More technology in a car doesn’t necessarily improve the driving experience, JD Power has found.
Tech features need to work and have a clear benefit for drivers to appreciate them. Many common features do neither, according to J.D. Power’s 2024 U.S. Technology Experience Index Study.
The study evaluated more than 81,000 drivers’ experiences with advanced vehicle technologies in 2024 model year vehicles after 90 days of ownership. Some advanced features received positive reviews, while other reviews were lackluster or negative, J.D. Power said.
“Many innovative technologies are responding to customer needs,” Kathleen Rizk, senior director of benchmarking and user experience technology at J.D. Power, said in a statement. “At the same time, this year’s study makes it clear that owners find some technologies to be of little use and/or continually annoying.”
Genesis received the highest rating for technology experience for the fourth year in a row with a score of 584 on a 1,000-point scale. Lexus and BMW followed. Consumers like the variety of advanced technology that the top three brands offer, Rizk told Automotive News.
Tesla, Rivian and Polestar were excluded from the rankings. JD Power only ranks brands that have vehicle registrations in 50 states. The company has registration data for Tesla, Rivian and Polestar for 35 states.
Although Tesla was excluded from the rankings, Tesla owners shared their experience with the technology in the J.D. Power survey. Tesla owners have been enthusiastic about vehicle technology in recent years and often overlook quality issues, Rizk said. But satisfaction scores for some technologies have dropped among Tesla owners this year.
Early EV adopters have accepted that the technology is evolving, Rizk said. Traditional consumers who are starting to buy EVs, including Tesla models, have less patience for technologies that don’t work as expected, she said.
The study also found that smart climate control and other AI-based technologies have become popular, while recognition technologies are less useful. These features include facial recognition to access the infotainment system, fingerprint readers to unlock the car and interior gesture controls to activate a function without touching a screen or button, such as moving your hands in a certain way to open or close the sunroof. The features often don’t work and don’t solve a problem, Rizk said.
“People need to remember what the exact gesture is for it to work,” Rizk said. Plus, “people talking with their hands can confuse the system.”
Gestures are designed to help drivers stay focused. But trying to remember a gesture can be more distracting than just tapping the infotainment screen, she said.
“We’re adding a lot of complexity,” Rizk said.
Some drivers said the recognition features failed four out of five times. Drivers “see that Apple or Android can make it work. Why would we bring it into the vehicle if it’s so hard to recognize my finger or my face?” she said.
Many of the drivers surveyed said they are indifferent to advanced driver-assistance systems. Features that address specific concerns, such as blind-spot monitors, are helpful, while other technologies are unnecessary, they said.
The hands-on-the-wheel version of active driver assistance, which generally keeps the car centered in its lane and uses adaptive cruise control to adjust speed, received the lowest score of all advanced driver assistance technologies because drivers find it not useful.
Drivers also said the hands-free version, such as General Motors’ Super Cruise or Ford’s BlueCruise, wasn’t helpful. That may be because the feature doesn’t address a known issue, J.D. Power said.
Drivers also don’t value passenger screens. They rated passenger screens as unnecessary for the front passenger seat. Only 10% of vehicles carry front-seat passengers daily, J.D. Power said. The second screen also adds complexity to the buying process because dealers have to teach new owners how to use multiple systems, the company said.