Toyota Corolla vs Honda Civic: which is more reliable?
The Toyota Corolla and the Honda Civic are level on the federal record — 77/100 against 80/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Toyota Corolla
- 15 model years scored
- 3,218 owner complaints on record
- about 27 complaints per year on the road
- 46 recall campaigns, 32 safety-critical
- best year 2015 (87/100) · worst 2020 (47/100)
Honda Civic
- 5 model years scored
- 1,613 owner complaints on record
- about 28 complaints per year on the road
- 15 recall campaigns, 11 safety-critical
- best year 2013 (84/100) · worst 2012 (68/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Corolla against Civic
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
Toyota Corolla
- Air Bags — 1,263 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 357 complaints
- Engine — 266 complaints
Honda Civic
- Air Bags — 429 complaints
- Power Train — 323 complaints
- Electrical System — 178 complaints
Both nameplates have Air Bags as their largest complaint group, so the choice between them is about how often, not about what.
Years to avoid on each
Toyota Corolla — avoid: 2020.
Honda Civic: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015.
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 Corolla prices at about $24,100 and a Honda Civic at about $10,000 — the Honda Civic is roughly $14,100 less, and they return 34.0 against 32.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Toyota Corolla or the Honda Civic more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Honda Civic scores 80/100 against the Toyota Corolla's 77/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic years should I avoid?
Toyota Corolla: 2020. Honda Civic: 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 Toyota Corolla and the Honda Civic?
The largest complaint group on the Toyota Corolla is Air Bags (1,263 complaints); on the Honda Civic it is Air Bags (429).
Is the Toyota Corolla or the Honda Civic cheaper to own?
A recent used Toyota Corolla prices at about $24,100 and a Honda Civic at about $10,000, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.