Toyota RAV4 vs Hyundai Tucson: which is more reliable?
The Toyota RAV4 and the Hyundai Tucson are level on the federal record — 65/100 against 66/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Toyota RAV4
- 14 model years scored
- 4,499 owner complaints on record
- about 58 complaints per year on the road
- 58 recall campaigns, 26 safety-critical
- best year 2013 (88/100) · worst 2020 (32/100)
Hyundai Tucson
- 8 model years scored
- 4,101 owner complaints on record
- about 72 complaints per year on the road
- 20 recall campaigns, 13 safety-critical
- best year 2021 (89/100) · worst 2016 (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: RAV4 against Tucson
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 RAV4
- Electrical System — 907 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 814 complaints
- Engine — 718 complaints
Hyundai Tucson
- Engine — 1,759 complaints
- Power Train — 999 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 536 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the RAV4's complaints concentrate in Electrical System, the Tucson'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 RAV4 — avoid: 2019, 2020, 2024.
Hyundai Tucson — avoid: 2016, 2017.
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 RAV4 prices at about $30,500 and a Hyundai Tucson at about $21,900 — the Hyundai Tucson is roughly $8,600 less, and they return 30.0 against 23.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Toyota RAV4 or the Hyundai Tucson more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Hyundai Tucson scores 66/100 against the Toyota RAV4'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 RAV4 and Hyundai Tucson years should I avoid?
Toyota RAV4: 2019, 2020, 2024. Hyundai Tucson: 2016, 2017. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Toyota RAV4 and the Hyundai Tucson?
The largest complaint group on the Toyota RAV4 is Electrical System (907 complaints); on the Hyundai Tucson it is Engine (1,759).
Is the Toyota RAV4 or the Hyundai Tucson cheaper to own?
A recent used Toyota RAV4 prices at about $30,500 and a Hyundai Tucson at about $21,900, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.