Nissan Rogue vs Honda HR-V: which is more reliable?
The Honda HR-V is ahead of the Nissan Rogue on the federal record, 70/100 against 65/100 — a real but narrow gap that a bad model year on either side closes.
The record, side by side
Nissan Rogue
- 15 model years scored
- 6,107 owner complaints on record
- about 79 complaints per year on the road
- 72 recall campaigns, 40 safety-critical
- best year 2020 (88/100) · worst 2023 (34/100)
Honda HR-V
- 10 model years scored
- 1,810 owner complaints on record
- about 46 complaints per year on the road
- 32 recall campaigns, 21 safety-critical
- best year 2017 (92/100) · worst 2023 (37/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Rogue against HR-V
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 | Rogue | HR-V | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 41 AVOID | 68 CAUTION | -27 |
| 2024 | 58 CAUTION | 47 AVOID | +11 |
| 2023 | 34 AVOID | 37 AVOID | -3 |
| 2022 | 66 CAUTION | 81 BUY | -15 |
| 2021 | 61 CAUTION | 85 BUY | -24 |
| 2020 | 88 BUY | 81 BUY | +7 |
| 2019 | 80 BUY | 56 CAUTION | +24 |
| 2018 | 66 CAUTION | 79 BUY | -13 |
| 2017 | 65 CAUTION | 92 BUY | -27 |
| 2016 | 67 CAUTION | 79 BUY | -12 |
| 2015 | 65 CAUTION | — | — |
| 2014 | 70 BUY | — | — |
| 2013 | 83 BUY | — | — |
| 2012 | 87 BUY | — | — |
| 2011 | 85 BUY | — | — |
What owners actually complain about
Nissan Rogue
- Power Train — 1,389 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 1,166 complaints
- Engine — 938 complaints
Honda HR-V
- Unknown Or Other — 399 complaints
- Visibility/Wiper — 333 complaints
- Electrical System — 304 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Rogue's complaints concentrate in Power Train, the HR-V's in Unknown Or Other. 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 Rogue — avoid: 2023, 2025.
Honda HR-V — avoid: 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 Rogue prices at about $30,500 and a Honda HR-V at about $30,500 — they price within $1 of each other, which at this level is the same money, and they return 31.0 against 27.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Nissan Rogue or the Honda HR-V more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Honda HR-V scores 70/100 against the Nissan Rogue's 65/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Nissan Rogue and Honda HR-V years should I avoid?
Nissan Rogue: 2023, 2025. Honda HR-V: 2023, 2024. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Nissan Rogue and the Honda HR-V?
The largest complaint group on the Nissan Rogue is Power Train (1,389 complaints); on the Honda HR-V it is Unknown Or Other (399).
Is the Nissan Rogue or the Honda HR-V cheaper to own?
A recent used Nissan Rogue prices at about $30,500 and a Honda HR-V at about $30,500, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.