If you are looking for the most reliable truck, look no further than the 2nd-gen Toyota Tundra according to the latest JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study.
Survey key details
This study is now in its 35th year and collects data from owners. For this year, surveyed “30,595 original owners of 2021 model-year vehicles after three years of ownership.” It was conducted from August through November 2023.
It covers “184 specific problem areas across nine major vehicle categories: climate; driving assistance; driving experience; exterior; features/controls/displays; infotainment; interior; powertrain; and seats.”
JD Power said these were the key findings for the 2024 study:
- Infotainment system woes continue to plague owners: As vehicles roll off the assembly line with increasingly more technology, it is not unexpected that the most problematic vehicle category is infotainment (49.1 PP100)—nearly twice as many problems as the next-highest category, which is exterior. Among infotainment issues, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity (6.3 PP100) is the top problem, followed by built-in voice recognition (6.1 PP100).
- Annoyance with driver assistance alerts grows over time: The number of problems related to driver assistance system alerts has increased between the 90-day ownership period and the three-year ownership period. “Many would think that after three years, owners would become used to the alerts on their vehicle,” Hanley said. “However, that is not the case. Increased problem levels are experienced across multiple driver assistance features including, but not limited to, lane departure warning/lane keeping assistance and forward collision warning/automatic emergency braking.”
- Electrified vehicles more problematic than others: Owners of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) experience more problems than owners of gas-powered and hybrid vehicles. BEVs are most troublesome (256 PP100), followed by PHEVs (216 PP100). Hybrids (191 PP100) and gasoline vehicles (187 PP100) fare significantly better. At three years of ownership, tires are a sore spot for BEVs, with 39% of owners saying they replaced tires in the past 12 months—19 percentage points higher than owners of gas-powered vehicles.
- Toyota Motor Corporation wins most segment awards: Toyota Motor Corporation’s nine segment awards is the most received by any automaker since 2017 when the Japanese automaker received 10 awards.
- The most improved brands: The top three brands showing the greatest improvement in the number of problems are Porsche (33 PP100 improvement); Mercedes-Benz (22 PP100 improvement); and Toyota (21 PP100 improvement).”
Most reliable 2024 truck
After compiling all the data, JD Power says the Toyota Tundra is the top truck in its category.
These results are really interesting since the truck they are referencing is the 2021 Toyota Tundra aka the 2nd gen. The third gen Tundra has been a mixed bag with a major engine recall affecting many owners although there was just a 2022 model that crossed the 200,000 mile mark without any major issues.
Most reliable brand is Lexus
Here is the full list of brands and how they rank.
Our take
Surveys like this and Consumer Reports are helpful for customers shopping for a new or used truck. Any information on reliability should be used when you are trying to make a decision.
