Jeep Grand Cherokee vs Honda Pilot: which is more reliable?
The Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Honda Pilot are level on the federal record — 64/100 against 61/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Jeep Grand Cherokee
- 15 model years scored
- 11,387 owner complaints on record
- about 88 complaints per year on the road
- 136 recall campaigns, 70 safety-critical
- best year 2020 (85/100) · worst 2014 (28/100)
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)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Grand Cherokee against Pilot
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 | Grand Cherokee | Pilot | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 77 BUY | 34 AVOID | +43 |
| 2024 | 52 CAUTION | 68 CAUTION | -16 |
| 2023 | 55 CAUTION | 73 BUY | -18 |
| 2022 | 60 CAUTION | 79 BUY | -19 |
| 2021 | 71 BUY | 48 AVOID | +23 |
| 2020 | 85 BUY | 51 CAUTION | +34 |
| 2019 | 76 BUY | 27 AVOID | +49 |
| 2018 | 54 CAUTION | 71 BUY | -17 |
| 2017 | 80 BUY | 51 CAUTION | +29 |
| 2016 | 73 BUY | 46 AVOID | +27 |
| 2015 | 54 CAUTION | 81 BUY | -27 |
| 2014 | 28 AVOID | 84 BUY | -56 |
| 2013 | 70 BUY | 75 BUY | -5 |
| 2012 | 54 CAUTION | 75 BUY | -21 |
| 2011 | 58 CAUTION | 73 BUY | -15 |
What owners actually complain about
Jeep Grand Cherokee
- Electrical System — 3,838 complaints
- Engine — 2,087 complaints
- Power Train — 1,489 complaints
Honda Pilot
- Engine — 2,060 complaints
- Electrical System — 1,690 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 996 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Grand Cherokee's complaints concentrate in Electrical System, the Pilot's in Engine. 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
Jeep Grand Cherokee — avoid: 2014.
Honda Pilot — avoid: 2016, 2019, 2021, 2025.
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 Jeep Grand Cherokee prices at about $44,100 and a Honda Pilot at about $40,800 — the Honda Pilot is roughly $3,300 less, and they return 22.0 against 21.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Jeep Grand Cherokee or the Honda Pilot more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Jeep Grand Cherokee scores 64/100 against the Honda Pilot's 61/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Jeep Grand Cherokee and Honda Pilot years should I avoid?
Jeep Grand Cherokee: 2014. Honda Pilot: 2016, 2019, 2021, 2025. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Honda Pilot?
The largest complaint group on the Jeep Grand Cherokee is Electrical System (3,838 complaints); on the Honda Pilot it is Engine (2,060).
Is the Jeep Grand Cherokee or the Honda Pilot cheaper to own?
A recent used Jeep Grand Cherokee prices at about $44,100 and a Honda Pilot at about $40,800, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.