Vehicle Reliability Survey Results: "Times in the Shop"

These are results from TrueDelta's Vehicle Reliability Survey (VRS).

At this early stage, sample sizes are small. So only one stat is provided, Times in the Shop, the average number of successful repair trips per year per 100 vehicles (yellow column in the table).

However, results will be updated every three months, and each time both the sample sizes and the number of models will grow (list of models in the pipeline). When sample sizes allow it, TrueDelta will report additional, more detailed stats in a more user-friendly format.

Members can log in to see results for 32 additional models on which 15 to 24 owners responded. These are marked with asterisks in the table.

Not a member yet? Read about TrueDelta's research and how to participate by clicking here.

Important: TrueDelta grants limited rights to republish the following results. The results for a maximum of three models can be included in an article or thread without our written permission.

Definitions

• Trips/year per 100 (VRS Score) -- average number of successful repair trips per year per 100 vehicles; number of successful repair trips reported by owners divided by months of data, then multiplied by 12 (to annualize), then multiplied by 100
• Graph -- pointer shows how the model compares to the model year's fewest and most repair trips per vehicle
• Vehicles -- number of vehicles for which owners provided data
• Months -- total number of months for which these owners supplied data
• Mon/veh -- average number of months of data per vehicle
• Odometer -- average odometer reading during these months, in miles

Notes

Description of the research process.

Models marked with an asterisk* have very low sample sizes. At best, the results for these models, which are visible only to logged-in members, provide a very rough estimate of their reliability.

The "2006 Jetta" also includes 2005.5s. TrueDelta's analyses place half-year cars in the following year.

Without a trunk fit issue that affects only the Charger, the result for the 2006 300, Charger, and Magnum would be 80.

In many cases new models start out with high repair rates, and then improve during the model year as the manufacturer identifies and addresses common problems. This could be the case with the 2007 Nissan Versa. The next set of results, which will be posted in August, should indicate any changes.

The accuracy of TrueDelta's results will increase as the sample sizes and the number of months per vehicle grow (confidence intervals). Already clear patterns are evident. Asian models tend to have lower repair rates, while first-year designs tend to have higher ones. But the absolute differences are not large. The most reliable models tend to require a repair trip once every three or four years, while the average model requires one about once every two years and the least reliable models average about a trip a year.

Everyone who helped make this third set of results possible, thank you.

The previous set of results can be viewed here.

You can help provide more comprehensive and more precise future results by joining the panel.

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