Ford Fusion Hybrid vs Honda Accord Hybrid: which is more reliable?

The Ford Fusion Hybrid is clearly ahead of the Honda Accord Hybrid on the federal record: 88/100 against 67/100 across every model year we score.

The record, side by side

Ford Fusion Hybrid
Ford Fusion Hybrid · Wikimedia Commons

Ford Fusion Hybrid

88/100 mean
  • 5 model years scored
  • 7,287 owner complaints on record
  • about 48 complaints per year on the road
  • 4 recall campaigns, 3 safety-critical
  • best year 2014 (90/100) · worst 2011 (80/100)

Honda Accord Hybrid

67/100 mean
  • 11 model years scored
  • 2,629 owner complaints on record
  • about 33 complaints per year on the road
  • 34 recall campaigns, 25 safety-critical
  • best year 2017 (89/100) · worst 2019 (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: Fusion Hybrid against Accord 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.

YearFusion HybridAccord Hybrid Gap
2025—81 BUY—
2024—61 CAUTION—
2023—47 AVOID—
2022—88 BUY—
2021—84 BUY—
2020—79 BUY—
2019—32 AVOID—
2018—80 BUY—
2017—89 BUY—
201589 BUY46 AVOID+43
201490 BUY46 AVOID+44
201384 BUY——
201281 BUY——
201180 BUY——

What owners actually complain about

Ford Fusion Hybrid

  • Steering — 3,298 complaints
  • Air Bags — 798 complaints
  • Power Train — 743 complaints

Honda Accord Hybrid

  • Electrical System — 828 complaints
  • Engine — 479 complaints
  • Unknown Or Other — 351 complaints

They do not fail the same way: the Fusion Hybrid's complaints concentrate in Steering, the Accord Hybrid'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

Ford Fusion Hybrid: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015.

Honda Accord Hybrid — avoid: 2014, 2015, 2019, 2023.

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 Ford Fusion Hybrid prices at about $11,700 and a Honda Accord Hybrid at about $28,100 — the Ford Fusion Hybrid is roughly $16,400 less, and they return 41.0 against 48.0 MPG combined.

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

FAQ

Is the Ford Fusion Hybrid or the Honda Accord Hybrid more reliable?

On the NHTSA record the Ford Fusion Hybrid scores 88/100 against the Honda Accord Hybrid's 67/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Ford Fusion Hybrid carries about 48 complaints per year on the road against 33 for the Honda Accord Hybrid.

Which Ford Fusion Hybrid and Honda Accord Hybrid years should I avoid?

Ford Fusion Hybrid: no year scores below 45. Honda Accord Hybrid: 2014, 2015, 2019, 2023. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.

What goes wrong on the Ford Fusion Hybrid and the Honda Accord Hybrid?

The largest complaint group on the Ford Fusion Hybrid is Steering (3,298 complaints); on the Honda Accord Hybrid it is Electrical System (828).

Is the Ford Fusion Hybrid or the Honda Accord Hybrid cheaper to own?

A recent used Ford Fusion Hybrid prices at about $11,700 and a Honda Accord Hybrid at about $28,100, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.

More head-to-heads