Cadillac ranked just below average in the 2024 J.D. Power U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study, though it outperformed quite a few of its direct rivals.
The J.D. Power U.S. Dependability Study examines 184 specific problem areas across nine major vehicle categories: climate; driving assistance; driving experience; exterior; features/controls/displays; infotainment; interior; powertrain; and seats. Automakers are graded based on the Problems Per 100 Vehicles scale (PP100). Brands with a higher score presented with a large amount of problems, while a lower score demonstrates fewer problems.
Data for this study were collected between August and November 2023, with responses gathered from 30,595 owners of 2021 model year vehicles after three years of ownership.
Cadillac earned a PP100 score of 196, placing it below the industry average, which was 190. That means it outperformed Genesis (200), Mercedes-Benz (218), Infiniti (219), Lincoln (251), Land Rover (268) and Audi (275). On the other end of the spectrum, Lexus had the lowest tally of any make surveyed with 135 problems per 100, while Buick (149), Porsche (175) and BMW (190) were the only other premium automakers ranked above average.
The study found that infotainment systems continued to be a major source of problems in vehicles. Industry-wide, owners reported nearly twice as many infotainment issues as the next-highest category, which is exterior. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity was the top reported problem, followed by built-in voice recognition.
Annoyances with driver alert systems, such as lane departure warning, lane keep assist and forward collision warnings, was also on the rise. It’s worth noting that premium brands are usually outfitted with more technologies and active safety features than their mass market counterparts, increasing the probability that a problem will take place.
Additionally, battery electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) were more problematic than vehicles with internal combustion engines. EVs had the most issues (256), followed by PHEVs (216), hybrids (191), and vehicles with internal combustion engines (187).
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