Every Honda SUV On Sale Ranked By Reliability

Honda’s SUVs are extremely popular in the USA, with the evergreen CR-V actually landing a spot in the top 10 list of vehicles sold in America annually, just two spots behind the RAV4. We’re not surprised because you always know exactly what you’re going to get when you buy a Honda. It will be comfortable, ergonomic, safe, decent to drive, and, perhaps the most important aspect of all, reliable. It also helps that Honda’s range of SUVs and crossovers are better defined than their rivals. The Japanese automaker only sells five high-riding models in the USA (six if you count the Ridgeline), and each model caters to a specific audience.

After looking at the reliability scores of two other Japanese automotive giants, we thought it would be a good idea to see how well Honda fares. Interestingly, the most reliable Honda you can buy in 2024 just so happens to be the most reliable Japanese SUV we’ve looked at so far, outscoring both the Toyota Highlander and the Mazda CX-5, which finished on top of Mazda’s reliability rankings. In fact, every Honda on this list with a J.D. Power Quality & Reliability rating scored at least 80 out of 100, which is a remarkable feat. This particular section of the J.D. Power rating focuses on defects, malfunctions, and design flaws of everything from the front to the rear bumper, as reported by owners.

While the J.D. Power rating is our main source of information, we also looked at the number of recalls for each model, and the official complaints logged with the NHTSA and official sales figures to work out how many complaints Honda gets for every 1,000 vehicles sold.

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5

Honda Prologue: Honda’s First Midsize All-Electric SUV

• J.D. Power Quality & Reliability Rating: Not Available
• No. of Recalls: 0
• NHTSA Complaints/1,000 vehicles: Not Available

The Honda Prologue only arrived in dealerships in March, so there are no sales figures available yet. It also hasn’t been ranked by J.D. Power, so we have almost nothing to go on. Thankfully, the NHTSA’s official complaints system is up and running, and so far, one complaint has been filed against Honda’s first electric SUV. This one complaint mentions a brake failure, but the car was fine again after a restart. Because this car is so important for Honda’s future, we’re willing to bet that it’s not taking this one complaint likely.

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We also know that there are already a few hundred Prologues available at dealerships across the USA, and it will be interesting to see how Honda buyers respond to an EV, which is a big departure from the brand’s typically pragmatic approach. For the Prologue, Honda partnered with General Motors, using the latter’s Ultium platform as shared with the Cadillac Lyriq. That means we’ll soon be able to ascertain the reliability of these components across a large number of vehicles, even if not all of them wear a Honda badge.

The good news is that the Prologue qualifies for the Inflation Reduction Act’s $7,500 tax credit, which means you can pick one up for less than $40,000.

2024 Honda Prologue

Base MSRP

$47,400

Engine

Electric

Horsepower

288 hp

Torque

333 lb-ft

Fuel Economy

99/84 MPG

4

Honda CR-V: The Best Generation Yet

• J.D. Power Quality & Reliability Rating: 80/100
• No. of Recalls: 2
• NHTSA Complaints/1,000 vehicles: 1.09

The CR-V is the oldest name on this list, but it just so happens to be the epitome of Honda ownership. It does everything well, and the only criticisms you can level against it are that it’s not that exciting to drive, and you have to pay extra for an all-wheel drive system. The current CR-V was introduced in 2023, but both the turbocharged four-cylinder and four-cylinder hybrid were carried over from the previous model. Basically, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Customers appear to be happy with their cars, and the complaints per 1,000 vehicles figure is remarkably low.

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As a general rule of thumb, every new generation of car gets the most complaints during its first two years on sale. So far, 537 people have complained about their cars, which isn’t bad considering Honda has sold nearly half a million units. The main issue people have is with the steering, which is said to be “sticky” at times. To us, this sounds like a poorly tuned EPAS system, which shouldn’t be hard to rectify.

The current CR-V’s most significant recall is part of a massive Honda recall for several models. Roughly 2.5 million Hondas and Acuras left the factory with a faulty fuel pump, which Honda is replacing free of charge. The only reason the CR-V is this low on the list is that almost every other Honda SUV is insanely reliable.

3

Honda Pilot: Sticking With V6 Power

J.D. Power Quality & Reliability Rating: 80/100

• No. of Recalls: 1
• NHTSA Complaints/1,000 vehicles: 0.35

The all-new Pilot was introduced in 2023 as the largest Honda SUV ever made. Instead of booting the tried-and-trusted naturally aspirated V6 in favor of a turbocharged four-pot, Honda retained the older engine and gave it a slight power boost. The latest model has 285 horsepower and 262 lb-ft to work with, sent to either a FWD or AWD system via a 10-speed automatic transmission. All of these mechanical components have been part of Honda’s range for a while, so there’s not much to complain about.

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The complaint figures reflect as much. Since its introduction, Honda has sold just over 150,000 units, yet it has only received 53 official complaints. The most common complaint is leveled against the advanced driver assistance features, specifically the forward avoidance collision. Apparently, it’s a little paranoid and tends to brake a bit too early for most people’s liking. This particular feature is standard across the entire range, and if it was such a big problem, we’d expect a lot more complaints. For the record, the Pilot received a Top Safety Pick+ award from the IIHS, so we wouldn’t worry too much about these complaints.

2024 Honda Pilot

Base MSRP

$37,090

Engine

3.5L V6 Gas

Horsepower

285 hp

Torque

262 lb-ft

Transmission

10-speed automatic

Drivetrain

FWD | AWD

Towing Capacity

3,500 lbs – 5,000 lbs

Fuel Economy

19/27/22 mpg (FWD) | 19/25/21 mpg (AWD)

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2

Honda HR-V: Reliability At An Affordable Price

• J.D. Power Quality & Reliability Rating: 82/100
• No. of Recalls: 2
• NHTSA Complaints/1,000 vehicles: 3.48

It’s so refreshing to see the entry-level model secure the second-highest quality and reliability rating. The latest HR-V was introduced in 2023 with an all-new body, platform, and engine, and that means more complaints. Sure enough, Honda has received 604 complaints out of nearly 174,000 units sold. As a result, the HR-V is the most complained about Honda crossover on sale, yet owners rank it highly.

Looking through the list of complaints, we found an interesting phenomenon that keeps repeating. Several customers complained about a rear window shattering randomly, but Honda sent out a service notice that it wanted to collect evidence from several cars this happened to. It sounds like the start of a recall.

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The rest of the complaints are random and nothing serious. From our side, the main complaint is the powertrain. The naturally aspirated 2.0-liter and CVT transmission combination is not the best, but you do get decent fuel consumption. The new HR-V also doesn’t have Honda’s Magic Seat arrangement, which makes it less practical than the previous-generation model, even though it’s bigger. Overall, it’s a decent enough crossover, but nothing special. The HR-V is perfect for those in the market for an appliance.

2024 Honda HR-V

Base MSRP

$24,600

Engine

2.0L Inline-4 Gas

Horsepower

158 hp

Torque

138 lb-ft

Transmission

CVT

Drivetrain

FWD or AWD

Fuel Economy

26/32 MPG

1

Honda Passport: The Oldest Is The Most Reliable

• J.D. Power Quality & Reliability Rating: 85/100
• No. of Recalls: 5
• NHTSA Complaints/1,000 vehicles: 0.42

The Honda Passport is the oldest SUV in Honda’s current range, and it’s the one most owners are happiest with. It received 85 out of 100 in the quality and reliability category from J.D. Power, which is better than any other SUV made by a Japanese brand. That’s quite a feather in the Passport’s cap. As we said earlier, the number of complaints usually dies down after a few years on sale. The current Passport was introduced in 2022, but it was more of an extensive facelift than anything else. The platform, engine, and gearbox were all carried over from the original Passport, introduced in 2019.

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The Passport is also the one Honda SUV that doesn’t appear to make sense. It uses the same basic mechanical setup as the Pilot, but you can’t have it with third-row seating. What Honda has done is offer the same SUV in two different flavors. The Pilot is slightly more upmarket and aimed at families who need the seven-seat layout. The Passport is for a family of four to five who need a large cargo area. Of the two, the Pilot is the more successful model, selling 152,231 units since its introduction. Since its facelift in 2023, Honda has sold 92,594 Passports, so there’s some method to this apparent madness. There certainly is enough room for both to exist.

Being the oldest model in the range has helped the Passport achieve such high marks for quality and reliability, if only because Honda has had enough time to iron out the kinks. That being said, there is no real loser on this list, with all the models achieving higher-than-average ratings.

2024 Honda Passport

Base MSRP

$41,900

Engine

3.5L V6 Gas

Horsepower

280 hp

Fuel Economy

19/24 MPG