Chevrolet Blazer vs Toyota Venza: which is more reliable?
The Chevrolet Blazer and the Toyota Venza are level on the federal record — 83/100 against 80/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Chevrolet Blazer
- 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)
Toyota Venza
- 5 model years scored
- 201 owner complaints on record
- about 3 complaints per year on the road
- 16 recall campaigns, 11 safety-critical
- best year 2015 (87/100) · worst 2013 (66/100)
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 Venza
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
Chevrolet Blazer
- Electrical System — 204 complaints
- Power Train — 181 complaints
- Engine — 181 complaints
Toyota Venza
- Air Bags — 38 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 36 complaints
- Service Brakes — 27 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Blazer's complaints concentrate in Electrical System, the Venza's in Air Bags. 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
Chevrolet Blazer: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024….
Toyota Venza: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2012, 2014, 2015.
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 Toyota Venza at about $17,000 — the Toyota Venza is roughly $23,800 less, and they return 24.0 against 23.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Chevrolet Blazer or the Toyota Venza more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Chevrolet Blazer scores 83/100 against the Toyota Venza's 80/100, 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 Toyota Venza years should I avoid?
Chevrolet Blazer: no year scores below 45. Toyota Venza: 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 Toyota Venza?
The largest complaint group on the Chevrolet Blazer is Electrical System (204 complaints); on the Toyota Venza it is Air Bags (38).
Is the Chevrolet Blazer or the Toyota Venza cheaper to own?
A recent used Chevrolet Blazer prices at about $40,800 and a Toyota Venza at about $17,000, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.