Mitsubishi Tries Harder in 2021 J.D. Power Study

Jason R. Sakurai
by Jason R. Sakurai

Mitsubishi Motors’ third-place ranking in the latest J.D. Power Customer Service Index (CSI) indicates the brand is trying harder to improve the experience for service done under warranty and or customer pay. Up one spot from 2020 among non-premium, mass-market nameplates, Mini ranked the highest with a score of 864, Buick ranked second at 859, followed by Mitsubishi at 857, GMC at 856, and Kia in fifth at 855.

Vehicles one- to three-years-old that required service in 2020 were a part of this survey. Stay-at-home orders and working from home caused owners to drive fewer miles, thus extending the service interval. J.D. Power reported that service visits were only down six-percent from the previous year, and satisfaction rose by ten points to 847 on a 1,000-point scale.

Customer satisfaction was measured at both franchised dealers and independent service facilities for maintenance or repairs. This provided a numerical index of the automotive brands in the U.S. that performed well, as measured by service quality, service facility, service initiation, service advisor, and vehicle pick-up.

Significant among the survey’s findings were that those who used contactless payments were more satisfied at vehicle pick-up, 44-points more so among premium customers, and 69-points for mass-market owners. While only six-percent of premium and one-percent of mass-market owners used this option, going forward dealers may decide to keep it if the trend grows after the virus has subsided.

While express service users were more satisfied by ten points, only 54-percent of battery electric vehicle (BEV) owners took their cars in for service, and when they did, BEV owners were 69 points lower in service satisfaction than the average, and 76 points lower in service quality. Power attributes this to the difficulty in servicing BEVs versus regular vehicles with internal combustion engines, and fewer visits that equated to fewer opportunities for dealers to make a good impression on these owners. On average, twice as much maintenance is being done on a service visit than repairs, while with BEVs, the ratio is nearly even. The complexity of BEVs is in part why BEV owners are 2.5 times less likely to have service completed correctly the first time.

The survey, conducted from July through December 2020, was based on 62,519 responses from owners and lessees of 2018-2020 model-year vehicles.

[Images: Mitsubishi Motors, J.D. Power]

Jason R. Sakurai
Jason R. Sakurai

With a father who owned a dealership, I literally grew up in the business. After college, I worked for GM, Nissan and Mazda, writing articles for automotive enthusiast magazines as a side gig. I discovered you could make a living selling ad space at Four Wheeler magazine, before I moved on to selling TV for the National Hot Rod Association. After that, I started Roadhouse, a marketing, advertising and PR firm dedicated to the automotive, outdoor/apparel, and entertainment industries. Through the years, I continued writing, shooting, and editing. It keep things interesting.

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  • Akear Akear on Mar 12, 2021

    If they are willing to pay the ransom J.D. Powers allows automotive bottom feeders a chance to finish at the top of a survey. Of coarse these surveys are for the most part detached from reality. At this point does anyone take J.D powers seriously?

  • Art Vandelay Art Vandelay on Mar 12, 2021

    so many $#!+boxes

  • Dave M. I love what Mazda stands for and how hard they try. Their cars are well crafted and pretty reliable. But they must simply get their mpgs up to be competitive against the Lexus RX450h and Toyota Highlander Platinum hybrid if they're going to play in that $45-60k price range.
  • 1995 SC In order for the UAW to gain traction in the South you would need the cost of living to rise significantly in the areas these plants are in and wages to not keep up or some significant abuses by the owners of these plants to come to light. You talk about job security but the only plants that aren't closing are non-union. The US makers can't ship production to Mexico fast enough. People aren't dumb...they see this stuff.
  • Mike Beranek The only way unions (in any industry) will be successful in the South is if the people there undergo a fundamental change of attitude. These states will see an accelerating brain drain due to archaic policies regarding education, health care, and women's rights. Those with the skills and means to move away will. Eventually, the automaker's investment in those states will become unsustainable. Maybe they'll transfer in people from Japan/Germany to plug the holes in middle management.
  • Kosmo I'd probably love this, but am several years from New Car Day.The excessive tire noise seems completely out of place at this price range.
  • Bd2 The front reminds me of Fani Willis, I hope she is well and ready to defeat the Maga.
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