Toyota Highlander vs Subaru Ascent: which is more reliable?
The Subaru Ascent is ahead of the Toyota Highlander on the federal record, 70/100 against 65/100 — a real but narrow gap that a bad model year on either side closes.
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)
Subaru Ascent
- 7 model years scored
- 1,029 owner complaints on record
- about 29 complaints per year on the road
- 24 recall campaigns, 8 safety-critical
- best year 2025 (87/100) · worst 2019 (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: Highlander against Ascent
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
Subaru Ascent
- Electrical System — 289 complaints
- Power Train — 179 complaints
- Visibility/Wiper — 152 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Highlander's complaints concentrate in Power Train, the Ascent'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 Highlander — avoid: 2018, 2019, 2020.
Subaru Ascent — avoid: 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 Subaru Ascent at about $44,100 — the Toyota Highlander is roughly $3,300 less, and they return 25.0 against 22.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Toyota Highlander or the Subaru Ascent more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Subaru Ascent scores 70/100 against the Toyota Highlander'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 Toyota Highlander and Subaru Ascent years should I avoid?
Toyota Highlander: 2018, 2019, 2020. Subaru Ascent: 2019, 2020. 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 Subaru Ascent?
The largest complaint group on the Toyota Highlander is Power Train (461 complaints); on the Subaru Ascent it is Electrical System (289).
Is the Toyota Highlander or the Subaru Ascent cheaper to own?
A recent used Toyota Highlander prices at about $40,800 and a Subaru Ascent at about $44,100, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.