TROY, Mich. -

Perhaps emphasizing how that 2021 model that could be a certified pre-owned vehicle in your inventory can connect to the potential buyer’s smartphone might not be the best pitch option for your dealership sales staff.

According to the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Multimedia Quality and Satisfaction Study, the top-cited problem for new-vehicle owners is connectivity issues with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

J.D. Power explained on Thursday that tech companies and automakers are delivering on consumers’ desires to wirelessly connect smartphones to infotainment systems. However, this study showed owners whose vehicles have wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto connectivity capability cite more problems (7.1 problems per 100 vehicles) than those whose vehicles do not (4.0 problems per 100 vehicles).

But if you still feel compelled to highlight the smartphone connection capabilities, J.D. Power highlighted that the top-performing vehicles in each segment included:

• Midsize/Large: Nissan Maxima

• Midsize/Large Premium: Cadillac Escalade and Chevrolet Corvette

• Small/Compact: Nissan Sentra for a second consecutive year

• Small/Compact Premium: BMW 4 Series

“Smartphone mirroring has shown to be a source of problems for several years now but has become more problematic this year with the growing ability to wirelessly connect the feature on a number of vehicles,” said Brent Gruber, senior director of global automotive quality at J.D. Power.

“Fortunately, the top tech companies and automakers have the ability to generate demand for new or upgraded technologies while troubleshooting current issues as the rollout continues,” Gruber continued in a news release.

The 2021 U.S. Multimedia Quality and Satisfaction Study is based on responses from 110,827 purchasers and lessees of new 2021 model-year vehicles who were surveyed after 90 days of ownership.

The study was fielded from February through July.

More details about the study can be found via this website.