Nissan Rogue vs Jeep Compass: which is more reliable?

The Jeep Compass is ahead of the Nissan Rogue on the federal record, 75/100 against 65/100 — a real but narrow gap that a bad model year on either side closes.

The record, side by side

Nissan Rogue
Nissan Rogue · Wikimedia Commons

Nissan Rogue

65/100 mean
  • 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)
Jeep Compass
Jeep Compass · Wikimedia Commons

Jeep Compass

75/100 mean
  • 13 model years scored
  • 2,944 owner complaints on record
  • about 34 complaints per year on the road
  • 26 recall campaigns, 14 safety-critical
  • best year 2021 (92/100) · worst 2018 (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: Rogue against Compass

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.

YearRogueCompass Gap
202541 AVOID85 BUY-44
202458 CAUTION84 BUY-26
202334 AVOID87 BUY-53
202266 CAUTION47 AVOID+19
202161 CAUTION92 BUY-31
202088 BUY85 BUY+3
201980 BUY58 CAUTION+22
201866 CAUTION32 AVOID+34
201765 CAUTION78 BUY-13
201667 CAUTION79 BUY-12
201565 CAUTION90 BUY-25
201470 BUY80 BUY-10
201383 BUY——
201287 BUY——
201185 BUY84 BUY+1

What owners actually complain about

Nissan Rogue

  • Power Train — 1,389 complaints
  • Unknown Or Other — 1,166 complaints
  • Engine — 938 complaints

Jeep Compass

  • Engine — 1,135 complaints
  • Electrical System — 981 complaints
  • Unknown Or Other — 586 complaints

They do not fail the same way: the Rogue's complaints concentrate in Power Train, the Compass's in Engine. 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.

Jeep Compass — avoid: 2018, 2022.

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 Jeep Compass at about $32,900 — the Nissan Rogue is roughly $2,400 less, 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 Jeep Compass more reliable?

On the NHTSA record the Jeep Compass scores 75/100 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 Jeep Compass years should I avoid?

Nissan Rogue: 2023, 2025. Jeep Compass: 2018, 2022. 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 Jeep Compass?

The largest complaint group on the Nissan Rogue is Power Train (1,389 complaints); on the Jeep Compass it is Engine (1,135).

Is the Nissan Rogue or the Jeep Compass cheaper to own?

A recent used Nissan Rogue prices at about $30,500 and a Jeep Compass at about $32,900, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.

More head-to-heads