Chevrolet Blazer vs Jeep Grand Cherokee L: which is more reliable?

The Chevrolet Blazer is ahead of the Jeep Grand Cherokee L on the federal record, 83/100 against 74/100 — a real but narrow gap that a bad model year on either side closes.

The record, side by side

Chevrolet Blazer
Chevrolet Blazer · Wikimedia Commons

Chevrolet Blazer

83/100 mean
  • 7 model years scored
  • 690 owner complaints on record
  • about 23 complaints per year on the road
  • 11 recall campaigns, 2 safety-critical
  • best year 2022 (92/100) · worst 2020 (70/100)

Jeep Grand Cherokee L

74/100 mean
  • 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: Blazer 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.

YearBlazerGrand Cherokee L Gap
202582 BUY79 BUY+3
202486 BUY76 BUY+10
202390 BUY75 BUY+15
202292 BUY55 CAUTION+37
202181 BUY85 BUY-4
202070 BUY——
201981 BUY——

What owners actually complain about

Chevrolet Blazer

  • Electrical System — 204 complaints
  • Power Train — 181 complaints
  • Engine — 181 complaints

Jeep Grand Cherokee L

  • Electrical System — 151 complaints
  • Forward Collision Avoidance — 106 complaints
  • Unknown Or Other — 59 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

Chevrolet Blazer: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024….

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 Chevrolet Blazer prices at about $40,800 and a Jeep Grand Cherokee L at about $44,100 — the Chevrolet Blazer is roughly $3,300 less, and they return 24.0 against 21.0 MPG combined.

Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.

FAQ

Is the Chevrolet Blazer or the Jeep Grand Cherokee L more reliable?

On the NHTSA record the Chevrolet Blazer scores 83/100 against the Jeep Grand Cherokee L's 74/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.

Which Chevrolet Blazer and Jeep Grand Cherokee L years should I avoid?

Chevrolet Blazer: no year scores below 45. 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 Chevrolet Blazer and the Jeep Grand Cherokee L?

The largest complaint group on the Chevrolet Blazer is Electrical System (204 complaints); on the Jeep Grand Cherokee L it is Electrical System (151).

Is the Chevrolet Blazer or the Jeep Grand Cherokee L cheaper to own?

A recent used Chevrolet Blazer prices at about $40,800 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.

More head-to-heads