Artificial intelligence is creeping into vehicles, and according to J.D. Power’s latest study, it’s helping drive customer satisfaction.

The J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Tech Experience Index Study, in its 10th year, has added a smart vehicle category to evaluate seven AI-based technologies designed to make driving easier and more comfortable.

The findings showed several of those smart technologies, including smart ignition, climate control and driver preferences, rank among the top 10 for both fewer problems experienced and high customer satisfaction.

“Smart technologies appear to not only anticipate the driver’s needs but also reduce the cognitive workload and some of the difficulties drivers face with digital systems,” J.D. Power senior director of user experience benchmarking and technology Kathleen Rizk said. “Ultimately, what matters most to vehicle owners — and therefore to automakers and suppliers — is how useful the technology is and whether it enhances the driving experience.

“While smart technologies are not without issues, they represent a meaningful step forward. Continued development will be essential to address current challenges and maximize their effectiveness.”

Among the highly ranked AI features are smart climate control systems that can automatically adjust a vehicle’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system to improve comfort and efficiency, and offers a workaround to address the increasing complexity of climate controls being migrated into the infotainment system, J.D. Power said.

Those systems have shown a notable improvement in user experience from last year, recording an average of 6.3 fewer problems per 100 vehicles (PP100), according to the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Initial Quality Study, leading to higher satisfaction scores in the company’s 2025 U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study.

Other features didn’t fare as well in the study, which is based on a survey of 76,230 owners of new 2025 model-year vehicles after 90 days of ownership, conducted from June 2024 through May 2025.

Car wash mode, tracked for the first time in the TXI study, is designed to automatically prepare a vehicle to go through a car wash, by closing the windows and disabling the windshield wipers, among other actions.

While that sounds good in theory, J.D. Power said, making it work proved confusing for drivers. It’s often buried in the infotainment system and difficult to find, the study found, causing delays and frustration for those in line at a car wash. As a result, 38% of car owners who have that feature said they need better instructions to use it, and 15% said the feature is too slow to perform its tasks before the wash.

On the other end of the spectrum, blind spot cameras have become a “must-have” technology, with 93% of respondents saying they use the blind spot camera most of the time and 74% saying they want it in their next vehicle. The study also noted vehicles with those cameras sell faster than those without it.

Between those extremes is the in-vehicle shopping and/or payment feature, which have had issues in the past with limited app offerings, complex interfaces and lengthy purchasing processes but is making a comeback, with 62% of owners expressing a desire for it.

Noting the feature’s most common uses are paying for charging, fuel, parking and tolls, Rizk said, “The next generation of in-vehicle shopping and payment systems has the potential to succeed if automakers focus on convenience purchases that directly enhance the vehicle experience, such as parking and fuel, and design access within the infotainment system to be simple and user-friendly.”

Indeed, car owners’ perception of their vehicle’s quality has shifted from broken components to issues with usability, mainly due to complex infotainment and advanced driver assistance systems. Currently, J.D. Power said, problems increasingly focus on technology that requires connectivity.

According to the TXI Study, the next evolution of vehicle quality problems owners are likely to face will be related to inconsistent performance of recognition and authentication technologies, which have the highest number of problems reported. That includes biometric authentication (29.2 PP100), touchless or hidden controls (19.6 PP100), and direct driver monitoring (19.4 PP100).

“As automakers navigate challenges with recognition technologies,” J.D. Power said, “the focus must remain on ensuring that advancements enhance, rather than hinder, the overall driving experience.”

Among vehicle brands, Genesis ranked No. 1 for innovation for the fifth consecutive year, scoring 538 on a 1,000-point scale to outpace Cadillac (526) and Lincoln (523). Hyundai (493) led among mass market brands for innovation for the sixth consecutive year, followed by Kia (474) and Mitsubishi (471).

The study analyzed 40 technologies for its Advanced Technology Awards in five categories: comfort and convenience, connected vehicle, driver assist, electric vehicle and smart vehicle, though the smart vehicle category was not award-eligible this year.

The Land Rover Defender earned the premium model comfort and convenience award for its advanced air purification system, with Toyota’s Land Cruiser and Sequoia tying for mass market honors for camera rear-view mirror technology.

The Genesis GV80 (premium) and Hyundai Santa Fe (mass market) took the awards in the connected vehicle category, both for a phone-based digital key.

The Santa Fe also captured the mass market driver assist award with its blind spot camera. GMC’s Hummer EV SUV topped the premium segment with an active lane change assist.

Kia’s EV9 topped mass market EVs for its one-pedal driving, while the premium segment among EVs was not award eligible this year.