Nissan Murano vs Chevrolet Blazer: which is more reliable?

The Chevrolet Blazer is ahead of the Nissan Murano on the federal record, 83/100 against 79/100 — a real but narrow gap that a bad model year on either side closes.

The record, side by side

Nissan Murano
Nissan Murano · Wikimedia Commons

Nissan Murano

79/100 mean
  • 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)
Chevrolet Blazer
Chevrolet Blazer · Wikimedia Commons

Chevrolet Blazer

83/100 mean
  • 7 model years scored
  • 690 owner complaints on record
  • about 23 complaints per year on the road
  • 11 recall campaigns, 2 safety-critical
  • best year 2022 (92/100) · worst 2020 (70/100)

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 Blazer

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.

YearMuranoBlazer Gap
202564 CAUTION82 BUY-18
202491 BUY86 BUY+5
202392 BUY90 BUY+2
202293 BUY92 BUY+1
202194 BUY81 BUY+13
202083 BUY70 BUY+13
201989 BUY81 BUY+8
201892 BUY——
201765 CAUTION——
201663 CAUTION——
201537 AVOID——
201470 BUY——
201389 BUY——
201280 BUY——
201180 BUY——

What owners actually complain about

Nissan Murano

  • Unknown Or Other — 214 complaints
  • Power Train — 201 complaints
  • Service Brakes — 124 complaints

Chevrolet Blazer

  • Electrical System — 204 complaints
  • Power Train — 181 complaints
  • Engine — 181 complaints

They do not fail the same way: the Murano's complaints concentrate in Unknown Or Other, the Blazer'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.

Chevrolet Blazer: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024….

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 Chevrolet Blazer 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 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 Chevrolet Blazer more reliable?

On the NHTSA record the Chevrolet Blazer scores 83/100 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 Chevrolet Blazer years should I avoid?

Nissan Murano: 2015. Chevrolet Blazer: 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 Chevrolet Blazer?

The largest complaint group on the Nissan Murano is Unknown Or Other (214 complaints); on the Chevrolet Blazer it is Electrical System (204).

Is the Nissan Murano or the Chevrolet Blazer cheaper to own?

A recent used Nissan Murano prices at about $40,800 and a Chevrolet Blazer at about $40,800, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.

More head-to-heads