A car’s durability is one of the most important features especially and Lexus has cracked this code with consecutive top spots in Automotive Reliability Report for the last many years. In the 2021 Automotive Reliability Report, which is conducted through surveys of users of the last 3 model year cars, Lexus was the top-ranked brand in reliability with an average or better score in all categories. Lexus is a luxury subdivision of Toyota launched in the 90s to compete with brands like Cadillac and Mercedes’ Maybach lineup.
Toyota is known for its high durability while not taking a hit on your wallet, while the latter can’t be said for Lexus, the brand does not mess around with reliability. In the 2019 J.D Power Annual US Vehicle Dependability Study, owners of three-year-old Lexus vehicles showed that they had experienced 106 issues per 100 vehicles over 12 months. Reliability does not only mean fewer visits to the repair shop, but also extends to user experience for a long period.
Why Are Lexus Cars So Reliable?
Lexus is a luxury brand of Toyota and takes on the traits of its parent company by being one of the most reliable cars in reliability/dependability studies and is undoubtedly the most durable luxury car. Since its launch in 1989, Lexus has steadily gained a robust hold on the luxury car market due to its high durability. One of the major reasons for this is the Japanese mentality behind this brand.
Lexus, like its parent company Toyota, follows the Japanese principle of “monozukiri” which means “making of things” in Japanese. In its broad sense, the term entails making any product with a level of care and a purpose in mind. Thus, all the Lexus cars are made while keeping their durability in mind, a quality you don’t get with most German luxury cars. Lexus makes sure that its users associate the brand Lexus and its cars with reliability, and thus emphasize increasing the durability of their cars.
In addition to being more reliable than most luxury cars, Lexus cars won’t cost you an arm and a leg. RepairPal has ranked Lexus in sixth place due to its low repair costs, amounting to $551 per year on maintenance and repairs on average. Although, staying in the UK can cost you when it comes to the repair and maintenance of Lexus cars. Since Lexus still does not enjoy much of the market share, there is a subsequent scarcity of parts in the country. Lexus users do enjoy several plans to lessen the maintenance costs through an extended warranty from the company itself.
How Reliable Are Lexus Cars?
Lexus has recently topped the 2021 Automotive Reliability Report and has a rich history of impressive results in such surveys. In the 2017 JD Power Vehicle Dependability Survey, Lexus tied with Porsche for the first spot, although most years they take the first spot without any competition. In 2016, Lexus cars ranked first in the AutoExpress list for used car dependability. The best-performing cars were the RX, the GS, and the IS in their respective categories.
Most Lexus users have faced no major issue even after 100,000 miles or 150,000 miles. You can buy a used Lexus car with around 100,000 miles and still run it for a formidable time period, provided there is proper care and maintenance. One major reason for this is the quality of engines present in Lexus cars, which most Luxury cars seem to get wrong. Toyota is known for the quality of engines, and the same goes for Lexus. While these cars are not easy to maintain, most major issues are experienced in cars with well over 100,000 miles.
Lexus And Its Competition
The Luxury car market is quite competitive and brands like Porsche and BMW have the lion’s share, however, when it comes to reliability Lexus takes the win. Although, Porsche has given some competition to Lexus over the years in terms of reliability. In the 2021 Automotive Reliability Report, Lexus claimed first place, while its parent company Toyota came second and Mazda at third place. Mazda was ranked first in last year’s Reliability Report and ranked second this year barring its above-average scores in most categories due to Mazda’s 3 issues with climate control and in-car electronics.
Also, the Lexus GX SUV is the overall most reliable car according to CR members. The users of the last three model year GX SUVs reported no problems. All Lexus cars had average or better scores in this year’s rankings, with UX being the only model with an average score. To put it simply, Lexus cars are the most reliable luxury cars in the market. The Japanese craftsmanship and their motive for making reliable cars is the reason behind such impressive scores in Reliability Surveys.