It looks like Daihatsu has put its past problems and scandals behind them as they become the carmaker with the best initial quality. This is one of they findings of the J.D. Power 2025 Japan Initial Quality Study or IQS.
Daihatsu owners reported 114 PP100 (Problems per 100 Vehicles), enabling them to take the top spot. Following them is Suzuki with 120 PP100 and Honda in third with 134 PP100. Check out the full ranking below.
Now on its 15th year, the Japan Initial Quality Study measures problems experienced by owners of new vehicles in the first two to 13 months of ownership. Initial quality is determined by the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles, with a lower PP100 reflecting higher quality.
The 2025 study is based on responses from 20,101 owners of new vehicles in the first two to nine months of ownership. Vehicle quality is evaluated by owners across 225 problems organized into nine vehicle categories: infotainment; features, controls and displays; exterior; driving assistance; interior; powertrain; seats; driving experience; and climate. The study was fielded in May through June 2025.
Vehicle initial quality has improved for the first time in four years. This year, initial quality averages 140 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100), an improvement of 12 PP100 from 2024. These findings follow four consecutive years of year-over-year problem increases since 2021, when the study was redesigned.
A large portion of problems owners experience are design-related (108.5 PP100), including features that are difficult to understand or use. Although this has improved by 9.3 PP100 since 2024, design-related problems remain the most frequently reported by vehicle owners. Features that are hard to understand or difficult to use continue to be a major challenge in vehicle quality. Meanwhile, defects and malfunctions, including those features that vehicle owners indicate are broken/not working, have improved by 2.8 PP100, reaching 29.0 PP100 in 2025.
J.D. Power says dissatisfaction with small, everyday features has notably increased. Cupholders, in particular, draw attention, not only because of poorly placed installations or insufficient numbers due to design or shape constraints, but also because they are awkward or impractical to use. These minor inconveniences and user-unfriendliness are more apparent precisely because they are encountered frequently in daily use.
Among the nine study categories, infotainment continues to be the most problematic, with 28.7 PP100. While this represents a decrease of 2.5 PP100 compared with 2024, the persistently high number of problems highlights a critical challenge in improving vehicle quality. Within this category, the gap this year between the brand with the fewest problems (18.6 PP100) and the brand with the highest problems (65.2 PP100) remains wide, though it has narrowed significantly to 46.6 PP100 from 80.0 PP100 in 2024.
Meanwhile, the feature for lane departure warning/lane keeping assistance, previously the most problematic, has shown an improvement of 0.8 PP100, reaching 3.6 PP100.
Among the standouts this year include the Honda Fit which managed to beat out the Toyota Yaris, Mazda2, and Nissan Note in the Compact Car category; the Daihatsu Rocky ranking higher than the Toyota Raize and Lexus LBX in the Compact SUV segment; the Toyota Harrier being the best Midsize SUV over the Honda WR-V and Subaru Forester; and the Lexus RX ranking highest in the Large SUV segment, above the Lexus NX and Toyota Crown.
J.D. Power 2025 Japan Initial Quality Study
- Daihatsu (114 PP100)
- Suzuki (120 PP100)
- Honda (134 PP100)
- Subaru (134 PP100)
- Mitsubishi (136 PP100)
- Nissan (144 PP100)
- Mazda (147 PP100)
- Lexus (151 PP100)
- Toyota (151 PP100)
- Mercedes-Benz (164 PP100)
- BMW (185 PP100)
- Volkswagen (210 PP100)
Yung mga made in Japan siguro na Raize/Rocky 🤣 kapag Indonesia, puro rattle ang mabibili mo lalo na sa mga first batch lol. Sana inayos na nila ngayon.
ReplyDeleteJapanese car brands? Then why are BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen included on the list?
DeleteHope Toyota would. Bring in made in Japan Raize. Would have better overall quality.
Delete"This is one of they findings of the J.D. Power 2025 Japan Initial Quality Study or IQS."
ReplyDeleteYep, Japan market study. Should not be published here as they have more stringent production quality controls and consumer protection, hence better cars. This is probably an ad from TMPH. Hope the author publish this comment.
Very relevant to be published here as many JDM's being sold in ph. RAV 4, mazda turbo, LC's, toyota vans, nissan vans, nissan sports cars, toyota sport cars, lexus, etc etc
DeleteIt says here- best initial quality. Not long term quality. Lets see..
ReplyDelete