Chevrolet Equinox vs Toyota RAV4: which is more reliable?
The Chevrolet Equinox is clearly ahead of the Toyota RAV4 on the federal record: 76/100 against 65/100 across every model year we score.
The record, side by side
Chevrolet Equinox
- 15 model years scored
- 5,754 owner complaints on record
- about 56 complaints per year on the road
- 38 recall campaigns, 15 safety-critical
- best year 2017 (90/100) · worst 2025 (46/100)
Toyota RAV4
- 14 model years scored
- 4,499 owner complaints on record
- about 58 complaints per year on the road
- 58 recall campaigns, 26 safety-critical
- best year 2013 (88/100) · worst 2020 (32/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Equinox against RAV4
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.
| Year | Equinox | RAV4 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 46 AVOID | 52 CAUTION | -6 |
| 2024 | 85 BUY | 46 AVOID | +39 |
| 2023 | 84 BUY | 69 CAUTION | +15 |
| 2022 | 78 BUY | — | — |
| 2021 | 84 BUY | 53 CAUTION | +31 |
| 2020 | 72 BUY | 32 AVOID | +40 |
| 2019 | 76 BUY | 35 AVOID | +41 |
| 2018 | 71 BUY | 76 BUY | -5 |
| 2017 | 90 BUY | 81 BUY | +9 |
| 2016 | 85 BUY | 84 BUY | +1 |
| 2015 | 69 CAUTION | 82 BUY | -13 |
| 2014 | 82 BUY | 84 BUY | -2 |
| 2013 | 71 BUY | 88 BUY | -17 |
| 2012 | 76 BUY | 81 BUY | -5 |
| 2011 | 72 BUY | 75 BUY | -3 |
What owners actually complain about
Chevrolet Equinox
- Engine — 2,316 complaints
- Visibility/Wiper — 891 complaints
- Power Train — 668 complaints
Toyota RAV4
- Electrical System — 907 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 814 complaints
- Engine — 718 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Equinox's complaints concentrate in Engine, the RAV4'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
Chevrolet Equinox — avoid: 2025.
Toyota RAV4 — avoid: 2019, 2020, 2024.
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 Equinox prices at about $30,500 and a Toyota RAV4 at about $30,500 — they price within $1 of each other, which at this level is the same money, and they return 26.0 against 30.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Chevrolet Equinox or the Toyota RAV4 more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Chevrolet Equinox scores 76/100 against the Toyota RAV4's 65/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Chevrolet Equinox carries about 56 complaints per year on the road against 58 for the Toyota RAV4.
Which Chevrolet Equinox and Toyota RAV4 years should I avoid?
Chevrolet Equinox: 2025. Toyota RAV4: 2019, 2020, 2024. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Chevrolet Equinox and the Toyota RAV4?
The largest complaint group on the Chevrolet Equinox is Engine (2,316 complaints); on the Toyota RAV4 it is Electrical System (907).
Is the Chevrolet Equinox or the Toyota RAV4 cheaper to own?
A recent used Chevrolet Equinox prices at about $30,500 and a Toyota RAV4 at about $30,500, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.