Dodge Avenger vs Toyota Highlander Hybrid: which is more reliable?
The Dodge Avenger and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid are level on the federal record — 74/100 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
Dodge Avenger
- 4 model years scored
- 1,515 owner complaints on record
- about 30 complaints per year on the road
- 12 recall campaigns, 9 safety-critical
- best year 2014 (89/100) · worst 2013 (60/100)
Toyota Highlander Hybrid
- 9 model years scored
- 540 owner complaints on record
- about 7 complaints per year on the road
- 12 recall campaigns, 3 safety-critical
- best year 2018 (94/100) · worst 2017 (47/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Avenger against Highlander Hybrid
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
Dodge Avenger
- Air Bags — 367 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 341 complaints
- Engine — 286 complaints
Toyota Highlander Hybrid
- Unknown Or Other — 112 complaints
- Electrical System — 109 complaints
- Service Brakes — 71 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Avenger's complaints concentrate in Air Bags, the Highlander Hybrid's in Unknown Or Other. 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
Dodge Avenger: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2011, 2014.
Toyota Highlander Hybrid — avoid: 2017.
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 Dodge Avenger prices at about $15,400 and a Toyota Highlander Hybrid at about $31,700 — the Dodge Avenger is roughly $16,300 less, and they return 24.0 against 36.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Dodge Avenger or the Toyota Highlander Hybrid more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Dodge Avenger scores 74/100 against the Toyota Highlander Hybrid'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 Dodge Avenger and Toyota Highlander Hybrid years should I avoid?
Dodge Avenger: no year scores below 45. Toyota Highlander Hybrid: 2017. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Dodge Avenger and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid?
The largest complaint group on the Dodge Avenger is Air Bags (367 complaints); on the Toyota Highlander Hybrid it is Unknown Or Other (112).
Is the Dodge Avenger or the Toyota Highlander Hybrid cheaper to own?
A recent used Dodge Avenger prices at about $15,400 and a Toyota Highlander Hybrid at about $31,700, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.