10 Cars and SUV To Avoid
Which vehicles have been ranked as the most unreliable for 2024? That’s what we’re going to find out.
I’m going to share the least reliable vehicles that you can buy that received the lowest scores in the latest Consumer Reports Reliability Study.
These are the vehicles that gave their owners the most amount of headaches and the ones that you should probably just avoid. So let’s get into this list,
Volkswagen Jetta
Starting with the first vehicle that came in the number 10 spot, and that is the Volkswagen Jetta.
The Jetta received a reliability score of only 25 points out of 100, ranking below average for reliability. 10 Cars and SUV To Avoid
The biggest problem areas with the Jetta include drivetrain issues, the climate system, the brakes, and the in-car electronics.
Now, this one came as no surprise to me. Volkswagen’s generally have spotty reliability in North America, and the cost of repairs beyond the warranty period are typically higher than the average vehicle.
Considering the Jetta has nothing really special going for it, it’s just a generic compact car that’s not as well made and more expensive to repair than the equivalent Mazda 3 or Honda Civic, you should just give this one a hard pass.
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Next, we have the vehicle coming at the number 9 spot, which is the Jeep Grand Cherokee. 10 Cars and SUV To Avoid
The Grand Cherokee received a reliability score of only 23 points out of 100, ranking below average and making it the least reliable vehicle that Jeep makes.
The problem areas include the drivetrain, the steering, the suspension, the in-car electronics, and general build quality issues.
Now, the Grand Cherokee is a very popular vehicle, and many owners are very happy with them.
But it seems that for every happy owner, you can find just as many unhappy ones that have had all kinds of headaches. 10 Cars and SUV To Avoid
Jeeps are known for a lot of things, but stellar reliability sure isn’t one of them.
Nissan Frontier
Now moving on to the vehicle that came in the number 8 spot, and that is the Nissan Frontier.
Now, I have to admit, this one came as a pretty big surprise. The Frontier received a reliability score of only 23 out of 100.
But looking at the data more carefully, however, it seems that in this case, the issues are only related to the build quality of the 2022 and 2023 model years when the front tier was completely redesigned. 10 Cars and SUV To Avoid
It is fairly common that when a manufacturer redesigns a vehicle, they will have some build quality issues for the first and maybe second model year.
Luckily, the drivetrain and mechanical components and it seemed to be very solid, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see the front tier.
Rivian R1T
jJump up the list next year after having these early build quality kinks sorted out.
In any case, let’s move on to the next vehicle that came in the number seven spot, and that is is the Rivian R1T.
In fact, both Rivian models received a fairly low score of only 23 out of 100, which is below average for reliability. 10 Cars and SUV To Avoid
Considering how new they are, I think this one does make sense, as As mentioned, when a manufacturer introduces a brand new vehicle that has a lot of new technology,
they tend to have a lot of issues at the beginning, and the buyer becomes a quality tester and has to sort out all these issues through the warranty.
So when you buy a completely new vehicle like this, you are taking a little bit of a risk.
Volvo XC60
And next up, we have the vehicle that comes in the number 6 spot, and that is the Volvo XC60. 10 Cars and SUV To Avoid
The XC60, specifically the plug-in version, only received a score of 21 out of 100, ranking below average and the lowest ranked model in the Volvo lineup.
Ever since Volvo fell under Chinese ownership and have rolled out their latest electrified lineup, their reliability has been very spotty.
They certainly make very nice, safe vehicles, but you are taking a bit of a risk if you want to be free of headaches and own one for long-term ownership.
Mercedes EQS
The vehicle that came in number 5 is the Mercedes EQS.
The EQS received a score of only 20 out of 100, ranking well below average for reliability. 10 Cars and SUV To Avoid
This is a relatively new model, and yet the quality issues have been ongoing.
Mercedes is relatively new to electric vehicles, so I’d say this one is best to wait until they sort out all the issues.
That is, if they’re even able to, Mercedes seems to be one of the more troublesome European luxury brands when it comes to reliability.
Mercedes C-Class
The next vehicle that came in the number 4 spot is the Mercedes C-Class.
The C-Class earned a pretty terrible score of only 19 points out of 100, making it the least reliable Mercedes of the The entire study. 10 Cars and SUV To Avoid
Just about every area of this car is reported as being problematic, and the number of report issues went up when Mercedes introduced a redesigned C-Class for 2023.
This is one of the least reliable luxury vehicles of the entire consumer report study, and I’d say just stay away from this one.
Ford F150 Hybrid.
And now getting into the top three least reliable vehicles of the entire study. So let’s move on to the vehicle in the number three spot, and that is the Ford F150 Hybrid.
The F150 Hybrid earned a poor score of only 19 points out of 100, ranking well below average and the least reliable Ford of the year.
Shockingly, this is a slight improvement over the previous year when the hybrid was actually the lowest ranked vehicle of the entire Consumer Reports reliability study.
Most of the issues with the hybrid are powertrain related, including engine electrical, drive system, and transmission related. 10 Cars and SUV To Avoid
And in case you’re curious, the regular F150 did score quite a bit better, but still well below average.
And interestingly, the version of the F150 that had the least number of issues was actually the Lightning, the all-electric F150.
Volkswagen Taos
And now moving on to the vehicle in the number 2 spot, the runner up for the least reliable vehicle of the entire year, we have the Volkswagen Taos.
The Taos earned a very poor score of only 18 points out of 100, ranking well below average and the lowest ranked Volkswagen of the entire study.
Not only is the Taos one of the least reliable vehicles, but it also has very low owner satisfaction ratings as well. 10 Cars and SUV To Avoid
it’s great to finally have some really solid data that validates my recommendation. And that recommendation remains to avoid the Taos if you want a small crossover SUV.
Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid
The number one vehicle and the least reliable one of the entire year. And that vehicle is the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid.
The Pacifica Hybrid earned a dismal score of only 14 points out of 100, ranking well below average and the worst vehicle of the entire study.
Basically, everything to do with the Pacifica’s hybrid system, electronics, and the drivetrain are problematic. 10 Cars and SUV To Avoid
It is just not a well-made vehicle, and it never has been, despite being on sale without any major changes for a number of years now.
2024 Toyota Landcruiser 79 Series Interior, Looks, Pricing
Don’t go thinking that the regular Pacifica model is a whole lot better because it really isn’t.
Chrysler came at the very bottom of the reliability survey this year.
So if you want a reliable minivan, anything besides the Pacifica would be a huge improvement.
Final Word
Now, there were some interesting trends that came from this reliability data. One is that certain brands did have a pattern of performing extremely poorly.
The worst performing brands were Volkswagen and Mercedes Benz.
Both of these brands had every single model in their lineups ranking below average or well below average for reliability.
Other brands that performed fairly poorly included Lincoln, Volvo, and every single brand within Stellantis and General Motors. 10 Cars and SUV To Avoid
Not a single one of these companies had a single model in their entire lineups that ranked above average for reliability, which is pretty disappointing to see.
As for vehicle types, the two categories of vehicle that ranked as the absolute worst were electric vehicles and full-size pickup trucks.
Both vehicle types had the highest number of problems. Every full-size truck available ranked below average or average for reliability.
And electric vehicles were an issue as well. In fact, the only electric vehicle that ranked above average in the entire study was the Nissan Aria.
Every other EV ranked either average or below average, which just goes to show that they still have a lot of work to do.
Now, you’re probably wondering, where are some of the other brands? Where is Landrover, Jaguar, Fiat, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, and a few others?
Well, unfortunately, consumer reports just did not have enough data to include these brands in the study, which if they had, I’m pretty confident they would have come near the rock bottom. So there you have it.