Jeep Wrangler vs Nissan Pathfinder: which is more reliable?
The Nissan Pathfinder is clearly ahead of the Jeep Wrangler on the federal record: 71/100 against 58/100 across every model year we score.
The record, side by side
Jeep Wrangler
- 10 model years scored
- 7,008 owner complaints on record
- about 82 complaints per year on the road
- 78 recall campaigns, 51 safety-critical
- best year 2015 (78/100) · worst 2018 (26/100)
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: Wrangler 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
Jeep Wrangler
- Steering — 2,225 complaints
- Electrical System — 1,181 complaints
- Power Train — 1,111 complaints
Nissan Pathfinder
- Power Train — 782 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 471 complaints
- Engine — 467 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Wrangler's complaints concentrate in Steering, 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
Jeep Wrangler — avoid: 2018, 2019, 2020.
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 Jeep Wrangler prices at about $28,800 and a Nissan Pathfinder at about $40,800 — the Jeep Wrangler is roughly $12,000 less, and they return 20.0 against 23.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Jeep Wrangler or the Nissan Pathfinder more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Nissan Pathfinder scores 71/100 against the Jeep Wrangler's 58/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Nissan Pathfinder carries about 30 complaints per year on the road against 82 for the Jeep Wrangler.
Which Jeep Wrangler and Nissan Pathfinder years should I avoid?
Jeep Wrangler: 2018, 2019, 2020. 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 Jeep Wrangler and the Nissan Pathfinder?
The largest complaint group on the Jeep Wrangler is Steering (2,225 complaints); on the Nissan Pathfinder it is Power Train (782).
Is the Jeep Wrangler or the Nissan Pathfinder cheaper to own?
A recent used Jeep Wrangler prices at about $28,800 and a Nissan Pathfinder at about $40,800, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.