Toyota Tundra vs Chevrolet Colorado: which is more reliable?
The Toyota Tundra and the Chevrolet Colorado are level on the federal record — 69/100 against 67/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Toyota Tundra
- 11 model years scored
- 1,320 owner complaints on record
- about 22 complaints per year on the road
- 79 recall campaigns, 33 safety-critical
- best year 2015 (86/100) · worst 2023 (32/100)
Chevrolet Colorado
- 10 model years scored
- 1,207 owner complaints on record
- about 30 complaints per year on the road
- 23 recall campaigns, 12 safety-critical
- best year 2012 (92/100) · worst 2015 (29/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Tundra against Colorado
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 Tundra
- Engine — 281 complaints
- Electrical System — 206 complaints
- Fuel/Propulsion System — 171 complaints
Chevrolet Colorado
- Steering — 414 complaints
- Electrical System — 217 complaints
- Power Train — 172 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Tundra's complaints concentrate in Engine, the Colorado's in Steering. 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 Tundra — avoid: 2023.
Chevrolet Colorado — avoid: 2015, 2023, 2024.
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 Tundra prices at about $46,200 and a Chevrolet Colorado at about $51,700 — the Toyota Tundra is roughly $5,500 less, and they return 20.0 against 20.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Toyota Tundra or the Chevrolet Colorado more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Toyota Tundra scores 69/100 against the Chevrolet Colorado's 67/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Toyota Tundra and Chevrolet Colorado years should I avoid?
Toyota Tundra: 2023. Chevrolet Colorado: 2015, 2023, 2024. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Toyota Tundra and the Chevrolet Colorado?
The largest complaint group on the Toyota Tundra is Engine (281 complaints); on the Chevrolet Colorado it is Steering (414).
Is the Toyota Tundra or the Chevrolet Colorado cheaper to own?
A recent used Toyota Tundra prices at about $46,200 and a Chevrolet Colorado at about $51,700, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.