Used cars with the fewest engine and transmission complaints, by type

The model years with the lowest share of engine and transmission complaints to NHTSA: compact SUVs, sedans, minivans and pickups. Big samples only.

By Eyal Malka · November 5, 2026 · Data: NHTSA, updated October 3, 2026 · How we score

Most "most reliable used cars" lists are opinion, survey data you cannot see, or a ranking of brands. This one is none of those. It is the model years, within each kind of vehicle, where owner complaints filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration were least about the engine and the transmission, computed from the public complaint records for the 200 models we track. Every row links to the model-year page with the full breakdown.

It is a list for a buyer who already knows what kind of car they need, a compact SUV, a minivan, a pickup, and wants to start the search from the model years with the cleanest drivetrain record in that class.

How the list is built

The number on every row is the drivetrain share: of all the complaints owners filed about that model year, the percentage tagged Power Train, Engine or Fuel/Propulsion System. It is not a count. A count mostly measures how many of a car were sold and how old it is. The share measures where owners' complaints concentrate, which is what a problem looks like in this data. How to read these numbers.

Two rules keep the list honest:

• Only model years with at least 200 complaints are ranked. A car with 30 complaints can show 5% by chance. At 200 or more, a low share is a pattern rather than a coin toss.
• Each class is ranked on its own. Pickups and minivans are used differently and complained about differently, so a pickup is only compared with pickups.

That floor has a cost. A model year with very few complaints, which can itself be a good sign, does not appear here, because there is not enough data to rank it. If the car you want is missing, check it by VIN; it may simply be a quiet model year.

Across all classes, the typical model year with 200 or more complaints has a drivetrain share in the 40s. Everything below is well under that. The tables refresh when the data does, so they may differ slightly from the figures quoted in the text; the script behind them is tools/guide-stats.mjs.

Compact SUVs

This is the class with the widest spread. Of 121 compact SUV model years with 200 or more complaints, the median drivetrain share is 52%, and only 33 sit under 33%, the line below which we show no elevated signal.

Three nameplates fill the top of it: the recent Honda CR-V, the 2018 to 2021 Subaru Forester and the 2018 and 2019 Nissan Rogue. The Rogue is the one to be careful with: the same nameplate is among the worst in the class in other years, with the 2013 at 76% and the 2022 at 79%. A good year of a car does not vouch for the years either side of it.

Midsize sedans

Of 80 midsize sedan model years with 200 or more complaints, the median is 48% and 20 are under 33%.

The Toyota Camry and Honda Accord appear more than once, as you would expect, but so do the 2011 and 2012 Ford Fusion, both on very large samples (2,786 and 2,616 complaints), and the 2018 Nissan Altima, the first year after a long run of high scores. The Accord is a useful warning in the other direction: the 2018 and 2019 Accord score 44% and 42%, so "Accord" is not a safe answer on its own.

Midsize SUVs and crossovers

The largest class, and the one with the most good options: 56 of 163 model years are under 33%, and the median is 41%.

Six of the ten lowest are Subaru Outback model years from 2017 to 2022, with the 2019 at 7% on more than 1,000 complaints. The Outback is also a clear example of a car that changed: the 2010 to 2014 Outback years run from 41% to 62%. The 2018 Jeep Wrangler at 15% on 1,823 complaints is worth noting: the 2018 to 2020 Wrangler all score low, while the 2012 to 2014 Wrangler are all above 60%.

Minivans

Minivans have the lowest median of the classes here, 36% across 34 model years, and 15 of them are under 33%.

The Toyota Sienna takes three of the top places. The Honda Odyssey and the Chrysler-built vans, the Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country, also have years in the clean range. If you are buying a minivan, the drivetrain is less often the main story than it is in other classes, which leaves the inspection to look at everything else a family van goes through.

Pickups

Full-size pickups have more complaints per model year than most classes, so the floor is easy to clear. The median is 48% across 54 model years, and 10 are under 33%.

The lowest are the 2013 Ram 1500 and a run of Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 years from 2010 to 2015. Later GM full-size trucks score considerably higher, so the year matters as much here as anywhere.

Midsize pickups have fewer model years with enough complaints to rank, 19, and only 6 of them are under 33%. These are those six.

The 2015 and 2016 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, the 2010 Toyota Tacoma and the 2020 Jeep Gladiator. Note what is not here: of the Tacoma years with enough complaints to rank, 2012 and 2016 to 2019 are all at 42% or more.

Compact cars

For completeness, the class most buyers on a budget are shopping. Of 87 compact model years with 200 or more complaints, the median is 53% and 28 are under 33%.

The 2022 Honda Civic at 3% on 959 complaints is the lowest share of any compact model year with a sample that size. The 2010 Toyota Prius is a hybrid, which is worth knowing if you are pricing a battery into the purchase. The 2010 cars on the list, the Mazda3, Corolla, Civic and Elantra, are now old enough that the condition of the individual car will matter more than the model-year record; the 100,000-mile guide covers that.

What a low share does and does not mean

A low drivetrain share says that owners of that model year who were unhappy enough to file a federal complaint were mostly unhappy about something other than the engine and transmission. It does not say:

• That this car is fine. A clean model year can still produce a car that was neglected, flooded, or driven hard. The model-year record is the base rate; the inspection is the individual car.
• That the car is free of recalls. Recalls are a separate dataset. A low-complaint model year can have open recalls, and the recall guide explains how to check.
• That nothing else goes wrong. Some of these model years have plenty of complaints about electronics, brakes or airbags. Each car page shows the full breakdown by component.

Using this list

1. Pick the class first, then the model year. Use the table for your class as a shortlist, then search listings for those exact years.
2. Check the actual car by VIN. Listings get years wrong, and trims vary. The free report confirms the year, make and model from the VIN and shows its complaint pattern.
3. Look at the years either side. Several of the cleanest years sit right next to bad ones. If a seller's car is one year off from the year you wanted, check that year rather than assuming it is the same.
4. Inspect it anyway. The FTC's guidance for used-car buyers is to have an independent mechanic inspect the car, even one a dealer calls certified (FTC: Buying a Used Car From a Dealer). A good model year makes a good inspection result more likely; it does not replace it.

Frequently asked questions

Which used compact SUV has the fewest engine and transmission complaints?

Among compact SUV model years with at least 200 NHTSA complaints, the 2023 and 2022 Honda CR-V have the lowest drivetrain shares, followed by the 2018 Subaru Forester and 2018 Nissan Rogue. The full ranked table is above and refreshes with the data.

Which used minivan has the best drivetrain record?

The Toyota Sienna has three of the four lowest drivetrain shares among minivan model years with at least 200 complaints: 2015, 2011 and 2012. The 2011 and 2020 Honda Odyssey follow.

Why rank by share instead of number of complaints?

The number of complaints mostly reflects how many of a car were sold and how long it has been on the road. The share of complaints about the engine and transmission shows where owners' problems concentrate, which separates a common car from a car with a drivetrain problem.

Why is my car not on the list?

Either its drivetrain share is higher than the model years shown, or it has fewer than 200 complaints on file, which is too few to rank. A model year with very few complaints is not a bad sign; check it by VIN to see its pattern.