Consumer Reports Survey Identifies Most and Least Problematic Vehicles Up to 10 Years Old

Ford Most Reliable Domestic Manufacturer Overall; Older Volkswagens Least Reliable Among Europeans; 2004 Nissan Armada and Titan and Infiniti Qx56 Have Worst Brake Problems of All Vehicles

YONKERS, N.Y., Feb. 28, 2007; New-car reliability is one thing, but how well will your car hold up three, five, even 10 years from now? On average, Toyota and Honda vehicles age best while those made by Volkswagen fare worst, according to new survey information from Consumer Reports.

For the first time, Consumer Reports has reported on the reliability of vehicles built in the past 10 model years (1997-2006). In addition, Consumer Reports has also identified vehicles that are most prone to specific problems to give used-car buyers more information than ever when making a purchase decision.

Detailed Reliability ratings of 248 makes and models can be found in the April issue of Consumer Reports magazine, available March 6 wherever magazines are sold, or by logging in at http://www.consumerreports.org/.

Among 10-year-old vehicles, owners of Japanese cars report the fewest problems overall. Toyota, Honda, and Subaru lead the way with an average of 65, 89, and 90 problems per 100 vehicles reported, respectively. The average of all 10-year-old vehicles is 132 problems per 100 vehicles.

Of the domestic 10-year-old vehicles, those from Ford (including Lincoln and Mercury) remain most reliable, at about 120 problems per 100 vehicles. Ten-year-old vehicles from GM and Chrysler are nearly neck and neck with about 160 problems per 100 vehicles. Volkswagen (including Audi) owners reported about 175 problems per 100 vehicles, by far worse than any other brand.

The oldest Korean vehicles (eight years old) from Hyundai (including Kia) that CR has sufficient reliability data for are problematic, faring worse than all domestics and half of some European brands. Newer models, however, show improvements.

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  Six year-old models:

Of all six-year-old vehicles -- the age at which most vehicles are resold -- the 2001 Lexus GS300 was ranked least problematic, with just 25 problems per 100 vehicles. Worst overall was the 2001 Volkswagen Cabrio with 194 problems per 100 vehicles. Below is a breakdown of the best and worst six-year-old models by the manufacturer's nationality.

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  NATIONALITY OF MANUFACTURER:  American
  BEST MODEL:                   2001 Ford F-250 (2WD)
  WORST MODEL:                  2001 Chrysler Town & Country/Dodge Grand
                                Caravan (AWD)
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  NATIONALITY OF MANUFACTURER:  Asian
  BEST MODEL:                   2001 Lexus GS300
  WORST MODEL:                  2001 Hyundai Sonata

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  NATIONALITY OF MANUFACTURER:  European
  BEST MODEL:                   2001 BMW 3 Series Coupe & Convertible
  WORST MODEL:                  2001 Volkswagen Cabrio

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  The worst problems:

As for specific problem areas among models, Consumer Reports has also identified the models with the most reported problems, by model year. Models from all nationalities made the list.

No vehicles received more problem reports in a single trouble spot than the 2004 Nissan Titan, Nissan Armada, and Infiniti QX-56. More than half of all owners reported brake problems with those vehicles, though the overall model-year average was only 5 percent. A third of 1999 BMW 5 Series (V8) owners reported engine-cooling problems, and a third of Chrysler Town & Country/Dodge Grand Caravan (AWD) owners reported power-equipment problems.

Consumer Reports Annual Car Reliability Survey is based on more than 1 million responses from subscribers to Consumer Reports magazine and http://www.consumerreports.org/. They are asked to report any serious problems (due to cost, failure, safety, or downtime) experienced with their cars, vans, SUVs, or trucks during a 12-month period. Based on 1.3 million vehicles, the responses have allowed CR to present detailed reliability ratings, to predict new-car reliability, and to determine which vehicles to recommend.

Consumer Reports is one of the most trusted sources for information and advice on consumer products and services. CR has the most comprehensive auto-test program and reliability survey data of any U.S. magazine or Web site. Our team of automotive experts brings decades of experience to the unbiased, independent Ratings, Recommendations, and advice in the Annual April Auto Issue: Engineers test the cars featured in our magazine at the organization's 327-acre Auto Test Center in Connecticut (http://www.consumerreports.org/autotest); statisticians and the Consumer Reports National Research Center's researchers design and analyze the surveys that tell us about our subscribers' experiences with their cars; and our editors investigate and report on important automotive issues, making all the information easily understandable for consumers.

APRIL 2007