"Automotive manufacturers are responding to consumer feedback and producing vehicles of the highest quality," said Dave Sargent, vice president, global automotive at J.D. Power. "The industry has improved significantly in each of the past three years. Today's vehicles have more things that could go wrong but fewer things that actually do go wrong."

Following are some of the study's key findings:

• Technology improving but still problematic: Audio/communication/entertainment/navigation remains the area where new-vehicle owners experience the most problems. However, this category shows the most improvement since 2016 with a score of 22.8 PP100, or 2.7 PP100 better than last year.

• Early warning bells for autonomous technology: The only category to worsen this year is features, controls and displays. The largest increases in problems are for cruise control (primarily adaptive cruise); lane departure warning; collision avoidance/alert systems; and blind spot warning. These features comprise some of the building blocks of autonomous vehicles, and an increasing number of consumer-reported problems sounds warning bells for automakers and suppliers. Consumers will need to be convinced that these systems are foolproof before they will give up driving control to autonomous vehicles.

• Domestic brands continue to show improvement: The "Detroit Three" outperform import brands for the second year in a row but for only the third time since the study was first published in 1987. In 2017, domestic brands receive a score of 93 PP100 compared with 99 PP100 for import brands. Last year, domestic brands also had fewer problems (103 PP100) compared with import brands (106 PP100).

"The Initial Quality Study continues to demonstrate the critical importance of automakers responding to consumer feedback regarding vehicle quality," Sargent said. "Any automaker that stands still will quickly start to fall behind. For consumers, the great news is that significant improvements are occurring in all model segments, meaning that you don't have to spend a lot of money to get a quality vehicle."

Highest-Ranked Brands

Kia ranks highest in overall initial quality for a second consecutive year with a score of 72 PP100.

Genesis (77 PP100) ranks second overall followed by Porsche (78 PP100). Ford and Ram (86 PP100) tie for fourth.

MINI is the most improved brand, with owners reporting 33 PP100 fewer problems than in 2016. Other brands with strong improvement include Ram (28 PP100 improvement), Acura (19), Volvo (18) and Ford (16).

Segment-Leading Models

The parent company receiving the most model-level awards for its various brands is Hyundai Motor Co. (five model-level awards), followed by General Motors and BMW, each with four.

• Hyundai Motor Co. models that rank highest in their respective segments are the Kia Cadenza; Kia Forte; Kia Niro; Kia Sorento; and Kia Soul.

• General Motors models that rank highest in their segments are the Chevrolet Silverado; Chevrolet Silverado HD; Chevrolet Sonic; and GMC Terrain.

• BMW models that rank highest in their segments are the BMW 2 Series; BMW 4 Series; BMW X6; and MINI Cooper.

Other models that rank highest in their respective segments are the Chrysler Pacifica; Ford Expedition; Ford Mustang; Infiniti QX80; Lexus GS; Mercedes-Benz GLA; Nissan Frontier; Porsche 911; Porsche Macan; and Toyota Camry.

Plant Quality Awards

Toyota Motor Corp.'s Kyushu 2 plant (Japan), which produces the Lexus ES and Lexus RX, receives the Platinum Plant Quality Award for producing models with the fewest defects or malfunctions. Plant quality awards are based solely on defects and malfunctions and exclude design-related problems. General Motors' Fort Wayne (Ind.) plant, which produces the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, receives the Gold Plant Quality Award for the Americas region, while Porsche's Leipzig plant, which produces the Porsche Cayenne and Macan, receives the Gold Plant Quality Award for the Europe/Africa region.

Historical Notes

• In 1987, when the IQS was first published, Mercedes-Benz ranked highest as a nameplate while the Toyota Cressida was the highest-ranked model.

• Domestic brands have scored better than imports in only three years (2010, 2016 and 2017).

• Mass market brands have scored better than premium brands in only three years (2006, 2016 and 2017).

• There have been four generations of the study (IQS1: 1987-1997; IQS2: 1998-2005; IQS3: 2006-2012; IQS4: 2013-present). The industry has shown significant improvement in each iteration, with the best IQS scores occurring in the most recent year for each generation.

The U.S. Initial Quality Study is based on responses from nearly 80,000 purchasers and lessees of new 2017 model-year vehicles who were surveyed after 90 days of ownership. The study is based on a 233-question battery organized into eight problem categories designed to provide manufacturers with information to facilitate the identification of problems and drive product improvement. The study was fielded from February through May 2017.