Bottom of the barrel...

https://www.consumerreports.org/car-...s-a7824554938/

RANK &
CHANGE
1 ↑2 Toyota
2 ↓1 Lexus
3 ↑10 BMW
4 ↓2 Mazda
5 Honda
6 ↑5 Audi
7 ↓1 Subaru
8 ↓1 Acura
9 ↑6 Kia
10 ↑14 Lincoln
11 ↓7 Buick
12 ↑9 Genesis
13 ↓4 Hyundai
14 ↑2 Volvo
15 ↓7 Nissan
16 ↑1 Ram
17 ↓5 Cadillac
18 ↓4 Ford
19 ↑4 Tesla
20 ↓10 Chevrolet
21 ↓3 GMC
22 ↓2 Volkswagen
23 ↓1 Jeep
24 ↓5 Mercedes-Benz

 

Makes me laugh....
Worse than well, everything.

Looking at list, some have moved a bunch since last list what is happening?

New CR surveyors?

 

Looks like BMW really stepped up (like literally).

 

Sadly, yes. Some of us have been saying it on these forums for years. Others have been in denial and attacking those who called it like it is. Guess I'll keep my old fleet going for a while longer.

 

Your old fleet was also not the star child of consumer reports reliability ranking either.

The early 2000's Mercedes consistently scored the bottom of the ranking for CR and JD Power and yet were still very successful. In 2006 of 11 models tested, none were recommended and most were included as the least reliable of their classes (SL, SLK, S-Class, E-Class, CLS-Class, ML-Class, R-Class, CLK-Class).

That being said, hopefully Mercedes takes into account the publishing and puts an effort forth to help change it for the future as press like this isn't good regardless.

 

Yeah, I'm not paying much attention to CR and JD. It's garbage in, garbage out. It's like Yelp and much like this forum. You have to understand who *****es. It's generally people who have issues with anything and want to complain. The most lovely once are those who complain w/o reading the owners manual where their issue might actually be addressed. As a happy customer I've never responded to a JD survey. They go straight into the recycling bin, and I'm not a CR member.

My experience with MB, although it's with AMG, is the polar opposite. It's the least troublesome car I've had in the last 10 years. It also comes down to what models they evaluate. Since these are American organizations and Americans mostly buy SUVs, you get a lot of feedback on the SUVs and not much on other models. I'm not surprised. The MB SUVs have never struck me as quality products. They are money makers for the brand and they are built in the Tuscaloosa plant, which has never oozed of build quality. With each one I had as a loaner I couldn't wait to return it. US built models across the board have had lower quality than the German built models. I know BMW builds their X models in the USA, too, but they must be doing a better job with their plants outside of Germany.

In general, though, what is even considered an unreliable car? To me, it's a car that leaves me stranded or a car where every morning is a surprise if it starts or what new problem is cropping up. I haven't owned such a car ever. Yes, my AMG has had a few issues that needed a dealer visit, but none of them affected its reliability. They could wait until the next scheduled service. A lot of people also respond negatively in these surveys, because they can't figure out the tech in these cars, and as somebody else mentioned here or on a similar thread there's no weighting of the feedback. A mechanical issue is weighted the same as some rando not being able to figure out how to operate MBUX.

I do have to say that MBUX might actually be a major reason for this current ranking. It's been less than great. I'm actually glad I have the latest COMAND system in my car, which is highly mature and I've yet to find a bug, but MBUX required several OTA updates and it still has issues. BMW seems to do a much better job with the latest iDrive system and make/models with less sophisticated Infotainment systems naturally will have less software bugs.

 

I just bought a 2014 GLK, and the Consumer Reports detailed page on the car supported that choice. Check the latest Used Car issue. Unlike other nine-year-old cars, the GLK was still in the double green (much more reliable) for 12 out of 17 problem areas. The graph for the Audi Q5 and BMW x3 of that age was all red and yellows. The issue also reports that after ten years, 60%+ of owners would buy one again, next to the top in luxury SUV rankings. The German car mechanics I spoke with praised the GLK; one dealer service advisor responded, "Many of our techs here own them." I don't know anything about contemporary MB reliability, but the GLK seemed like a good bet as my first Mercedes.