Which Is the Most Reliable Full-Size Truck?
John Goreham is a life-long car nut and recovering engineer. John’s focus areas are technology, safety, and green vehicles. In the 1990s, he was part of an academic team that built a solar-electric vehicle from scratch. His was the role of the battery thermal control designer. After earning his engineering degree, John also completed a marketing program at Northeastern University. For 20 years, he applied his engineering and sales talents in the worlds of semiconductor manufacturing, biopharmaceutical production, and automotive electronics supply chain. Always a writer, John has published numerous articles in technical journals such as Chemical Processing Magazine. In 2008 he retired from that career and dedicated himself to chasing his dream of being an auto writer. In addition to online publications such as Car Talk, John’s work has appeared in print in dozens of American newspapers, and he provides reviews to many vehicle shopping sites.
Each brand works equally hard at telling you they have the most reliable truck you can buy. But which brand actually does?
Reliability is a key metric when determining our list of the best trucks.
We researched full-size trucks using trusted resources that derive their data from owner surveys. We used Consumer Reports' data, the 2021 J.D. Power Dependability Study, and CarComplaints.com as our metrics. We then come up with our own letter grade on the model's reliability.
Here is our list of the most reliable full-sized pickup trucks for sale in America.
Check out our top picks for the most reliable trucks >>
Table of Contents
Who Provided the Data For This List?
To determine which are the most reliable, we used three trusted sources of information, all of which rely on owner-reported data. Consumer Reports rates vehicles based on a 1-5 scale, with 5 being the most reliable. We used multiple years of Consumer Reports ratings and then averaged them to get one number.
Next, we look at the J.D. Power and Associates vehicle dependability study. This study looks at the number of owner-reported defects in vehicles that have been in service for three years. The J.D. Power study is a brand-wide look at which companies make reliability a focus.
Finally, we look at each model on the CarComplaints website to see if owners report any frequent big-ticket repairs. From all of this data, we then assign a simple letter grade to each model from A to D.
Most Reliable Full-Size Trucks Comparison
| Model | Consumer Reports Ranking (Higher is Better) | J.D. Power Brand Ranking (Lower is Better) | Our Ranking |
| Toyota Tundra | |||
| Ram 1500 | |||
| Ford F-150 | |||
| Chevy Silverado | |||
| GMC Sierra |
1. Toyota Tundra
Toyota has built its global brand on reliability, durability, and quality. You may have noticed that we didn’t say horsepower, payload, or towing capacity. While the rest of the truck makers vie to give you the largest digits on a specification sheet, Toyota focuses on building a truck that won’t break.
The Tundra leads its class in zero ways other than reliability. It has the oldest engine technology, the fewest options for buyers, and although Toyota does offer a TRD version of its Tundra, Toyota doesn’t make anything that rivals the Ram TRX or Ford Raptor. If a Toyota pickup meets your needs, we suggest you seriously consider it if reliability matters to you.
What’s New for 2023?
Since the Tundra was redesigned in 2022, there are only awesome minor changes for 2023. The most notable addition is the debut of the SX appearance package that adds black and dark gray design elements to the Tundra's exterior and interior trim.
Toyota Tundra Feature
- #1 truck in quality by a country mile
Current Toyota Tundra Deals & Incentives
| Year | Make | Model | Cash Incentives (up to) | Best Avail. APR | Lease Offers | Expiration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Toyota | Tundra | ||||
| 2023 | Toyota | Tundra | $359/month for 36 months, $3,999 due at signing | 5/31/23 |
You may qualify for deals and incentives, check out this month's Toyota deals and average prices paid.
2. RAM 1500
Drive a new Ram 1500, and you will find it offers the best ride in the segment. Based on our testing, this is true across the model lineup and across the range of prices for this truck model. Ram also has adopted the modern tablet-like infotainment system that many shoppers now prefer.
The good news is that Ram’s soft ride does not mean it’s a “soft” truck. Ram offers the highest reliability full-line truck model in America. Ram is also the top brand for reliability when payload, towing, and performance matter to a truck shopper.
What’s New for 2023?
The RAM 1500 adds a the Elite Edition which adds a multifunction and locking tailgate, tailgate ajar warning lamp, four adjustable cargo tie-down hooks, deployable bed step, and a cargo divider.
RAM 1500 Features
- TRX trim offers 702 hp and desert-racer capability
- Best in class comfort
- Best in class infotainment options
- Diesel offerings
Current RAM 1500 Deals & Incentives
| Year | Make | Model | Cash Incentives (up to) | Best Avail. APR | Lease Offers | Expiration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | RAM | Ram Pickup 1500 | $3,000 | 1.90% | $436/month for 42 months, $3,999 due at signing | 5/31/23 |
| 2023 | RAM | Ram Pickup 1500 | $3,000 | 2.90% | $463/month for 42 months, $3,999 due at signing | 5/31/23 |
You may qualify for additional deals and incentives, check out this month's RAM deals and average prices paid.
3. Ford F-150
Ford’s F-150 line is the broadest in the truck segment, and Ford tops all of the sales charts. Ford didn’t build that volume of sales and its loyal ownership base by making a bad truck. Quite the contrary, Ford trucks have a reputation for being tough on the job site or the campsite.
Ford has gone beyond all other truck makers to offer modern turbocharged and hybrid powertrain offerings. Ford has also been the materials leader in the truck industry, demonstrated by its adoption of aluminum body panels. There are many ways Ford pushes the envelope. This kind of cutting-edge technology sometimes has a downside in reliability, but other times, such as the rust-proof aluminum the company uses, it pays benefits.
What’s New for 2023?
The F-150 adds some splashy exterior paints for the 2023 model year. You can now choose from Area 51 Blue, Avalanche, Azure Gray Metallic Tri-Coat, and Hot Pepper Red Metallic Tinted Clearcoat. The following exterior paints have been removed for the 2023 model year: Smoked Quartz Metallic Tinted Clearcoat and Space White Metallic.
Ford F-150 Features
- Diesel offerings
- Hybrid options with on-board generators
- Modern infotainment
- Raptor desert-racer option
Current Ford F-150 Deals & Incentives
| Year | Make | Model | Cash Incentives (up to) | Best Avail. APR | Lease Offers | Expiration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Ford | F-150 | 0.00% | $429/month for 36 months, $5,469 due at signing | 5/31/23 | |
| 2023 | Ford | F-150 | 0.00% | $429/month for 36 months, $5,459 due at signing | 5/31/23 |
You may qualify for additional deals and incentives, check out this month's Ford deals and average prices paid.
4 & 5. GMC Sierra and Chevy Silverado
We were surprised to see the results of the GM truck twins. Although Chevy scores well overall on the J.D. Power brand rankings, its Consumer Reports ratings were less than stellar. Both the Sierra and Silverado 1500 truck models have a ⅕ reliability rating for the 2020, 2019, and 2018 model years.
The brand that pounded our TV screens and radio speakers with the “Like a Rock” reliability advertisement campaign has the lowest scores we could find for reliability. Incredibly, the “Professional Grade” GMC brand does not even score above average on the J.D. Power reliability chart.
What’s New for 2023?
The Silverado 1500 gets a 3.0-liter I6 LZ0 turbodiesel Duramax engine which will replace the 3.0-liter LM2 engine option. The new Duramax engine will deliver the same performance as the old LM2 powertrain. However, this new powertrain will deliver improved fuel efficiency performance.
The GMC Sierra will receive a mid-cycle refresh in mid-2023 for the 2024 model year.
GMC Sierra and Chevy Silverado Features
- Two brands from which to choose
- Wide range of trim options and special editions
- Diesel offerings
Current GMC Sierra Deals & Incentives
| Year | Make | Model | Cash Incentives (up to) | Best Avail. APR | Lease Offers | Expiration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | GMC | Sierra 1500 | 1.90% | $449/month for 36 months, $4,589 due at signing | 5/31/23 |
You may qualify for additional deals and incentives, check out this month's GMC deals and average prices paid.
Current Chevy Silverado Deals & Incentives
| Year | Make | Model | Cash Incentives (up to) | Best Avail. APR | Lease Offers | Expiration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Chevrolet | Silverado 1500 | ||||
| 2023 | Chevrolet | Silverado 1500 | $399/month for 24 months, $6,089 due at signing | 5/31/23 |
You may qualify for additional deals and incentives, check out this month's Chevrolet deals and average prices paid.
Which Is the Most Reliable Full-Size Truck?
Receiving the highest reliability scores from both Consumer Reports and J.D. Power, the Toyota Tundra is also our top pick for the most reliable truck in 2023. Toyota has built its brand on making vehicles that don’t break, and we know from past reporting that the brand also has the customer base that keeps their vehicles the longest.
We were surprised to see how strong the Ram brand’s quality had risen. Ram and other Stellantis brands like Jeep and Dodge already make some of the most exciting products in the auto industry. Now that the company’s focus has turned to quality control, this is the truck to watch in the future.
Note: We didn’t include Nissan in our list because of a lack of data (low sales rate). The data we could find would not have put Nissan on the podium in any case.
