The editorial team of HotCars has studied a number of car reliability rankings composed in the USA and used them to draw up a list of the most and least problem-free Japanese brand cars on that market. Curiously enough, Honda, Mazda and Subaru made it into both ends of the list.
J.D. Power and Consumer Reports in particular awarded their highest scores to the Honda Accord, the Lexus ES and the Toyota Camry. All three sedans were found practically immune to recalls and major issues.
Despite a large-scale recall campaign in 2011–2013 due to engine issues, the Subaru Outback also made it into the top-5 of North America’s least troublesome Japanese imports. Rounding off the quintet was the Mazda MX-5 Miata, which has scored high in reliability polls nearly every year lately. Consumer Reports found it to be the sixth most reliable car on the market in the last year.
Found on the opposite end of the rating are the Infiniti Q50, which scored especially bad in 2014, the Mazda RX-8 with its issue-riddled rotary engine and other shortcomings, the Subaru Ascent SUV, the Honda Odyssey MPV due to its numerous recalls, and the Nissan Titan for the same reason.
