The question is not whether hybrids are more reliable but whether a particular hybrid is, in a particular year, and the record answers differently for each pair. The Hyundai Sonata Hybrid has 741 complaints across its whole record against 11,270 for the Hyundai Sonata, and beats the petrol car's score in every year both were sold from 2011 to 2017. The Toyota RAV4 Hybrid scores 82 and 79 in 2019 and 2020, the years the Toyota RAV4 scores 35 and 32. The Honda Accord Hybrid is worse than the Honda Accord in 2014, 2015, 2019 and 2023 and far better in 2018. The Ford Escape HEV shares the Ford Escape's 2020 problem, and the Ford Fusion Hybrid shares the Ford Fusion's early steering complaints number for number.
The ranking
- Sonata Hybrid, first: eleven BUY years out of thirteen scored, 94 in 2018 and 2019, no AVOID year; 2012 and 2016 are CAUTION.
- RAV4 Hybrid, second: nine BUY years from 2016 to 2025 on 408 complaints in total. Avoid 2017.
- Sonata, third: 82 to 91 every year from 2018 to 2025. Avoid 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015.
- Escape HEV, fourth: 79 to 92 from 2022 on, low evidence after 2022. Avoid 2020 and 2021.
- RAV4, fifth: eight BUY years from 2011 to 2018. Avoid 2019, 2020 and 2024.
- Accord Hybrid, sixth: BUY in 2017, 2018, 2020 to 2022 and 2025. Avoid 2014, 2015, 2019 and 2023.
- Accord, seventh: BUY in 2011, 2012, 2015 to 2017 and 2021 to 2024. Avoid 2013, 2018 and 2019.
- Fusion Hybrid, eighth: every scored year a BUY, but read the section below before trusting the 2011 to 2013 scores.
- Fusion, ninth: 82 to 83 from 2018 to 2020. Avoid 2011, 2012 and 2016.
- Escape, tenth: 16,194 complaints and five AVOID years. Buy 2012, 2019 or 2024.
Sonata: the clearest hybrid win in the record
The petrol Sonata's 2011 car has 3,374 complaints, 224.9 per year on road, Steering at 1170 and Engine at 965, and a score of 24; the 2012, 2013 and 2015 cars have 1,556, 1,908 and 1,139 and score 28, 25 and 28. Engine leads every year from 2012 to 2019, and 15V568000 (10/09/2015) and 17V226000 (31/03/2017) cover the 2011 to 2014 engines. The Sonata Hybrid of the same years has 96, 154, 106, 28 and 51 complaints, scores of 74, 59, 75, 88 and 84, and its own engine campaign, 20V746000 (01/12/2020), for connecting rod bearings on the 2011 to 2013 and 2016 cars; 21V727000 covers the 2017. Engine is the hybrid's top component too, at 40, 67, 40, 72 and 45 in its busier years, so the fault family is shared; the scale is not. From 2018 both cars are BUY verdicts: the petrol car 82 to 91, the hybrid 79 to 94, though every hybrid year after 2017 is on low evidence apart from 2021.
Hyundai Sonata Hybrid: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 83 | BUY | 11 | 0 |
| 2024 | — | DATA PENDING | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | — | DATA PENDING | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 91 | BUY | 19 | 0 |
| 2021 | 79 | BUY | 53 | 0 |
| 2020 | 92 | BUY | 0 | 1 |
| 2019 | 94 | BUY | 4 | 0 |
| 2018 | 94 | BUY | 9 | 1 |
| 2017 | 80 | BUY | 80 | 3 |
| 2016 | 62 | CAUTION | 132 | 5 |
| 2015 | 83 | BUY | 53 | 4 |
| 2014 | 88 | BUY | 28 | 3 |
| 2013 | 74 | BUY | 107 | 4 |
| 2012 | 59 | CAUTION | 154 | 6 |
| 2011 | 74 | BUY | 96 | 6 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid model page.
RAV4: the hybrid steps around 2019 and 2020
The petrol RAV4's fifth generation opens with 873 complaints on the 2019 car and 628 on the 2020, Fuel/Propulsion System at 254 and Engine at 203 and 179, and scores of 35 and 32. The RAV4 Hybrid carries the same campaigns for those years, 20V064000 (06/02/2020) for engine casting porosity, 20V286000 for front lower suspension arms and 20V373000 for the steering gear box, and has 22 and 13 complaints, scores of 82 and 79. The petrol 2024 car is an AVOID at 47; the hybrid 2024 scores 91 on a single complaint. The one hybrid year to avoid is 2017: 302 complaints, Electrical System at 107, a score of 48. Those figures match the petrol 2017 car's 305 complaints and Electrical System at 107 almost exactly, so nothing in the record separates a 2017 hybrid from a 2017 petrol car except the score. Every RAV4 Hybrid year except 2017 is on low evidence, the price of a record with 408 complaints in it.
Toyota RAV4 Hybrid: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 82 | BUY | 5 | 2 |
| 2024 | 91 | BUY | 1 | 2 |
| 2023 | 89 | BUY | 7 | 1 |
| 2022 | 88 | BUY | 5 | 2 |
| 2021 | 76 | BUY | 22 | 1 |
| 2020 | 79 | BUY | 13 | 5 |
| 2019 | 82 | BUY | 22 | 3 |
| 2018 | 91 | BUY | 15 | 0 |
| 2017 | 48 | AVOID | 302 | 0 |
| 2016 | 93 | BUY | 16 | 0 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid model page.
Accord: it depends entirely on the year
The Accord Hybrid's first two years are its worst. The 2014 car has 954 complaints, 79.5 per year on road, Electrical System at 376 and Engine at 176, and scores 46; the 2015 has 609 and scores 46 as well. The campaign behind them is 15V602000 (25/09/2015), for electrical interference that can put the hybrid system into fail-safe mode and disable the petrol engine. The petrol Accord scores 64 and 73 in those years. Then the pattern flips: in 2018 the petrol car is an AVOID at 30 on 1,869 complaints, while the hybrid scores 80 on 114. In 2019 both are AVOID, the petrol car at 48 on 671 complaints and the hybrid at 32 on 529, with four categories between 81 and 96 on the hybrid. The 2020 to 2022 hybrids score 79, 84 and 88 on 39 to 54 complaints, though 20V798000 covers the 2020 car for a converter that can stop the 12-volt battery recharging. The 2023 hybrid is an AVOID at 47 on 139 complaints and six recalls, including 23V588000 for a transmission that can lose drive and 25V785000 (13/11/2025) for a control module that may reset while driving; the petrol 2023 car scores 82 with no complaints on file.
Honda Accord Hybrid: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 81 | BUY | 21 | 2 |
| 2024 | 61 | CAUTION | 76 | 4 |
| 2023 | 47 | AVOID | 139 | 6 |
| 2022 | 88 | BUY | 54 | 1 |
| 2021 | 84 | BUY | 48 | 3 |
| 2020 | 79 | BUY | 39 | 5 |
| 2019 | 32 | AVOID | 529 | 5 |
| 2018 | 80 | BUY | 115 | 4 |
| 2017 | 89 | BUY | 45 | 2 |
| 2015 | 46 | AVOID | 609 | 1 |
| 2014 | 46 | AVOID | 954 | 1 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Honda Accord Hybrid model page.
Escape: the hybrid shares the 2020 problem
The redesigned 2020 Escape has 1,517 complaints, Structure at 605, and a score of 26. The Escape HEV's 2020 car has 287 complaints with Structure at 105 and Engine at 64, and scores 47; its 2021 car has 335 complaints, Structure at 91, and scores 47, an AVOID in both years. The hybrid's own page lists no recall campaigns, but the hybrid campaigns are recorded on the petrol Escape's page: 22V484000 for engine failures that can release oil and fuel vapour on 2020 to 2022 hybrids, 24V330000 (10/05/2024) for hybrid control software that can shift into neutral, and 22V331000 for welds inside the high-voltage battery on the 2020 car. The 2022 hybrid scores 79 on 66 complaints; the 2023 to 2025 cars score 91, 92 and 92 on 23, 4 and 1, all low evidence. The petrol car over the same years is CAUTION at 65 to 69, then 74 in 2024.
Fusion: one record wearing two badges
The Fusion Hybrid scores 80, 81 and 84 for 2011 to 2013, and I would not lean on those scores. The hybrid's complaint counts are 2,869, 2,557 and 1,861, with Steering at 1436, 1464 and 398; the petrol Fusion's are 2,783, 2,612 and 1,953 with Steering at 1426, 1509 and 418. Those are the same pattern at the same scale, and the petrol car has 15V340000 (02/06/2015) for its electric power steering on the 2011 and 2012 cars where the hybrid's page shows no recall; the hybrid's scores rest on that absence, not on fewer complaints. The 2014 and 2015 hybrids have no complaints on file and score 90 and 89 on low evidence; 2016 to 2020 are DATA PENDING. The petrol Fusion's 2018 to 2020 cars, 83, 82 and 83 on 436, 371 and 178 complaints, are the Fusions the record supports.
What to check before you buy
- On a 2014 or 2015 Accord Hybrid, confirm 15V602000; on a 2020, 20V798000; on a 2023, 23V588000 and 25V785000. On a 2019 Accord of either kind, confirm 20V771000.
- On any 2019 or 2020 RAV4, hybrid or petrol, confirm 20V064000, 20V286000 and 20V373000.
- On a 2020 to 2022 Escape HEV, run the VIN for 22V484000, 24V330000 and 22V331000 even though the hybrid's page lists nothing.
- On a 2011 to 2013 Sonata Hybrid, confirm 20V746000; on a 2011 to 2013 Fusion Hybrid, treat the steering as you would on the petrol car and confirm whether 15V340000 applies to the VIN.
Summary
The hybrid is the better buy in the Sonata pair in every shared year, and in the RAV4 pair for 2019, 2020 and 2024. In the Accord pair the hybrid wins 2018 and loses 2014, 2015, 2019 and 2023. In the Escape pair the hybrid is an AVOID in 2020 and 2021 like the petrol car, and in the Fusion pair the two records are the same record. Buy a 2018 or later Sonata of either kind, a 2016 or 2018 to 2025 RAV4 Hybrid, a 2017, 2018 or 2020 to 2022 Accord Hybrid, a 2022 or later Escape HEV, or a 2018 to 2020 Fusion.