Ford plummets in Consumer Reports reliability survey

• Ford falls to 26th place out of 28 brands
• Only two years ago, it was in the Top 10
• Toyota, Lexus and Scion are the top brands

Ford, the first of the Detroit 3 brands to rack up reliability ratings that rivaled the world's best, continued a fall from grace by dropping to next-to-last in the latest Consumer Reports reliability survey, out Monday.

In only two years, Ford has fallen from the top 10, when 90% of its models were scored industry average or better for predicted reliability. But in the latest CR survey, it ranks 27th out of 28 makers.

"Sixty percent of Ford-branded models and half of Lincolns were below average in predicted reliability, and none placed above average," said Jake Fisher,director of automotive testing for Consumer Reports.

The annual reliability survey is among the most closely watched quality measures because of the magazine's reputation for independence.

Ford said in a statement: "We listen closely and value feedback on our vehicles – whether it's from customers or third parties, such as Consumer Reports. We remain absolutely committed to continuously improving and providing the highest-quality vehicles to our customers."

A big factor in Ford's decline was owner dissatisfaction with its MyFord/MyLincoln Touch voice-controlled infotainment and communications system, which has been widely criticized as overly complicated. It was blamed for low Ford scores earlier this year in influential J.D. Power and Associates surveys.

Ford says the system was improved with an extensive software upgrade. It says it's research shows a 25 percentage point increase in owner satisfaction since the upgrade was issued in March. Ford says 71% of owners with the upgrade say they would recommend the system to their friends.

Besides infotainment, Ford was criticized for introducing a bevy of redesigned models that were unusually troublesome, in the view of their owners. Explorer, Fiesta, and Focus and other redesigned models "came out of the gate with more problems than normal," CR reports.

Three models that have done well in the magazine's past surveys -- Escape, Fusion and the Lincoln MKZ -— were not in the current survey because they were completely redesigned as 2013 models, so CR does not have enough data yet to predict their reliability.

The top company overall was Toyota Motor. Each of its brands -- Toyota, Scion and Lexus -- took top spots.

After the Toyota brands, came other Japanese brands -- Mazda, Subaru, Honda, and Acura.

Here is the Consumer Reports' predicted reliability ranking by brand for 2013 models, showing change in rank from last year and the brand's best- and worst-ranked models:

Rank (last year), Brand, Best model, Worst model

1. (same) Scion, xB, xD*

2. (+4) Toyota, Sienna (AWD), Prius C*

3. (-1) Lexus, GX, CT 200h

4. (same) Mazda, Mazda3 (Skyactiv)*, CX-5*

5. (+3) Subaru, Legacy (6-cyl.), Impreza Sedan*

6. (-1) Honda, Odyssey, Fit

7. (+4) Acura, MDX, TSX

8. (+16) Audi, S4*, A7*

9. (-2) Infiniti, G Convertible*, G Sedan

10. (+2) Kia, Sorento (V-6), Sportage

11. (+14) Cadillac, SRX, CTS coupe*

12. (+10) GMC, Sierra 2500 (turbodiesel), Terrain (V-6)

13. (-4) Nissan, Armada, Leaf

14. (+4) Mercedes-Benz, E-Class Convertible*, E-Class (V-6)

15. (+2) Chevrolet, Corvette, Volt

16. (+3) BMW, 7 Series*, 328i*

17. (-6) Hyundai, Sonata (turbo), Veloster*

18. (-2) Volkswagen, Jetta (4-cyl.)*, Jetta SportWagen (5-cyl.)*

19. (-6) Jeep, Wrangler (4-door), Patriot

20. (-10) Volvo, C70*, XC70

21. (+3) Buick, LaCrosse (V-6), Enclave

22. (+1) Mini, Cooper Countryman, Cooper Clubman*

23. (-8) Chrysler, 300 (V-8)* 300 (V-6) *

24. (-3) Dodge, Charger, Durango (V-6)

25. (new) Ram, 2500 (turbodiesel),1500 (V-8)

26. (-12) Lincoln, MKX, MKS

27. (-7) Ford, Explorer (V-6, 4WD), F-150 (V-6)

28. (same) Jaguar, XF*, XJ*

* Based on one model year's data

Source:

Consumer Reports