One of the two quietest years — the engine drama recedes and the file goes small and diffuse.
The cleanest Explorer in this run — no expensive out-of-warranty pattern, just recalls and a free 2.3L block program to verify.
Engine flag: this is 2.3L EcoBoost I4 trouble — the 3.5L Ti-VCT V6, 3.5L EcoBoost V6, 2.7L EcoBoost V6, and 3.0L EcoBoost V6 don’t share it. Which engine is in yours? →
The quiet final year — the engine drama is behind it, and the file is small and scattered.
The quietest Pilot we track — the settled final year of the third generation.
The fewest complaints of any year here — a new turbo engine that's holding up, once the launch software is done.
The quietest V6 gen-four year — the settled one, if the eight-speed drives clean.
The lowest complaint total in the run at 84, and the last year before the 2024 redesign. Both recalls are powertrain, both can drop the car out of gear or let it roll away in park, and both have free fixes that were available years ago.
The quiet middle year — the last one CSP11 covers, with the engine story shifting from coolant to oil.
The year the numbers collapse: 86 complaints against 212 the year before and 452 in 2018. Three recalls, one of which only applies to wheelchair conversions. The nine-speed shudder is still in the file, just much quieter.
92 complaints and a single recall, but a third of the recent file is one thing: a Shift to Park message on a model year GM's thirteen bulletins about it never reached. One owner was quoted $800 with no coverage.
The oil-consumption year — the engine story flips from coolant to oil, and this is the first year CSP11 no longer covers.
A clean-sheet redesign with a fresh-launch recall sheet — low complaint volume, but verify every campaign.
The eight-speed's recovery year — a late-2018 build is the calmer third-gen buy.
The quietest year of this generation and the only one with no recalls at all — but the complaints it does have are timing chains and transmissions.
Engine flag: this is 3.5L V6 + Jatco CVT trouble — the 3.5L V6 + ZF 9-speed doesn’t share it. Which engine is in yours? →
A settling gen-6 year with mostly fuel-and-park recalls — a solid buy once the driveline and EcoBoost recalls are confirmed.
Engine flag: this is 2.7L EcoBoost V6 and 3.0L EcoBoost V6 trouble — the 3.5L Ti-VCT V6, 3.5L EcoBoost V6, and 2.3L EcoBoost I4 don’t share it. Which engine is in yours? →
The launch-year recall stack is gone and one recall remains — but the rear brakes wear out even earlier than on the 2022, and the cameras fail.
Engine flag: this is 3.5L V6 + ZF 9-speed trouble — the 3.5L V6 + Jatco CVT doesn’t share it. Which engine is in yours? →
A redesign year that launched unusually clean — mind the early-build software and the HVAC servo.
The quietest fourth-generation year so far, and the hybrid is the version that still stops in traffic.
Engine flag: this is 1.6L Turbo hybrid trouble — the 2.4L GDI Theta II, 2.0L Turbo GDI Theta II, 3.3L GDI Lambda II V6, 2.5L Theta III GDI, and 2.5L Theta III T-GDI don’t share it. Which engine is in yours? →
The quiet final year of the fifth generation — the cleanest gen-5 Explorer, if the water pump and recalls check out.
Engine flag: this is 3.5L Ti-VCT V6 trouble — the 3.5L EcoBoost V6, 2.3L EcoBoost I4, 2.7L EcoBoost V6, and 3.0L EcoBoost V6 don’t share it. Which engine is in yours? →
The quietest Telluride year by some distance — 197 federal complaints against the 2020's 736 — and the engine cluster has all but disappeared.
The second gen-6 year — much calmer than 2020, but the park-rollaway and EcoBoost-engine recalls still need checking.
Engine flag: this is 2.7L EcoBoost V6 and 3.0L EcoBoost V6 trouble — the 3.5L Ti-VCT V6, 3.5L EcoBoost V6, and 2.3L EcoBoost I4 don’t share it. Which engine is in yours? →
The head-crack story starts to quiet — still present and still CSP11-covered, with two recalls to clear.
Quieter than its neighbors, and back inside the engine recall — a more buyable third-gen year.
One of the quieter third-gen years — check the brake recall and the idle-stop coverage.
A quieter late-gen-5 year that still carries the water-pump and PTU risk — check the 3.5L before you buy.
Engine flag: this is 3.5L Ti-VCT V6 trouble — the 3.5L EcoBoost V6, 2.3L EcoBoost I4, 2.7L EcoBoost V6, and 3.0L EcoBoost V6 don’t share it. Which engine is in yours? →
Settling down, but past the engine recall — verify the recalls and the idle-stop coverage.
A sweet-spot year — the bulletproof six-speed, if you check the engine for oil leaks first.
A completely new Sorento with five open recalls, including one that can take away drive power and one that can start a fire.
Engine flag: this is 2.5L Theta III T-GDI trouble — the 2.4L GDI Theta II, 2.0L Turbo GDI Theta II, 3.3L GDI Lambda II V6, 2.5L Theta III GDI, and 1.6L Turbo hybrid don’t share it. Which engine is in yours? →
The first year the CVT settlement no longer reaches — a quieter car on paper, but its transmission was never covered beyond the base warranty.
Engine flag: this is 3.5L V6 + Jatco CVT trouble — the 3.5L V6 + ZF 9-speed doesn’t share it. Which engine is in yours? →
Complaints fall by more than half from the 2017, but three recalls and a blank-screen dashboard problem make this a verify-everything year.
The engine cooling fan is the problem nobody warns you about — budget for it, verify the hood-latch recall, and this is a cheap three-row.
Engine flag: this is 3.5L V6 + Jatco CVT trouble — the 3.5L V6 + ZF 9-speed doesn’t share it. Which engine is in yours? →
Complaints nearly halve against 2019, but the recall list quadruples to eight, including a cracked frame rail whose remedy is to replace the vehicle. The nine-speed shudder is still here and now it arrives just past the warranty line.
The quietest third-generation year on paper, and the only one with no knock-sensor campaign behind its four-cylinder.
Engine flag: this is 2.4L GDI Theta II trouble — the 2.0L Turbo GDI Theta II, 3.3L GDI Lambda II V6, 2.5L Theta III GDI, 2.5L Theta III T-GDI, and 1.6L Turbo hybrid don’t share it. Which engine is in yours? →
A strong gen-four year with one loud thread — the same eight-speed whine, at higher mileage.
The loudest Highlander year in our data — buy the fixed transmission, not the whine.
The CVT is gone and that changes everything — but this is a launch year with five recalls, rear brakes that wear out absurdly early, and a glass roof that breaks.
Engine flag: this is 3.5L V6 + ZF 9-speed trouble — the 3.5L V6 + Jatco CVT doesn’t share it. Which engine is in yours? →
The complaint file drops by two thirds against 2017, but the four-cylinder still burns oil with nothing behind it.
Engine flag: this is 2.4L GDI Theta II and 2.0L Turbo GDI Theta II trouble — the 3.3L GDI Lambda II V6, 2.5L Theta III GDI, 2.5L Theta III T-GDI, and 1.6L Turbo hybrid don’t share it. Which engine is in yours? →
Same launch-era engine, same cracked-head coolant leak — still warranty-extended, and now the fuel pump has its own coverage too.
Nine recalls across three versions, and the complaint file is dominated by one gearbox.
Engine flag: this is 2.5L Theta III T-GDI trouble — the 2.4L GDI Theta II, 2.0L Turbo GDI Theta II, 3.3L GDI Lambda II V6, 2.5L Theta III GDI, and 1.6L Turbo hybrid don’t share it. Which engine is in yours? →
The second year of the nine-speed, and the second loudest in the run at 398 complaints. The same shudder and the same Shift to Park message as 2018, but the failures land later and this is the year GM started handing out free coverage for the exhaust.
The last of the old Traverse, and the loudest first-generation year we have at 359 complaints. Fewer recalls than 2016, but the same two air bag inflator campaigns and a six-speed with a documented shudder that no recall will ever pay to fix.
The year the file stops being about the engine and starts being about glass and screens — with seven recalls, the most of any Telluride year.
The quietest Palisade in this range on paper, and the year the radiator and the rear shocks show up.
Less than half the 2020's complaint volume, the same engine story, and a sunroof bill that can reach $6,441.
The newest year in this range files more complaints than the 2022 — and almost all of the increase is recalls nobody can fix.
The complaint count jumps back up to 418, and this is the year owners start quoting the knock code by number.
Engine flag: this is 2.4L GDI Theta II trouble — the 2.0L Turbo GDI Theta II, 3.3L GDI Lambda II V6, 2.5L Theta III GDI, 2.5L Theta III T-GDI, and 1.6L Turbo hybrid don’t share it. Which engine is in yours? →
The loudest gen-2 year — the cracked-head coolant leak peaks here, and two recalls sit alongside it.
Fewer complaints than the 2020, the same engine, and a brake recall the first year never had.
The rear-drive redesign year that launched with 31 recalls — only buy one with the driveline and park-safety recalls documented.
The gen-2 launch year, and one of the loudest — the cracked-cylinder-head coolant leak is the whole story, and it's warranty-extended.
The transmission-shudder year — engine recall covers it, but the 9-speed is what to test.
The gen-5 engine-and-transmission year — walk if the 3.5L shows coolant in the oil or the transmission slips.
Engine flag: this is 3.5L Ti-VCT V6 trouble — the 3.5L EcoBoost V6, 2.3L EcoBoost I4, 2.7L EcoBoost V6, and 3.0L EcoBoost V6 don’t share it. Which engine is in yours? →
The awkward middle year — same engine and transmission risks, but left out of the engine recall.
A fifth-generation Explorer with an expensive engine-and-driveline to-do list — buyable only with the water-pump, PTU, and recall history in hand.
Engine flag: this is 3.5L Ti-VCT V6 trouble — the 3.5L EcoBoost V6, 2.3L EcoBoost I4, 2.7L EcoBoost V6, and 3.0L EcoBoost V6 don’t share it. Which engine is in yours? →
The loudest Pilot year — buyable only with the engine recall confirmed and the transmission road-tested.
The one third-gen year to approach carefully — buy it only with the eight-speed's fix documented.
The old six-speed Traverse, with the most recalls of any first-generation year and a driver air bag inflator campaign that GM was still mailing letters about at the end of 2025. The engine is durable if it was fed; the timing chain is the bill if it wasn't.
The loudest Pathfinder year in our whole set — two fire-risk brake recalls stacked on a failing transmission and a failing cooling fan. Skip it.
The loudest year in the whole run at 452 complaints, and the launch of a nine-speed automatic that owners replace, replace again, and are never given a recall for. Only two recalls, and neither one touches the failure that dominates the file.
The first year, and the cleanest oil-consumption file in the catalogue — the engine goes quiet, then it goes.
788 federal complaints, and the V6 is the only version with a free engine behind it.
Engine flag: this is 3.3L GDI Lambda II V6 trouble — the 2.4L GDI Theta II, 2.0L Turbo GDI Theta II, 2.5L Theta III GDI, 2.5L Theta III T-GDI, and 1.6L Turbo hybrid don’t share it. Which engine is in yours? →
The award-sweep first year, and the loudest engine file in the Telluride's history — 736 federal complaints, most of them oil.
1,241 federal complaints and eight recalls. Which engine it has decides whether this is a bargain or a walk-away.
Engine flag: this is 2.4L GDI Theta II and 2.0L Turbo GDI Theta II trouble — the 3.3L GDI Lambda II V6, 2.5L Theta III GDI, 2.5L Theta III T-GDI, and 1.6L Turbo hybrid don’t share it. Which engine is in yours? →
Rates use published U.S. sales as the denominator — a rate, not a raw count, so best-sellers aren’t punished for selling. It’s imperfect on purpose and we say exactly where (the methodology page): sales aren’t surviving fleet, some makers publish entangled figures, and complaint filing is self-reported. * A “0 recalls*” mark is a verified zero — checked against the federal database and date-stamped, a point in that year’s favor.
“The average three-row SUV is fine. You’re not buying the average — you’re buying one specific year of one specific badge.”
Shortlisting from this board? We’ll watch your years.
New recalls, federal investigations, and quiet warranty programs land months after you buy. Tell the canary which years you’re considering — it sings when something changes.
Watch my years — freeThe other boards
Same method, different segment:
Heavy-duty pickups, Luxury SUVs, and Subcompact SUVs aren’t ranked yet — each has only one model in our data so far, nothing fair to compare against. They join the Index when their segment-mates ship.