Hyundai Santa Fe vs Nissan Murano: which is more reliable?
The Nissan Murano is clearly ahead of the Hyundai Santa Fe on the federal record: 79/100 against 67/100 across every model year we score.
The record, side by side
Hyundai Santa Fe
- 11 model years scored
- 3,748 owner complaints on record
- about 62 complaints per year on the road
- 39 recall campaigns, 18 safety-critical
- best year 2012 (90/100) · worst 2025 (35/100)
Nissan Murano
- 15 model years scored
- 1,074 owner complaints on record
- about 8 complaints per year on the road
- 24 recall campaigns, 18 safety-critical
- best year 2021 (94/100) · worst 2015 (37/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Santa Fe against Murano
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 | Santa Fe | Murano | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 35 AVOID | 64 CAUTION | -29 |
| 2024 | 56 CAUTION | 91 BUY | -35 |
| 2023 | 70 BUY | 92 BUY | -22 |
| 2022 | 74 BUY | 93 BUY | -19 |
| 2021 | — | 94 BUY | — |
| 2020 | — | 83 BUY | — |
| 2019 | — | 89 BUY | — |
| 2018 | — | 92 BUY | — |
| 2017 | 36 AVOID | 65 CAUTION | -29 |
| 2016 | 84 BUY | 63 CAUTION | +21 |
| 2015 | 87 BUY | 37 AVOID | +50 |
| 2014 | 81 BUY | 70 BUY | +11 |
| 2013 | 78 BUY | 89 BUY | -11 |
| 2012 | 90 BUY | 80 BUY | +10 |
| 2011 | 86 BUY | 80 BUY | +6 |
What owners actually complain about
Hyundai Santa Fe
- Engine — 1,901 complaints
- Power Train — 493 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 407 complaints
Nissan Murano
- Unknown Or Other — 214 complaints
- Power Train — 201 complaints
- Service Brakes — 124 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Santa Fe's complaints concentrate in Engine, the Murano'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
Hyundai Santa Fe — avoid: 2017, 2025.
Nissan Murano — 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 Hyundai Santa Fe prices at about $40,800 and a Nissan Murano at about $40,800 — they price within $1 of each other, which at this level is the same money, and they return 23.0 against 23.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Hyundai Santa Fe or the Nissan Murano more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Nissan Murano scores 79/100 against the Hyundai Santa Fe's 67/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Nissan Murano carries about 8 complaints per year on the road against 62 for the Hyundai Santa Fe.
Which Hyundai Santa Fe and Nissan Murano years should I avoid?
Hyundai Santa Fe: 2017, 2025. Nissan Murano: 2015. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Hyundai Santa Fe and the Nissan Murano?
The largest complaint group on the Hyundai Santa Fe is Engine (1,901 complaints); on the Nissan Murano it is Unknown Or Other (214).
Is the Hyundai Santa Fe or the Nissan Murano cheaper to own?
A recent used Hyundai Santa Fe prices at about $40,800 and a Nissan Murano at about $40,800, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.