How To Read A Warranty

 

               Warranties have been an important tool used by automakers for marketing for a long time. Warranties are nothing new and have been being used to sell automobiles. And no wonder. Your truck is a very important part of your life. You probably depend on it every day. What better way to sell you a truck than to advertise that it will be trouble-free, because if anything does happen, you’re “covered”.

                The problem is, advertising extensive warranties leads many people to believe that almost everything is included, and for a long time. In reality, many items aren’t covered at all, and for others coverage is limited to short periods. All this information is in the warranty booklet supplied with every new car. But unless you read it carefully, you could be unpleasantly surprised when the service department hands you a repair bill.

                A motor-vehicle warranty really is several different warranties, each with specific coverage, depending on the system and even the state in which the vehicle is registered. Warranties usually are given in terms of mileage and time, such as 3/36 (3 years or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first) or 12/12 (12 months or 12,000 miles). Occasionally they refer to just time or just mileage.

                You probably know that warranties differ, even from make to make for the same model year from one manufacturer. However, warranties all start on the day of delivery, whether you buy or lease.

If your vehicle was a dealer “demonstrator”, coverage starts from the day it was originally put in service.

                “Defect” is the operative word for all warranties. If your truck develops a rattle after two years of driving, that’s not a defect and is not covered, even under 3/36 or longer warranties. Most warranties avoid mentioning a specific limit for such problems as rattles, sticking door locks, poor radio sound and reception, slow-moving windows, wheel vibration or bad alignment, and drops in the cooling performance of the climate control system caused by normal seepage of refrigerant  A few very detailed warranties may list 12/12 or 12/20 for some of these problems

 However, even if they don’t spell it out, most manufacturers observe 12/12 coverage for free repair of almost anything wrong that is not caused by obvious abuse. That first year or 12,000 miles is called the “initial ownership period”. Beyond that, service for problems resulting from “normal determination” is considered “owner pay maintenance”.

                 Here are some of the individual warranty terms and items you may run into, with some basic guidelines to their limits.

 

Bumper--to--Bumper

                 This is the most common overall electrical and mechanical warranty for most manufacturers. Limits may range from 3/36 to as high as 5/60. Despite the name, it doesn’t include bumpers (or body panels). Body and paint are usually covered in separate warranties.

                 Maintenance parts, such as filters, fluids, spark plugs ,belts, hoses ,bulbs, wipers, brake shoes, rotors and drums, key-fob batteries, even manual clutch discs, are owner-pay. These are all parts that simply wear out. They’re not defective. Bumper-to-bumper also doesn’t cover “things happen” failures, like for example, you “happen” to hit a rock, an exhaust hanger splits and the exhaust system falls off.

Tires and Batteries

                 Tires and batteries may be covered under bumper-to-bumper. More often however, they come under special warranties, issued by the manufacturer that made the tire or battery (not the automaker), which could be shorter than the vehicle’s warranty. Regardless of the warranty, after an initial free-replacement period ( maybe a year for tires, two for a battery), replacements are no longer free. The replacement price is prorated against the amount of use you got from the original. You may find it cheaper to give up any pro rata allowance and just buy new tires or a battery in the auto aftermarket. Exception: The expensive battery pack of a hybrid electric is usually covered for an extended period, such as 8/80.

Powertrain

                 Extended warranties on the powertrain, from 5/60 to as high as 10/100 have been very popular over the years. They’re usually the warranties getting the big headlines. The ads give you the impression you’ll never have a big bill for the covered period. However, read the fine print, and coverage is usually limited to internal engine and transmission parts. These rarely fail with normal maintenance. If they do—if, for instance, your engine blows up on the way to pick up milk at the local 7-11—there may be an owner –pay deductible of $100 or more. Also, the warranty may not be transferable to a second owner, or if it is, transfer could require a fee.

                More likely to fail are external parts such as an alternator, starter, water pump or per steering pump. These are covered under bumper- to- bumper warranty and subject to its limits. The exhaust system also is not included in powertrain coverage, but it may have some extended coverage as part of the emissions control system. However, don’t expect free replacement of a muffler and tailpipe that rusted out just before the end of your Bumper-to-bumper coverage. That’s considered an “environmental” problem—due to condensation, road splash, salt, etc.—and part of normal wear and tear on the vehicle.

Emissions Controls

                This is a completely separate warranty by federal law. It’s complicated, too because it has at least two basic components and may be different in states like California.

                Key to any emissions warranty coverage: Your vehicle must have failed an emissions test approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. No Failure? No covered repair. Coverage is 2/24 for almost everything in a truck’s emissions control system. This is called an emissions performance warranty and even includes some maintenance items, such as spark plugs, in addition, there’s an 8/80 warranty on the catalytic converter and powertrain computer if the vehicle fails an emissions test.

                 California requires a 3/50 emissions performance warranty and 7/70 coverage on the powertrain computer and catalytic converter plus some additional parts which vary by vehicle, that are replaced with a failed converter or computer.

Body

                  The body warranty usually runs for five years or more, perhaps to 100,000 miles, and covers rust/corrosion perforation (a hole) from the inside out. There may be 5/100 coverage against external rust but only where there are no surface dings, or scratches.  Often however there’s a lower limit, such as three years. Paint damage from air pollution, chemicals, and so on, is not covered by warranty.

Add on Accessories

                   If a dealer installs an accessory before you take delivery, you’re more likely to get the accessory warranty, typically 12/12.

Safety Systems

                    Crash protection items like seatbelts and airbags are generally covered under bumper-to-bumper. However there are exceptions and your seatbelts and airbags may be covered longer--perhaps 5/50 or 5/60 and some states like Kansas for example have been giving them a flat 10 years for over a decade.

                    Special Warranties Defects that cause items to have unacceptably short lives often induce automakers to issue special warranties and reimburse owners for repairs already done, even by independent garages. Once kept virtually secret, today they’re public information, and call to the carmaker’s customer service number or reaching out via the web will get you the details you need.

                    If your problem is “one of” short life failure, try to negotiate a goodwill repair, either for free or at low cost. Rebuffed? Owner’s manuals carry a whole set of recourse procedures to follow, right up to third party arbitration arrangements.

                     But be realistic. Bad luck or poor maintenance is not a vehicle defect, and the vehicle maker can’t be expected to except responsibility out of reason.

                     Bottom line, When you buy your truck you should not allow the warranty to be the major part of your decision making. Read the fine print and have someone talk it over with you. Arm yourself with questions for your dealership and educate yourself as much as possible, remembering that a salesman is always a salesman.