After a house, the car is usually the biggest purchase of anyone’s life, so you’re always hoping you get the right one. That statement rings even more true when you spend a premium on a luxury brand thanks to more features or performance. The problem is – according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) – owners are becoming less satisfied with their luxury car purchases year over year, and mainstream brands like Toyota are reaping the rewards.
Much of this issue stems from the amount of software running in new cars, but that’s not all. With car prices rising, we’re becoming more sensitive to when things go wrong, and there’s one American brand that’s fallen in reputation more than any other luxury brand. It might not be the one you expect, either.
Why Luxury Car Buyers Are Getting Less for More – And Choosing Longer Loans To Cope
2026 Lexus ES 500e Electric SedanLexus
It’s no secret that cars have been getting increasingly expensive recently, with the average new car price hitting $50,000 for the first time earlier this year. Automakers have to stick so much technology in their cars and develop new ways to comply with emissions that they’re simply becoming more expensive to buy, and it extends to premium brands too. The democratization of technology and features that were usually associated with luxury doesn’t help, either.
The American Customer Satisfaction Index released its annual report on vehicle ownership experiences, and it shows a downward trend for both mass-market and luxury automobile value perception. Premium vehicle buyers are becoming more price-sensitive, with the perceived value of their cars dropping by 3% since last year. The overall luxury market satisfaction score declined by three points to 78/100 in the study, which is currently tied with the mass market satisfaction figure.
With prices growing, many customers are opting for longer credit periods, often stretching to 84 months. This can be long past the vehicle’s warranty period, which means higher service bills and lower satisfaction during ownership. But rising prices alone don’t explain why luxury complaint rates nearly tripled in a single year – the real culprit is something hiding in your dashboard.
Luxury Complaint Rates Nearly Tripled In One Year – And Dealers Can’t Keep Up
2027 Lincoln NautilusLincoln
Drivers are accustomed to their cars feeling more like computers than vehicles nowadays, but premium automakers are paying the price for slow and unresponsive software with lower satisfaction scores. The ACSI breaks down certain aspects of the car into sections for owners to rate, and almost every technology-based feature has received a slightly lower score in 2026. This includes the quality of a vehicle’s mobile app (down two points), the manufacturer’s website (down two points), and even the vehicle safety, which includes active safety like warning systems (down one point).
With this lower score for almost every aspect of the vehicle, luxury complaint rates have jumped from 14% in 2025 to 32% in 2026. While mass-market complaints have also risen, this is only by 2% to a total of 20%, and satisfaction rates have remained nearly the same for this segment.
Many modern manufacturers rely on recalls to fix customers’ cars from glitchy software, but dealers are usually struggling to keep up, and when bugs come outside the warranty period, they can be expensive to fix.
But the aggregate numbers mask a dramatic split – one legacy American brand fell harder than anyone, while a German rival somehow climbed to the top of the satisfaction rankings. The gap between them tells the real story.
Cadillac’s 15-Point Collapse – And The Brand That Rose When Everyone Else Fell
Cadillac Shows Sales Don’t Mean Satisfaction
2026 Cadillac Vistiq front 3/4 angle in silverCadillac
Cadillac is in an unusual position right now. In 2025, it had its best sales year since 2007, even though sales decreased by 17% in the final quarter of that year. The luxury GM brand is currently rewriting its entire portfolio with the discontinuation of the XT4, XT6, and performance sedans like the CT5-V Blackwing later this year. The current administration’s decision to remove the tax credit has also hurt sales, with the ACSI reporting a 43% fall in EV sales from Cadillac when the change was announced.
The Lyriq, Cadillac’s electric luxury SUV, has been a problem for the brand thanks to major recalls to fix intermittent speedometers and rearview cameras. Lyriq sales dropped by half in the final quarter of 2025. Despite the sales numbers though, satisfaction has dropped by 15% this year, which is the most of any luxury brand in the study. It now sits at 69/100, the lowest figure of any upmarket marque.
Audi Made The Steepest Climb Of Any Brand – Here’s Why Its Software Strategy Worked
2027 Mercedes-Benz GLEMercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz has had a relatively stable ACSI score for 2026, dropping by only 1 point to 81/100 and keeping them at the top of the premium market. The German brand has been quick to adopt large screens in its cars, and it may seem surprising that this keeps the brand at the top given the volume of software complaints, but owners appear to have no issue with their systems.
The highest rising manufacturer has been Audi, up four points to 80/100 this year. It ranks second overall in terms of satisfaction behind Mercedes-Benz, and is the only brand to have risen so sharply. BMW is the only other premium marque to rise this year, although it only gained one point and stays mid-table behind a flailing Tesla. Every other marque, except Infiniti (73/100) and Lincoln (76/100), which did not receive scores in 2025, has received lower scores in 2026 than in 2025.
How Lexus Lost Its Crown – Record Sales May Have Brought The Wrong Buyers
2027 Lexus RX 500h F SPORT Performance front viewLexus
Last year’s top scorer, Lexus, had the biggest points drop behind Cadillac this year to 78, which actually matches Tesla. The company was praised for knowing exactly what its customers wanted in 2025, and this helped it achieve record first-quarter sales, but the slight 4% decline in hybrid luxury vehicles in 2026 may have contributed to its decline. The Japanese marque’s hybrid sales make up over a third of total vehicles moved, so any changes here make a massive difference.
The 7.1% increase in sales to 370,260 vehicles in 2025 may have also been a contributing factor. Growth that includes buyers with different expectations than long-standing Lexus enthusiasts may mean the brand has not appealed to everyone. Other luxury brands that have fallen in score include Tesla (down to 78/100, which is the second year running the company has dropped points), and Acura (down four points to 75/100).
Toyota Now Outscores Its Own Luxury Brand – And Buick Just Had The Worst Year Of Anyone
2026 Toyota RAV4 HEV WoodlandToyota
There used to be a dramatic difference between mass-market and luxury brands, but in 2026, that gap is narrowing, especially with the top trims of popular cars featuring the same creature comforts as their luxury counterparts. Toyota now actually sits above its luxury Lexus sibling at a score of 83/100, which is a single point higher than 2025. Many companies rushed their EV transition and suffered major software issues, while Toyota’s swift hybrid focus may have helped them dodge those bullets.
The ACSI also notes that while other brands have abandoned sedans, Toyota and Honda (which is in third place with 80/100) still make affordable cars that lower the entry point into their brands. Affordability is critically important for buyers in 2026, so this may have increased their overall appeal. Lower-priced cars with less technology may have also helped decrease the complaints compared with luxury brands that pile tech into every corner of the vehicle. Many mainstream automakers also offer warranties that match the monthly installment duration.
The closest brand to luxury in the mass-market category, Buick, was the worst hit out of every brand tested this year. The GM brand fell 16 points to 68/100 due to increased pricing driven by tariffs (many of the brand’s vehicles are built in China) and a lack of electrified options. With satisfaction declining for almost every premium brand and mainstream cars becoming better built with more features, it is reasonable to conclude that luxury brands need to offer something more to prevent consumers from trading down to mass-market options.
Sources: American Customer Satisfaction Index
