Some automakers apparently still haven’t absorbed the idea that people want to travel in their cars, not fiddle with computer screens.

Based on the experiences U.S. consumers are having with 2026 models, complicated vehicle features continue to draw low marks while those that add value with little effort win the drive.

Surveying nearly 70,000 people after 90 days of ownership, JD Power found unobtrusive features like “smart ignition” and cabin climate control, which operate by simple commands or automatically, satisfy consumers. But touchscreens that require layers of driver selections tend to frustrate.

The annual JD Power Tech Experience Index measured sentiment on 40 vehicle tech features.

“The technology customers value most is often the technology they barely notice because it simply works,” said JD Power Director of Customer Success Doron Hikry.

“For automakers, the opportunity is to prioritize technology that makes driving simpler, not more complicated.”

Smart ignition, which starts and turns off a car based on driver commands, got the highest marks and one of the lowest problem incidents of all features. Climate control and other “smart” driver details also scored high.

Meanwhile, more advanced safety features don’t always impress. For instance, the SAE Level 2+ driver-assistance systems, which allow for hands-free driving, score lower than the less advanced SAE Level 2 systems that require hands on the wheel and eyes on the road, JD Power reported.

“The results indicate that owners may currently be more comfortable with systems that clearly assist the driver rather than those that introduce a greater degree of automation,” Hikry said.

As has been the case in previous studies on vehicle tech, the touchscreens that have proliferated in cars, particularly in the luxury segment, present more problems than most other tech features and are even ignored by a large percentage of owners – 35% of respondents said they never use theirs.

Some auto brands are executing better than others when it comes to vehicle technology. Cadillac tops luxury marques with a score of 641 on a 1,000-point scale. It’s followed by Genesis at 559 and BMW at 524.

Among mass-market brands, Hyundai beat rivals for the seventh straight year with a score of 524. GMC and Kia tied for second at 470.     

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