Electric vehicle reliability improving but lagging gas models: Consumer Reports survey

A Toyota RAV4 Prime is displayed at the Pittsburgh International Auto Show on Feb. 15, 2024. (Gene J. Puskar / AP Photo)

DETROIT — The reliability of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids has dramatically improved, narrowing a wide gap with gas-powered automobiles, according to the latest survey by Consumer Reports.

But vehicles with internal combustion engines and gas-electric hybrids are still far more dependable, the survey found.

Consumer Reports subscribers, who filled out surveys during much of 2024, reported that electric vehicles had 42 per cent more problems than gas autos on average. But that was down from 79 per cent more in the 2023 survey. The survey released Thursday measured reliability of vehicles mainly from the 2022, 2023 and 2024 model years.

Plug-ins, which travel a short distance on battery power before a hybrid powertrain kicks in, had 70 per cent more problems than gas vehicles, but that was less than half the difference found in last year's survey.

The reason for the improvement? EV and plug-in technology are maturing, said Jake Fisher, head of Consumer Reports' automobile test centre.

“As the automakers get more experience with the new technologies and new platforms, they will improve,” Fisher said.

He said he expects plug-in and electric vehicles to keep getting better, further closing the gap with gas vehicles. But one thing may stand in the way: Automakers often test new automation and other features on EVs, and the new stuff is prone to glitches.

“Until we get to where an EV is just a car that does practical things with their own powertrain, I'm not sure they'll ever catch up totally” to gas vehicles, Fisher said.

The new technology may offer more than the next wave of EV buyers would like, as EVs move from early adopters to more practical mainstream buyers, Fisher said. “There are people who just want a car that’s easy to maintain,” he said. “I don’t use gas. I don’t need this automation feature and electric door handles or whatever the heck they are putting out.”

Consumer Reports has noted that concerns about EV and plug-in quality add to issues that may have buyers hesitating before switching from gasoline engines, including concerns about higher up-front costs, too few charging stations and long charging times.

Gas-electric hybrids, which switch from internal combustion to electric power to get better mileage, were about as reliable as cars with combustion engines. While the technology is pretty technical, it has been refined for a quarter century, mainly by pioneer Toyota, Fisher said. “CR's tests have shown that they are often quieter, quicker and more pleasant to drive than their gasoline-only counterparts,” he said.

Through September of this year, the last month for which all automakers have reported results, electric vehicle sales are up 7.2 per cent, plug-in sales rose 11.6 per cent, but hybrids led with a 32.6 per cent increase, according to Motorintelligence.com.

Consumer Reports said its 2024 survey of subscribers representing about 300,000 vehicle owners found that Subaru was the most reliable brand for the first time, followed by perennial top finishers Lexus and Toyota. Rounding out the top five were Honda and its Acura luxury brand. It was the first time since 2020 that neither Toyota nor its Lexus luxury brand were in the top spot, Fisher said.

The highest-ranked brand from a U.S.-based automaker was General Motors' Buick at No. 11.

The five lowest of 22 brands that were ranked were electric upstart Rivian, followed by GM's Cadillac luxury brand, GMC, Jeep and Volkswagen, Consumer Reports said.

The magazine and website didn't get enough data this year to rank Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Lucid, Maserati, Mercedes, Mitsubishi, Porsche and Ram.

Electric vehicle sales leader Tesla finished 17th, down three spots from last year's survey.

Subaru took first place in the survey by following the same formula that Toyota uses to get high reliability scores: It doesn't make huge changes when updating or unveiling new vehicles, Fisher said. Instead of going with new engines or transmissions, Subaru carries parts over from the prior generation.

“They don't fix what's not broken,” he said. “They continue to refine their products, and because the products perform quite well, they don't have to have big changes.”

Rivian, Fisher said, is a new company with new electric models that have more glitches. Since the company is a startup, it can't use proven powertrains from prior generations yet. “It's expected that you're going to have issues when you have nothing to carry over” from previous model years, he said.

The survey found that the gas-powered Toyota RAV4 small SUV was the most reliable vehicle, followed by the Toyota Corolla compact car. The RAV4 Prime plug-in hybrid was third, followed by the RAV4 gas-electric hybrid, Fisher said.

Consumer Reports' survey of its subscriber base does not represent all vehicle purchasers in the U.S. or the population that bought specific vehicle types. The survey was to be released at a meeting of the Automotive Press Association of Detroit.