Nissan Altima vs Honda Accord Hybrid: which is more reliable?
The Nissan Altima and the Honda Accord Hybrid are level on the federal record — 68/100 against 67/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Nissan Altima
- 15 model years scored
- 6,792 owner complaints on record
- about 46 complaints per year on the road
- 62 recall campaigns, 28 safety-critical
- best year 2022 (95/100) · worst 2013 (23/100)
Honda Accord Hybrid
- 11 model years scored
- 2,629 owner complaints on record
- about 33 complaints per year on the road
- 34 recall campaigns, 25 safety-critical
- best year 2017 (89/100) · worst 2019 (32/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Altima against Accord Hybrid
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 | Altima | Accord Hybrid | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 86 BUY | 81 BUY | +5 |
| 2024 | 86 BUY | 61 CAUTION | +25 |
| 2023 | 93 BUY | 47 AVOID | +46 |
| 2022 | 95 BUY | 88 BUY | +7 |
| 2021 | 88 BUY | 84 BUY | +4 |
| 2020 | 76 BUY | 79 BUY | -3 |
| 2019 | 68 CAUTION | 32 AVOID | +36 |
| 2018 | 83 BUY | 80 BUY | +3 |
| 2017 | 69 CAUTION | 89 BUY | -20 |
| 2016 | 55 CAUTION | — | — |
| 2015 | 27 AVOID | 46 AVOID | -19 |
| 2014 | 29 AVOID | 46 AVOID | -17 |
| 2013 | 23 AVOID | — | — |
| 2012 | 73 BUY | — | — |
| 2011 | 91 BUY | — | — |
What owners actually complain about
Nissan Altima
- Power Train — 1,484 complaints
- Air Bags — 1,159 complaints
- Exterior Lighting — 1,053 complaints
Honda Accord Hybrid
- Electrical System — 828 complaints
- Engine — 479 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 351 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Altima's complaints concentrate in Power Train, the Accord Hybrid's in Electrical System. 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
Nissan Altima — avoid: 2013, 2014, 2015.
Honda Accord Hybrid — avoid: 2014, 2015, 2019, 2023.
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 Nissan Altima prices at about $28,100 and a Honda Accord Hybrid at about $28,100 — they price within $1 of each other, which at this level is the same money, and they return 31.0 against 48.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Nissan Altima or the Honda Accord Hybrid more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Nissan Altima scores 68/100 against the Honda Accord Hybrid'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 Nissan Altima and Honda Accord Hybrid years should I avoid?
Nissan Altima: 2013, 2014, 2015. Honda Accord Hybrid: 2014, 2015, 2019, 2023. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Nissan Altima and the Honda Accord Hybrid?
The largest complaint group on the Nissan Altima is Power Train (1,484 complaints); on the Honda Accord Hybrid it is Electrical System (828).
Is the Nissan Altima or the Honda Accord Hybrid cheaper to own?
A recent used Nissan Altima prices at about $28,100 and a Honda Accord Hybrid at about $28,100, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.