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Toyota Highlander vs Honda Pilot

Which one, and which years, drew fewer problems per car sold

The short answer

Across the 2012 to 2022 model years, the Toyota Highlander drew fewer owner complaints per car sold: 144 per 100,000 against 418 for the Honda Pilot, or 66% fewer. The gap holds for the newer 2019 to 2022 cars too. The best years to target are 2016 and 2018 for the Highlander and 2015 and 2022 for the Pilot.

2020 Toyota Highlander XLE AWD, front

Toyota Highlander

Complaints per 100k sold144
Recalls since 201233
Average crash rating4.8 of 5
'12'13'14'15'16'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Best2016, 2018
Avoid2019, 2021
2019 Honda Pilot EX-L 3.5L front 1.5.19

Honda Pilot

Complaints per 100k sold418
Recalls since 201239
Average crash rating4.7 of 5
'12'13'14'15'16'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Best2015, 2022
Avoid2016, 2017, 2019

By age group

Model yearsHighlanderPilotFewer problems
Older (2012 to 2015)133138About even
Middle (2016 to 2018)103763Highlander
Newer (2019 to 2022)178409Highlander

Owner complaints per 100,000 cars sold, pooled across the years in each group. Lower is better. A model counts as ahead only when it is at least 10% lower.

Year by year

YearHighlanderPilot
2012158150
2013166216
201494107
201512480
2016611,430
2017127739
2018115277
2019215687
2020156399
2021208317
2022122176
2023Too newToo new
2024Too newToo new

Complaints per 100,000 sold for each model year. Green is a good year for that model, amber average, red a year to watch out for.

Most reported problems

Questions

Is the Highlander or Pilot more reliable?

Across the 2012 to 2022 model years, the Toyota Highlander drew fewer owner complaints per car sold: 144 per 100,000 against 418 for the Honda Pilot, or 66% fewer. The gap holds for the newer 2019 to 2022 cars too. The best years to target are 2016 and 2018 for the Highlander and 2015 and 2022 for the Pilot.

Which Highlander and Pilot years should I avoid?

For the Highlander: 2019, 2021. For the Pilot: 2016, 2017, 2019.

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