Compare › Murano vs Highlander

Nissan Murano vs Toyota Highlander

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

The short answer

Across the 2012 to 2022 model years the two are close, at 138 and 144 owner complaints per 100,000 sold. For newer cars the picture flips: from 2019 to 2022 the Nissan Murano has the cleaner record. The best years to target are 2018 and 2019 for the Murano and 2016 and 2018 for the Highlander.

2015 Nissan Murano SV AWD, front left (cropped)

Nissan Murano

Complaints per 100k sold138
Recalls since 201213
Average crash rating4.7 of 5
'12'13'14'15'16'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Best2018, 2019
Avoid2014, 2015
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

By age group

Model yearsMuranoHighlanderFewer problems
Older (2012 to 2015)271133Highlander
Middle (2016 to 2018)94103About even
Newer (2019 to 2022)57178Murano

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

YearMuranoHighlander
2012261158
2013166166
201430794
2015326124
201612561
2017139127
201819115
201964215
202082156
202137208
202220122
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 Murano or Highlander more reliable?

Across the 2012 to 2022 model years the two are close, at 138 and 144 owner complaints per 100,000 sold. For newer cars the picture flips: from 2019 to 2022 the Nissan Murano has the cleaner record. The best years to target are 2018 and 2019 for the Murano and 2016 and 2018 for the Highlander.

Which Murano and Highlander years should I avoid?

For the Murano: 2014, 2015. For the Highlander: 2019, 2021.

More comparisons