Hyundai Santa Fe vs Nissan Pathfinder: which is more reliable?
The Nissan Pathfinder is ahead of the Hyundai Santa Fe on the federal record, 71/100 against 67/100 — a real but narrow gap that a bad model year on either side closes.
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 Pathfinder
- 14 model years scored
- 2,708 owner complaints on record
- about 30 complaints per year on the road
- 49 recall campaigns, 30 safety-critical
- best year 2012 (95/100) · worst 2013 (26/100)
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 Pathfinder
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
Hyundai Santa Fe
- Engine — 1,901 complaints
- Power Train — 493 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 407 complaints
Nissan Pathfinder
- Power Train — 782 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 471 complaints
- Engine — 467 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Santa Fe's complaints concentrate in Engine, the Pathfinder's in Power Train. 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 Pathfinder — avoid: 2013, 2014.
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 Pathfinder 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 Pathfinder more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Nissan Pathfinder scores 71/100 against the Hyundai Santa Fe's 67/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Hyundai Santa Fe and Nissan Pathfinder years should I avoid?
Hyundai Santa Fe: 2017, 2025. Nissan Pathfinder: 2013, 2014. 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 Pathfinder?
The largest complaint group on the Hyundai Santa Fe is Engine (1,901 complaints); on the Nissan Pathfinder it is Power Train (782).
Is the Hyundai Santa Fe or the Nissan Pathfinder cheaper to own?
A recent used Hyundai Santa Fe prices at about $40,800 and a Nissan Pathfinder at about $40,800, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.