Kia Sorento vs Honda Pilot: which is more reliable?
The Kia Sorento is clearly ahead of the Honda Pilot on the federal record: 75/100 against 61/100 across every model year we score.
The record, side by side
Kia Sorento
- 15 model years scored
- 8,384 owner complaints on record
- about 56 complaints per year on the road
- 63 recall campaigns, 28 safety-critical
- best year 2020 (90/100) · worst 2016 (44/100)
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: Sorento 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 | Sorento | Pilot | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 72 BUY | 34 AVOID | +38 |
| 2024 | 86 BUY | 68 CAUTION | +18 |
| 2023 | 85 BUY | 73 BUY | +12 |
| 2022 | 80 BUY | 79 BUY | +1 |
| 2021 | 87 BUY | 48 AVOID | +39 |
| 2020 | 90 BUY | 51 CAUTION | +39 |
| 2019 | 81 BUY | 27 AVOID | +54 |
| 2018 | 83 BUY | 71 BUY | +12 |
| 2017 | 65 CAUTION | 51 CAUTION | +14 |
| 2016 | 44 AVOID | 46 AVOID | -2 |
| 2015 | 71 BUY | 81 BUY | -10 |
| 2014 | 60 CAUTION | 84 BUY | -24 |
| 2013 | 68 CAUTION | 75 BUY | -7 |
| 2012 | 73 BUY | 75 BUY | -2 |
| 2011 | 49 AVOID | 73 BUY | -24 |
What owners actually complain about
Kia Sorento
- Engine — 3,488 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 1,180 complaints
- Electrical System — 1,115 complaints
Honda Pilot
- Engine — 2,060 complaints
- Electrical System — 1,690 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 996 complaints
Both nameplates have Engine as their largest complaint group, so the choice between them is about how often, not about what.
Years to avoid on each
Kia Sorento — avoid: 2011, 2016.
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 Kia Sorento prices at about $40,800 and a Honda Pilot 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 21.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Kia Sorento or the Honda Pilot more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Kia Sorento scores 75/100 against the Honda Pilot's 61/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Kia Sorento carries about 56 complaints per year on the road against 76 for the Honda Pilot.
Which Kia Sorento and Honda Pilot years should I avoid?
Kia Sorento: 2011, 2016. 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 Kia Sorento and the Honda Pilot?
The largest complaint group on the Kia Sorento is Engine (3,488 complaints); on the Honda Pilot it is Engine (2,060).
Is the Kia Sorento or the Honda Pilot cheaper to own?
A recent used Kia Sorento prices at about $40,800 and a Honda Pilot at about $40,800, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.