Tesla again second to last in the US quality ranking
Consumer Reports (CR) is a consumer protection organization in the USA that can be roughly compared to the German "Stiftung Warentest". CR regularly inspects cars and asks consumers about their experiences with their vehicles. The database is decent: the consumer protectors receive data on more than 300,000 new and used cars every year. The results of this "Auto Brand Reliability Report" lead to a corresponding ranking and an official purchase recommendation. Or even a warning against buying.
If there were several leagues among the car brands offered in the USA, Tesla would be a permanent candidate for relegation – measured by the CR ranking. As in the previous year, the electric car manufacturer occupies the penultimate place (only Ford's noble brand Lincoln is worse again). Above all, their latest model, Model Y, worries the Californians. Body problems are central to this: Again and again, Consumer Reports report paint damage as well as crookedly fitted doors and tailgates. The situation is hardly better with the significantly more expensive Model S and X electric cars: In addition to the faulty bodies, there are also problems with the electronics and air conditioning. The Model 3 scores average as the best Tesla product.
CR also sees other problem children
It is not the first time that Tesla and especially the Model Y have been punished by Consumer Reports. As early as spring 2020, the consumer protection organization withdrew its previously issued purchase recommendation for the compact electric SUV. Incidentally, he shared this fate with competitors Audi e-tron and Kia Niro EV at the time. The basis of the decision at the time was also the survey among the subscribers of the Consumer Reports magazine. In the case of electric cars, the three models mentioned had a particularly large number of defects.
In the case of the Audi E-Tron, owners complained more often than average about failures of the electric drive and unspecified problems with installed electronic equipment. A frequently cited defect in the Kia Niro EV was bearing damage in the electric motor. And in the case of the Tesla Model Y, the now familiar criticism of the build quality runs like a red thread through the survey results. Consumer Reports finds the report of a member who discovered dirt and hair in the paint of his Model Y particularly worth mentioning. Whereby the actively communicating Tesla community on the Internet reports much more serious defects; we collect the most violent of them continuously in this article.
Porsche Taycan is no longer recommended – because it is new
According to Consumer Reports, Audi USA responded to an inquiry by saying that it was aware of the problems mentioned and had already fixed them. Kia said that the problem was known and had also already been resolved by a change in production. Only from Tesla, as usual, there was no statement, the electric car manufacturer has now completely dissolved its press department. However, our test experience with the Tesla Model Y ("Strong, fast and poorly processed") also shows that there is still room for improvement in Tesla quality control.
Consumer Reports' purchase recommendations carry weight in the U.S. and are used by many consumers to guide their purchases. Companies are correspondingly hit hard when their products are discouraged, as is now the case with the three e-cars. However, the matter becomes somewhat curious when Consumer Reports introduces clan liability. On the grounds that the error rate could probably be higher with high complexity in the equipment and with new products in general, the Porsche Taycan and the Mercedes EQC were also downgraded without having any corresponding experience with their long-term quality.
Consumer Reports writes: "The Taycan impressed us on our test track. While we don't have sufficient data from our members for the Taycan, as the new data highlights issues with other electric cars, we have downgraded our reliability forecast for the vehicle from average to below average, and the Taycan is no longer recommended."
In the video: Porsche Taycan vs. Tesla Model S
Tesla Model S P100D and Porsche Taycan Turbo S in video
3:39 min.
In general, Consumer Reports points out that completely newly introduced models in particular are more likely to be defective than average, especially with a high degree of additional electronic equipment such as new infotainment systems or the like. A verdict that cannot be completely dismissed based on our first test experiences with the VW ID.3: The first test model of the VW ID.3 disappointed with unfinished-looking software and sloppy workmanship (here is the first test of the ID.3 with the problems mentioned). As recent test cars of the ID.3 showed, this has since been greatly improved.
Consumer Reports proves the thesis of the more unreliable first plants in the field of e-cars with other models. For example, the Chevrolet Bolt (known as Opel Ampera-e in Germany) and Nissan Leaf models, which have been in production for some time, are more trustworthy than other electric cars due to their construction time and less complex equipment.
Result
Workmanship defects and software malfunctions – according to Consumer Reports, buyers of new electric cars are often on the road as beta testers, while higher product quality is achieved over a longer production period. A judgment that quite a few car buyers share and therefore like to buy only after one to two years of production of a new vehicle. However, the fact that Consumer Reports uses this thesis to place other models under general suspicion without any long-term experience and, for example, to explicitly warn against buying a Porsche Taycan, testifies to self-confidence.
The situation at Tesla is different: quality problems have accompanied the brand since its launch and simply cannot be solved. One can no longer speak of teething troubles here. Rather, it is about the fact that Tesla has still not found a way out of "production hell" (quote from Tesla CEO Elon Musk).