How much emphaisi should I give to JD Power ratings

[cjecpa]

Been looking at getting a 2015 CX-5 I notice that JD Power gives it 2 stars, the Forester 3 stars and the Rogue 4 stars. Consumer Reports gives the CX-5 above average reliability, Forester excellent reliability and the Rogue above average reliability. But reading the Forester forums there seems to be a lot of problems with the new Forester and already some issues with the cVT in the new Rogue. Your thoughts I have not seen a lot of issues with the CX-5 on this Forum so was surprised with the rating.

http://autos.jdpower.com/research/Mazda/CX-5/2013/SUV/

http://autos.jdpower.com/research/Subaru/Forester/2014/SUV/index.htm

http://autos.jdpower.com/research/Nissan/Rogue/2014/SUV/index.htm

 

[jb's2014CX5]

This report is on a 2013 cx-5 that had the smaller 2.0l engine so I won't rely on it to much . As a owner of a 2014 CX-5 GT I have been totally happy with my CX-5 I have 12,000 trouble free miles on it so far.

 

[cjecpa]

Sorry here is 2014 http://autos.jdpower.com/research/Mazda/CX-5/2014/SUV/index.htm

I have owned Mazda cars before never really had any problems, (323, Miata) just was surprised by the ratings since what I have read on the Forester forum with people buying extended warranties.

 

[xtrailman]

I can't believe those ratings are for a Mazda CX-5.

And I'm not someone that pretends all is well when its not.

A 3 star in interior and exterior design, is in itself risible.

My car has had a flat battery twice, but I've struggled to find more than two other people with a similar problem.

I have no mirror shake, no hood shake, not a single rattle any were.

Check out reevoo for more realistic owner reviews, the early cars did have issues, but now after near two years after release, is a good time to buy.

http://www.mazda.co.uk/cars/mazda-cx-5/customer-reviews/

 

[CC58]

When researching a car, the place that will give you the most detail on what to expect are forums and list of recalls and TSBs. The CX-5 has a few quirks, but no major reliability issues that I have found.

The ratings of JD and CR are not very good and some have accused them of being biased. Its odd that JD gave CX-5 poor rating while CR gave a top rating for predicted reliability. Would like to hear of JDs references.

 

[cjecpa]

I was surprised I originally was looking at a new 2014 Subaru Forester but when I read through problems in the forum such as possible oil consumption, rear hatch failing, power steering failure, hard starts in the 2.0l, heater, etc where not just one person having the problems I had a hard time believing it is rated excellent. Not to mention not obtaining the EPA ratings.

 

[jason330i]

i think you should get the cx-5 and not worry about it being the perfect car.

 

[CX-SV]

I give little weight to JD Powers ratings. I reach my own conclusions based on considerable automotive experience.

 

[piotrek91]

The 2013 and 2014 Mazda3 gets 4 stars on reliability.. same engine and same transmission.
The 2014 Mazda6 also gets 4 stars on reliability.. also same engine and transmission.

 

[cjecpa]

I give little weight to JD Powers ratings. I reach my own conclusions based on considerable automotive experience.

Agree with you, one reason to join a forum prior to buying any vehicle is that current owners will bring up issues that you would not find anywhere until you actually own the vehicle. Just surprised by the rating wonder where they get their information to draw these conclusions.

 

[tdfiver]

On our CX5 the only issue both me and the wife have had is 6th gear, it needs quite a shove to engage it, we sometimes get neutral instead, probably because our last car was a Volvo and gears were very easy to select. Should be better in a few thousand miles I would expect.

 

[ALafya]

JD Power have few studies, the "initial quality" study is conducted after 90 days or so after a purchase. This is the information you see on the link provided.
They also have a dependability study, which is conducted after 3 years of ownership. This study could not have been conducted for the CX-5, will be done in 2015 for 2012 (calendar year) vehicles.

Now, initial quality covers many things, including perceived problems, which could be subjective non-issues, as well as annoyances (e.g. "USB will not resume").
While I am surprised at the result, not JD Power nor CR could project long-term reliability of a new model. They need to survey owners after some years to find it.
They can provide you with information about the probability of having an issue at purchase.

 

[socalcx-5]

I spent a lot of time researching cars last year, and found the message boards/forums to be the most useful tool BY FAR. From the sound of it, most enthusiasts or people in the know think JD Power and CR are a joke.

With regards to those vehicles specifically, I personally was scared away from a 2014 Forester because of all the issues I heard about and because it was a CVT. Re: the Nissan Rogue, Nissan is notorious for having CVT issues, so that car was a total non-starter for me. I'm just 2 months into my CX-5 ownership, but aside from the mirror shake, it's been issue free FWIW.

 

[GAXIBM]

JD Power rating is likely showing the impact of people unhappy with the USB stick playback always starting at the same place. This was not an issue with my 2013 GT

 

[tkm]

JD Power initial quality is a joke. Example: Hyundai usually scores better than Honda, but go drive both with 80K on them and tell me which one feels and drives like a better car at that point.

 

[cjecpa]

With regards to those vehicles specifically, I personally was scared away from a 2014 Forester because of all the issues I heard about and because it was a CVT. Re: the Nissan Rogue, Nissan is notorious for having CVT issues, so that car was a total non-starter for me. I'm just 2 months into my CX-5 ownership, but aside from the mirror shake, it's been issue free FWIW.

Same here on those two vehicles I was amazed at how many people were buying extended warranties on the Forester because of the CVT and other issues seems like if you need to spend an additional couple thousand to sleep at night then the vehicle is not worth it not to mention an big increase in owner cost. I looked at the Rogue over the weekend really nice looking but have read people are already having some issues with the CVT as well as the heater not warming up in the cold weather.

I guess if I listen to JD Power I would be driving a Smart fortwo http://www.jdpower.com/consumer-ratings/automotive/ratings/909201562/2013-Initial+Quality+Study/index.htm

 

[pjensen641]

I think infotainment issues are really starting to cloud quality ratings. Ford had hell with this, and I would suspect most of the issues reported with the CX are infotainment related. What do people expect though, most software has bugs. Look at Microsoft windows, and they have been doing it for decades! There are a couple annoyances with the infotainment in my car, but i'll take those over any quality metric that were common just 5 years ago (drivetrain etc). Also, I would argue the hood and mirror shake are not real quality defects in my mind, unless rear visibility was reduced. Its a ground up new design for fuel economy, things are going to be light weight and flimsy. Did anyone ever experience a hood or mirror failure?

The transmission issues, diesel oil rise, engine stall, and occasional random thing like loose strut top are true issues. Those seem to be few and far between.

 

[speedbegone]

as far as reliability goes, toyota (to name one) as always been a reference, but lately has been in a series of massive recalls. Still people bow to the brand as the go to cars for trouble free ownership.

as far as I can remember, mazda has been recall free, and thats from a company that is much smaller and had a tubrocharged engine in its lineups for 7 years (2.3 disi turbo found on the mazdaspeed 6, cx7 and 2 gens of speed 3)

having the same skyactiv engines in their 3 top sellers at once can only show the confidence mazda has in these engines and technology... gambling using unreliable engines would be too dangerous for mazda.

 

[V8toilet]

I agree with Pjenson641 and Speedbegone, I read in CR that infotainment systems are a major contributor to customer complaints in reliability studies. Good point about the Skyactive powertrains being in just about every model they produce. If they had major issues with those powertrains, it could mean the end of such a small company like Mazda. I did have a few small issues with my first CX5 but my second one with over 16k has been bulletproof.

In CR the Smart ForTwo has the lowest score with a 28out of possible 100.

 

[cjecpa]

In CR the Smart ForTwo has the lowest score with a 28out of possible 100.

I saw that it is amazing that JD Power recommends it. What also amazes me that names like Smart (actual car company) and IQ are used to make you feel intelligent about driving a golf cart on the highway.