JD Power is known for carrying out a series of satisfaction studies, focused on various topics. The most recent study aims to rate infotainment systems based on customers’ satisfaction. Among the winners was the BMW 4 Series Coupe which managed to raise to the number one spot in its respective segment, beating offers from its rivals, like the Audi A5 or Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
Mind you, this was a customer satisfaction survey, not an independent measuring of the way each system works and their flaws. Therefore, what JD Power did was to simply ask 110,827 owners of 2021 model year cars how satisfied they were with their on-board infotainment systems. At the end of the day, the BMW 4 Series Coupe managed to be the most appreciated model in the small/compact premium segment.
As for the biggest issues people reported and the main complaints, the answer was rather unanimous. Most customers complained about screen mirroring tech, both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. While surprising at first, this actually makes sense. That’s because most of us rely on Android Auto and Apple CarPlay on a daily basis and use them almost exclusively, leaving the on-board systems behind. Therefore, most issues will be noticed on this side of the software.
“Smartphone mirroring has shown to be a source of problems for several years now but has become more problematic this year with the growing ability to wirelessly connect the feature on a number of vehicles,” Brent Gruber, senior director of global automotive quality at J.D. Power, comments.
“Fortunately, the top tech companies and automakers have the ability to generate demand for new or upgraded technologies while troubleshooting current issues as the rollout continues,” he added. For the complete results, check out the JD Power website.
