Tesla Model X ranks amongst the most unreliable cars of today, according to Consumer Report's 2016 Reliability Survey Results due to a myriad of complaints but mainly because of the vehicle’s flashy Falcon Wing Doors. Interestingly, it's brother the Model S has risen and is now on average reliability.
Consumer Reports has published its annual report on the reliability of car brands, a list that shows the pulse of US consumer opinion on car manufacturers. The rankings are usually expected as the brands that obtained the best score were Lexus and Toyota which reigns for a decade now, followed by Buick, Audi and Kia. But this year, the introduction of Tesla Motors shake things up and surprisingly, the $149,450 Tesla Model X ranks at 25th place from a list of only 29 - that's almost bottom when it comes to reliability, according to Torquenews.
Top recommended vehicles when it comes to reliability are BMW i3, BMW X5, Cadillac XTS, Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Corvette, Chrysler 300, Ford Escape and Hyundai Santa Fe while those that have declined in reliability from last year and are no longer recommended are the Chevrolet Volt, Dodge Durango, Ford F-150, Honda Civic, Subaru WRX/STI and three of Volkswagen's best-selling cars, the Golf GTI, Jetta and the Passat.
It is noteworthy to point out that the study is conducted by models, but their data are presented globally, by brand. So one must be very careful analyzing this ranking since there are brands that have very large ranges, with many different models in various segments and others, on the contrary, they have very few models. So a problematic model can rapidly fall to a mark in this classification. And this was precisely the case of Tesla Motors.
The huge amount of problems that have accompanied the Tesla Model X since its release the ones responsible for the poor ranking of Tesla, which is included in the list of the most unreliable brands as reported by CNBC. In fact, the ones that are only behind Tesla are those from the FCA Group, the Dodge, Chrysler, Fiat and RAM, which if one will take into consideration, Tesla is the second unreliable brand of today just below the vehicles of the FCA Group.
According to the reports, the problems that have plagued customers of the Tesla Model X is mainly due to the malfunctioning of its falcon-wing doors. Other problems include water leaks, closing and the opening of windows, interior and exterior finishes is insufficient, climate-control system problems and surprisingly, even its infotainment system was reported by Teslarati to have problems, which are surprising as Tesla leads in technology.
The Tesla Model X is widely based on the Model S, which ironically rises in the ranking. The Model S has had an up and down relationship with Consumer Reports getting nearly a perfect score when it first launched and then suddenly dropped into the not recommended category last year citing a worse-than-average overall problem rate as reported by owners. Now the Tesla Model S is back at the average reliability and is again recommended.
Consumer Reports also reported that they have serious concerns when it comes to how Tesla designed, deployed, and marketed semi-autonomous technology - Now FULL - and believe that the manufacturer needs to clearly communicate these systems to people.
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