Nissan Pathfinder vs Subaru Ascent: which is more reliable?
The Nissan Pathfinder and the Subaru Ascent are level on the federal record — 71/100 against 70/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Nissan Pathfinder
- 14 model years scored
- 2,708 owner complaints on record
- about 30 complaints per year on the road
- 49 recall campaigns, 30 safety-critical
- best year 2012 (95/100) · worst 2013 (26/100)
Subaru Ascent
- 7 model years scored
- 1,029 owner complaints on record
- about 29 complaints per year on the road
- 24 recall campaigns, 8 safety-critical
- best year 2025 (87/100) · 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: Pathfinder against Ascent
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 Pathfinder
- Power Train — 782 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 471 complaints
- Engine — 467 complaints
Subaru Ascent
- Electrical System — 289 complaints
- Power Train — 179 complaints
- Visibility/Wiper — 152 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Pathfinder's complaints concentrate in Power Train, the Ascent'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 Pathfinder — avoid: 2013, 2014.
Subaru Ascent — avoid: 2019, 2020.
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 Pathfinder prices at about $40,800 and a Subaru Ascent at about $44,100 — the Nissan Pathfinder is roughly $3,300 less, and they return 23.0 against 22.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Nissan Pathfinder or the Subaru Ascent more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Nissan Pathfinder scores 71/100 against the Subaru Ascent's 70/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Nissan Pathfinder and Subaru Ascent years should I avoid?
Nissan Pathfinder: 2013, 2014. Subaru Ascent: 2019, 2020. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Nissan Pathfinder and the Subaru Ascent?
The largest complaint group on the Nissan Pathfinder is Power Train (782 complaints); on the Subaru Ascent it is Electrical System (289).
Is the Nissan Pathfinder or the Subaru Ascent cheaper to own?
A recent used Nissan Pathfinder prices at about $40,800 and a Subaru Ascent at about $44,100, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.