Photo: Buick
Vehicle problems in the first 90 days of ownership can be especially frustrating, but Buick, Chevrolet, and GMC models avoid these issues better than most other brands. All three of General Motors’ mass-market brands ranked well above the industry average in the J.D. Power 2022 Initial Quality Study — including seven models that topped their segments.
Vehicle Finance Tips: Here’s what you need to know about buying a new car
Each year, J.D. Power surveys owners and lessees of new vehicles on problems they’ve experienced during their first 90 days behind the wheel. Covering nine different categories and more than 200 questions, the results are translated into problems per 100 vehicles (PP100). Most brands lost ground in this year’s study, but Buick, Chevy, and GMC were able to improve their standing.
Buick ranks No. 1 for initial quality
Buick finished first among all brands, boasting a score of 139 PP100. That score is 17 points better than Buick’s result for 2021, when the brand finished 12th in the study. In other good news for Buick, the Encore GX placed first for initial quality in the Small SUV segment, with the Encore not far behind as a runner-up.
Chevrolet Corvette’s initial quality leads all models
Chevrolet finished third in this year’s IQS study with a PP100 score of 147, a significant improvement on last year’s 10th-place result. The Corvette posted the highest initial quality score of any model in the study. Five other Chevy models — the Malibu, Equinox, Tahoe, Silverado, and Silverado HD — topped their respective segments.
GMC improves to 7th among all brands
GMC’s PP100 score of 162 was good for a No. 7 ranking — a major improvement on last year’s No. 17 finish. While no GMC models made it to the top of their segment rankings, the Terrain, Acadia, Yukon, Sierra, and Sierra HD all achieved runner-up status.
For more news and information on Buick, Chevy, and GMC, see our ongoing GM brand coverage here at The News Wheel.
A longtime editor/writer and recently transplanted Hoosier, Caleb Cook lives in Xenia, Ohio. His favorite activities are reading and listening to music, although he occasionally emerges from the heap of books and vinyl records in his basement to stand blinking in the sunlight. Once fully acclimated to the outside world again, he can be observed hanging out with his wife, attempting a new recipe in the kitchen, attending movies, walking the dog, or wandering into a local brewery to inquire about what’s on tap. See more articles by Caleb.