If you are thinking about purchasing a Tesla Model Y, you might want to think again. It scored dead last among 110 vehicles in a new report on reliability.

Not only did the Tesla Model Y have the highest defect rate, but it also had the highest defect value in its age group over the past 10 years, according to Germany’s 2026 TÜV Report.

For the 2026 report, the TÜV – Germany’s independent vehicle inspection authority – looked at around 9.5 million car inspections. Those inspections showed the Tesla Model Y had a serious defect rate of 17.3% – the highest among two- to three-year-old cars.

If you still want a Tesla but are considering the Model 3, hold on a second. The Tesla Model 3 had a defect rate of 13.1 percent. That puts it just two spots ahead of the Model Y. Only the Ford Mondeo at 14.3% kept Tesla from a clean sweep of the bottom two spots.

Which vehicles scored the best in the 2026 TÜV report?

For two- to three-year-old vehicles, the Mazda 2 was the most reliable car tested. Only 2.9 percent of them showed significant defects.

For three- to four-year-old vehicles, the Volkswagen Golf Sportsvan and Volkswagen T-Roc scored the best in reliability. The T-Roc also scored the best for five- to six-year-old vehicles.

When it comes to the best in class for two- to three-year-old vehicles, the Fiat 500e topped all minis. The BMW 1er was best in the compact class. The Mercedes C-Class scored best for mid-range vehicles, and the Mercedes B-Class was tops in vans.

As far as “long-term quality” (vehicles that have the lowest average defect rate in safety-relevant defects between the ages of ten and eleven), Mercedes, Audi, and Toyota ranked one through three.