Bookmarking Auto on Info pagesSupporting Auto on InfoHome or Site Layout or Site Map or Site Index or Quick Jumps or Search Engine Directory or The Mart or The Links Auto InformationReliability InformationReliability Index Values and AveragesChart of the RIVs for Sport Utility Vehicle Models: 2007

The Reliability Index Values are based on reported auto problems in 6 to 8 year old vehicles. To view the methodology for the computation of the Reliability Index Values, go to the Methodology Page.

To see an extrapolation of the current ten-year Reliability Index gap between Toyota and the Big Three, go to the Bottom Line on Reliability web page of the Auto on Info website. This web page will give you an idea as to what you can expect of a new 2007 or 2008 Big-Three-engineered model relative to a 2007 or 2008 Toyota or Honda model.

This page has been updated to include the data that became available in 2007.

Some Additional Charts and Tables Pertaining to Reliability and Durability
(Each chart is linked to a news article providing additional information.)

Table I: Number and Percentage of Entries in CR's 2007 Much-Worse-Than-Average List, by Manufacturer
Auto Manufacturer Number of Entries Percent of Entires
General Motors Corporation 14 36.8%
DaimlerChrysler AG 7* 18.4%
Ford Motor Company 6** 15.8%
Volkswagen AG 5 13.2%
Nissan Motor Company 3 7.9%
BMW AG 2 5.3%
Kia Motors Corporation 1 2.6%
All Others 0 0%
* Three are from DaimlerChrysler's North American Chrysler group and four are from the Mercedes-Benz division.
** Two are from Ford's North American group, two are from the Jaguar division, one is from the Land Rover division, and one is from the Volvo division.
Source: "CR Bad Bets," Consumer Reports, April 2007, p. 81

More Charts and Tables appear below the list of news articles.

Some SUV-related News Articles:

June 2007: The J.D. Power Surveys: Gleaning Values from Things That May Be Worth, Individually, Something Close to Nothing: GM in the Dumps Again
May 2007: Does GM Mean Junk and Ford Too? Toyota and Honda Shine Again.
May 2007: In 2007, Toyota and Honda Dominate Most Reliable List with 10 of 11 Best, GM Dominates Least Reliable List with 7 of 10 Worst
April 2007: The Best Models by CR's 2007 History of Reliability Verdicts: The Reliable Two Shine; Big Three Score Zip
April 2007: Toyota and Honda Dominate CR's 2007 Top Picks and Alternates; Nissan's Infiniti Division Accounts for CR's Upscale and Luxury Top Picks; Big Three Score Zip
April 2007: Owners Sue GM over Speedily Dilapidating Speedometers
April 2007: By Yet Another Quality Measure, Toyota and Honda Are Best and GM and DaimlerChrysler - Worst: The UCS 2007 Environmental Report
April 2007: In the U.S. in March 2007, Consumer March to Quality Continues: Toyota Sets New Monthly Record, Honda Sets New March Record, and Big 3 Sales Tumble, but Multiple Chapter 11 Bankruptcies by Any of the Big 3 Seem Unlikely
March 2007: Toyota and Honda Increase Dominance of Consumer Reports' Good Bets List: Toyota's Best Widen Quality Gap
March 2007: Chevrolet Upholds a Tradition: GM's Chevrolet Line Worst by CR's 2007 Vehicles-to-Avoid List
March 2007: GM Expands Lead on CR's Used-Cars-to-Avoid List, a Tad
March 2007: GM Maintains Leadership in Much-Worse-Than-Average: A Guide to Making Sales Challenging
February 2007: The Reliable Two and Subaru Sweep 2007 CR Family Car Quick Picks with a Reliability History of Two or More Years: Small-SUV-versus-Family-Sedan Comparison Table
January 2007: CR's Top 3 Small SUVs Are Reliable Twos
December 2006: Toyota, Honda, Subaru, and Nissan Account for Nearly All on List of 2007 Models with CR's Highest Predicted Short-Term Reliability Based on Two or More Years
October 2006: U.S. Consumer Shift to Quality Outpaces Big Three Price and Production Cuts; Big 3 Inventories Get Big, But How Big? Three for One, Anyone?
October 2006: The 2006 Updates: Toyota and Honda Account for 4 of 5 Most Durable Sport-Utility Vehicles; General Motors - 7 of 10 Worst: Will a Typical 1998 Toyota SUV Be More Trouble Free at 21 Years of Age Than a Typical 1998 GM SUV at 3?
October 2006: The 2006 Updates: Toyota Tops in Pickup Reliability and Durability: Just How Bad, or Disastrous, Are GM Pickups?
October 2006: The 2006 Updates: Toyota and Honda Account for 4 Most Durable Vehicle Lines; General Motors - 4 of 10 Worst: Will a Typical Toyota or Honda 1998 Model Be More Trouble Free at 20 Years of Age Than a Typical 1998 GM Model at 3?
September 2006: Ford Motor and GM: Where to from Here?
September 2006: Market Capitalizations of Toyota Motor Corporation, General Motors Corporation, and Ford Motor Company
September 2006: Reliability Updates: Toyota and Honda Still Tops, But Lose Luster; General Motors Still Worst of Major Auto Manufacturers; Hyundai Clobbers GM Yet Again
September 2006: Reliability Updates: Best and Worst Cars and Trucks Tables: A Chart Summary
August 2006: Reliability Updates: For Vehicles 6-to-8 Years Old, Toyota Accounts for 7 of 10 Best, GM - 17 of 36 Worst
August 2006: Reliability Updates: For Vehicles 5-to-7 Years Old, Toyota Accounts for 9 of 13 Best, GM - 17 of 42 Worst
August 2006: Reliability Updates: For Model Year 2002, Toyota Accounts for 11 of 16 Best, GM - 16 of 53 Worst
August 2006: For 2-to-3-Year-Old Model-Year-2003 Vehicles, Toyota Garners 8 of Top 9 and 9 of Top 14, General Motors Accounts for 18 of Bottom 46
July 2006: In the U.S. in June 2006, Toyota Sales Surge to Set a New June Record; Legendary Corolla Sales Soar; Honda Sales Squeak Past Previous June Record; Big Three Sales Remain In or Near Friction-Free Free Fall, But GM's Prospect of Multiple Bankruptcy Filings Dims
June 2006: S&P Cuts Ford Debt Deeper into Junk: Which of the Big Two Will Win the Race to Bankruptcy?
June 2006: Toyota and Honda Dominate CR's 2006 Higher-Reliability, Higher-Owner-Satisfaction Quick Picks; Big Three Score Zip
June 2006: Review of the 2006 Toyota Sequoia Sport-Utility Vehicle: Some Photographs, Distinctions, and Features and Specifications
June 2006: Review of the 2006 Toyota Land Cruiser Sport-Utility Vehicle: Some Photographs, Distinctions, and Features and Specifications
June 2006: Review of the 2006 Lexus GX470 Sport-Utility Vehicle: Some Photographs, Distinctions, and Features and Specifications
June 2006: Review of the 2007 Lexus RX350 Sport-Utility Vehicle: Some Photographs, Distinctions, and Features and Specifications
June 2006: Review of the 2006 Toyota Highlander Sport-Utility Vehicle: Some Photographs, Distinctions, and Features and Specifications
May 2006: Toyota and Honda Account for 75% of CR's Top Picks, Alternatives, and Runners-up; Subaru and Nissan Account for Balance; Big Three Score Zip
May 2006: Review of the 2006 Honda Pilot Sport-Utility Vehicle: Some Photographs, Distinctions, and Features and Specifications
May 2006: Review of the 2006 Lexus RX400h Hybrid Sport-Utility Vehicle: Some Photographs, Distinctions, and Features and Specifications
May 2006: Review of the 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Sport-Utility Vehicle: Some Photographs, Distinctions, and Features and Specifications
April 2006: In 2006, Toyota and Honda Rule Most Reliable List with 10 of 10 Best, GM Dominates Least Reliable List with 6 of 10 Worst: Reliability Gap Grows
April 2006: Review of and Product Information on the 2006 Honda CR-V Sport-Utility Vehicle: Some Photographs, Distinctions, and Features and Specifications
April 2006: Review of and Product Information on the Base, Sport, and Limited Editions of the 2006 Toyota RAV4 Sport-Utility Vehicle: Some Photographs, Distinctions, and Features and Specifications
April 2006: Review of and Product Information on the 2006 Toyota 4Runner Sport-Utility Vehicle: Some Photographs, Distinctions, and Features and Specifications
April 2006: If GM Is Really Worth a -$43 Billion, Should Its Executives Be Executed?
March 2006: Ford's Incendiary Problem May Include Explorers
March 2006: The Flipping Explorers: More Bad News for Ford's Defense Attorneys
February 2006: Chevrolet Reliability Worst of Big Three Brands, by CR Measures
February 2006: Toyota and Honda Dominate Consumer Reports' 2006 Good Bets List, with Small Changes from 2005
February 2006: General Motors and DaimlerChrysler Again Dominate CR's Used-Cars-to-Avoid List
February 2006: Into the Pits and Down and Under Charges the General; General Motors Sets Record Share of CR's Much-Worse-Than-Average
February 2006: In the U.S. in January 2006, Reliable Two Sales Soar to Set New January Sales Records; GM and Ford Dodge Plunge with Huge, Premature Fleet Sales, but GM's Market Share Still Drops a Notch; Toyota RAV4 Overtakes Honda CR-V with Dramatic Sales Surge
January 2006: U.S. President Bush Says GM and Ford Must Make a Relevant Product, But Can They and Should They Try?
January 2006: Toyota Overwhelmingly Dominates Another Measure of Durability
January 2006: By WSJ's Lot-Stay Time, Made-in-Japan TMC Models Are Top 5 of Hottest 10
January 2006: Ford Cuts GM Lead in Race to Insolvency: Which Big Three Will Go Bust First?
December 2005: Engineering Firm Requests NHTSA Investigation, Alleging Ford Explorer Roof May Be Out of Compliance with Federal Standard 216; Another Death in Another Flipping Ford Explorer Brings Another Multimillion-Dollar Verdict
December 2005: By CR's Predicted Short-Term Reliability for Model Year 2006, Toyota and Honda Dominate Best, GM and Ford Dominate Worst
September 2005: In the U.S. in August 2005, Reason Rather Returns: Quality Four Sales Soar, GM Sales Plunge
September 2005: Fifteen-Year Data History Points to Continued Overwhelming Dominance of the Best of Each Year by TMC
September 2005: Auto on Info Site Manager's Conclusion: GM Likely to Dominate Worst-Cars-and-Trucks Tables for Years to Come
August 2005: For 2-to-3-Year-Old Model Year 2002 Vehicles, Toyota Garners 6 of Top 9, General Motors - 13 of Bottom 45
August 2005: For Vehicles 2-to-4 Years Old, Toyota Garners 11 of Top 16, General Motors - 16 of Bottom 40
August 2005: For Vehicles 3-to-5 Years Old, Toyota Garners 9 of Top 14, Honda - 5 of Top 14, and General Motors - 19 of Bottom 44
August 2005: For Vehicles 4-to-6 Years Old, Toyota Garners 6 of Top 10, General Motors Garners 15 of Bottom 38
August 2005: For Vehicles 5-to-7 Years Old, Honda Garners 5 of Top 9, Toyota - 4 of Top 9, and General Motors - 19 of Bottom 38
August 2005: For Vehicles 6-to-8 Years Old, Toyota Garners 7 of Top 10 Reliability Percentranks, General Motors Gathers 23 of Lowest 36
August 2005: Speediest Dilapidations: General Motors Accounts for 16 of the 20 Worst
July 2005: Mini-Survey Points to Toyota Dominance in Overall Quality and Customer Satisfaction
July 2005: As Fires Mount, NHTSA Puts the Heat on Ford: Park That Ford on the Street! III
July 2005: Volkswagen, Ford, Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Toyota Recall a Batch in the U.S.
July 2005: NHTSA Investigates Chrysler Cars, Kia Minivans, and Ford SUVs
July 2005: Did GM's Marketing Department Make Out Big Three Consumers Unmitigated Nincompoops?
July 2005: Did GM's Marketing Department Make Out GM's CEO an Unmitigated Nincompoop?
July 2005: In the U.S. in June 2005, Sales by Quality Four Continue Growth and GM Shows World That It Can Move Off Dealer Lots Anything That Rolls
June 2005: Ford and Mazda Dominate High Rollover Risk Pickups and General Motors Dominates High Rollover Risk SUVs, per NHTSA
June 2005: Park That Ford on the Street! II
June 2005: NHTSA Ratchets Up Investigation of Chrysler Minivans for Headlight Failure, Opens Investigation on Ford Expedition for Windshield Leak
June 2005: Are the J.D. Power Quality Survey Results Worth Less Than the Recyclable Paper They Are Printed On?
June 2005: In the U.S. in May 2005, Sales Shift Toward Quality Continues
May 2005: A Dodge Safety Investigation and Some Honda, Mercedes, Ford, and Kia Recalls
May 2005: Toyota Recalls a Slew
May 2005: Fitch Cuts Ford Debt, But Not to Junk
May 2005: S&P Cuts Delphi's Long-Term Debt to Five Notches into Junk
May 2005: Detroit Free Press Says GM to Expand Discounts: Clues on Whether GM Products Still Have Marketable Value
May 2005: In NHTSA Car Crash Tests, Lowest Score Goes to Chevrolet Cobalt, Lowest Two Scores to Buick LaCrosse, Perfect Scores to Toyota, Mitsubishi, Subaru, and Two Volvos
May 2005: Don't Drive That GM Pickup or SUV
May 2005: Fitch Says GM Bonds Junk Too
May 2005: Does 'GM' Mean 'Junk'?
May 2005: Toyota-Big Three Quality Gap Huge, and Growing
May 2005: Toyota and Honda Rule Most Reliable List with 12 of 12 Best, GM Dominates Least Reliable List with 8 of 11 Worst
May 2005: GM Expands Recall Lead Over Ford: 300,000 2003-2004 General Motors SUVs to Be Recalled
May 2005: With U.S. Consumer Shift toward Quality Unabated, S&P Cuts GM and Ford's Debt to Junk
May 2005: In the U.S. in April 2005, Quality Four Sales Soar, GM and Ford Continue Free Fall
May 2005: Park That Ford on the Street!
May 2005: General Motors Vehicles Hit with Another Safety Investigation: NHTSA to Investigate 1.3 Million GM Pickup Trucks and SUVs for Corroding Brake Part
April 2005: King of Recalls Recalls Again: General Motors Leaps Past Ford with Recall of 2 Million Vehicles, Including 1.5 Million 2003-2005 SUVs and Pickups
April 2005: Consumer Shift Toward Quality Gives Honda Market Capitalization Greater Than GM's and Ford's Combined
April 2005: Moody's Cuts GM Long-Term Debt Rating to One Notch Above Junk, Puts Ford Debt Under Review
April 2005: University of Alabama Professor Bidez Says Ford Explorer Roof-Crush Precedes Catastrophic Neck Injury
April 2005: General Motors Models Dominate Flop Survey
April 2005: In the U.S. in March 2005, Toyota and Nissan Sales Advance, Ford and GM Sales Drop
April 2005: General Motors' Dominion - Down & Under
March 2005: Additional Measures of Toyota's Dominion in Automotive Quality: Market Capitalizations and Bond Ratings of Toyota vs. General Motors, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, and Volkswagen
March 2005: NHTSA Begins Investigating 3.7 Million Ford Pickup Trucks and SUVs: Oh Dear! The Garage Is Ablaze.
March 2005: Toyota and Honda Dominate Consumer Reports 2005 Overall Quick Pick List; Big Three Score Zip
March 2005: Toyota and Honda Dominate Consumer Reports Owner Satisfaction Quick Pick List; Big Three Score Zip
March 2005: Review of the 2005 Lexus GX470: Some Photographs, Distinctions, and Features and Specifications
March 2005: Review of the 2005 Lexus RX330: Some Photographs, Distinctions, and Features and Specifications
March 2005: Review of the 2005 Toyota 4Runner: Some Photographs, Distinctions, and Features and Specifications
March 2005: Review of the 2005 Honda Pilot: Some Photographs, Distinctions, and Features and Specifications
March 2005: GM's Bond Rating, Bond Outlook, Common Stock, and Market Cap Take a Tumble, Reports WSJ
March 2005: General Motors Slashes 2005 Earnings Estimate, S&P Cuts GM's Outlook to Negative
March 2005: General Motors Dominates List of Models with Highest Death Rates
March 2005: General Motors and Chrysler Dominate Consumer Reports Used-Cars-To-Avoid List
March 2005: General Motors Dominates Consumer Reports Much-Worse-Than-Average Reliability List, Again
March 2005: Toyota and Honda Again Dominate Consumer Reports Good Bets List
March 2005: Toyota Dominates Consumer Reports Reliability Quick Pick List; Big Three Score Zip
March 2005: Review of the 2005 Toyota Highlander: Some Photographs, Distinctions, and Features and Specifications
March 2005: Review of the 2005 Toyota Land Cruiser: Some Photographs, Distinctions, and Features and Specifications
March 2005: Review of the 2005 Toyota RAV4: Some Photographs, Distinctions, and Features and Specifications
March 2005: Review of the 2005 Acura MDX Sport Utility Vehicle: Some Photographs, Distinctions, and Features and Specifications
March 2005: Review of the 2005 Honda CR-V Sport Utility Vehicle: Some Photographs, Distinctions, and Features and Specifications
March 2005: In the U.S. in February 2005, Toyota and Nissan Sales Advance, Ford Sales Drop, GM Sales Plummet
October 2004: Is GM King of Junk?
Automotive News Menu Pages
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Topics: Reviews - Recalls - Safety Investigations - Safety Test Results - Automotive Excellence - Green and Clean - Automotive Dishonor, Discredit, or Demerit - Lawsuits - Automotive Finances - Car and Truck Sales and Market Shares - Auto on Info

The visitor may find the following tables and charts useful as well.

Cumulative Number of Auto on Info Auto Manufacturer Awards for Motor Vehicle Quality   Cumulative Number of First Place Positions in Auto on Info's Auto Manufacturer Awards for Motor Vehicle Quality
Auto Manufacturer Awards Auto Manufacturer First Place Positions
Toyota 40 Toyota 37
Honda 32 Honda 5
Mercedes-Benz 2 Mercedes-Benz 0
Nissan 4 Nissan 0
BMW 1 BMW 0
Volvo 1 Volvo 0
General Motors 0 General Motors 0
Ford 0 Ford 0
Chrysler 0 Chrysler 0
This table is current as of 28 May 2007. This table is current as of 28 May 2007.
Shares of Consumer Reports' 2005 Quick Picks, by Auto Manufacturer and Motor Vehicle Line
Manufacturer Share of 2005 Reliability Quick Picks Share of 2005 Owner Satisfaction Quick Picks Share of 2005 Fuel Economy Quick Picks Share of 2005 Overall Quick Picks
  Vehicle Line
Toyota .63 .47 .46 .33
  Lexus .11 .16 0.00 .14
  Toyota .53 .32 .46 .19
Honda .21 .26 .38 .33
  Acura .11 .11 .08 .05
  Honda .11 .16 .31 .29
Subaru .05 .11 0.00 .14
Nissan 0.00 .05 0.00 .14
  Infiniti 0.00 0.00 0.00 .05
  Nissan 0.00 .05 0.00 .10
Mazda .05 .05 .15 .051
BMW 0.00 .05 0.00 0.00
Mitsubishi .05 0.00 0.00 0.00
Ford, Chrysler, General Motors, and all others 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
1 Mazda's one entry, the Mazda3 i, may have been pulled from Consumer Reports' Overall Quick Pick List due to a "Poor" side-impact crash test rating by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The Insurance Institute's rating did cause Consumer Reports to pull the Mazda3 from its recommended list.
All shares are rounded to two significant digits.
CR 2005 Quick Picks are quick pick models of model year 2005.
Note: A rebadge of a product engineered by Toyota, but sold by another auto manufacturer, is omitted from the latter's share.
Source for Consumer Reports' Good Bets: "Quick Picks," Consumer Reports, April 2005, P. 31

Shares of Consumer Reports' 2007 Good Bets for Model Years 1997-2006 with Selected 1998-2002 Reliability Percentrank Averages, by Auto Manufacturer and Motor Vehicle Line
Manufacturer Share of CR 2007 Good Bets with a 1998-2002 Reliability Percentrank Average1 Greater Than or Equal to .80 Share of CR 2007 Good Bets with a 1998-2002 Reliability Percentrank Average1 Greater Than or Equal to .85 Share of CR 2007 Good Bets with a 1998-2002 Reliability Percentrank Average1 Greater Than or Equal to .90 Share of CR 2007 Good Bets with a 1998-2002 Reliability Percentrank Average1 Greater Than or Equal to .95
  Vehicle Line
Toyota .54 .55 .72 .83
  Lexus .16 .19 .28 .50
  Toyota .38 .35 .44 .33
Honda .27 .32 .22 .17
  Acura .11 .13 .06 0.00
  Honda .16 .19 .17 .17
Subaru .03 0.00 0.00 0.00
Nissan .14 .10 .06 0.00
  Infiniti .08 .10 .06 0.00
  Nissan .05 0.00 0.00 0.00
Mazda .03 .03 0.00 0.00
Ford, Chrysler, General Motors, and all others 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
1 If the vehicle model is too new for a 1998-2002 Reliability Percentrank average to exist, the early 2003 Reliability Percentrank is used when such exists.
All shares are rounded to two significant digits.
CR Good Bets are models that have several model years between 1997 and 2006 of better-than-average reliability and have performed well on Consumer Reports' road tests. An auto Reliability Percentrank is a measure of relative overall reliability used by Auto on Info.
Note: Two rebadges of products engineered by Toyota, but sold by another auto manufacturer, are omitted from the latter's share.
Source for Consumer Reports' Good Bets: "CR Good Bet: The Best of Both World's," Consumer Reports Cars: Used Car Buying Guide 2006, p. 25
Source for Reliability Percentrank averages: Table I-MVRP

Median Reported Severity of Engine Knock for Various Classes of GM Vehicles as of July 12, 2005
Class 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
GM pickup trucks                
GM sport utility vehicles                
GM minivans                
GM passenger cars                
Value definitions: 0 is not auditorily offensive; 2 is auditorily offensive; 6 is very auditorily offensive; 8 is extremely auditorily offensive.
To view more results or to express your opinion regarding the engine knock in General Motors Corporation's products, go to Mini-Survey No. 65, GM's Piston Slap - Engine Knock."

*Chrysler Group Cumulative Total may include Mercedes-Benz 2004 recalls; the article on the 2004 totals was unclear on this matter.

Median Value of a New Big Three Vehicle as Assessed by Mini-Survey Respondents Reporting Ownership of a Quality Four Product on or before July 8, 2005, by Manufacturer
Manufacturer Big 3 Vehicle Valued at More Than What Is Currently Asked Big 3 Vehicle Valued at What Is Currently Asked Big 3 Vehicle Valued at Only 95% of What Is Currently Asked Big 3 Vehicle Valued at Only 80% of What Is Currently Asked Big 3 Vehicle Valued at Only 50% of What Is Currently Asked Big 3 Vehicle Valued at Nothing Big 3 Vehicle Valued at Nothing Plus Respondent Would Require $20,000+ per Year to Drive It Big 3 Vehicle Valued at Nothing Plus Respondent Would Require $200,000+ per Year to Drive It Respondent Unwilling to Own a Big Three Vehicle under Any Circumstance
Toyota Motor Corporation                
Honda Motor Company                
Subaru Division of Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd.1                
Nissan Motor Company1                
1 Very few respondents reported owning a product by Nissan or Subaru.
The Big Three manufacturers are General Motors Corporation, Ford Motor Company, and the Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler AG. See Glossary.
To view more results or to express your assessment of the value of a new Big Three Vehicle, go to Mini-Survey No. 31, "The True Value of a Big Three."