Audi Is Dead Last In New Initial Quality Study

It’s that time of the year when J.D. Power releases its U.S. Initial Quality Study. Now in its 39^th edition, the survey collected feedback from 92,694 purchasers and lessees of 2025 model year vehicles, asking whether they encountered any problems during the first 90 days of ownership. Those who agreed to participate in the study between June 2024 and May 2025 answered 227 questions covering various aspects, including the engine, infotainment system, interior quality, and driving experience.

While reliability isn’t typically a strong suit for luxury brands, Lexus topped the rankings with 166 problems reported per 100 vehicles. In contrast, other premium automakers performed significantly worse, especially Audi, which ranked dead last with 269 issues. Volvo fared only slightly better, taking the penultimate spot with 258 problems per 100 vehicles.

There’s a striking discrepancy between Nissan and Infiniti. The mainstream brand placed second overall with just 169 reported problems, while its upscale counterpart ranked near the bottom with 242 issues during the first three months of ownership. This year’s average was 192 problems per 100 vehicles, a slight improvement from last year’s 194. Many luxury automakers performed below average, with exceptions including Nissan (1st), Jaguar (4th), Buick (9th), Genesis (10th), and Porsche (13th).

Only one brand had more problems per 100 vehicles than Audi: Rivian, with 269 issues. However, the American EV startup didn’t meet the study’s award criteria and was excluded from the final rankings. The same applies to Tesla, which tied with Cadillac and Toyota, reporting 200 problems. Seeing Toyota well below the average is quite surprising.

It’s a bit of a shock to see Mazda rank so low with 225 issues, on par with Volkswagen. Then again, the study only covers the first 90 days of ownership, not long-term reliability. For those seeking dependable vehicles, J.D. Power notes that luxury cars are generally more prone to problems than mainstream ones. Plug-in hybrids tend to cause more headaches than EVs, and brand-new models typically report more issues than carryovers.

However, the study isn’t solely focused on reliability, since it also accounts for other types of issues reported by owners. For instance, J.D. Power highlights growing frustration with touchscreen-based climate controls, which many drivers find unintuitive. Shocker, right? Another common complaint involves cupholders, as they often fail to accommodate the wide variety of cup and bottle sizes.

Circling back to Audi, its position at the bottom isn’t entirely unexpected given past results. From 2020 through 2024, J.D. Power consistently ranked the German luxury brand near the bottom. That said, there was usually at least one other automaker with more problems: Land Rover in 2020, Chrysler in 2021, and Maserati, Volvo, and Chrysler in 2022. In 2023, VW, Chrysler, and Volvo all ranked below Audi. Last year, Dodge was in last place.

To Audi’s credit, the company has acknowledged its shortcomings, at least those related to interior quality. In a recent interview with Motor1, Oscar da Silva Martins, Head of Product and Technology Communication, admitted: “We have certainly been better in terms of quality in the past, but we will get there again.” Whether the new Q3’s unified stalk behind the steering wheel is part of the solution is unclear.