DETROIT — Automakers, eager to meet customers’ demands for new technology, have been racing to add gadgets to their dashboards, from backup cameras to touch- screen climate controls.
But an influential survey suggests they need to slow down because the technology is taking a toll on quality.
Drivers reported more problems with their all-new or redesigned 2011 models than they did the year before, according to J.D. Power and Associates’ annual survey of new-vehicle quality, released Thursday. Complaints about audio, entertainment and navigation systems got the bulk of the blame and are up 28 percent since 2009.
The survey questioned 78,000 people about problems they had with 2011-model- year vehicles in the first 90 days of ownership. Owners reported an average of 107 problems per 100 vehicles. That jumped to 122 problems for cars that were new or redesigned for 2011, up 10 percent from 2010-model-year cars and trucks.
