Tesla Now a Top 10 "Most Reliable" Car Brand per Consumer Reports

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Except in Germany

And Denmark

Reddit is going to be so pissed when they find out that Tesla is ahead of Mazda. I'm sure it will be "well BYD......"

If this changes so much year to year, how realible is this methodology anyway? Like, a few years back, I think I remember Mazda coming out on top. Have their production lines changed so much so quickly, or is sending out surveys not the most reliable method for determining who has the most reliable brands?

If not for Cybertruck, Tesla would be top 3 easily. Cybertruck ruins the curve. Model Y rated "81" for example and Lexus's best is rated "84."

Key word being "Predicted". Would be super interesting to see an analysis of how good the predictions have been in the past (for all companies).

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They really should drill this down by models. most people wont click "See models."

Probably due to new models and issues tied to them. I mean ya there will likely be fluctuations year to year but in general I think it mostly holds true

Definitely not. Model 3 and Y have so many issues with suspension.

Reddit will HATE this.

r/electricvehicles is already prepping the “but byd better” argument.

The refreshed models?

The model Y beats the highest rated cars from Subaru, BMW, Nissan, Acura, Buick, Kia, Ford, Hyundai, Audi, and several others.

I don't know. The pre-refresh ones did, very famously.

You’re right. They’re not too good at RV’s

Please list out all of the issues the Cybertruck has had with maintenance?

They had a recall on the control arm because it wasn’t lubricated enough in the factory. Every other recall was an over-the-air update. Tesla are in the new more often than most cars for a number of reasons. Statically speaking EVs have less issues than ICE cars. Less parts equals less problems.

Here are the brands that don't sell a model more reliable than the Model Y: * Subaru * BMW * Nissan * Acura * Buick * Kia * Ford * Hyundai * Audi * Mazda * Volvo * Volkswagen * Chevrolet * Cadillac * Mercedes-Benz * Lincoln * Genesis * Chrysler * GMC * Jeep * Ram * Rivian

> They had a recall on the control arm because it wasn’t lubricated enough in the factory. Pretty sure the issue was that the seal for the grease would fail. > Every other recall was an over-the-air update. Eh. Moisture in lights have been an issue too.

Time. They're ranking cars reliability between 2023-2026. The Model Y, for example, came out in 2020. In the two prior years to now, you had a very new, very high-selling car that owners would have had for <12-24 months. New designs have more issues. Once those got sorted, reliability went up.

Everyone knows Mercedes makes some of the best rvs around. German engineering.

Despite the Elon drama, our model Y is the best car we've ever owned.

Gotta admit, Tesla and Trump are the most hated. Why would anyone hate an environment friendly vehicle brand.

The new lineup for cx50s and basically everything except for cx5 (which is Japanese I think). Rest all likely moved to Mexico plants, it was due to this reason I couldn't buy one. I just prefer Honda instead.

Thats not what ze Germans are saying.

MY is the most reliable car I have ever owned. ...except for replacing the FSD computer for $2,300 after it was killed by a software update.

I’ve been in a Mazda for 6 years and tbh it was ok. Like it was a good ride but the mileage was average at best even for city driving expectations. I e been told that before the 2020 redesign (Mazda3) the FE was quite good even in the city. Maintenance wise I really didn’t have any problems with either of my leases but, clearly, I did not get to an age where I’d start seeing heavier maintenance pop up. However I did see a note that you’d want to find a Japanese built one vs one coming out of a US production line so wonder if that makes a signifies t difference

I’ve owned 10 cars so far. My most reliable was a model 3. Least was a subaru. Like what? What kind of chart is this? Bmw in there too? Get outta here.

Nice! I've had my Model 3 for 7 years, 140k miles and have loved it. Last month I had my first major service, replacing the steering rack and wiring harness. The only major downside is I live over 2 hours from the closest Tesla service center.

From the article: >This year, Tesla made the biggest improvement in our brand reliability rankings, moving up eight spots to rank as the ninth most reliable automaker. This was partly due to the performance of the Model 3, the most reliable electric car in our survey, and the Model Y, which is the most reliable electric SUV and the most reliable electric vehicle overall in this year’s survey. Tesla’s two legacy models, the Model S sedan and Model X SUV, have average reliability. The Cybertruck pickup, however, has below-average reliability. >The automaker has been building EVs since 2011. According to our findings, even when its powertrains have been reliable, owners have reported numerous problems with the quality of the vehicles, ranging from exterior and interior panels that don’t fit properly to blemishes such as paint with embedded hair. In particular, reliability problems have prevented us from recommending the Model X, with its problem-prone power-rising doors. >This year, however, data from our members indicates that Tesla appears to have addressed many of those problems in recent years. Problem rates for body hardware, paint and trim, and electrical accessories have decreased substantially. As a result, the reliability ratings for the 3 and Y improved to average and above average, while the S and X improved to average this year.

> They had a recall on the control arm because it wasn’t lubricated enough in the factory. I'm currently dealing with this on my 2019 Model 3 and this is after they replaced the control arms. I brought it up when I had warranty and because they couldn't recreate the creaking sound it never got fixed after the first replacement.

It's the CX-90 that messed their rankings up. All sorts of transmission/hybrid system issues.

Sprinter van life.

Wow what’s up with Rivian?

Will Fred Lambert post this on Electrek. Survey says?!

>Every other recall was an over-the-air update. There was definitely a physical recall for the rear camera wiring harness.

Surprise surprise. Meanwhile the German cars I owned were the biggest POS in terms of reliability and running cost 🧐

In Germany it’s the worst, in America where Elon has bought government it’s the best. Got it.

don't worry, according to the german tüv reliability study, volkswagen and mercedes are on top and tesla is on the bottom!

You know why

Meanwhile people over r/stocks: "why is this stock still going up?? I don't understand..." Tesla could be assembling robots on Mars and people would still say it's all fluff.

CR reliability has always been voodoo bullshit. 2020 Model 3 was "unreliable" because the 2012 Model S had motor issues (with a completely different motor with completely different technology, and the original issues were also long-solved anyhow by that point). Another point of Tesla unreliability? Older people didn't know how to sign into Spotify on the car. Never mind that it could be because they don't have spotify accounts, and practically no other car even ALLOWS you to natively sign into Spotify, and that's a feature that has nothing to do with the car being able to function or not. So basically it was a way for Consumer Reports to penalize any advanced technology car because the more features that it had the more likely it was that some person couldn't figure out how to use one of them. I'm sure it had **nothing** to do with the **Ford** Foundation being one of the largest charitable donors to Consumer Reports, and Ford cars not having many advanced technology features at the time. The reality is that my gas car spends more time at the mechanic in one year than my Tesla has in 7 years of ownership.

You had to pay for it? How did they even do that with a straight face.

Out of warranty, bro

7 years here too, but less mileage. First service was a couple weeks ago to replace the LV battery for $150 parts&labor. Luckily only about 25-30 min from the service center.

Consumer reports new car reliability is basically how often you have to take your new car in to fix issues in its first year. It doesn’t necessarily tell you what car will last 200k+ miles

How could they be in the top 10 in the US and the European report out recently had them way down towards the bottom? Seems fishy.

Toyota is doing their hybrid drive train, aren’t they?

No clue, best car for the money. I wouldn't trade my 3 for any other car in this price range. I don't care about politics. But I do own some Tesla stock that I would like Trump to help.

Look at Tesla's, their seams are now very nice and uniform. Ford has worse seams. Car companies can improve.

Sure, buddy. 😆🤣

Ze Germans were wrong during WW1 and WW2. And they're still wrong now.

I think, and I might be wrong, it's just the CX-50 Hybrid that has Toyota's system.

*All* of them? Are you gonna pay them for their time?!

The linked article answers these questions.

Sure. I’ll wait.

Not the CX90. That's a Mazda system

Because if they weren't at the top, you'd have diaper don writing mad tweets on his golden throne and calling to fire/hang/behead/whatever the journalists.

44K mile Model X, new HV battery and now second 12v battery. So reliable.

That's one data point, reports such as these are for averages across the fleet. There will always be lucky and unlucky outliers. When I had a BMW M6 in the four years I had it the throttle body failed twice, the gearbox failed, the A/C system decided to become a mushroom farm, the windscreen wiper motor failed, something failed in the battery charging system, the sports exhaust valve stuck open, and I had two punctures. If memory serves that was a £120k car. The BMW M3 I had before it never had a fault. The Merc S Class I had after had two rear punctures in separate incidents in the first 3 months of ownership but otherwise was faultless, my model Y has been flawless, and my Merc S63 has had a cracked windscreen but otherwise has been fine. That's a range of cars from various price points and manufacturers with a variety of experiences. But they're all just noise when looked at in isolation. You need to look at a brand's overall performance and how they handle such faults in terms of customer service and warranty to form a proper picture.

I’ve had my model 3 for 7 years now and the only thing I’ve ever done is change tires

Indeed, Reddit will obsess over the CEO, most people just want a good car.

What do you mean by the survey method is a popularity contest, isn't it the opposite? They average results over thousands of surveys and have a minimum number of responses required in order for a manufacturer to be included in the list. Whatever that minimum is, is what they've determined after many years of doing surveys will give them an accurate result. Also if it's a popularity contest how did Mazda win? And Subaru? And Audi? They sell orders of magnitude less cars than others on the list

I've mentioned these guys before, but RSEV YouTube channel recently did a 1,200 mile trip around the UK, From Lands End, to Lowestoft, to a Lighthouse on the West Coast of Scotland, to Dunnet Head on the Northernmost coast of Scotland. They were, I think, planning on a longer route, but weather, closed roads and illness put an end to it. The car was a Model 3. No big deal? It was the middle of November, and the weather was atrocious. (for the UK) but the big thing is the car was 4 years old with 237,000 miles on it. Original motors, battery, and pretty much everything else, except for suspension bushings and motor mounts. They had bought it at auction at 3 years old, with 216,000 miles. It had been used as a taxi, and the original owner spent almost nothing on it except for charging, tires, wiper blades. I feel I should point out it was built in China, but it is still impressive. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhDqRx-qQiY

Where can you get that data?

This is precisely the reason I hate Tesla and any other corp that get away with shit like this.

Our two Teslas, while not perfect, have been great, and we like Elon too.

That’s more just regular maintenance, I had that done but a guy came to my house, about 22 minutes from nearest service center/show room

Didn't they fail them for having rusty brake rotors

For the 2023 MYP I have, I mean… No real maintenance aside from the tires and windshield wiper fluids. Haven’t had to change brakes or battery so far. No major rattles. Those rattles come and go from any 2.5+ year old car. It’s been rock solid. For the 5 month old 2025 M3LR. No major issues. Not having to go to a service center (except a cracked windshield) is pretty reliable to me. I can’t go back. Politics aside, everyday wise, both Teslas are great and don’t want to go back to combustion… but I do miss that turbo V6 sound and start up.

I had a 2018 M3dm reliability was great, and in 4 years all the car needed was 2 visits to the dealer,1 for squeaky upper controls and 2. charging port door replacement, on the way there rear motor threw a code, replaced rear motor in 2 weeks. try replacing a motor with an icecar in 2 weeks.

Did the owners have their brakes serviced like they were supposed to every 12,000 miles or after every winter where road salt was used?

Who know thats just dumb though evs use the electric motor to break and rust in your rotors aind doin shit.

My 24 MYLR has 16 k miles. I have to turn off regen through S3XY commander once in a while so I can side the brake pads to unburnish them. I guess ze Germans no understand

Teslas use regen braking, not the physical brakes. That's the reason why you're supposed to bring it in for service to ensure that they don't cease up from road salt corroding the brake components. Also, you're supposed to apply the physical brakes once in a while to remove surface rust on the rotors. Sounds like the owners were lazy or just didn't care, so, it can't be Tesla's fault if the owners aren't following the recommended maintenance procedures.

Almost 7 years, 320,000km. Still running the original brake pads and rotors. Had to replace some front and rear suspension parts, lv batt, and the horn. Love the car, hate elon.

I wish I could say I’ve experienced the same. We have a 2014 Ford Focus and a 2016 Tesla Model S. We’ve probably spent around $8k over the last year on different things breaking on the Model S (somewhere around 10 service appointments). In the same amount of time, the only thing that needed to be done to the Ford was a replacement backup camera that I was able to install on my own for $50. I can’t speak for newer Teslas, just speaking from my personal experience. (Both vehicles hand roughly the same amount of miles on them)

Model 3 and Model Y are the only reliable ones. Model X, S and the Cyber truck are mostly below average.

Indirection, haters hate themselves the most but won't admit it.

12V lead acid batteries only have an useful life of about 2 and a half years.

S X and CT don't have the volume to fix the supply chain and manufacturing issues. This is an issue for all low volume cars.

Someone has evidence of the overall rating for each of the 2026 models?