Honda Pilot vs Volkswagen Tiguan: which is more reliable?
The Volkswagen Tiguan 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)
Volkswagen Tiguan
- 15 model years scored
- 1,977 owner complaints on record
- about 25 complaints per year on the road
- 58 recall campaigns, 24 safety-critical
- best year 2016 (89/100) · worst 2022 (40/100)
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 Tiguan
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 | Pilot | Tiguan | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 34 AVOID | 56 CAUTION | -22 |
| 2024 | 68 CAUTION | 72 BUY | -4 |
| 2023 | 73 BUY | 83 BUY | -10 |
| 2022 | 79 BUY | 40 AVOID | +39 |
| 2021 | 48 AVOID | 73 BUY | -25 |
| 2020 | 51 CAUTION | 78 BUY | -27 |
| 2019 | 27 AVOID | 72 BUY | -45 |
| 2018 | 71 BUY | 48 AVOID | +23 |
| 2017 | 51 CAUTION | 86 BUY | -35 |
| 2016 | 46 AVOID | 89 BUY | -43 |
| 2015 | 81 BUY | 87 BUY | -6 |
| 2014 | 84 BUY | 87 BUY | -3 |
| 2013 | 75 BUY | 86 BUY | -11 |
| 2012 | 75 BUY | 86 BUY | -11 |
| 2011 | 73 BUY | 84 BUY | -11 |
What owners actually complain about
Honda Pilot
- Engine — 2,060 complaints
- Electrical System — 1,690 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 996 complaints
Volkswagen Tiguan
- Engine — 548 complaints
- Electrical System — 457 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 364 complaints
Both nameplates have Engine as their largest complaint group, so the choice between them is about how often, not about what.
Years to avoid on each
Honda Pilot — avoid: 2016, 2019, 2021, 2025.
Volkswagen Tiguan — avoid: 2018, 2022.
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 Volkswagen Tiguan at about $30,400 — the Volkswagen Tiguan is roughly $10,400 less, and they return 21.0 against 28.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Honda Pilot or the Volkswagen Tiguan more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Volkswagen Tiguan scores 74/100 against the Honda Pilot's 61/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Volkswagen Tiguan carries about 25 complaints per year on the road against 76 for the Honda Pilot.
Which Honda Pilot and Volkswagen Tiguan years should I avoid?
Honda Pilot: 2016, 2019, 2021, 2025. Volkswagen Tiguan: 2018, 2022. 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 Volkswagen Tiguan?
The largest complaint group on the Honda Pilot is Engine (2,060 complaints); on the Volkswagen Tiguan it is Engine (548).
Is the Honda Pilot or the Volkswagen Tiguan cheaper to own?
A recent used Honda Pilot prices at about $40,800 and a Volkswagen Tiguan at about $30,400, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.