WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. -

In what proved to be the strongest year yet for J.D. Power and Associates’ U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study, it was discovered that the market’s most reliable brand is Lexus, based on the study’s findings.

This win by Lexus marks a banner year in the study for Toyota as an OEM. The Toyota and Scion brands joined Lexus in the top five for vehicle dependability.

Specifically, J.D. Power found that among original owners of three-year-old Lexus models, there were just 86 problems reported per 100 vehicles. Porsche was second on the list (98) followed by Cadillac and Toyota in a tie for third (104). Scion rounded out the top five (111).

At the bottom of the list were the four brands of Chrysler Group. The Chrysler division had the lowest dependability (192), with Dodge at 183, Jeep at 179 and Ram at 174.

Fifth from the bottom were Jaguar and Infiniti, which tied at 172.

The industry average was a score of 132, and 12 brands bested that tally. Beyond the top five, those above-average scorers were: Mercedes-Benz (112); Lincoln (116), Ford (124), Buick (125), Hyundai (125), Acura (129) and Honda (131).

Toyota’s Domination

In addition to taking three of the top five in the brand rankings, Toyota was represented in eight individual model segments. No other OEM took more segment awards.

Earning recognition for the automaker were Lexus ES 350 (tied with Lincoln MKZ), Lexus RX 350, Scion tC, Scion xB, Toyota Prius, Toyota Sienna, Toyota Tundra and Toyota Yaris models.

“We are extremely pleased that not only did we win awards in eight of the 14 model segments, but that in two segments we finished one-two and made the podium in 12 segments overall,” stated Jim Lentz, the president and chief operating officer at Toyota Motor Sales USA.

Ford was next among OEMs, with three segment winners. The Ford and Lincoln brands were also represented in the top 10 in the brand rankings.

“It’s the customers who come out ahead,” stated Bennie Fowler, Ford’s group vice president of global quality and new-model launches. “The vehicles we are building today are more reliable than ever. Ford has made significant strides over the past few years to achieve world-class levels of long-term quality and desirability.

“The results of this study are extremely gratifying,” said Fowler. “The ranking amongst the top 10 brands achieved by Ford and Lincoln speaks to our ongoing commitment to develop and deliver best-in-class products.”

Meanwhile, General Motors and Nissan claimed two awards each. Hyundai was honored in one category, as the Genesis was tops among midsize premium cars for dependability.

“Our goal is to design and build cars that meet and exceed consumers’ expectations not only off the showroom floor, but through the duration of their ownership experience. Earning Hyundai’s first-ever top 10 finish in the J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study demonstrates that our efforts are paying dividends,” explained Erwin Raphael, Hyundai Motor America’s director of engineering and quality.

“It’s equally gratifying to see Genesis sedan, a content-rich model with all the features you expect of a premium car outperform powerful competitors in its category. Long-term dependability translates to a positive ownership experience and brings customers back to the Hyundai brand in the future,” Raphael added.

As provided by J.D. Power, the segment winners in the 2012 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study are:

—Subcompact Car: Toyota Yaris
—Compact Car: Toyota Prius
—Compact Sporty Car: Scion tC
—Midsize Car: Ford Fusion
—Large Car: Buick Lucerne
—Entry Premium Car: Lexus ES 350, Lincoln MKZ (tie)
—Midsize Premium Car: Hyundai Genesis
—Multi-Purpose Vehicle: Scion xB
—Compact Crossover SUV: Chevrolet Equinox
—Midsize Crossover SUV: Ford Explorer, Nissan Murano (tie)
—Midsize Premium Crossover SUV: Lexus RX 350
—Midsize Pickup: Nissan Frontier
—Minivan: Toyota Sienna
—Large Pickup: Toyota Tundra

Overall Results for Industry

Moving along, the industry’s overall dependability score of 132 problems per 100 vehicles was not only an improvement of 13 percent year-over-year, it marks the best score in the history of the study.

J.D. Power notes that this is in line with the best-ever scores (at the time) it observed three years ago during the 2009 Initial Quality Study, which is when the vehicles in this dependability study first hit the market as new.

The firm noted that year-over-year progress was made for 25 brands in the dependability analysis. Just six brands saw their dependability scores go down and one was static.

The improvement was a bit more rapid for the Big 3 than for imports. Now, domestics are just 13 PP 100 behind their import rivals, versus the margin of 18 a year ago.

“Despite facing immense challenges in 2009, automakers placed a keen focus on delivering outstanding levels of quality, which they understood would be essential to their long-term success,” explained David Sargent, J.D. Power’s vice president of global automotive.

“Three years later, owners of these models are enjoying unprecedented levels of vehicle dependability and manufacturers are experiencing market recovery,” he continued. “This is good news both for owners—who are holding onto their vehicles for longer than ever—and manufacturers, since perception of quality and dependability is a critical factor in vehicle purchase decisions.”

Automakers should be mindful, though, that despite some brands are hitting strong dependability scores year after year, these same brands are still struggling when it comes to how consumers perceive their reliability, Sargent warned.

“Building vehicles with high levels of dependability is obviously a necessary element in reshaping consumer perceptions,” he noted. “Negative quality perceptions are notoriously difficult to change, and it takes considerable time, but effectively communicating improvements in dependability may reduce concerns, and by extension, help new-vehicle sales.”