Toyota Highlander vs Nissan Murano: which is more reliable?
The Nissan Murano is clearly ahead of the Toyota Highlander on the federal record: 79/100 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)
Nissan Murano
- 15 model years scored
- 1,074 owner complaints on record
- about 8 complaints per year on the road
- 24 recall campaigns, 18 safety-critical
- best year 2021 (94/100) · worst 2015 (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: Highlander against Murano
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 | Highlander | Murano | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 82 BUY | 64 CAUTION | +18 |
| 2024 | — | 91 BUY | — |
| 2023 | — | 92 BUY | — |
| 2022 | — | 93 BUY | — |
| 2021 | — | 94 BUY | — |
| 2020 | 37 AVOID | 83 BUY | -46 |
| 2019 | 40 AVOID | 89 BUY | -49 |
| 2018 | 45 AVOID | 92 BUY | -47 |
| 2017 | 56 CAUTION | 65 CAUTION | -9 |
| 2016 | 86 BUY | 63 CAUTION | +23 |
| 2015 | 78 BUY | 37 AVOID | +41 |
| 2014 | 79 BUY | 70 BUY | +9 |
| 2013 | 80 BUY | 89 BUY | -9 |
| 2012 | 85 BUY | 80 BUY | +5 |
| 2011 | 84 BUY | 80 BUY | +4 |
What owners actually complain about
Toyota Highlander
- Power Train — 461 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 363 complaints
- Electrical System — 306 complaints
Nissan Murano
- Unknown Or Other — 214 complaints
- Power Train — 201 complaints
- Service Brakes — 124 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Highlander's complaints concentrate in Power Train, the Murano'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
Toyota Highlander — avoid: 2018, 2019, 2020.
Nissan Murano — avoid: 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 Highlander prices at about $40,800 and a Nissan Murano at about $40,800 — they price within $1 of each other, which at this level is the same money, 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 Nissan Murano more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Nissan Murano scores 79/100 against the Toyota Highlander's 65/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Nissan Murano carries about 8 complaints per year on the road against 27 for the Toyota Highlander.
Which Toyota Highlander and Nissan Murano years should I avoid?
Toyota Highlander: 2018, 2019, 2020. Nissan Murano: 2015. 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 Nissan Murano?
The largest complaint group on the Toyota Highlander is Power Train (461 complaints); on the Nissan Murano it is Unknown Or Other (214).
Is the Toyota Highlander or the Nissan Murano cheaper to own?
A recent used Toyota Highlander prices at about $40,800 and a Nissan Murano at about $40,800, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.