Subaru, Lexus, and Toyota lead our reliability ratings, with GMC, Cadillac, and Rivian ranking last. Plus, an analysis of new hybrids, EVs, and PHEVs.

Data analysis by Steven Elek and Anita LamData visualizations by Andy Bergmann Updated December 5, 2024

An unreliable vehicle can become a long-term financial headache, especially with new-car prices averaging more than $48,000. To avoid spending time and money at a repair shop, start your car-buying journey by choosing a dependable brand. Then look for a reliable model that fits your needs.

“While brand rankings can guide you to the showroom, it is critical to also look at reliability for specific models before making a purchase decision,” says Jake Fisher, senior director of auto testing at Consumer Reports. “Even within high-ranking companies, there can be significant variation in reliability.”

We calculate predicted reliability ratings for almost every new car, truck, and SUV on the market using data from Consumer Reports’ annual reliability surveys, which ask members about problems they’ve had with their vehicles.

This year’s survey results have more data on hybrids and electric vehicles than ever before, revealing how newer technology’s teething pains start to dissipate after two or three years. These findings reinforce why it’s best to wait a couple of years before buying an all-new model.

Keep reading for more of this year’s key findings, including the new top-scoring brand

Subaru has ascended to the top of our brand rankings, supplanting Lexus and Toyota, which have traded the two top spots for many years.

Of Subaru’s seven models in our survey, two—the Forester and Impreza—have well-above-average reliability scores, while the Crosstrek, Legacy, Outback, and Ascent rate above average and average.

“Subaru’s cars share many reliable components,” says Steven Elek, who oversees auto data analytics at Consumer Reports. “This commonality means that when Subaru redesigns a vehicle, it can make fewer incremental changes by carrying over dependable systems. This reduces the risk of new problems.”

This year, below-average reliability ratings for the redesigned Tacoma pickup truck, the full-sized Tundra pickup, and the bZ4X electric vehicle hurt Toyota’s score. Coincidentally, Subaru’s only model with below-average reliability is the Solterra EV, which is a version of the Toyota bZ4X with Subaru badging.

Lexus and Toyota have the second- and third-highest brand reliability scores in this year’s ratings. Four Lexus models scored above average, while three came in at average. Toyota has four models that scored well above average, seven that scored above average, and five that scored average.

After Subaru, Lexus, and Toyota, Honda comes in fourth place. Three of its models scored above average this year, while seven scored average. Acura, Honda’s luxury sub-brand, comes in fifth place, with one above-average model and one average model.

Consumer Reports’ brand-level rankings are based on the average predicted reliability score of the models in each brand’s lineup. We must have sufficient data for at least two models to rank each brand. The data allows us to determine whether a brand’s rank went up or down from its position in our last survey. For each brand, we list every model for which we have data.

Keep reading to see a full comparison of how brands compare using our interactive too

We had insufficient data to create brand rankings for Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Lucid, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Mitsubishi, Polestar, Porsche, and Ram. How We Score Reliability

Every year, Consumer Reports asks its members about problems they’ve had with their vehicles in the previous 12 months. This year we gathered data on more than 300,000 vehicles from the 2000 to 2024 model years, with a few 2025 models that were introduced early enough to be included.

We study 20 trouble areas. This ranges from nuisances—squeaky brakes and broken interior trim—to major bummers, such as potentially expensive problems involving out-of-warranty engines, transmissions, EV batteries, and EV charging.

We weigh the severity of each type of problem to create a predicted reliability score for each vehicle from 1 to 100. Those scores inform the final reliability ratings we assign to every mainstream vehicle. (To calculate a vehicle’s Overall Score, we combine the reliability rating with data collected from our track testing, as well as our owner satisfaction survey results and safety data.)

We continue to gather more data on the growing number of electrified offerings being produced: hybrids, plug-in hybrids (PHEV), and electric vehicles (EV). Here are the latest results:
• Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles have 17 potential trouble areas.
• EVs can have up to 12 trouble areas. In place of traditional ICE problems, such as those with the engine and transmission, with EVs, trouble areas include the electric motor, EV/hybrid battery, and EV charging systems.
• Hybrids have 19 potential trouble areas: 17 from ICE vehicles, as well as problems with electric motors and EV batteries.
• Plug-in electric vehicles (PHEVs) can experience all 20 trouble areas: 17 from ICE vehicles, as well as those related to electric motors, EV batteries, and EV charging.