Toyota Highlander vs Mazda CX-9: which is more reliable?
The Mazda CX-9 is clearly ahead of the Toyota Highlander on the federal record: 84/100 against 65/100 across every model year we score.
The record, side by side
Toyota Highlander
- 11 model years scored
- 2,349 owner complaints on record
- about 27 complaints per year on the road
- 39 recall campaigns, 24 safety-critical
- best year 2016 (86/100) · worst 2020 (37/100)
Mazda CX-9
- 11 model years scored
- 885 owner complaints on record
- about 7 complaints per year on the road
- 19 recall campaigns, 13 safety-critical
- best year 2022 (93/100) · worst 2012 (50/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Highlander against CX-9
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 Highlander
- Power Train — 461 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 363 complaints
- Electrical System — 306 complaints
Mazda CX-9
- Engine — 302 complaints
- Service Brakes — 284 complaints
- Power Train — 87 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Highlander's complaints concentrate in Power Train, the CX-9'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
Toyota Highlander — avoid: 2018, 2019, 2020.
Mazda CX-9: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 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 Toyota Highlander prices at about $40,800 and a Mazda CX-9 at about $34,200 — the Mazda CX-9 is roughly $6,600 less, and they return 25.0 against 23.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Toyota Highlander or the Mazda CX-9 more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Mazda CX-9 scores 84/100 against the Toyota Highlander's 65/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Mazda CX-9 carries about 7 complaints per year on the road against 27 for the Toyota Highlander.
Which Toyota Highlander and Mazda CX-9 years should I avoid?
Toyota Highlander: 2018, 2019, 2020. Mazda CX-9: 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 Highlander and the Mazda CX-9?
The largest complaint group on the Toyota Highlander is Power Train (461 complaints); on the Mazda CX-9 it is Engine (302).
Is the Toyota Highlander or the Mazda CX-9 cheaper to own?
A recent used Toyota Highlander prices at about $40,800 and a Mazda CX-9 at about $34,200, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.