Honda vs Toyota: Which brand is more reliable?
Honda and Toyota both have excellent reputations for reliability. Both brands pride themselves on building cars that last a very long time, no matter where or how you drive them. Which brand is best overall? The answer depends on the year, model, and a little bit of luck.
What makes a car reliable?
Some people measure reliability by the number of parts that break while they own the car. Others simply want their car to get them from point A to point B without needing any maintenance beyond gas and oil changes.
If your car could go a million miles, but you had to replace the engine three times, would you consider it reliable?
Quantifying Reliability
To provide an objective and unbiased analysis, reliability needs to be quantified in some way. One of the best ways to do this is to research consumer complaints and recall data from trusted sources.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Association is part of the US federal government that regulates and enforces motor vehicle safety standards. They have an excellent website where you can enter a VIN number to search for vehicle recalls.
As part of their mission to make the roads safer, NHTSA collects and publishes research and data on recalls, crash test results, and consumer complaints.
These resources are available to the public and can be an effective tool when considering a vehicle purchase. If you are buying a used vehicle, consider checking to see if it has any recalls addressed as part of your initial maintenance.
What is a recall?A recall is a written statement that describes a problem with a component or system in a vehicle. Typically, the recalled component poses a safety risk if the issue is not addressed.
Recalls are almost always resolved by the manufacturer at no cost to the consumer, even if the vehicle is out of warranty. Recalls may be initiated by the manufacturer or by the NHTSA itself.
Why are vehicles recalled? Wouldn’t it be great if manufacturers could identify all of the problems that occur at the factory? Unfortunately, mistakes do happen from time to time. Some of these errors are just annoying, but others can be life-threatening. Vehicles are incredibly complex.
They consist of thousands of parts sourced from multiple manufacturers. Small defects can slip through quality control. Also, components may be used or stressed in ways that were not considered when the product was designed.
Most manufacturers recall vehicles very regularly if safety issues are discovered. They want to repair the vehicle as soon as possible to minimize risk to their customers.
Toyota and Honda Recalls
In the NHTSA database, each recalled component has a unique identifier. Depending on the manufacturer and vehicle construction, a particular component may last for several years or models.
One easy way to compare the reliability of two manufacturers is to look at the number of components they have recalled. In the chart below, we can see that since 2005, Toyota has recalled a variety of additional components across their product lineup. This number seems surprisingly high, doesn’t it? Fortunately, the situation is not as bad as it seems.
When a vehicle system, such as an airbag or braking system, is recalled, many components may be recalled in the same campaign to ensure that all parts are evaluated, inspected, and replaced. In addition, components often have different part numbers for different models, even if they are the same or similar parts.
Toyota Recalls for Unintended Acceleration
In some Toyota vehicles manufactured between 2005 and 2010, floor mats may get caught on the accelerator pedal, causing unintended acceleration. If the driver is unable to stop the vehicle safely, it could lead to a serious accident.
Though this issue is well known by now, it doesn’t hurt to double-check your VIN on the NHTSA recall page to see if your Toyota is affected. A complete year and model list can be found here.
Tip: If your car accelerates uncontrollably, you should be able to put the car in neutral to prevent it from accelerating. The engine will likely rev up to its maximum RPM range, but you should be able to come to a stop and safely stop the vehicle.
Most automatic transmissions can be shifted into neutral while driving by simply pushing the shifter into neutral. This usually does not require pressing any buttons out of the park position. Consult your owner’s manual for specific shifter information.
WARNING: Do not attempt to turn off the engine while the vehicle is driving. This can cause the power steering to lose function and the steering wheel to lock up, making it impossible to steer.
Total recalls per year
The figures below use the same data set, but with a different breakdown of the data. From 2000 to 2003, there was a significant increase in the number of Hondas affected by recalls. These were mainly due to the well-known Takata airbag recalls.
Honda instrument panel recalls
One of the reasons for the increase in recalls in 2018, 2019, and 2020 was recall 20V-439, in which 100% of Honda Odysseys, Passports, and Pilots manufactured during the specified period were affected by a software problem in the instrument panel.
Under certain conditions, the instrument panel may not be able to process all the necessary data in a timely manner. When this happens, the instrument cluster will stop responding and will be unable to display important information. In total, approximately 608,000 vehicles have been recalled.
Toyota Denso Fuel Pump Failure
In recent years, Toyota has used a Denso fuel pump across their lineup that is prone to failure. Not all vehicles with the fuel pumps were affected, as the failure seems to be dependent on geographic location and other factors.
Toyota Sliding Door Recall
As with other minivan manufacturers, Toyota Sienna sliding door problems have been around for a while. In 2018, Toyota recalled over 744,000 Sienna minivans in the United States. The issue was that the power sliding doors might not latch properly and this meant the doors could open while driving.
This particular recall affected Siennas made between 2011 and 2016. It happened when something blocked the door from closing all the way which in turn would overload the circuit. Toyota dealers fixed the issue.
Toyota and Honda Consumer Complaints
At first glance, the following chart looks like Toyota has far more complaints than Honda.
Keep in mind though that Toyota sells approximately 500,000 more units per year than Honda. Logically, 33% more vehicle sales mean they are likely to receive more complaints for their vehicles.
Many of Toyota’s complaints in 2007 came from “vehicle speed control” (acceleration issues). The next most common issues were headlights, airbags, and brakes.
Are Hondas Reliable?
Overall, Hondas are very reliable vehicles that can last hundreds of thousands of miles if they are taken care of.
The Takata recall affected many different makes, as their airbags were supplied to a large number of Japanese vehicles (along with some BMWs, Fords, and Chryslers). As long as the airbag was replaced with a revised unit, there’s nothing to worry about.
Honda has had poor software quality in recent years. Since the HVAC system is often integrated into the infotainment system, this leaves a large number of features that could be potentially rendered inaccessible if the software were to freeze.
It’s always a good idea to look for a vehicle that has physical buttons instead of touchscreen controls for critical functions.
What is the Most Reliable Honda?
Most Hondas have a very low recall count from model years 2000 to 2020. When looking toward the lower end of this graph, keep in mind that “Accord” recalls may also apply to the “Accord Hybrid”.
Newer vehicles tend to have less recalls. They have been on the market for a shorter amount of time and have a smaller userbase. Their recall count will likely grow over time.
For instance, the Honda Prelude was discontinued in 2001 so it only has one recall on this graph.
Are Toyotas Reliable?
Toyota has recalls just like any other manufacturer. However, they remain one of the most consistently reliable manufacturers in existence.
Toyota invented the “lean manufacturing” production method. Also known as “The Toyota Way”, lean manufacturing is an efficient and cost effective way to develop a product.
This process has been copied across the world. Lean manufacturing is even used by some manufacturers in completely unrelated industries!
What is the Most Reliable Toyota?
If you look at the recall numbers between model years 2000 and 2020, there are many reliable Toyotas to choose from. The Toyota Matrix and Echo are great picks that are also fairly inexpensive on the used market.
The Toyota 86 is a young buck compared to the Corolla. Less users and less time on the market means the recall count is much lower.
Why Do Manufacturers Reuse Parts?
Astute readers may have noticed that some of these problems could have been minimized if manufacturers didn’t reuse components so often. Although it might sound foolish, it’s very common for a manufacturer to use the same parts across multiple models.
If a vehicle is priced too high for its target market, it will not sell. If the vehicle won’t sell, the manufacturer can’t afford to create it. Reusing components will lower the cost to develop a new vehicle, which lowers the purchase price for the consumer.
Since replacement parts become more common when they are shared across models, the cost to repair your vehicle will also be lower than it would if each model had bespoke parts.
Conclusion
Comparing the reliability of two manufacturers is no easy task. There are so many factors that contribute to an owner’s perception of reliability, and so much that can change over the years. Even when you look at the numbers, there are many ways you can analyze data that has been collected.
Try to think critically about your budget and your use case. Are you buying new with a warranty, or a well-loved older model? Common problems on older vehicles are typically well documented.
How long do you plan on keeping the vehicle? Does it matter if the engine will need a rebuild at 100,000 miles if you typically ditch your vehicle when the warranty runs out at 60,000?
Are your roads salted in the wintertime? Salt will annihilate cars that are already prone to rusting. How do you feel about CVT transmissions? They are a relatively new and somewhat controversial type of automatic transmission.
With these questions in mind, try to read car reviews through from the perspective of your specific use case. Check Consumer Reports for their take on any vehicle you may be interested in.
Not all owners use their cars in the same way, so your personal situation may be somewhat unique. Make sure you’re picking the features that maximize the bang for your buck.
Additional Data Source Info
The graphs in this article were generated from datasets that can be found on this page.
All graphs use data from model years 2000 – 2020 for Toyota and Honda. Data is available for all manufacturers if you wish to compare other makes. To replicate these numbers, you may also have to limit the Vehicle/Equipment/Tire indicator to “V”.
