Auto News Owners Souring on Hyundai in AutoGuide.com’s 2nd Annual Lemon List

Owners Souring on Hyundai in AutoGuide.com’s 2nd Annual Lemon List

Jun 26, 2017
24
Owners Souring on Hyundai in AutoGuide.com’s 2nd Annual Lemon List

Hyundai has found its way to the bottom of the AutoGuide.com Lemon List, while this year, Audi comes out on top. 

While the methodology changed slightly this year, the goal remains: to provide a look into consumer sentiment surrounding each automaker using data gathered from millions of conversations from across our network of automotive communities.

Using proprietary software and natural language analysis, the data is pulled from conversations between users, then further refined to determine which of the mentions are legitimate complaints about lemons – not necessarily actual cars titled as lemons. As some forums are significantly larger than others, the total number of lemon mentions per brand is compared to the total amount of brand mentions, to keep each in perspective. The data is then further crunched and represented as lemons per 100,000 mentions. Any brand with less than 10,000 total mentions isn’t included in the report.

For those still expecting a citrusy treat, allow us to also explain that a lemon is a colloquial name for a new car that has some type of manufacturing defect, affecting its safety or value, right from the factory. These can be major issues, while sometimes a lemon will be a car with numerous minor problems. Either way, it’s frustrating for new customers to bring home a problem vehicle straight from a dealer. So let’s look at what the data turned up.

Lemon-y Fresh

In total, Audi had roughly 1 reported lemon per 100,000 brand mentions this year, taking home top honors. Following closely behind are Porsche, Alfa Romeo, BMW and MINI rounding out the top five. Porsche just missed the top spot with 1.3 reported lemons per 100K mentions, while Alfa Romeo and BMW actually tied with 2.2. MINI finished in the fifth spot with 3.6 reported lemons per 100K, with Mercedes-Benz just missing the top 5 at 3.9.

Audi’s rise to the top has also been recognized by Consumer Reports recently, with 86 percent of the brand’s lineup being recommended by the independent testing outfit. It’s no surprise to see Porsche near the top as well, as the brand is right there with Audi regularly on reliability lists from CR and J.D. Power.

Alfa Romeo’s success may be explained more by its lack of vehicles for sale than reliability. Deliveries of the new Giulia are just ramping up now in North America and the 4C sells in such small numbers that there really aren’t many cars out there to be complained about.

MINI doesn’t have strong reliability scores from outlets like Consumer Reports, but the brand does have loyal, loving fans and that fact appears to be shown in the brand’s impressive ranking.

lemonlist_20170605_4-1

Rotten Fruit

On the other end of the spectrum, Hyundai had the worst ratio with 87.1 lemons per 100K brand mentions, while Cadillac, Infiniti, and Jaguar didn’t fare well either. Cadillac came away with 56.9 lemons per 100K mentions, Infiniti trails right behind at 56.3, leaving Jaguar in the fourth-worst spot at 55.2.

Rounding out the bottom five is Volvo at 40.8.

Hyundai’s showing at the bottom is surprising compared to increasingly positive reliability scores in recent years. Those surveys, however, only cover the first few years of ownership, while AutoGuide’s Lemon List deals with reported issues for cars from the 2011 model year and newer. Complaints included on the list though are only those made between January 1 and December 31 of 2016.

Infiniti also comes in the bottom of J.D. Power’s 2017 vehicle dependability study, while Jaguar sits near the bottom of CR’s ratings. Cadillac finds itself in the middle of the ratings with both outfits, again suggesting that there is a general negative sentiment towards GM’s luxury brand.

“This report really highlights what a unique resource our automotive forums are. With over 17 million registered members generating millions of conversations about cars, the technology now exists to see what real people are really saying,” said Jonathan Yarkony, Editorial Director of the AutoGuide.com Group.

The AutoGuide Group forum network is comprised of over 500 make and model related websites with 17.6 million registered members, 105 million monthly visitors and 540 million pageviews. Independent audience measurement agency comScore Media Metrix ranks AutoGuide.com #1 in automotive audience size.

Filed under: Alfa Romeo Audi BMW Breaking News Featured Articles Industry News New Car Shopping Porsche Tips and Advice
Tags: , , , ,
  • Jeffery Surratt

    My son has a 2016 Hyundai Veloster Turbo, zero problems in 25,000 miles. I drove the car for 2 months last summer, fun car to drive, great gas mileage, zero problems on long trips or city driving. I would buy one, but i am looking for a PHEV as my next car purchase, Hyundai Ioniq will get as test drive. Studies like this mean nothing to me, all cars have problems, it is the cost to own per mile that is more important to me. Audi is a great car, but cost per mile is high, much higher than most Hyundai offerings. Also, it does not matter where your car maker is on the list, if you got the lemon.

  • Paul

    Wow, too bad about Hyundai but look at Cadillac. It is next up the list at second from the bottom, ouch.

  • kaffekup

    Looking at the methodology, this list means basically nothing. People have been badmouthing Hyundai for years, since the Excel and Scoupe.
    We’ve driven nothing but Hyundais since 2000, well, one Kia, and have found them to be dependable and reliable. Not perfect, but no car is. They may not thrill the enthusiast, but they do the job they were designed to do.

  • James Klapper

    There may be a basic problem with the methodology. Hyundai may have a relatively high percentage of lemony comments because the car’s dominant models are so ordinary that nobody would post much of anything about them if they didn’t have complaints. It’d be like posting about Wonder Bread or mayonnaise.

    My 2012 Sonata 2.0T is supposedly a problem car but the only trouble in 6 years has been the turbo waste gate, which iI expected, and a transmission temperature sensor, which I didn’t, both fixed under the original or extended warranty.

    Overall its been less trouble than any other car I’ve owned and I love it. Meanwhile the Audi owners I know love their cars too, but admit they drive in constant fear of a breakdown with horrendous repair bills.

  • Aajaxx

    I think this is more a social phenomenon related to communication technology than anything related to auto reliability. There is probably a good sociology research project here for someone who wants to take a deeper look. Are there any auto enthusiast sociologists, though?

  • L.v. Maddison

    Having owned Hyundais for over 20 years (switching from Nissan), I have a hard time believing in the validity of these results. I had only ONE serious problem with a 2011 Santa Fe limited — it came from the factory with some loose bolts around the radiator fan housing that could have caused a lot of damage to the engine if not seen to immediately.

    My 2007 Sonata never required anything but regular maintenance, tires, and some work on the brakes after 40,000 miles…except for a malfunction with the CD/Stereo. The replaced the entire head unit — and this was four years into owning the car.

    My current 2014 Sonata is going strong. I did receive a recall notice for replacement of the front tie rods that cause a clicking noise. In our family we have had 3 Elantras, 3 Sonatas, two Santa Fe SUVs, and are now looking at the Sonata hybrid. What other company offers the length and breadth of warranty? The answer … there are no others. Obviously Hyundai has confidence in its products.

  • Flat Head

    Surprised to see so many Hyundai fans responding. I hear nothing bad bad things about them from the people I know who own them.

  • Hambone

    You nailed it, Aajaxx! If you get a hot topic one month, say about the 2011-2013 2.0 and 2.4 engine problems, that will spike the discussion. It has absolutely no bearing on reliability.
    This is one bizarre and fatally flawed “study” method. A real live actual practicing sociologist would laugh…if they knew anything about car reliability studies.
    Somebody got paid to run some computer programs and then write about it, then they call it macaroni.

  • iammrmail

    I don’t believe this at all. Consumer Reports is a BS source. Over the years they have ranked so many cars as good or bad that were totally wrong

  • nauticalone

    I’ve seen some poor methodologies employed in my time, but this one takes the lead as being…meaningless!

  • Aajaxx

    Nevertheless, it was interesting. For one thing, it will give Hyundai owners even more to chat about. 🙂

  • Jeff Safire

    Mmm… Wonder bread and mayonnaise.

  • Fulton J. Waterloo

    Consumer Reports evaluations are very accurate. If you guys think FIATS are that highly rated you need your heads examined

  • John Watkins

    All you need it a vine ripe tomato

  • Malik

    From 2011-2014 does impact on the overall rating of reliability considering we are talking about the million vehicles from 2011 to 2014 in most models including Sonata and Santa Fe Sport.

    We have one Sonata 15 but that is besides the point. Given the massive recall on the engine doesn’t strike confident for the potential buyers of Hyundai, not to mention at the wake of recall notice was due to the whistle blower from Hyundai engineering from Korea made it easy for North America and worldwide to deal with the issues.

  • Hans

    bah haha! Right you are sir.

  • Diwa Galvez

    Can’t believe the staggering difference between Kia and Hyundai

  • LOL

    Did industry change? I always recommend Hyundai to people on a budget and have some positive experience with the brand as well. They also score some high reliability number in EU (at least budget models). Lexus/Toyota have always been pretty solid too, as well as Honda. And now this study tells me the least reliable cars like MB, Audi, BMW, Alfa are on top of this list? Last time I spoke to a buddy from EU about Alfas he said run and run fast from the brand because of constant issues.

    Ps. I am BMW owner and would like for this study to be true. I personally have 20k on my car now and haven’t had a single issue. Very happy and hope BMW and Audi are improving…. driving experience they give you are much better then Japanese cars. And that Alfa Gulia….damn…..I’d get one in a heartbeat

  • Knuckles Poundingdapavement

    Wow, sometimes they will go to any length to discredit an auto maker. Not sure where they get the info in the report. We’ve owned Hyundai vehicles for over twelve yrs and they have been the most trouble free dependable rides ever. Love them!! So we’ll stick with Hyundai!!!!!

  • Nate

    This is only perceived reliability by the owners and fans who are active in online forums, not actual reliability as measured by objective industry measurements like Consumer Reports or Edmunds. Dislike this clickbait-ish article.

  • Kamaka

    I wouldn’t call this a Lemon List, I’d call it Comment Complaint List. The AutoGuide’s list is useless as reliability data because without vehicle tracking multiple complaints can counted on the same car but it’s useful as an indicator of brand perceptions.

  • Statistician

    Website conversations? “Natural language” software? Seriously? Never have I come across a more flawed and useless methodology in my life. Whoever came up with this pseudo list trying to pass off as something legitimate should be embarrassed of themselves.

  • xj220

    This is THE stupidest method for ranking cars I’ve ever seen. Do you realize that there will ALWAYS be people who complain about Hyundai no matter how good the company does because (A) Hyundai’s past history of questionable reliability so people are always quick to judge any faults and (B) it gets compared favorably to other makes now so owners of other brands will spew whatever lies they can to try and put Hyundai down. I’ve been on many of these car forums, and it becomes pretty apparent that many who complain about Hyundai never owned one or had one over 10-20 years ago and would never own one again. Take a look at the list….do you actually believe Audi, BMW and Benz are more reliable than Honda, Toyota and Hyundai? It has nothing to do with ACTUAL reliability and everything to do with people not wanting to admit that there is something wrong with their “precious” luxury car. You want to validate a car study? Try surveying ACTUAL owners instead of relying on what is said on the Internets, which is mostly bull-crap anyways.

  • Wicka

    Consumer Reports surveys people. This report tracks what they’re really saying. If the recent US election taught us anything, what people say in a poll and what they actually think ARE NOT the same.