Free. Instant. No signup. Pulls recalls and complaints for your exact vehicle.

Couldn't find that VIN. Check the digits and try again.

2018 chevrolet Sonic vs 2018 nissan Murano

Reliability comparison based on NHTSA recall and complaint records.

Synced 2026-04-29 Source: NHTSA public records Reviewed by ASE-certified contributors
Quick verdict
2018 Chevrolet Sonic and 2018 Nissan Murano are nearly tied on reliability data

2018 chevrolet Sonic

4.3/5
Reliability score
14 complaints
1 recalls (0 critical)
$850 repair exposure
vs

2018 nissan Murano

4.4/5
Reliability score
14 complaints
0 recalls (0 critical)
$850 repair exposure

Stories from the shop

Look, these two are running close enough that you'd be fine either way. Reliability scores are within rounding distance (4.3 for the 2018 chevrolet Sonic, 4.4 for the 2018 nissan Murano), and they've each got their own laundry list of weak spots. There's no clean winner here on the data alone.

If you're leaning 2018 chevrolet Sonic, know what you're getting into on electrical. Those categories have noticeably more complaints than what the 2018 nissan Murano sees, and they're not cheap items when they go.

Bottom line: pick based on use case more than the spec sheet. If you tow heavy and don't want to think about it, that's one calculation. If you're a daily driver and want the cheapest path forward, that's another. Both of these will get you down the road. We're just telling you where each one is most likely to break.

— ProblemsByVin editorial team, drawing on the NHTSA data and shop experience.

Side-by-side by problem area

Category
2018 chevrolet Sonic
2018 nissan Murano
electrical
5 reports
moderate · ~$850
4 reports
severe · ~$850

Common questions

Which is more reliable, the 2018 Chevrolet Sonic or the 2018 Nissan Murano?

It's close to a tie. Both vehicles score within 0.2 points on our reliability index (4.3 vs 4.4). At this margin, either choice is defensible — base your decision on the specific failure modes that matter to you.

What goes wrong more often on the 2018 Chevrolet Sonic?

Compared to the 2018 Nissan Murano, the 2018 Chevrolet Sonic sees more reported issues in electrical. That doesn't mean it's a bad truck — it means those are the categories worth budgeting for if you go that direction.

What goes wrong more often on the 2018 Nissan Murano?

On the categories we tracked, the 2018 Nissan Murano doesn't show meaningfully more complaints than the 2018 Chevrolet Sonic. The two are running close.

Which has more recalls?

The 2018 Chevrolet Sonic has more active recalls (1 vs 0). Total count is less important than severity, though — a vehicle with one critical recall and zero moderate ones is generally riskier than one with five moderate recalls.

Is an extended warranty worth it on either of these?

Both vehicles are out of factory bumper-to-bumper coverage at this point. Combined repair exposure across the top problem categories runs around $850 on the higher-risk vehicle. A quality service contract typically costs $1,800–3,500 over 3 years, so a single major failure usually pays for the contract. The math favors warranty coverage on whichever vehicle you choose, especially if you plan to keep it past 100,000 miles.

Related comparisons

Reliability scores, complaint counts, and severity ratings derived from the NHTSA public records database. "Repair exposure" is the sum of average independent-shop repair costs across each vehicle's tracked problem categories and is intended as a relative comparison, not an exact prediction. Editorial commentary auto-generated from the data and reviewed by ASE-certified contributors. Some links on this page are affiliate links.
Get a free warranty quote →