Toyota and Honda are top car brands that have a great reputation when it comes to making reliable vehicles. With a good lineup of vehicles available for every driver, these Japanese car manufacturers are really amongst the best of the best. But which of the two has the edge in terms of reliability.
Current Reliability Rankings
According to the 2025 J.D. Power Vehicle Dependability Study, Toyota leads in reliability, ranking #2 overall, with a reliability score of 84.
The 2022 Toyota Corolla has been named the most dependable compact car after three years of ownership.
To be fair, Honda also performs well, ranking #5 with a score of 65.
Lexus takes the top spot with a score of 92. And since Lexus is Toyota's luxury brand, we can as well say Toyota takes the No 1 spot through Lexus!
That's not all!
In Consumer Reports' latest reliability rankings, Toyota ranks 3rd while Honda is 5th, with Subaru and Lexus leading the pack.
So in terms of rankings, Toyota definitely has the edge.
A Look at Some Key Reliability Metrics
Let's take a closer look at some key metrics that are used to rate reliability.
Annual Maintenance Costs
According to RepairPal, Toyota's average annual maintenance cost is $441. This is slightly higher than Honda's annual maintenance cost of $428. The industry average is actually $652 so both Toyota and Honda are way below this average.
10-Year Maintenance Costs
If you are wondering why Toyota seems to rank higher than Honda in terms of reliability despite having a higher annual maintenance cost, let's take a look at the long-term maintenance costs.
The 10-Year maintenance cost for Toyota is around $6,000 while that of Honda is $7,500. The difference is clear here!
Severe Repair Probability
Another metric that proves reliability is the Severe Repair Probability.
This is simply the likelihood that a vehicle will require significant or major repairs.
Toyota vehicles have a 10% chance of needing severe repairs, while Honda vehicles have a 12% chance.
Model-Specific Reliability
Now let's take a look at how reliable specific Toyota and Honda models have proven over time.
Toyota Corolla vs Honda Civic
The Toyota Corolla is known for exceptional reliability, with a 5-year ownership cost of $23,921 while the Honda Civic's 5-year ownership cost is $24,230. That is pretty close and both vehicles are seen by many drivers as dependable vehicles.
Toyota RAV4 Hybrid vs Honda CR-V Hybrid
The Toyota RAV4 Hybrid has a reliability score of 4.5/5 and annual maintenance costs of about $350 while the Honda CR-V Hybrid's score is 4.3/5, and annual maintenance cost - $375.
Safety
Both Toyota and Honda have high safety ratings.
Toyota vehicles like the Corolla, Camry, and RAV4 have received Top Safety Pick+ awards from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), this is probably due to their robust crash protection and standard safety tech.
Honda vehicles like the Accord, CR-V, and Civic also frequently earn Top Safety Pick ratings.
However, Toyota tends to score slightly higher in IIHS evaluations.
Resale Value
According to iSeeCars, Toyota ranks slightly higher in resale value compared to Honda.
Toyota models like the Corolla and Camry can be sold for as high as 62-64% of their original value after five years.
Honda vehicles like the Civic and CR-V also have good resale value, being sold for 58-61% of their value after 5 years.
Toyota vs Honda Reliability Conclusion
Though both Toyota and Honda produce reliable and dependable vehicles with maintenance costs way below the industry average, Toyota has proven to be more reliable in the long run. With lower long-term maintenance costs and stronger resale value, the reliability race may be pretty close but Toyota still leads!
