Dodge, Stellantis had a dismal showing, with every brand falling below the industry average (in our chart, arranged to be more horizontal, the brands above the industry average are on the left; those below it are on the right.) Ram was quite close to average, in a dead heat with Honda, Hyundai, and Mercedes, and ahead of Subaru. Jeep was actually beaten by Land Rover, but in turn beat Porsche; all of these distinctions were well within the margin of error. Jeep (and Porsche for that matter) were likely not significantly different from the average—and nor was Alfa Romeo, falling even lower down the chart, between Jaguar and Tesla. Maserati, Volvo, and Chrysler anchored the bottom. No Stellantis brand took first place in any of the extremely numerous segments, though Jeep Gladiator was second place in midsized pickups.
GM’s quality improved since the prior year’s 90-day survey.
The good news in this release is that this 90-day initial quality survey measures dealer preparation and factory inspection as much as anything else. The industry average fell this year, possibly due to stop-and-start conditions at the factory as well as the usual new technologies. J.D. Power has two longer-term surveys which tend to be more representative of true vehicle quality. That said, if you want a car that pretty much works right out of the gate, Buick, Dodge, and Chevrolet are your best bets—but all had at least one problem per vehicle on average.
