American Automakers Have Terrible Long-Term Reliability, And Tesla Is The Worst, Consumer Reports Says

While "Buy American" is a nice concept, it may not be a great idea in the long term when it comes to cars, despite the government's efforts to strong-arm you into doing so. Consumer Reports just released its rankings for long-term reliability, and American brands comprise eight of the bottom ten, with Tesla being the lowest.

This is different than CR's predicted reliability for new cars, and it freely admits that these results sometimes differ from its predictions. This list is based on reports members made within the past 12 months of problems with vehicles made between 2016 and 2021. These are cars that people are likely to be shopping for right now because new cars are too expensive. In a surprise to no one, Toyota and Lexus soared to the top of the list, with rankings of 73 and 77 out of 100, respectively. In comparison, Tesla ranked 31, less than half as many points as the leaders. Teslas from this era were notorious for quality issues, and they haven't exactly aged like a fine wine.

Bleeding-edge EV tech isn't entirely to blame, considering that Jeep ranked 32, just one point ahead of Tesla, with Ram at 35, Chrysler at 36, and Dodge at 39. Long-term quality issues aren't limited to Stellantis brands, either. Ford tied with Dodge at 39, while GMC and Chevrolet ranked 37 and 40, respectively. It's no wonder the American auto industry seems doomed. Hyundai and Kia round out the bottom ten, likely due to their history of major engine problems.

It's not all doom and gloom for American auto manufacturers. Somehow, Buick came in seventh place with a ranking of 51, the only American manufacturer in the top ten. Lincoln is only a few points behind with 46, while Cadillac fell just outside the bottom ten with 45 points. All of these premium brands share platforms and powertrains with mainstream brands in the bottom ten, but with the exception of Chrysler, it seems that perhaps spending more for a premium brand may get you a more reliable car after all.

Also worth noting is that poor performance on this list does not necessarily mean that current models are bad. We bash Tesla a lot, and for good reasons, but Futurism points out that Tesla jumped from 18th to ninth in CR's reliability rankings for new cars. CR gave the new Model Y a reliability score of 81 points, which is excellent by any measure (especially compared to 31 for the Cybertruck). On the other hand, Germany called the Model Y the most defective car this year, and MotorTrend hated its long-term loaner, so it really depends on who you ask.

To end on a positive note, after Lexus and Toyota's excellent performance, Mazda ranks 58, a distant 15 points behind Toyota, but still rather good. Honda and Acura round out the top five with 57 and 53 points, respectively, with Honda ranking slightly above its upscale sub-brand.