Electric Vehicle Owners Face Higher Rates of New Car Problems, J.D. Power Study Reveals

Owners of new electric vehicles have noted a higher number of issues than the norm for new petrol and diesel car owners, according to the 2024 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study.

The yearly survey gathers data from owners about issues with their newly purchased vehicles, and rates both specific models and overall brands according to the number of issues for every 100 vehicles. In the current year, J.D. Power questioned 99,144 individuals in the U.S. who bought or leased vehicles from the 2024 model year. For the initial time, they also included information about service appointments at authorized dealerships. The findings did not bode well for electric vehicles.

Upcoming 2024 Model of Rivian R

On average, electric cars encountered 266 issues for every 100 units, a higher incidence rate than the 180 issues per 100 gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles. When considering all types of powertrains, the average problem rate across various brands stood at 195 per 100 vehicles. Brands targeting the wider consumer market saw an average of 181 issues per 100 vehicles, whereas luxury brands experienced more complications at an average of 232 issues. J.D. Power suggests that this increase for premium brands is due to the complex technological features they tend to incorporate.

Within the scope of the study's purely electric vehicle manufacturers, Polestar experienced an average of 316 issues for every 100 vehicles, whereas Tesla and Rivian encountered an average of 266 issues each. Although these companies were not eligible for official rankings, J.D. Power observed that Tesla's initial quality was on par with the electric vehicles produced by established car manufacturers.

Performance Version of the Tesla Model

J.D. Power pointed out that Tesla's previous performance was stronger, and mentioned that the company's decision to eliminate traditional features such as turn signal and wiper levers hasn't been popular among Tesla owners. In fact, a number of those owners have taken steps to reinstall these features in the Model S, Model X, and the newly updated Model 3, also referred to as the Highland. The study highlighted that issues with controls, screens, and technological elements are more widespread in electric vehicles, with a 30% increase in problems for every 100 vehicles when contrasted with their gasoline-powered counterparts.

The results are in line with previous research by J.D. Power. The 2025 Vehicle Dependability Study, surveying problems reported by owners in the initial three years, revealed that electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids encountered more issues compared to traditional hybrids. Meanwhile, the 2022 Initial Quality Study highlighted by J.D. Power indicated that while electric vehicle powertrains generally don't face many issues, the associated technologies do.

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