The Basics
Hyundai joins Toyota, Honda as quality benchmark

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The longtime butt of cheap-car jokes leads the charge as Korean manufacturers overtake European and American in a widely watched survey. Quality overall is improving markedly, J.D. Power finds.

By MSN Money staff

Korean automaker Hyundai capped a hard-won rehabilitation of its reputation Wednesday by passing longtime benchmark Toyota in the widely watched J.D. Power & Associates initial quality survey.

The Power survey asks 51,000 new-car buyers about problems experienced in the first 90 days of ownership and is considered a fair predictor of long-term reliability. Top complaints in its Initial Quality Survey are wind noise, chipped paint and loud brakes. Failed expectations hurt, too. GM's Hummer brand ranked last in 2003 largely because its dismal fuel economy disappointed so many buyers.

Korean brands overall ranked ahead of European and American and just behind the Japanese, Power reported.

"A decade ago, as Korean manufacturers struggled with a universally poor reputation for vehicle quality, no one would have predicted they could not only keep pace, but actually pass domestics and other imports in terms of initial quality," said Joe Ivers, partner and executive director of quality/customer satisfaction at J.D. Power and Associates. "This demonstrates how vastly more competitive the market has become -- which is good news for consumers, who will ultimately benefit." Point. Click. Pay.
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Measured quality for the industry as a whole continues to improve dramatically, the survey found, with reported problems down 11% from 2003.

How the survey works
The Power survey ranks initial quality on three levels: corporate -- meaning Toyota's Lexus, Toyota and Scion brands lumped together, for example; individual nameplates; then individual models.

On the corporate level, Hyundai tied Honda for second place behind Toyota. Owners of Toyota-made cars (including Lexus) reported an average of 101 problems per 100 vehicles; owners of Hondas and Hyundais reported 102. The industry average is 119.

 

i wouldnt beleive if i didnt drive one everyday....but i do, i love my hyundai gook piece of crap not only that but hondas are good cars i just think the quality has slipped a lil over the past few years..imo

 

Everyone around here rips on Hyundai, but the product they have been putting out for the past 5 years is excellent. The fit and finish of their cars aren't as good as a Honda or a Toyota, but the reliabilty is excellent. My sister has a '99 Elantra that has not had one single problem since she bought it new. My dad has an '03 XG350 which is a great car. Nice ride quality, nice power, nice fit and finish, overall a great car. I've heard really good things about the new Tiburons as well. This article is no suprise to me.

 

people have a hard time beleiving it. months ago i posted an article on the same subject and got flamed out the wazoo for it. but its nice to see not everyone is ignorant.( comeon guys, you knew id put my .02 in on this one)

 

I think it's a number of issues, such as the cars becoming more complicated (blue tooth, navigation systems, HID with complicated ballasts), etc. Honda is also producing more cars than they ever have before which strains factories.

I see the most problems coming from TL's and MDX's. Keep in mind they're also the top selling models, so problems per 100 vehicles still might be low. But those two models are also built in Ohio and Canada.

The RSX and RL are made in Japan and the TSX is made in the UK. I never see problems with those, ever.

EDIT: Most of the problems I see are with components to the vehicle, not the mechanical quality, although 2nd gen TL's, 1st and 2nd gen CL's and some MDX's suffer from transmission problems.

 

i see your point, but at the same time hyundai is doing he same producing a ton more cars than they used to but the quality is going up,not bashing hondas , i had two that i loved as if they were my children but, the quality of my last civic compared to my older one not to mention my experiances with many other 7th gens just gives the sad impression that hondas slipping a lil. i still love their cars but they just dont seem as "bulletproof" anymore

 

If it was the Coupe it was made in Ohio.

 

haha mine was a coup and we had a 01 4 door which was an even bigger pos

 

The first model year for Civics, both coupes and sedans, seemed to have an usual amount of problems. But yeah point taken...

 

i dont even care how sweet hyundais gotten im opting for a 350 here soon