When you are shelling out big money for a brand-new pickup truck, you expect it to protect you and your family in a worst-case scenario. If you are shopping in the modern light-duty full-size segment, looking at heavy hitters like the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Toyota Tundra, or even the Tesla Cybertruck, you can rest easy. A 5-star overall safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is essentially the standard.
However, if you are looking to downsize to a midsize or compact truck, or if you are shopping for a heavy-duty hauler, the safety ratings tell a very different story. Here is a breakdown of the 2026 pickup trucks that fall short of the coveted 5-star safety mark.
The Midsize Segment: 4 Stars is the Norm
You might assume that modern engineering means every new vehicle aces its crash tests, but the midsize truck segment consistently hovers just below perfect. Due to a combination of size, weight distribution, and standard safety tech, a 4-star overall NHTSA rating currently looks like the industry norm for this class.
If you are cross-shopping the midsize market, expect a 4-star overall rating from these major players:
- Toyota Tacoma: 4-Star Overall Rating
- Chevrolet Colorado: 4-Star Overall Rating
- GMC Canyon: 4-Star Overall Rating
- Ford Ranger: 4-Star Overall Rating
- Nissan Frontier: 4-Star Overall Rating (Note: This can vary slightly depending on your specific cab configuration.)
The Outliers: Jeep Gladiator and Ford Maverick
Not all sub-5-star ratings are created equal. Two extremely popular trucks on the market have unique safety profiles due to their specific designs.
First up is the Jeep Gladiator. While its boxy, military-inspired styling and high ground clearance make it a beast on the trails, those exact same attributes hurt it in government crash testing. The midsize Gladiator typically pulls a 4-star rating in frontal crashes, but its high center of gravity drops its rollover resistance rating down to just 3 stars.
On the other end of the spectrum is the compact Ford Maverick. While it currently has an incomplete overall rating for the 2026 model year’s testing cycle, it has managed a solid 4-star rating in rollover testing, a benefit of its lower, car-like unibody platform.
Full-Size and Heavy-Duty Exceptions
While modern half-ton trucks boast 5-star ratings, there are a few exceptions in the larger truck categories that buyers need to be aware of.
If you are hunting for a bargain and looking at the Ram 1500 Classic, keep in mind that you are buying an older-generation platform. While the modern Ram 1500 easily clears the 5-star hurdle, the Classic model is typically saddled with a 4-star overall rating due to its older structural design.
Finally, what about the massive heavy-duty haulers? If you are shopping for a Ford F-250/F-350 Super Duty, Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD/3500HD, or a Ram 2500/3500, you won’t find any stars at all on the window sticker. The NHTSA actually does not mandate overall safety or crash-test ratings for vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating that exceeds 10,000 pounds. They are simply exempt from the standard rating system.
The Bottom Line
A 4-star rating does not mean a truck is unsafe. It simply means it didn’t achieve the absolute maximum metric in the government’s highly controlled testing environment. However, if having a 5-star safety shield is a non-negotiable dealbreaker for your next driveway purchase, you will need to stick to the modern, full-size half-ton segment.
