Honda Pilot vs Dodge Journey: which is more reliable?
The Dodge Journey is clearly ahead of the Honda Pilot on the federal record: 74/100 against 61/100 across every model year we score.
The record, side by side
Honda Pilot
- 15 model years scored
- 6,376 owner complaints on record
- about 76 complaints per year on the road
- 97 recall campaigns, 63 safety-critical
- best year 2014 (84/100) · worst 2019 (27/100)
Dodge Journey
- 10 model years scored
- 2,843 owner complaints on record
- about 28 complaints per year on the road
- 41 recall campaigns, 20 safety-critical
- best year 2020 (92/100) · worst 2015 (49/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Pilot against Journey
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 Pilot
- Engine — 2,060 complaints
- Electrical System — 1,690 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 996 complaints
Dodge Journey
- Electrical System — 711 complaints
- Engine — 633 complaints
- Service Brakes — 511 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Pilot's complaints concentrate in Engine, the Journey'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
Honda Pilot — avoid: 2016, 2019, 2021, 2025.
Dodge Journey — avoid: 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 Pilot prices at about $40,800 and a Dodge Journey at about $26,600 — the Dodge Journey is roughly $14,200 less, and they return 21.0 against 21.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Honda Pilot or the Dodge Journey more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Dodge Journey scores 74/100 against the Honda Pilot's 61/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Dodge Journey carries about 28 complaints per year on the road against 76 for the Honda Pilot.
Which Honda Pilot and Dodge Journey years should I avoid?
Honda Pilot: 2016, 2019, 2021, 2025. Dodge Journey: 2015. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Honda Pilot and the Dodge Journey?
The largest complaint group on the Honda Pilot is Engine (2,060 complaints); on the Dodge Journey it is Electrical System (711).
Is the Honda Pilot or the Dodge Journey cheaper to own?
A recent used Honda Pilot prices at about $40,800 and a Dodge Journey at about $26,600, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.