Car reliability vs. frustration

Consumer Reports knows automotive reliability because we've been studying it since the Nixon administration. But once in a while we'll break down (forgive the pun) our Annual Auto Survey and explain some of the nitty-gritty of what the data mean and how they can help you. We'll dig deeper here to get into the ins and outs of infotainment system reliability.

The Survey gathers information on 17 potential trouble spots, from brakes to transmissions. We ask subscribers to note only problems they considered serious, due to cost, failure, safety, or down time. We then calculated a score to turn those individual problem-area tallies into a single overall assessment, the verdict. Our latest reliability insights are gleaned from the experiences of owners of 1.1 million cars spanning 12 model years, from 2002 through 2013.

What's a "serious" problem? Think being stranded on the side of the road or forcing a trip to the dealer for a repair, and you're getting warmer.

We do not consider a radio problem as severe as a mechanical issue—engine problems are weighted much more severely. But since many infotainment systems cover much more than radio, a system crash may not allow you to control heat or defrost.

I've seen first-hand what happens when an infotainment screen goes blank, as did the one on the 2013 Ford Flex we tested. The Flex was equipped with the much-troubled MyFord Touch and simply stopped working as I was using the navigation system to get from Cape Cod back to Connecticut.

We gather such experiences from our subscribers to give us an idea of how often these systems cause problems.

The aforementioned Flex we tested costmore than $40,000—a large chunk of change. You should expect the system to actually work for a brand new car. Of course, a consumer can choose to buy a car that has a problematic infotainment system, but we will choose to recommend more trouble-free cars.  If a radio or other accessory is broken, we cannot just give a vehicle a pass. Would you forgive your iPhone if it stopped playing music because it still can make phone calls?

We didn't think so.

What else do our subscribers tell us? Well, for example, from our Annual Survey we found that in-car electronics generated more problems from 2013 models than any other problem area, with Cadillac, Ford, Honda, and Lincoln vehicles accounting for the most complaints. By contrast, Audi, BMW, Chrysler, and Lexus systems were relatively trouble-free.

But did you know that we also did a follow-up survey in which we recontacted thousands of subscribers who owned a 2011, 2012, or 2013 vehicle from one of the four most-troublesome brands? We asked about specific problems and overall satisfaction with their infotainment systems. Shockingly, one-third reported experiencing at least one system malfunction, such as an unresponsive touch screen or a problem with voice controls. Many older people also reported having difficulty learning to operate their systems. But when it comes to reliability, it is not frustrations that we track but true, repair-worthy malfunctions. And a full third of owners experiencing an issue is far from acceptable. (Read the complete infotainment survey report.)

—Mike Quincy