JD Power's 2026 Study Reveals Why A Lexus Is More Reliable Than A Gadget-Laden Rivian R1S
JD Power's 2026 Study Reveals Why A Lexus Is More Reliable Than A Gadget-Laden Rivian R1S
Gilbert SmithSat, July 11, 2026 at 7:35 PM UTC
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Lexus
Check this year's Vehicle Dependability Survey fromJD Power, and you'll see plenty of not-so-surprising findings. Lexus rates as the most dependable brand overall, the Toyota Camry is JD Power'sfavorite midsize car, and GM brands like Chevrolet and Cadillac lead American companies in reliability. We could have guessed all of that.
What you might not have guessed is that advanced technology in new cars seems to have reached the "diminishing returns" point, accounting for lower Quality & Reliability ratings without really improving the experience of driving or riding in a new vehicle. This tends to hurt tech-forward automakers like Rivian the most, while Lexus is relatively unaffected, despite being a luxury brand. Here's what you ...
Lexus Is More Reliable Than Rivian In More Ways Than Not
Lexus
Let's start with a reliability snapshot for both the Lexus IS and the Rivian R1S, checking JD Power Quality & Reliability ratings for both models, averaging the last three model years (being the only three model years when both models were reviewed by JD Power).
Looking at maintenance data,RepairPalestimates that a Lexus IS250 should cost you around $487 a year to keep running, with the following accounting for the most expensive common fixes.
Brake booster replacement $1,233–$1,404
HVAC air door actuator replacement $1,139–$1,574
AC condenser replacement $1,015–$1,212
Emergency brake cable replacement $671–$915
Airbag control module replacement $564–$687
These are all fairly routine wear-and-tear issues once a car reaches a certain age, and typical repair costs are fairly reasonable. Lexus owners enjoy parts compatibility with Toyota. That is, a Lexus may be a luxury car, but, everything in a BMW or a Mercedes-Benz is a specialty part, requiring specialty servicing. Meanwhile, anyone who knows how to fix, for instance, a Toyota Camry, can fix a Lexus ES, with Toyota Camry-compatible parts.
The Rivian R1S Is A Poster Child For Too Many Gadgets
Rivian
RepairPaldoes not have any extensive maintenance data for Rivian, but checking in with users in the Rivian Forums, we find that common complaints cover problems like failure to connect, or stay connected, when pairing a phone to the car. In some cases, the Rivian R1S fails to read the key fob.
In other words, mo' gadgets, mo' problems.
If we look at some of the standard features in the 2026 Quad Motor R1S Launch Edition, here's what we find.
Plenty of these features are must-haves, but the fact remains that you've got to connect almost every part of this car to your phone or a key fob in order to operate it, leading to more complaints for minor electrical issues.
Meanwhile, an entry-level Lexus IS packs remote trunk release, keyless start, and Wi-Fi hotspot as its most cutting-edge standard features. The list of goodies is shorter, but so is the list of reasons to visit the dealer for software updates.
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JD Power's Been Warning Us About Excessive Gadgets For A While
Rivian
According to JD Power's latest dependability and IQS reports, software, infotainment, and connectivity issues actually outweigh mechanical failure, with complicated touchscreens and general feature bloat taking big bites out of a vehicle's Q&R rating.
JD Power's 2026 vehicle dependability survey saw the industry hitting an average problems-per-100-vehicle (PP100) rating of 204, with infotainment alone making up 56.7 points of the total. In the US IQS, infotainment scored a 44.4 PP100 in the mass-market segment, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration contributing to higher PP100 ratings, as well.
Lexus and Toyotas rank so highly in almost every JD Power report specifically because these brands have traditionally been very resistant to feature bloat. A Lexus packs enough extra gadgets to feel like a luxury car, sure, but not so much gadgetry that you feel like you're in a spaceship.
Feature Bloat Presents A Safety Concern, As Well
Rivian
The IQS report turned up an alarming study that goes beyond trips to the repair shop. An astonishing 46% of owners who reported distracted-driving events blamed complex touchscreens and center-stack submenus. That is, instead of running basic operations with a switch or a button or a simple tap of the screen, you're sifting through menus and basically programming a microwave when you should be paying attention to the road.
In an R1S, navigation, multimedia, drive modes, security, climate control, cameras, and even doors and latches are operated via touchscreen. To give you an idea of what we're talking about, look at this Rivian user interface walkthrough, courtesy of Charge Overland. It's an hour and 17 minutes long. You might as well be writing code at that point.
@ChargeOverland via Youtube
Incidentally, the Rivian R1S is actually an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ winner, while the Lexus IS hasn't scored that award since the 2023 model year. To go over both of their crash test report cards...
The Rivian R1S is a safety winner on paper, but IIHS crash test procedures are primarily measuring crashworthiness, and the car's ability to avoid an accident, via collision-avoidance tech. Complexity of submenus and infotainment layouts doesn't factor in. To put it another way, thank goodness Rivian R1S drivers can rely on the car's front crash prevention systems, because they're surrounded by potential distractions.
It's Time To Reel In The Gadgets
Lexus
To be clear, the concern in a Rivian R1S isn't longevity. EVs routinely require less mechanical maintenance than ICE and hybrid vehicles, and we're finding that those traction batteries may last a lot longer than we once thought. The concern with regards to EVs isn't that they won't last, but that they're packed with doodads that are likely to break, or leave you stranded in your driveway waiting for an OTA update to download and install.
One of the reasons we're so excited for the Slate EV, and why we think it could kickstart a positive trend in the automotive industry, is that it basically comes with nothing at all. No infotainment screen, no power liftgate, not even automatic windows. It's the furthest thing from a luxury car, but, if it turns out to be a hit, it could convince tech-addicted EV-makers to curb the feature bloat, resulting in safer, more reliable vehicles.
There's really no reason that electric vehicles should be so tech-heavy in the first place. At the end of the day, it's just a propulsion system. Tesla attracted a lot of early adopters by positioning as a luxury brand and appealing to techies, but it's probably safe to say that that ice has been broken, and the public is finally willing to consider a battery-powered vehicle over combustion, with or without the tax credits being up for grabs.
In other words, now that you're selling to beyond the tech-motivated luxury car buyers, it might be time to take a page out of the Lexus playbook. Cut the gadgetry back to the essentials, and, while you're at it, give us more physical switches and buttons. Nobody likes navigating menus when their eyes should be on the road.
Sources: Rivian, Lexus, JD Power, Rivian Forums.
Source: “AOL Money”
