Honda Passport vs Toyota Venza: which is more reliable?
The Toyota Venza is clearly ahead of the Honda Passport on the federal record: 80/100 against 66/100 across every model year we score.
The record, side by side
Honda Passport
- 7 model years scored
- 653 owner complaints on record
- about 22 complaints per year on the road
- 37 recall campaigns, 17 safety-critical
- best year 2024 (88/100) · worst 2019 (30/100)
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: Passport 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
Honda Passport
- Electrical System — 168 complaints
- Forward Collision Avoidance — 166 complaints
- Engine — 121 complaints
Toyota Venza
- Air Bags — 38 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 36 complaints
- Service Brakes — 27 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Passport'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
Honda Passport — avoid: 2019.
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 Honda Passport prices at about $40,800 and a Toyota Venza at about $17,000 — the Toyota Venza is roughly $23,800 less, and they return 21.0 against 23.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Honda Passport or the Toyota Venza more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Toyota Venza scores 80/100 against the Honda Passport's 66/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Toyota Venza carries about 3 complaints per year on the road against 22 for the Honda Passport.
Which Honda Passport and Toyota Venza years should I avoid?
Honda Passport: 2019. 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 Honda Passport and the Toyota Venza?
The largest complaint group on the Honda Passport is Electrical System (168 complaints); on the Toyota Venza it is Air Bags (38).
Is the Honda Passport or the Toyota Venza cheaper to own?
A recent used Honda Passport 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.