20 Vehicles That Need the Fewest ‘Check Engine’ Repairs

It can be unsettling to see that check-engine light flash on. If you own these cars and trucks, you are less likely to have to worry.

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Karla Bowsher • December 16, 2016

The check-engine light is on in at least 10 percent of cars and trucks on the road at any given time, according to a new report from CarMD.

Of course, sometimes it’s a fluke. My car’s check-engine light is on right now because the mechanic forgot to reset it after my last oil change, and I’m too lazy to drive back just to have it reset or to figure out how to do so myself.

So CarMD set out to determine which vehicles are least likely to actually need repairs associated with their check-engine lights. The result is the 2016 CarMD Vehicle Health Index released this week.

The latest annual index lists these as the U.S. vehicle models from model years 1996 to 2016 that had the fewest check-engine-related problems reported from October 2015 through September 2016:

2012 Honda CR-V
2014 Toyota Tundra
2015 Toyota Camry
2015 Toyota Corolla
2014 Ford Explorer
2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee
2013 Honda Pilot
2015 Ford F-250
2010 Toyota Prius
2015 Hyundai Sonata
2015 Chevrolet Cruze
2011 Honda Civic
2013 Honda Accord
2014 Volkswagen Jetta
2011 Toyota Sienna
2011 Honda CR-V
2015 Nissan Altima
2008 Toyota Prius
2014 Ford Fusion
2013 Nissan Rogue

A list of all 100 top-ranked vehicle models based on repair frequency is available on CarMD’s “2016 Make & Model Rankings” page, which notes:

It is important to remember that even the 99th or 100th ranked vehicle on the list is a significant achievement, as this puts it in the top 1 percent of all vehicles being ranked.