Best new car warranty

Hyundai and Mitsubishi lead in 2023

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Updated: 03/02/2023

Kia, Hyundai and Toyota

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A great factory warranty can mean the difference between paying thousands for car repairs and paying nothing. So, if you’re looking for value and peace of mind from a new car purchase, the length and quality of your factory warranty should be as important as your horsepower.

Let’s look at the best new car warranties of 2023 to find out which automaker offers the longest coverage, what types of breakdowns are covered and what types of warranties you should pay attention to.

Key insights

For most drivers, the most important aspect of a new car warranty is the length of the bumper-to-bumper coverage.
Hyundai, Mitsubishi and Kia offer the best bumper-to-bumper and powertrain warranties for 2023 vehicles.
Those three also offer the best hybrid and electric vehicle battery warranties for this model year, guaranteeing at least 70% battery life for 10 years or 100,000 miles — whichever comes first.
Genesis and Jaguar are roughly tied for best new car warranties from luxury brands.

The top 10 new car warranties for 2023

Here are the top 10 best warranty packages for 2023 vehicles. We made our initial ranking based on the length of each automaker’s bumper-to-bumper warranty period, with less comprehensive coverages used as tiebreakers. We also gave preference to years covered rather than mileage when necessary. All coverage durations are given in terms of time and mileage, with coverage ending when the vehicle crosses either threshold.

Brand	Bumper-to-bumper coverage	Powertrain coverage	Corrosion coverage	Hybrid/EV battery coverage
1. Hyundai	5 years or 60,000 miles	10 years or 100,000 miles	7 years or unlimited miles	10 years or 100,000 miles
2. Mitsubishi	5 years or 60,000 miles	10 years or 100,000 miles	7 years or 100,000 miles	10 years or 100,000 miles
3. Kia	5 years or 60,000 miles	10 years or 100,000 miles	5 years or 100,000 miles	10 years or 100,000 miles
4. Rivian	5 years or 60,000 miles	8 years or 175,000 miles	8 years or unlimited miles	8 years or 175,000 miles
5. Genesis	5 years or 60,000 miles	5 years or 60,000 miles	5 years or unlimited miles	10 years or 120,000 miles
6. Jaguar	5 years or 60,000 miles	5 years or 60,000 miles	6 years or unlimited miles	8 years or 100,000 miles
7. Infiniti	4 years or 60,000 miles	6 years or 70,000 miles	7 years or unlimited miles	N/A*
8. Lexus	4 years or 50,000 miles	6 years or 70,000 miles	6 years or unlimited miles	8 years or 100,000 miles
9. Acura	4 years or 50,000 miles	6 years or 70,000 miles	5 years or unlimited miles	N/A*
10. Tesla	4 years or 50,000 miles	4 years or 50,000 miles	1 year or 12,500 miles	Varies

*No hybrids or EVs offered for 2023 model year

Hyundai, Mitsubishi and Kia are at the front of the pack when it comes to bumper-to-bumper and powertrain warranties. All three of these automakers offer bumper-to-bumper coverage for five years or 60,000 miles on 2023 vehicles, along with powertrain coverage for 10 years or 100,000 miles.

As a close runner-up, electric vehicle (EV) maker Rivian’s powertrain coverage lasts for eight years. However, it has an impressive 175,000-mile cap, which may come in handy if you’re the type of person who drives serious mileage.

To put these warranties in perspective, the average new car in 2023 comes with around four years or 50,000 miles of bumper-to-bumper coverage and five years or 60,000 miles of powertrain coverage. Every automaker we surveyed offered at least three years of bumper-to-bumper coverage — even Ferrari, Lamborghini, and McLaren.

Regarding other types of warranties, Rivian has the longest corrosion coverage in our ranking, and Genesis offers the longest-lasting warranty on hybrid/EV batteries in our top 10. (But Tesla’s eight-year/150,000-mile warranty on Model S and Model X traction batteries may be more appealing if you drive a lot.)

What do all of these warranties cover?

If you’re unfamiliar with car warranties, these different coverages might be confusing. So, let’s break down what each of the different types of warranties above actually do:

Bumper-to-bumper coverage

This coverage also goes by several seemingly contradictory names, including “basic,” “limited” and “comprehensive” coverage. This coverage typically includes anything between your bumpers that breaks from normal use, including your electronics, air conditioning, seatbelts, suspension and brakes. Cosmetic items, like your interior trim, and normal wear-and-tear items, like tires, typically aren’t included, though.

Powertrain coverage

This pays to repair the components that actually make your car go, including your engine, transmission, drive shaft(s), powertrain control module (PCM), turbocharger, supercharger, drive axle(s) and timing belt or chain. However, their related sensors and electronic components are typically covered by your bumper-to-bumper warranty.

Corrosion coverage

This is also known as an anti-perforation warranty. Protects you from paying for repairs needed due to rust. If you plan to drive your vehicle for more than five years in a state with salty roads or seawater, you’ll likely want as much corrosion coverage as you can get.

Hybrid/EV battery coverage

This typically guarantees that your expensive traction battery will continue working through the warranty term and retain at least 70% battery life after a certain period of time.

It’s also worth mentioning that factory warranties only apply to manufacturing defects. In other words, they only cover parts that fail or deteriorate on their own and not as a result of any of the following:

Neglect
Abuse or misuse
Missed service intervals (like skipping oil changes)
Improper maintenance (like using the wrong fluids)
Improper installation of aftermarket parts
Racetrack use (unless otherwise stated in the warranty policy)
Accidents (these are covered by collision insurance)
Theft, vandalism or weather damage (these are covered by comprehensive auto insurance)

» LEARN: Car warranty vs. car insurance

What makes a good car warranty?

While it’s helpful to group warranties together based on their similarities for educational purposes, warranty agreements from different providers are seldom identical. So, if you’re comparing and contrasting warranties, keep a keen eye on the factors that separate good warranties from bad warranties.

Length

It makes sense to prioritize the warranty that will last you the longest, and that’s true even if you plan to sell the car before the warranty expires — a transferable warranty can help your vehicle retain its value.

Warranty terms often stick to a pattern that equates one year with roughly 10,000 to 12,000 miles, but it’s worth paying attention to the exact ratio if you don’t drive an average amount.

If you drive more than 12,000 miles per year, you’re bound to reach your mileage limit well before your time limit, so it makes sense to look for a warranty that leans toward a higher mileage. Likewise, if you don’t drive that often, you’ll run out of time on your warranty before you run out of miles, so it’s a good idea to prioritize a warranty with a term ratio that provides extra years.

You also want to make sure that different warranties’ term lengths are being counted in the same way. For example, automakers often extend their bumper-to-bumper and powertrain warranties for certified pre-owned (CPO) vehicles. However, if you see a CPO warranty that seems unusually long (like Infiniti’s 6-year/75,000-mile basic warranty), that’s likely because it’s starting from the vehicle’s in-service date (the date it was sold to the first owner), not the date you bought it.

Parts covered

Even though bumper-to-bumper warranties seemingly promise to cover everything between your vehicle’s bumpers, automakers almost always include exceptions in their warranty contracts. Chevrolet , for example, considers “slight noise and vibrations” to be “normal characteristics” of its vehicles, and Tesla’s limited warranty does not include “brake squeal, general knocks, creaks, rattles, and wind and road vibration.”

That’s why it’s worth researching common failure points in any vehicle you want to buy and seeing if the automaker is willing to address them under warranty.

Hybrid/EV battery coverage

Owning a hybrid or electric vehicle out of warranty can be risky; the cost of replacing the traction battery in one of these vehicles can be thousands of dollars. As a result, it’s smart to check how long your battery and related components are covered if you plan to drive a hybrid or EV long-term.

Deductibles

Most factory warranties have a $0 out-of-pocket deductible, but there are exceptions, so be sure to read the fine print of your warranty agreement before you sign.

Transferability

In most cases, an active factory warranty should automatically transfer to a new owner, since the warranty follows your car’s vehicle identification number (VIN). Still, we recommend making a quick call to your automaker’s customer care department just to be sure.

Quality of local dealerships

It’s worth considering the quality and convenience of your nearest approved repair center (typically a dealership for a factory warranty). If you’re considering owning a vehicle with known quality issues or buying from a brand that’s not known for its reliability, having a top-rated dealership in your backyard would be a plus.

Exceptions for aftermarket parts

The Magnuson Moss Warranty Act prevents automakers or dealers from voiding your warranty simply because you installed an aftermarket part.

However, if they can prove that the aftermarket part caused the warranty-covered component to fail, they can deny your claim. For that reason, you should read the relevant section of your warranty handbook carefully if you intend to install a lift kit, turbocharger or other mods.

Exceptions for track use

Most factory warranties will not cover part failures that occur due to track use, but some automakers provide exceptions.

Factory warranties for the Chevrolet Corvette , Chevrolet Camaro , Ford Mustang and certain Porsche models may cover limited track use. Toyota reportedly covers “responsible” track driving for GR-branded models.

That being said, the window for acceptable track use can be slim. According to Porsche, engine damage as a result of a single missed gear shift is not covered. Still, a warranty that covers any amount of track use can be valuable, considering how rapidly parts wear down when pushed to the limit.

Discover extended warranties

Even the best new car warranties eventually run out, and an extended warranty can help you avoid big repair bills as well as (if not better than) your factory warranty. Some people even buy extended warranties, also called vehicle service contracts, to complement the gaps in their existing warranties with what’s known as wrap coverage.

Extended auto warranties are available from both automakers and third-party warranty companies, and there are enough plan options available to fit a variety of needs. So, whether you’re buying an extended warranty at 100 miles or 100,000 miles, asking tough questions will help you avoid scams and the worst extended warranty companies. You can also save yourself some time by starting with our top picks for extended car warranty companies.

» LEARN: Extended Car Warranties hub

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Article sources

ConsumerAffairs writers primarily rely on government data, industry experts and original research from other reputable publications to inform their work. Specific sources for this article include:

Hagerty Media, “ Will your new-car warranty cover track driving? ” Accessed Feb. 13, 2023.

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