Buick LaCrosse vs Toyota Avalon: which is more reliable?
The Buick LaCrosse and the Toyota Avalon are level on the federal record — 80/100 against 79/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Buick LaCrosse
- 9 model years scored
- 711 owner complaints on record
- about 4 complaints per year on the road
- 31 recall campaigns, 16 safety-critical
- best year 2019 (90/100) · worst 2012 (43/100)
Toyota Avalon
- 9 model years scored
- 401 owner complaints on record
- about 4 complaints per year on the road
- 20 recall campaigns, 15 safety-critical
- best year 2022 (93/100) · worst 2019 (53/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: LaCrosse against Avalon
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 LaCrosse
- Electrical System — 188 complaints
- Engine — 118 complaints
- Suspension — 89 complaints
Toyota Avalon
- Electrical System — 63 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 56 complaints
- Forward Collision Avoidance — 41 complaints
Both nameplates have Electrical System as their largest complaint group, so the choice between them is about how often, not about what.
Years to avoid on each
Buick LaCrosse — avoid: 2012.
Toyota Avalon: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2011, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021….
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 LaCrosse prices at about $20,900 and a Toyota Avalon at about $25,300 — the Buick LaCrosse is roughly $4,400 less, and they return 24.0 against 25.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Buick LaCrosse or the Toyota Avalon more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Buick LaCrosse scores 80/100 against the Toyota Avalon's 79/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Buick LaCrosse and Toyota Avalon years should I avoid?
Buick LaCrosse: 2012. Toyota Avalon: 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 LaCrosse and the Toyota Avalon?
The largest complaint group on the Buick LaCrosse is Electrical System (188 complaints); on the Toyota Avalon it is Electrical System (63).
Is the Buick LaCrosse or the Toyota Avalon cheaper to own?
A recent used Buick LaCrosse prices at about $20,900 and a Toyota Avalon at about $25,300, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.