Consumer Reports pulls its Tesla Model 3 recommendation

Tesla CEO Elon Musk isn't going to like this. Consumer Reports announced Thursday that it is no longer recommending the Tesla Model 3 all-electric sedan.

This comes less than a year after it earned the coveted "Recommended" label from the review organization. Last May, within a week, CR went from saying it couldn't recommend the vehicle to giving it a full recommendation after Tesla improved the car's brakes.

The decision is based on results from CR's Annual Auto Reliability Survey. It found, after a survey of 500,000 vehicle owners, that the car was one of several that showed "declining reliability."

According to CR, the main problems with the Model 3 were loose body trim and glass defects.

The Model 3 still has the highest safety ratings from NHTSA and owners are very pleased with their vehicles, but CR still knocked Tesla for reliability issues. It's just one element used to calculate an overall score, which takes into account performance in road tests, government crash tests, warning and crash prevention systems and capabilities, and reliability and satisfaction ratings from the Auto Survey.

Three new vehicles earned a recommendation because of improved reliability (BMW X3, Genesis G90, and Lincoln Nautilus), while a few other vehicles lost the label: the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, Acura RDX, BMW 5 Series, and Volkswagen Tiguan. At least Tesla's not alone.

UPDATE: Feb. 21, 2019, 10:47 a.m. PST A Tesla spokesperson noted that the Model 3 was rated as the most satisfying car by CR just a few weeks ago. Tesla vehicles have been in the top of Consumer Reports' Owner Satisfaction survey every year since 2013.

Tesla says it takes customer feedback seriously and has implemented changes to issues with the Model 3.

"This new data from Consumer Reports comes from their annual Owner Satisfaction survey, which runs from July through September, so the vast majority of these issues have already been corrected through design and manufacturing improvements, and we are already seeing a significant improvement in our field data," a spokesperson said in a statement.

The spokesperson said Tesla asked CR for more details about the customer issues, but didn't receive any further specifics.

FCA also released a statement about its Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger after the CR announcement stripped both vehicles of a recommended title.

"The quality and reliability of our vehicles is of the utmost importance to all of us here at FCA US. We address all issues we see in our quality indicators, and the issues referenced by Consumer Reports have already been identified and resolved. The 2019 Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger represents the best iteration of the vehicles ever," a FCA spokesperson said. "With the improvements we’ve made, we’re confident 300 and Charger will both regain their recommended status in the future.”