Automotive News has published the results of the 2019 JD Power Initial Quality survey, and Honda and Acura are nowhere to be found in the top 10. In fact, both marques score worse than the industry average of 93 problems per 100 cars. Honda rings in at 98 defects, which ranks them #17 between Porsche and Cadillac. Acura fared worse, notching 110 problems per 100 vehicles. Acura ranks 25th overall, falling between Mini and Chrysler.

The top 5 makes are Genesis, Kia, Hyundai, Ford, and Lincoln.

Historically, Honda and Acura have been 2 of the top makes in this survey, so we reached out to Honda spokesman Davis Adams for comment. It seems that most Honda complaints originate with the telematics (infotainment) systems and offered this comment:

“We value the voice of our customer and we have increased our efforts around the use and understanding of our telematics systems, which heavily influence IQS scores. We remain committed to improving in all aspects of quality for our customer.”

UPDATED WITH RESPONSE FROM ACURA:
Acura spokesman Chris Naughton has responded to our request for comment with the following:

We place the highest value on the voice of the customer, which has helped advance our brand’s reputation for outstanding durability, quality and reliability. In recent years,we have been among the leaders in deploying advanced safety, driver-assistive and connected-car technologies which heavily influence IQS scores. We will continue our efforts to improve the ease of use of these systems and deliver the highest levels of quality to our customers. The Acura MDX and Acura TLX improved year-over-year. The RDX is a first in a new generation of Acura vehicles with new technology creating an entirely new user experience that can require a bit of a learning curve for some drivers during the initial ownership period measured by IQS. Based on the success of RDX in the market withsales records in 11 of its first 12 months on sale, as well as positive feedback we have received from Acura owners, we are confident that our customers are very pleased with their overall ownership experience. Our associates across sales, R&D and manufacturing are committed to continuing to advance the IQS performance ofAcura products. We fully expect the scores of all our products to greatly improve moving forward. "

GRAPHIC: Automotive News

Last edited by JeffX on June 19, 2019 15:15