WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — It takes less than a year for the shine to come off of a new truck, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 U.S. Heavy-Duty Truck Customer Satisfaction Study.

Satisfaction among Class 8 truck owners peaks in the first nine months of ownership, then drops considerably, states the survey.

Satisfaction levels are highest during the first nine months of usage, and between months 10 and 14, satisfaction slips by an average of 20 points. And after 14 months, owner satisfaction decreases by another 25 points.

"Many of the quality issues with heavy-duty trucks begin to appear after the 50,000-mile mark, which typically occurs around nine months of ownership, and more problems equate to lower satisfaction," said Todd Markusic, senior director of the commercial vehicle practice at J.D. Power and Associates. "Unfortunately, the change in quality can be fairly dramatic, given the number of problems truck owners experience increases by roughly 70 percent on average after 50,000 miles."

The number of problems experienced by owners of 1-model-year-old trucks in 2010 averages 233 problems per 100 (PP100), compared to 249 PP100 in 2009 among owners of 2-model-year-old trucks.

"However, 2009 was a tough year for the commercial truck industry," says Markusic, "and many of the resulting layoffs and sporadic plant shutdowns likely had some impact on overall quality in the industry."

The average number of days to complete a repair has improved from 2.3 days in 2009 to 2.0 days in 2010. "Getting a truck back on the road nearly a half day earlier may save the truck owner thousands of dollars in potential lost revenue and greatly improve overall service satisfaction," said Markusic.