Toyota Camry vs Honda Accord: which is more reliable?
The Toyota Camry is ahead of the Honda Accord on the federal record, 73/100 against 66/100 — a real but narrow gap that a bad model year on either side closes.
The record, side by side
Toyota Camry
- 14 model years scored
- 3,930 owner complaints on record
- about 31 complaints per year on the road
- 40 recall campaigns, 22 safety-critical
- best year 2014 (93/100) · worst 2018 (27/100)
Honda Accord
- 14 model years scored
- 8,179 owner complaints on record
- about 72 complaints per year on the road
- 71 recall campaigns, 60 safety-critical
- best year 2024 (86/100) · worst 2018 (30/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Camry against Accord
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 | Camry | Accord | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 83 BUY | 86 BUY | -3 |
| 2023 | 85 BUY | 82 BUY | +3 |
| 2022 | 89 BUY | 69 CAUTION | +20 |
| 2021 | 75 BUY | 76 BUY | -1 |
| 2020 | 56 CAUTION | 68 CAUTION | -12 |
| 2019 | 37 AVOID | 48 AVOID | -11 |
| 2018 | 27 AVOID | 30 AVOID | -3 |
| 2017 | 87 BUY | 73 BUY | +14 |
| 2016 | 86 BUY | 70 BUY | +16 |
| 2015 | 81 BUY | 74 BUY | +7 |
| 2014 | 93 BUY | 65 CAUTION | +28 |
| 2013 | 82 BUY | 49 AVOID | +33 |
| 2012 | 55 CAUTION | 73 BUY | -18 |
| 2011 | 59 CAUTION | 73 BUY | -14 |
What owners actually complain about
Toyota Camry
- Power Train — 622 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 609 complaints
- Air Bags — 390 complaints
Honda Accord
- Electrical System — 2,005 complaints
- Engine — 1,493 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 1,106 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Camry's complaints concentrate in Power Train, the Accord'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
Toyota Camry — avoid: 2018, 2019.
Honda Accord — avoid: 2013, 2018, 2019.
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 Toyota Camry prices at about $25,800 and a Honda Accord at about $25,800 — they price within $1 of each other, which at this level is the same money, and they return 26.0 against 32.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Toyota Camry or the Honda Accord more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Toyota Camry scores 73/100 against the Honda Accord's 66/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Toyota Camry and Honda Accord years should I avoid?
Toyota Camry: 2018, 2019. Honda Accord: 2013, 2018, 2019. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord?
The largest complaint group on the Toyota Camry is Power Train (622 complaints); on the Honda Accord it is Electrical System (2,005).
Is the Toyota Camry or the Honda Accord cheaper to own?
A recent used Toyota Camry prices at about $25,800 and a Honda Accord at about $25,800, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.