American carmakers thrive on their cars exuding aura and power. But that won’t get them to the top of the reliability charts.
Right now, Consumer Reports’ annual reliability study has put Japanese carmakers at the top. Toyota, Subaru, and Lexus are the three most reliable car brands of 2026 — and they were in 2025 as well, just in a different order. It’s been similar to Mario Kart with your friends: the best keep having heated rivalries as they race for first race after race while the rest are just glad they finished.
Consumer Reports compiled its 2026 reliability leaderboard using data from 380,000 vehicles over the past 12 months. The panel of experts analyzes data based on 20 “trouble areas,” ranging from small issues like broken interior trim to major problems like engine, transmission, and EV battery issues. Based on the severity and frequency of these problems, as well as track testing, survey results, and available safety features, Consumer Reports assigns a reliability score ranging from 1 to 100.
This strategy has revealed Toyota, Subaru, and Lexus as the most reliable brands, leaving American brands in the dust.
Said Consumer Reports: “While the order has been shuffled, the same automakers remain at the top of our brand ratings for the second consecutive year. Each brand follows similar principles that increase reliability, including using shared components across the model line and making conservative, incremental changes when redesigning a vehicle.”
Last year, Subaru was actually in the top spot. However, the Forester lowered its ranking to second, with the hybrid scoring above average and the gas version scoring just average. Looks like Consumer Reports was right to consider the this vehicle underwhelming in the reliability department — earlier this year, after the study was already finalized, Subaru had to recall over 71,000 Forester and Crosstrek vehicles.
Aside from this, however, Toyota, Subaru, and Lexus are pretty dull and uneventful in the drama department. That’s, of course, why they’re at the top of the reliability study. In fact, Toyota even saw some vehicles score better this time around, like the Tundra and Camry’s improved reliability over the years. Talk about a snoozefest.
Are American car brands unreliable?
With all this talk about Japanese brands dominating the reliability conversation, does that mean American brands are as unreliable as people think? Not necessarily. Although they’re nowhere near their Japanese counterparts in this category.
“Domestic brands trail both with an average score of 41, although that’s an increase from 2025,” wrote Consumer Reports. “The highest-scoring domestic brand is Buick in eighth place, with Tesla improving to ninth place, a jump of eight positions. But both of Rivian’s models still have well-below-average reliability. The five lowest-scoring brands are domestic automakers: Chrysler, GMC, Jeep, Ram, and Rivian.”
So what’s bringing these American automakers down? One issue is that these brands have a lot of newly redesigned models to keep up with emission standards and global car trends. Consumer Reports notes that it can often take years for a redesigned vehicle to smooth out the kinks — the Tundra was below average when it got its new engine in 2022, but look at it now!
The Cadillac Lyriq, Cadillac Optiq, Lincoln Nautilus Hybrid, Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Terrain, Buick Enclave, and GMC Acadia were all redesigned for 2024 and 2024, and consequently have below average scores. In fact, the GMC Acadia has a “well-below-average” reliability score.
Ford is sitting right in the middle of the reliability study in 11th place. This is a brand that’s often seen as unreliable, but the stereotypes are not completely true. The issue is that its vehicles are sort of middle-of-the-road when it comes to reliability. They’re fine, but that’s not good enough to beat out brands like Toyota and Subaru. Plus, Subaru made headlines for its one recent recall, but Ford has a recall practically every other day.
However, recalls don’t tell the full story. Tesla is practically friends with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at this point, but Consumer Reports states it shot up this past year anyway. However, a lot of the issues that owners have complained about over the years have been addressed by Tesla in recent models, from exterior panels not fitting correctly to issues with the Model Y’s doors. In fact, the Model 3 was one of the most reliable electric cars in the entire study. Unfortunately, Tesla will never reach the top spots due to the Cybertruck, which has below average reliability.
Rivian and Lucid struggle to get out of the bottom of the leaderboard due to the general unreliability of EVs when compared to hybrids and plug-in hybrids. Most of their vehicles are below average when it comes to reliability, since these EVs are also relatively new. Tesla has been making its EVs since 2011, giving it an edge. For now.
Overall, your American vehicles are generally safe and generally reliable. However, newer models — especially newer EVs — still have some necessary polishing over the next few years. It’s just part of the struggle of America trying to keep up with the ever-changing auto industry as brands from China continuously innovate and inspire global trends.
