Kia Sedona vs Nissan Quest: which is more reliable?
The Nissan Quest is clearly ahead of the Kia Sedona on the federal record: 94/100 against 68/100 across every model year we score.
The record, side by side
Kia Sedona
- 5 model years scored
- 641 owner complaints on record
- about 15 complaints per year on the road
- 19 recall campaigns, 7 safety-critical
- best year 2014 (95/100) · worst 2016 (42/100)
Nissan Quest
- 4 model years scored
- 183 owner complaints on record
- about 1 complaints per year on the road
- 2 recall campaigns, 2 safety-critical
- best year 2013 (95/100) · worst 2012 (60/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Sedona against Quest
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
Kia Sedona
- Engine — 233 complaints
- Electrical System — 139 complaints
- Structure — 75 complaints
Nissan Quest
- Power Train — 49 complaints
- Electrical System — 29 complaints
- Gasoline — 25 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Sedona's complaints concentrate in Engine, the Quest'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
Kia Sedona — avoid: 2016.
Nissan Quest: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2011, 2013, 2017.
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 Kia Sedona prices at about $15,700 and a Nissan Quest at about $17,400 — the Kia Sedona is roughly $1,700 less, and they return 20.0 against 22.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Kia Sedona or the Nissan Quest more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Nissan Quest scores 94/100 against the Kia Sedona's 68/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Nissan Quest carries about 1 complaints per year on the road against 15 for the Kia Sedona.
Which Kia Sedona and Nissan Quest years should I avoid?
Kia Sedona: 2016. Nissan Quest: no year scores below 45. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Kia Sedona and the Nissan Quest?
The largest complaint group on the Kia Sedona is Engine (233 complaints); on the Nissan Quest it is Power Train (49).
Is the Kia Sedona or the Nissan Quest cheaper to own?
A recent used Kia Sedona prices at about $15,700 and a Nissan Quest at about $17,400, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.