New car satisfaction lowest in 10 years

American consumers have expressed dissatisfaction over record recalls, high prices and quality issues in an annual survey by returning the worst results in more than 10 years.

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) surveyed 4294 US customers about their recent purchasing experience and their first months of ownership of a new vehicle.

It found industry-wide customer satisfaction had fallen 3.7 per cent in the past year, from 82 points out of 100 to 79 points out of 100 – the lowest level since 2004.

The result reflected a horror year in recalls and widespread faults including the Takata airbag scandal, which has affected more than 50 million vehicles globally alone. It also followed a year in which General Motors recalled in unprecedented numbers after numerous quality issues, including an ignition switch defect that triggered a series of government investigations, fines and recalls.

According to ACSI chairman and founder Claes Fornell, the latest survey's results were alarming.

"While it is true that all cars are now much better than they were 10 to 20 years ago, it is alarming that so many of them have quality problems," Fornell said.

"The number of recalls is at an all-time high. This should not happen with modern manufacturing technology and has negative consequences for driver safety, costs and customer satisfaction."

Of the 27 brands involved, only two (Acura and BMW) made positive ground on last year's survey, while 15 lost traction among consumers.

Lexus has topped the study, finishing on par with its 2014 result of 84. The Japanese car maker overtook Mercedes-Benz (83) for top honours, with Acura and Lincoln also finishing on 83 points, ahead of BMW, Subaru and Toyota on 82 points.

At the other end of the spectrum was Fiat Chrysler brands Fiat (73 points), Chrysler (74), Jeep (75) and Dodge (76 points).

ACSI director David Van Amburg said the 2015 industry average followed unusually high scores in the preceding years.

"Higher prices are clearly hurting car buyer satisfaction, but low prices also have artificially inflated satisfaction in the years prior," Van Amburg said.

"The government's Cash for Clunkers program helped push driver satisfaction to its highest level ever in 2009, and heavy discounting as the economy recovered kept satisfaction up for a while.

"The customer satisfaction levels the auto industry is seeing now are more consistent with historical ACSI data."