Best-selling US cars with the worst reliability

The Ford Explorer has been named the least reliable best-selling car due to a record number of recalls and complaints in an October 2026 auto report. Over 23 million cars have been recalled in the US in the first half of this year, doubling the numbers from 2025, and a new study by Rerev identified the most popular models that are most prone to breaking.

Here’s what we found:

• The Ford Explorer cars are most likely to be recalled, with 10.6 recorded issues per year.
• Car owners are least happy with their Ford Escape vehicles, as manufacturers receive over 1,090 complaints annually.
• The Nissan Rogue has sold 1.4M units in 5 years, despite the low IIHS safety score of 3.5.
• See the full top 10 rankings table

The Ford Explorer

Sales: 1.27M in 5 years
Monthly searches: 3.09M
Edmund safety score: 7.2/10
IIHS safety score: 3.56/4
Recalls, average: 10.6 per year
Complaints, average: 1,005 per year
Popular-but-Risky Index: 86.7/100

The Ford Explorer sold over 1.2 million units in the last 5 years, but it’s the most recalled car among the top sellers. On average, the manufacturer issues 10.6 recalls, each affecting hundreds of thousands of vehicles. The owners are often dissatisfied with their purchase, too, and the model receives 1,005 complaints a year, one of the highest rates in the industry. Recalls and complaints still don’t stop the car’s popularity, and every month, it’s looked up online 3M times.

See Ford Explorer years to avoid for model-year guidance.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee

The Jeep Grand Cherokee follows closely, with 1,001 owner complaints per year, but even lower safety ratings than the Ford Explorer. The vehicle scores 2.95 out of 4 in IIHS ratings, with the worst marks for moderate front-impact crash protection and seat belt reminder performance. Still, the company sold over 1.3M vehicles in 5 years, and every month, 2.4 million people check information about this car online.

The Chevrolet Equinox

In third place is the Chevrolet Equinox, which is the most popular car on the Internet in the study, gathering 3.8M monthly searches. It sells as well as the Jeep Grand Cherokee, with 1.3M units retailed, but safety issues persist. It scores only 5.7/10 on safety, according to Edmunds rankings, and IIHS evaluated its safety rating as 3.14/4.

The Toyota Corolla

The Toyota Corolla is the fourth most popular vehicle that experiences significant issues with safety and reliability. Its 5-year sales crossed the 1.4M mark, mainly due to its low cost: it’s the cheapest vehicle in the top 5, costing around $24.3K. At the same time, cars of this model get into accidents way more often, with almost 4K crashes. Recalls are common, too, with an average of 5 recalls a year.

See Toyota Corolla years to avoid before you buy.

The Nissan Altima

The Nissan Altima rounds out the top 5 popular car models that are not as reliable, with 460 complaints a year. It’s the second most searched vehicle on the list, with 3.5M people checking the car specifications each month, but the sales are on the lower end, with 717K. Its popularity is offset by safety issues, as it scores only 3.11/4 on IIHS ratings, and pedestrian crash avoidance was assessed the lowest.

What the data says about software and rising recall counts

Our take — REREV Team:

The Ford Explorer’s most recent wave of recalls includes headlight software errors and engine control module failures, and none of these issues existed as recall categories fifteen years ago. Modern vehicles contain over 100 million lines of code, more than a Boeing 787. Software defects now account for a growing share of NHTSA investigations, and unlike a faulty bolt that can be inspected during assembly, a software bug can sit undetected until a specific driving condition triggers it in the field. The recall numbers are rising partly because vehicles are more complex, not just because quality has fallen.

Full top 10 rankings

Here are the best-selling cars on the American market that lack reliability the most:

You can access the full report findings by following this link.

The remaining models in the top 10 combine strong sales with lower index scores than the leaders:

Ford Escape — Popular-But-Risky Index 53.46, 899K sales in 5 years, 8.6 recalls per year (avg), and 1,090.3 complaints per year (avg).

Nissan Rogue — Index 45.36, 1.44M sales in 5 years, IIHS safety score 3.50/4, and 376.7 complaints per year (avg).

Chevrolet Trax — Index 37.62, 584K sales, 3.34M monthly searches, and 66.3 complaints per year (avg).

Dodge Durango — Index 33.66, 389K sales, Edmund safety score 4.9/10, and 483.6 complaints per year (avg).

Subaru Forester — Index 31.86, 949K sales, 4 recalls per year (avg), and 223.7 complaints per year (avg).

Methodology

The study focused on vehicles that combine popularity among consumers with lower safety and reliability performance. The report assessed 22 top-selling car models and compared them by 8 key factors, from costs and online searches to multiple verified safety rankings (IIHS, Edmunds safety score, and NHTSA data), recall and complaint frequency, and car crash statistics. Together, these factors were built into the Popular-But-Risky Index, which ranks vehicles on a scale of 1-100, where 100 reflects both popularity and unreliability.

When using the data, please credit https://rerev.com/.