The good news: Two Mopar marques were rated as above average in the J.D. Power 2024 Dependability Study, which looks at problems per vehicle after three years of ownership. It is a better test of quality than the initial quality study, which only looks at around 90 days and is more heavily influenced by dealer and factory preparation.
The bad news: Chrysler was the absolute worst brand on the list, coming in even below Land Rover and Tesla; though the study covers the first year of the Pacifica PHEV, which had a rough launch. Ram came in below average, but still beat fellow truck sellers GMC and Ford.
The best of the bunch were, in order, Lexus and Toyota, with 1.35 and 1.47 problems per vehicle on average. GM had the next two entries with Buick and Chevrolet, at 1.49 and 1.74; Mini, Porsche, Mazda, Kia, and BMW came next, followed by Dodge and Jeep. BMW, Dodge, and Jeep all had 1.90 problems per vehicle, which matches the average. This was still faring relatively well, because they beat Cadillac, Hyundai, Subaru, Genesis, Honda, Mercedes, Ford, Volvo, and Lincoln.
Ram had 2.01 problems per vehicle, barely beaten by Nissan and Genesis but ahead of Honda, Acura, and Mercedes. Chrysler’s 3.10 problems per vehicle was by far the worst; the second lowest was Audi, at 2.75. Tesla, which only had three car models when the survey was done, eked out 2.52 problems per car, only beating Volkswagen, Land Rover, Audi, and Chrysler.
By individual models, GM had the only large SUV to be above average (the Chevrolet Tahoe). Jeep was #2 in Midsize SUV, with the Grand Cherokee coming between the Toyota 4Runner and Toyota Venza; and Ram was above average in “large light duty pickup,” coming in at #4 with the Ram 1500 (the Tundra was #1, followed by the GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Colorado).
Stellantis easily outperformed Ford’s two brands. Ford itself came in at 2.39 problems per car, and Lincoln at 2.51, beating Tesla; both were well below average. The only Fords listed in the by-model area were their Ford heavy duty pickup (where Ram did not show up), and the midsized pickup (#3, Ford Ranger, below Tacoma and Colorado). Neither the Wrangler nor the Bronco made an appearance.
The study is based on over 30,000 original owners’ surveys, and reflects the 2021 model year. Tesla is officially not ranked because it doesn’t provide information on its owners to J.D. Power; its 2024 score was below its 2023 number. While it covers 30 brands, the average is based on the number of defects—it isn’t placed in the middle (as a median would be).
