Nissan Murano vs Buick Verano: which is more reliable?
The Nissan Murano and the Buick Verano are level on the federal record — 79/100 against 82/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Nissan Murano
- 15 model years scored
- 1,074 owner complaints on record
- about 8 complaints per year on the road
- 24 recall campaigns, 18 safety-critical
- best year 2021 (94/100) · worst 2015 (37/100)
Buick Verano
- 6 model years scored
- 440 owner complaints on record
- about 6 complaints per year on the road
- 15 recall campaigns, 14 safety-critical
- best year 2017 (93/100) · worst 2014 (66/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Murano against Verano
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
Nissan Murano
- Unknown Or Other — 214 complaints
- Power Train — 201 complaints
- Service Brakes — 124 complaints
Buick Verano
- Electrical System — 122 complaints
- Engine — 106 complaints
- Air Bags — 93 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Murano's complaints concentrate in Unknown Or Other, the Verano'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 Murano — avoid: 2015.
Buick Verano: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 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 Nissan Murano prices at about $40,800 and a Buick Verano at about $21,800 — the Buick Verano is roughly $19,000 less, and they return 23.0 against 24.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Nissan Murano or the Buick Verano more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Buick Verano scores 82/100 against the Nissan Murano's 79/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Nissan Murano and Buick Verano years should I avoid?
Nissan Murano: 2015. Buick Verano: 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 Nissan Murano and the Buick Verano?
The largest complaint group on the Nissan Murano is Unknown Or Other (214 complaints); on the Buick Verano it is Electrical System (122).
Is the Nissan Murano or the Buick Verano cheaper to own?
A recent used Nissan Murano prices at about $40,800 and a Buick Verano at about $21,800, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.