Update May 01, 2017: Did you know that CarMD has a new FREE tool that helps vehicle owners maintain their cars, find out about recalls, Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs), warranty status, and likely repairs you’re going to need within a year? Check it out at www.Carmd.com/garage

CarMD.com Corporation, a leading provider of car repair data and solutions, is pleased to release its 2016 CarMD® Vehicle Health Index^™ Make & Model Reliability Rankings. This is the only Index to offer an annual ranking of manufacturers and vehicles using actual in-use, statistically-based check engine-related failures and repair costs – unlike other industry reports and rankings that often rely on subjective survey data. Over the past five years CarMD has ranked parent manufacturers and vehicles on a combined average rating of fewest check engine-related problems and lowest repair costs.

Based on feedback from the industry and our customers, this year we have decided to dive deeper into how the individual makes rank by breaking them away from their parent manufacturers where applicable. With this 2016 Index we rank vehicles for frequency of check engine light problems and then separately on average cost of repairs. This Index also ranks the 100 vehicles with fewest repair incidents, 100 vehicles with lowest repair cost, top vehicles by category and lists the most common repairs by make. Historical rankings are not necessarily indicative of future vehicle reliability.

More than 4 million model year 1996 to 2016 vehicles reporting in-use repairs were analyzed to prepare this Index. CarMD reports on these findings to help consumers and fleet managers identify the vehicles with a tendency toward lower upkeep. This Index has also been shown to help vehicle manufacturers; OE and aftermarket parts manufacturers and providers stay abreast of year-over-year trends and identify common failures and parts needs for improved reliability, service and bottom line.

Highlights

At least 10 percent of the cars and trucks on the road in the U.S. have a check engine light on at any given time, so chances are good that most vehicle owners will experience the hassle of needing a check engine light-related repair at some point. But which vehicle makes are least likely to need check engine repairs? Which vehicle owners have fewer trips to the repair shop or parts store? To rank these vehicles, CarMD developed a formula that accounts for those with the lowest percentage of repair incidents per percentage of vehicle population. Based on this data, an Index frequency score is assigned. The lower the score the higher the vehicle make ranking.

CarMD found that when it comes to repair frequency Toyota ranks no. 1 followed by Honda (no. 2), Nissan (no. 3), Audi (no. 4) and Volkswagen (no 5.). Rounding out the top 10 vehicle brands with low repair frequency are BMW (no. 6), Mercury (no. 7), Buick (no. 8), Jeep (no. 9) and Hyundai (no 10).

The lower the Index frequency score, the higher the ranking.

(Top 10 vehicle makes by repair frequency based on model year 1996-2016 vehicles inspected between Oct. 1, 2015 and Sept. 30, 2016, and determined to have the fewest percentage of CarMD repair incidents, per vehicle population. Sources: CarMD.com Corp., with vehicle population data provided by R.L. Polk. )

Any given brand can have a mix of very reliable vehicles along with some that are inherently known to have more frequent issues. For this reason, our Index drills down to rank vehicles by year, make and model. Four SUVs, two sedans, two trucks, one compact and one hybrid comprise this list of 10 vehicles with the lowest repair frequency among the 8,500 different types of model year 1996 to 2016 vehicles on the road today.

Scroll down to see the 100 vehicles with the lowest repair frequency in our full report. It is important to remember that even the 99th or 100th ranked vehicle on the list is a significant achievement, as this puts it in the top 1 percent of all vehicles being ranked.

Cars and trucks will need repairs from time to time. Of the 4.7 million vehicles reported to CarMD as needing repairs this past year, which makes cost their owners the least? CarMD found that the make with the lowest average check engine light related repair cost was Hyundai ($318), followed by Mazda ($334) then Kia ($338). Chevrolet and Chrysler rounded out the top five, ranking fourth and fifth respectively in a virtual dead heat at $347 and change.

(Top 10 vehicle manufacturers based on model year 1996-2016 vehicles inspected by CarMD’s network, found to need repairs and receiving
parts and labor estimates between Oct. 1, 2015 and Sept. 30, 2016.)

The following are the 10 vehicles with the lowest average repair cost among the 8,500 different types of model year 1996 to 2016 vehicles on the road today. You can see the 100 vehicles with the lowest repair costs in our full report.

Different vehicle makes tend to have unique sets of problems and common failures. The CarMD Vehicle Health Index points out common problems by manufacturer, providing a helpful resource for vehicle owners as they maintain and repair their vehicles.

The following is a list of the top three vehicles by category in 2016 according to CarMD, which based its ranking on the vehicles with the fewest and lowest cost “check engine”-related problems:

Stats

By ranking vehicles

By vehicle category

Top 3 Ranked Vehicles by category (Model Year 2004-2016)

The following is a list of the top three vehicles by category according to CarMD, which based its ranking on the vehicles with the fewest and those with the lowest cost check engine-related problems reported by or to our network:

	Lowest Repair Incidents by Category	Lowest Average Repair Costs by Category
	Compact
1	2015 Toyota Corolla	2012 Honda Civic($201)
2	2011 Honda Civic	2011 Honda Civic ($233)
3	2014 Ford Fusion	2013 Ford Fusion ($234)
	Minivan
1	2011 Toyota Sienna	2010 Chrysler Town & Country ($285)
2	2008 Toyota Sienna	2008 Chrysler Town & Country ($322)
3	2007 Honda Odyssey	2008 Honda Odyssey ($367)
	Sedan
1	2015 Toyota Camry	2015 Toyota Camry ($169)
2	2015 Hyundai Sonata	2013 Hyundai Sonata ($186)
3	2015 Chevrolet Cruz	2012 Hyundai Sonata ($203)
	Compact SUV
1	2014 Chevrolet Equinox	2014 Jeep Patriot ($181)
2	2014 Kia Soul	2013 Kia Optima ($223)
3	2012 Toyota RAV4	2013 Chevrolet Equinox ($257)
	Full-Sized SUV
1	2014 Ford Explorer	2013 Ford Explorer ($234)
2	2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee	2014 Ford Explorer ($248)
3	2013 Honda Pilot	2011 Honda Pilot ($252)
	Wagon / Crossover SUV
1	2012 Honda CR-V	2012 Honda CR-V ($100)
2	2011 Honda CR-V	2013 Ford Edge ($211)
3	2011 Subaru Outback	2013 Kia Soul ($227)
	Truck
1	2014 Toyota Tundra	2011 Ford Ranger ($234)
2	2015 Ford F-250	2002 Ford Ranger ($240)
3	2015 Chevrolet Silverado	2014 RAM 1500 ($257)
	Hybrid
1	2010 Toyota Prius	2010 Toyota Prius ($445)
2	2008 Toyota Prius	2012 Toyota Prius ($457)
3	2007 Toyota Prius	2008 Toyota Prius ($520)