Knowing which brands and cars are the most reliable has great value for car shoppers. After all, nobody wants to be sitting with a problematic new car, and having to deal with recalls or breakdowns. But knowing which ones to avoid, is just as useful. Gauging durability and reliability can be tricky, that’s why it is always best to rely on large data sets from actual owners, rather than marketing-massaged information from manufacturers.
To get the most representative results, we turned to Consumer Report’s most recent auto brand reliability survey. The data was derived from owner feedback, and vehicles that CR purchased outright to evaluate. With 26 brands and over 380,000 vehicles in this survey, the results should give a great overall view of what you can expect when purchasing a vehicle from one of these manufacturers.
The Least Reliable Car Brand: Rivian
Rivian
Rivian
Rivian
Most Reliable: Rivian R1S
Consumer Reports Reliability Score: 29/100
Least Reliable: Rivian R1T
Consumer Reports Reliability Score: 18/100
We won’t leave the best, or in this case, the worst, till last. Rivian ranked last among the 26 car brands tested by Consumer Reports for 2026. It’s absolutely dismal reliability record is disheartening as the vehicles themselves are cutting-edge designs with some of the industry’s most impressive EV tech. But this is also why they are ranked dead last.
Being a relatively new company producing expensive and complicated vehicles leaves a lot of room for production and developmental issues. Owners complained of frequent touchscreen glitches, climate control system malfunctions and air suspension hardware problems. Despite these issues, underlying the overall appeal of these vehicles is the fact that Rivian was ranked first in owner satisfaction. This indicates that Rivian is quick to address owner concerns, and that its vehicles perform well above the norm in their respective segments. Rivian is also hard at work trying to rectify the existing issues both on its current fleet and new vehicles, and hopefully they will be able to improve their result next year. After all, there is nowhere to go from here but up.
The Second Least Reliable Car Brand: Ram
Stellantis
Ram
Ram
Most Reliable: Ram 2500
Consumer Reports Reliability Score: 47/100
Least Reliable: Ram 1500
Consumer Reports Reliability Score: 5/100
Ram Trucks are built to withstand serious abuse, and models like the Ram 1500 offer car like ride comfort thanks to a coil-sprung suspension, as well as an easy-to-use digital interface. The problems stem from some of the new high-tech engines, fit-and-finish issues, as well as more than the usual number of electronic glitches that seem to plague many new vehicles these days.
The larger Ram 2500 was the highest scoring vehicle in the range from a reliability standpoint, but it too has had valvetrain issues and software glitches. Full size trucks in general are not particularly reliable, but the Ram range is currently showing its rivals how not to go about things.
The Third Least Reliable Car Brand: Jeep
Most Reliable: Jeep Compass
Consumer Reports Reliability Score: 43/100
Least Reliable: Jeep Grand Cherokee PHEV
Consumer Reports Reliability Score: 10/100
Jeep has an impressive lineup of off-road ready vehicles that are popular with buyers, but unfortunately there have been numerous recalls and recurring issues across its model range. Heading up the complaints list is the Jeep Grand Cherokee PHEV, its plug-in hybrid powertrain is particularly problematic, with owners experience charging faults, and complete failure.
Steering issues with the Jeep Wrangler are also high on the list, as are fire risks, oil leaks on certain V6 models, and of course, the inevitable touchscreen freezes and looping reboot. Instrument cluster failures and climate control systems are also prone to giving trouble. The Compass was rated as the most reliable Jeep for 2026, but its 47/100 result was at the bottom half of the compact SUV segment that is dominated by brands like Toyota and Honda.
Putting Reliability into Context
Kristen Brown
Stellantis
Rivian
Gauging long-term reliability can be a tricky undertaking as not all vehicles perform the same, and even the most reliable car for 2026 (that would be the Honda Passport with a 97/100 score) can develop issues. Regular servicing, a measured driving style, and ensuring that any recalls and Over-The-Air (OTA) updates have been carried out can all have a positive impact on reliability.
In terms of these three bottom of the table performers, it is heartening to see that each manufacturer is hard at work carrying out running changes and updates to resolve the underlying reliability issues. That also means that a dismal reliability score may end up improving markedly over time. Let’s hope next year’s results reflect their efforts.
About the author
John Tallodi
Senior Editor