The back-and-forth battle between Tesla and Consumer Reports appears to have taken a new turn on Thursday when the publication said it is no longer recommending the Model 3. Last May, Tesla finally got the recommendation from Consumer Reports after reducing the car’s braking distance. Consumer Reports previously declined to recommend the Model 3 because of that issue, as well as due to the car’s “stiff” ride quality and “distracting” touchscreen.
Tesla’s Model 3 isn’t the only car to lose the recommendation, however. In total, there were six cars: Model 3, Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, Acura RDX, BMW 5 Series and Volkswagen Tiguan. The reason for the drop in recommendation from Consumer Reports is due to a drop in each car’s reliability, which took the threshold below the publications standards.
Not all is bad, though. While six cars lost their recommendations, the BMW X3, Genesis G90 and Lincoln Nautilus (aka MKX) gained the recommendations after car owners suggested the reliability on these vehicles had improved.
For Model 3 owners, they reported glass defects and loose body trim being particular issues in the cars they received. Chrysler 300 owners reported problems with car electronics and transmission. As a result, both Tesla and Chrysler sank 11 places in the Consumer Reports car brand rankings.
“We have already made significant improvements to correct any issues that Model 3 customers may have experienced that are referenced in this report,” a Tesla spokesperson told The Jolt Journal in a statement. “This new data from Consumer Reports comes from their annual Owner Satisfaction survey, which runs from July through September, so the vast majority of these issues have already been corrected through design and manufacturing improvements, and we are already seeing a significant improvement in our field data.”
For Tesla’s part, they reached out to Consumer Reports to ask for more details regarding the issues drivers were having with their Model 3 so that the company can take swift action. Unfortunately for Tesla, they said that the publication did not provide any specific details.
