J.D Powers rates Yaris as Toyota's least reliable car

[yaristotle]

...while Consumer Reports the Yaris as Toyota's most reliable! J.D Powers also rates the Scion brand as "unreliable"! is J.D. Powers a joke or what?

[SailDesign]

They're all jokes.

[tuckevalastin]

Just because they rate the Yaris badly they are a joke? In fact not even badly just worse than other Toyotas...


I would hope that the least reliable Toyota would be the cheapest car they make. If I paid for a more expensive model and it was less reliable then I wouldn't be very happy with Toyota.

[aclark246]

Originally Posted by tuckevalastin

I would hope that the least reliable Toyota would be the cheapest car they make. If I paid for a more expensive model and it was less reliable then I wouldn't be very happy with Toyota.

+1
That makes a lot of sense.

Although I'm hoping to have a few less issues because I don't have any of those fancy power options like power/remote locks/windows. One less thing to break haha (although the convenience might be nice on rainy days fumbling around with the keys)

But as has also been said, they may be at the low end of Toyota, but Toyota is at the high end of everything else. Worst of the Best is still better than Best of the Worst.

[SilverBack]

Bullshit! They were passing a bong around and nostalgically thinking of Yugo...

[SailDesign]

Originally Posted by tuckevalastin

Just because they rate the Yaris badly they are a joke? In fact not even badly just worse than other Toyotas...

I would hope that the least reliable Toyota would be the cheapest car they make. If I paid for a more expensive model and it was less reliable then I wouldn't be very happy with Toyota.

You're right. But - I still reckon they are jokes because it seems there is very little real objective work done by CR to come to their conclusions. JD Power at least seems to do some kind of survey, but still comes to strange conclusions.

[The little red pill]

The Yaris hasn't even been out that long so how has it been branded as the least reliable? Only 3 model years is hardly going to give an accurate representation of reliablity.
Of course JD Powers stated that the Tahoe is the most reliable Full Size Sport Utility and that was the biggest POS I've ever owned.

[Goose]

I agree that such "studies" are not the most reliable source of info. Having owned three Yaris liftbacks (I swap cars often), though, I can say that the Yaris can have a few small problems.

My first one ('07) had a minor problem with the transmission at ~8,000 miles. Toyota decided to replace the entire transmission. The '07 also had a gremlin in the turn signal switch that caused the brights to light up (no, I wasn't hitting the flash-to-pass function). The '08 was perfect - no problems. My latest, the '09, has another minor problem in which the airbag light keeps coming on. My dealer tells me the system won't deploy when the light is lit, so we're getting it sorted out Monday.

In the end, none of these problems are much to worry about - especially when coupled with the excellent service my local dealer provides. Compared to my experience with a Prius (no problems in 35,000 miles), the Yaris is relatively "problematic". I'm sure such problems are reported and reflect in the stats. Nobody's asked me for my experiences, though...

In the end, I think the Yaris is a damn good little car for the money - I keep coming back to 'em. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the car to anyone.

EDIT: From what I've read, I'd say the full-size Tundra pickup is Toyota's least-reliable vehicle.

[tuckevalastin]

What exactly is Toyota's least reliable car since you all seem amazed that it could be the Yaris?!

[TheRealEnth]

well lets see.... Seeing there is a guy here that has.... 300,000miles+++++ in 2 years on his yaris, and he says all he did was regular maintenance of worn items... im thinking the yaris... IS NOT UNRELIABLE.... nuff said'

And i personally am running 35k strong with no problems whatsoever

[ddongbap]

Originally Posted by TheRealEnth

well lets see.... Seeing there is a guy here that has.... 300,000miles+++++ in 2 years on his yaris, and he says all he did was regular maintenance of worn items... im thinking the yaris... IS NOT UNRELIABLE.... nuff said'

And i personally am running 35k strong with no problems whatsoever

One exception doesn't disprove the rule. Not saying that the Yaris isn't, but, yea.

[Sabretooth]

46k here, no major issues to date, only problem I had was a crankshaft sensor at >100 miles

[AlexNet0]

64k here, no problems

[ddongbap]

Again with the QQing.

[TheRealEnth]

One exception doesn't disprove the rule. Not saying that the Yaris isn't, but, yea.

well i guess time will tell =)

[MadMax]

What a coincidence! I rated J.D Powers as the least reliable source for information on cars!

J.D. Powers and Consumer Reports are black propaganda tools, and anyone looking to get reliable and accurate information out of either is going to be very disappointed.

Again, I read several hundred owner's reports on the Yaris and never saw anything that indicated that the car was unreliable. Nor have I seen any sufficient evidence on this forum to the same. There is always an exception to every rule, but for the most part I wouldn't worry about this so-called "report."

[Sabretooth]

Owner of JD Powers musta bought his daughter a Yaris, and she never changed the oil, then it broke...Hence the horrible reliability rating.

[Yaris Hilton]

Just a thought, I wonder how buyer demographics affect car reliability? I'd expect a small economy car more likely to be owned by students, younger and lower income adults might receive less attention to maintenance and general "pampering" than a more upscale car more likely to be owned by older, more affluent people. I'd expect the less powerful little car to get driven harder relative to its maximum capabilities on average, as well.