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Chevrolet Suburban vs Ford Expedition

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

The short answer

Across the 2012 to 2022 model years, the Chevrolet Suburban drew fewer owner complaints per car sold: 283 per 100,000 against 427 for the Ford Expedition, or 34% fewer. The gap holds for the newer 2019 to 2022 cars too. The best years to target are 2018 and 2020 for the Suburban and 2014 and 2023 for the Expedition.

2015 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 LTZ, front 4.18.19

Chevrolet Suburban

Complaints per 100k sold283
Recalls since 201216
Average crash rating4 of 5
'12'13'14'15'16'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Best2018, 2020
Avoid2015, 2021
2018 Ford Expedition XLT, front 8.25.19

Ford Expedition

Complaints per 100k sold427
Recalls since 201249
Average crash rating4.8 of 5
'12'13'14'15'16'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Best2014, 2023
Avoid2017, 2018

By age group

Model yearsSuburbanExpeditionFewer problems
Older (2012 to 2015)346275Expedition
Middle (2016 to 2018)252576Suburban
Newer (2019 to 2022)243427Suburban

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

YearSuburbanExpedition
2012210310
2013230240
2014107161
2015849396
2016366363
2017251692
2018139701
2019152611
2020117552
2021431295
2022249189
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 Suburban or Expedition more reliable?

Across the 2012 to 2022 model years, the Chevrolet Suburban drew fewer owner complaints per car sold: 283 per 100,000 against 427 for the Ford Expedition, or 34% fewer. The gap holds for the newer 2019 to 2022 cars too. The best years to target are 2018 and 2020 for the Suburban and 2014 and 2023 for the Expedition.

Which Suburban and Expedition years should I avoid?

For the Suburban: 2015, 2021. For the Expedition: 2017, 2018.

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