Think the extortionate price you paid for your new vehicle during the pandemic at least got you a reliable one?
Well, maybe not.
Buyers of 2021-model-year vehicles reported more quality issues after three years of ownership in J.D. Power’s latest dependability study released earlier this year. It revealed an “unusual” decline in long-term reliability, with increased numbers of problems in nearly two-thirds of brands included in the study, according to Frank Hanley, senior director of auto benchmarking at J.D. Power.
“This can likely be attributed to the tumultuous time during which these vehicles were built,” said Hanley. “The pandemic introduced supply chain and labour issues the industry had not experienced before. It was a learning curve for everyone.”
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George Iny, president of the Automobile Protection Association consumer group, pointed out that Continuously Variable Transmissions (CVTs), which use belts or chains in place of gearsets, have caused headaches for automakers and consumers alike.
“Every automaker who tried this tech had issues. General Motors, Ford and Mercedes-Benz dropped CVTs,” Iny said. “Nissan adopted the CVT widely. An expensive repair, tens of thousands of Nissan transmissions have failed in the period 2010 to 2024.”
At the same time, new-car deliveries were hindered by supply-chain issues during the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting dealers to inflate the transaction price of every vehicle they could get their hands on. Credit the immutable laws of supply and demand.