Despite the growing complexity of today’s new vehicles, the number of problems cited by owners in the first 90 days of ownership has improved slightly, according to J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Initial Quality Study (IQS).

Overall, problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) have improved to 192 from 194 a year ago, with premium brands improving by 27 PP100 to 203. The premium improvement was largely driven by Tesla, while problems among mass market brands have increased to 187 PP100 from 181 last year, according to the study. A lower score reflects higher vehicle quality.

Lexus is the highest-ranking brand overall in initial quality with a score of 166 PP100. Among premium brands, Jaguar (175 PP100) ranks second, and Genesis (183 PP100) ranks third.

Among mass market brands, Nissan ranks highest with a score of 169 PP100. Hyundai (173 PP100) ranks second, and Chevrolet (178 PP100) ranks third.

For the first time, the study found that PHEVs, on average, have more problems than their battery electric vehicle (BEV) counterparts (237 PP100 versus 212 PP100, respectively). Gasoline (184 PP100) and hybrid (196 PP100) vehicles have fewer problems than PHEVs and BEVs. The improvement in BEVs is driven by a 62 PP100 improvement for Tesla.

While infotainment issues remain half of the top problems industry-wide, 11 infotainment problems showed improvement. However, owners have more touchscreen-related problems due to the inclusion of non-audio-related features, like climate controls, garage door openers, and glove box releases.

“While customers do find the larger touchscreens visually appealing, their functionality within the vehicle is an increasing source of frustration,” said Frank Hanley, J.D. Power’s senior director of auto benchmarking, in a press release. “Customers are having to tap and swipe through multiple screens to access key vehicle functions like climate settings and built-in garage door openers. Owners find these things to be overly complicated and too distracting to use while driving. By retaining dedicated physical controls for some of these interactions, automakers can alleviate pain points and simplify the overall customer experience.”

The study also found that premium vehicles have more defects than mass market counterparts. However, design-related issues are equal between mass market and premium vehicles. Exterior issues are the largest area of discrepancy, with premium vehicles averaging 4.2 more problems than mass market vehicles, mostly driven by those from non-traditional automakers.

New-model launches account for the highest number of problems (203 PP100) since the study was redesigned in 2020, compared with 190 PP100 for carryover models. Of the 18 new models launched this year, only two have fewer problems than their respective segment average, according to the study.

“Typically, problems for new launches are balanced with some being successful and others having issues,” Hanley said in the release. “This year, however, new launches are notably more problematic.” The good news for the new launches is that they require fewer repair visits than the carryover models.

The parent corporation receiving the most model-level awards is General Motors Co. (five awards), followed by Ford Motor Co. (four awards) and Honda Motor Co. (three awards). Among brands, Ford received the most segment awards with four, followed by Chevrolet with three.

GM models that rank highest in their respective segments are the Buick Encore GX, Cadillac XT5, Chevrolet Blazer, Chevrolet Silverado, and Chevrolet Tahoe.

Ford models that rank highest are the Escape, F-150, Mustang, and Super Duty.

Honda models that rank highest are the Acura Integra, Acura RDX, and Honda Odyssey.

Volkswagen AG has the highest-ranking model overall, the Porsche 911, with 116 PP100.

The 39th annual IQS is based on responses from 92,694 purchasers and lessees of new 2025 model-year vehicles who were surveyed after 90 days of ownership. The study additionally incorporates repair visit data based on hundreds of thousands of real-world events reported to franchised new-vehicle dealers, according to the release.

Respondents answered over 200 questions organized into 10 vehicle categories: infotainment; features, controls, and displays; exterior; driving assistance; interior; powertrain; seats; driving experience; climate; and unspecified (unique to repair).

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Featured image: 2025 Lexus IS 300 (Provided by Lexus)