Which Mid-sized Truck Has the Least Amount of Problems? (Explained!)

Picking out a good mid-sized truck can be difficult. You want to make sure it’s safe, works well, and lasts. The real question is which mid-sized truck has the least amount of problems?

The mid-sized truck with the least amount of problems is the Honda Ridgeline. It has a lot of wonderful features that function well. It also is reliable and built well for everyday use and adventuring. Its main problem is the high beams sometimes turning off at night. 

Below we’ll look at a variety of mid-sized trucks in order from the least to the most amount of problems. Judgment was based on general cons with the vehicle, history of recalls, and common complaints by people who own these trucks.

1. Honda Ridgeline

The Honda Ridgeline is built for a comfortable ride. It has a great interior, good suspension, a waterproof bed, and a lockable storage trunk in the bed that can also act as a cooler. Speaking of storage, there are plenty of places to store things throughout the vehicle. This truck is perfect for everyday use and a little bit of adventure as well.

When we say a little bit of adventure, we mean only a little bit. This truck is built more for everyday use than going off-roading, despite the great suspension. It doesn’t have all the extras to protect it from the crazy roads you’ll find outside of civilization.

On top of that, it also doesn’t have a lot of towing capacity compared to other mid-sized trucks—only 5,000 pounds. Finally, one of its major complaints is with the high beams turning off at night. If another car’s lights are too bright or the Ridgeline’s high beams reflect off a sign, the high beams will turn off, assuming it is daytime.

While the above paragraph seems like a lot of problems, these problems don’t lead to a dangerous situation as some lower down the list will. These problems are more of an inconvenience to the driver. Overall, this vehicle is amazing, and we highly recommend it.

2. Ford Ranger

The Ford Ranger is great for going off-roading. It has a protective cover under the truck to prevent damage on crazier roads. This can prevent debris from getting under and inside the truck and damaging various systems. Its engine is a powerful turbo engine. On top of that, the fuel economy is amazing. Unlike the Ridgeline, it can tow up to 7,500 pounds.

Although it is built more for off-roading, a lot of reviews say it’s a very bumpy ride. This is likely due to the poor suspension of the vehicle. Going off-roading won’t be as fun in this truck, especially if you experience motion sickness easily. Some people aren’t too happy about there being only one engine for this truck because it can be more expensive to replace.

The only other complaint is that the door ajar signal will turn on for the back doors, even if you don’t use them. A lot of owners of the Ford Ranger would drive by themself to work and often struggle to turn the door ajar signal off before leaving. This can be a major distraction to a driver if it were to suddenly turn on while driving, but luckily this has yet to happen.

Something to keep in mind about the Ford Ranger is that it is not nearly as reliable as its F-150, 250, and 350 uncles. Unfortunately, the Ford Ranger suffers from the unreliability that a lot of Ford owners experience with their vehicles.

3. Toyota Tacoma

If you haven’t heard of the Toyota Tacoma, you must be living under a rock. It is extremely popular and for good reason. It has a strong towing capacity of 6,400 pounds. It also has some of the highest safety equipment and safety rating. It is great for off-roading adventures and is very reliable wherever you take it. It is a truck made to last for years and keep your precious cargo safe.

Its safety numbers come from its crash and rollover tests. There have been several complaints surrounding the automatic shifts. The automatic shift can be slow and a little difficult to move. On top of that, it has a forward collision avoidance system that has often failed and hasn’t done much to prevent crashes.

4. Nissan Frontier

This is the grandpa of mid-sized trucks, but a very active grandpa. Nissan has kept the same older style for a couple of years now because it has been reliable and strong. The design and structure of the Frontier have lasted for a long time with very few updates. It has a towing capacity of 6,500, which is average. It also has great protection for when it goes off-roading and a cozy, but older styled, interior.

The Nissan Frontier doesn’t have the best turning radius in the market, but it’s definitely usable. It also has quite a large gas tank with an average fuel economy, so your tank will last you a while.

Nissan Frontiers last forever, too, and rarely need repairs. Some customers have used the truck for 20 years with it still working great. Others have only needed to replace old headlight bulbs.

Since it is an older design, it doesn’t have all the extra safety features such as collision or lane change warnings. It also has about the average or a little below average safety ratings.

A lot of complaints about the vehicle talk about the airbag signal, which often says they are not on. Plenty of Frontiers have a malfunction in the airbag sensor in the seats and often cost about $500 to fix.

Unfortunately, this problem can also be caused by the seatbelts malfunctioning and only allowing the airbags to be armed when the seatbelt is buckled. This can cause problems for people who aren’t big enough to withstand the airbags.

5. Nissan Titan

The Nissan Titan has a beautiful exterior and interior that is very comfortable. It also has a very smooth engine that is quiet for a great ride. It has the best towing capacity out of all of these trucks, at 9,200 to 9,400 pounds.

There are a ton of accessories you can add to this truck to make it more prepared for the adventures you’ll take it on. Overall this is a beautiful and powerful truck.

The Nissan Titan has a part that has been recalled that is a safety issue, but not as extreme. The front turn signal bulb has been found to not illuminate when this vehicle was first released. This can lead to crashes when turning or moving from one lane to another.

However, there aren’t a lot of people who actually use their turn signals to begin with. You should use your turn signal as much as possible for the safety of those around you.

6. Jeep Gladiator

The Jeep Gladiator has a large towing capacity at 7,000 pounds. For those who love the feeling of the wind on their skin, this truck can have its doors and roof come off for an exciting off-roading experience. It drives great up and downhill and can clear a lot of ground. Overall, it is a fun vehicle to have.

Unfortunately, the Gladiator has a part that has been recalled: the clutch pressure plate. It is prone to overheat, which increases the chance of your truck catching on fire. While off-roading, the clutch pressure plate is also prone to fractures, which can lead to damage to other parts of the truck, as debris is more likely to fall in.

Some other minor issues include various complaints about the right rear axel leaking. This leaking often began after 300-2,000 miles were driven on the vehicle. Other complaints talked about the vehicle coming with bad tires for off-roading.

The vehicle’s alignment is off and will wander to the left or right when driving. Most of these problems come from the lack of coverage on the bottom of the truck. This leads to debris getting stuck or hitting various parts of the vehicle and breaking them.

7. Chevrolet Colorado

The Chevrolet Colorado has a strong engine that is also very quiet. It is at the top of its class when it comes to towing capacity at 7,700 pounds. A lot of comments about the Colorado talk about how sturdy and stable the towing is. They don’t have to worry about the truck getting stuck or not being able to handle a load—it is very capable.

The Colorado also had a recall for the seat belts. The incorrect bolt was used to attach the seat belts. This led to the seat belt not being secure to the chair, making the rider no longer secure in the vehicle in the case of an accident.

It also lacks a couple of other necessities for a truck, such as a step bar and a grab handle. This makes it hard to get in and out of the vehicle. A lot of complaints about the truck talk about how it is just overall weak when it comes to safety and the technology it has.

Unfortunately, there has been a complaint about the airbags not going off as well. This can cause a lot of problems in the event of a crash, which can even lead to the death of the driver or passengers.

This truck is highly unsafe and has had several complaints about problems with overall safety features, such as the seatbelts and the airbags.

8. GMC Canyon

The GMC Canyon is a very high-class mid-sized truck. It has a beautiful interior and exterior. It also has plenty of extras to make your truck look nicer and function a little better. These extras include fog lights or aluminum wheels. It also has some of the highest towing capacity at 7,700 pounds and has a variety of powerful engines available.

Unfortunately, this truck is often compared to the Chevrolet Colorado because they are almost identical, even in issues and recalls.

The first recall the GMC Canyon received was for the incorrect bolts used to attach seat belts. Since the wrong bolts were used, the seat belt was not considered secure and would not be able to secure passengers properly. The second recall the GMC Canyon received was about its Takata airbags.

These airbags are unlikely to deploy in the event of a crash. With both of these recalls in mind, this truck has little to no systems to protect passengers from flying out of the truck in the event of a crash.

The above recall may be because of the constant complaints about their dashboard cracking. Often the dashboard begins to get little cracks, in it despite the lack of anything hitting it aggressively or anything falling on it. Oftentimes, owners of the Canyon complained about having to fix the dashboard more than once because they replace it with a Canyon part.

Finally, the GMC Canyon has been found to not tow as much as it says it can at 7,700 pounds. Instead, they believe it can tow between 3,500 and 7,000 pounds.

Conclusion

Overall, the Honda Ridgeline has the least amount of problems of the mid-sized trucks. The problems it does suffer from have little to do with safety, unlike some of the other trucks listed. Looking at the comments for the vehicles higher up on the list, you’ll notice they are more complaints or simple problems.

These problems could be a nuisance to the driver or a simple fix with little worry about safety. As you go farther down the list, you’ll notice the problems are more safety issues that should be thoughtfully considered before purchasing those vehicles.

The comments and complaints talked about above have been pulled from this website. It is important to do your own research when looking into getting any type of vehicle and to take a good look at the reviews, comments, complaints and recalls listed about each vehicle.

We highly recommend looking into information about companies as well, such as common recalls or problems they have with their vehicles.