Buick Enclave vs Jeep Grand Cherokee L: which is more reliable?
The Buick Enclave and the Jeep Grand Cherokee L are level on the federal record — 73/100 against 74/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Buick Enclave
- 15 model years scored
- 1,457 owner complaints on record
- about 12 complaints per year on the road
- 45 recall campaigns, 32 safety-critical
- best year 2019 (92/100) · worst 2014 (30/100)
Jeep Grand Cherokee L
- 5 model years scored
- 450 owner complaints on record
- about 30 complaints per year on the road
- 19 recall campaigns, 10 safety-critical
- best year 2021 (85/100) · worst 2022 (55/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Enclave against Grand Cherokee L
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Buick Enclave
- Air Bags — 634 complaints
- Engine — 164 complaints
- Electrical System — 157 complaints
Jeep Grand Cherokee L
- Electrical System — 151 complaints
- Forward Collision Avoidance — 106 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 59 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Enclave's complaints concentrate in Air Bags, the Grand Cherokee L's in Electrical System. That difference matters more to a buyer than the score gap, because it says which repair bill you are taking on.
Years to avoid on each
Buick Enclave — avoid: 2014, 2025.
Jeep Grand Cherokee L: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Buick Enclave prices at about $44,100 and a Jeep Grand Cherokee L at about $44,100 — they price within $1 of each other, which at this level is the same money, and they return 21.0 against 21.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Buick Enclave or the Jeep Grand Cherokee L more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Jeep Grand Cherokee L scores 74/100 against the Buick Enclave's 73/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Buick Enclave and Jeep Grand Cherokee L years should I avoid?
Buick Enclave: 2014, 2025. Jeep Grand Cherokee L: no year scores below 45. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Buick Enclave and the Jeep Grand Cherokee L?
The largest complaint group on the Buick Enclave is Air Bags (634 complaints); on the Jeep Grand Cherokee L it is Electrical System (151).
Is the Buick Enclave or the Jeep Grand Cherokee L cheaper to own?
A recent used Buick Enclave prices at about $44,100 and a Jeep Grand Cherokee L at about $44,100, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.