A new car’s factory warranty is the maker’s written promise to fix parts that fail from a defect in materials or factory workmanship, for a set number of years or miles, whichever comes first. Most cars carry several at once: a basic (bumper-to-bumper) warranty over almost the whole car, a longer powertrain warranty over a listed set of engine, transmission and drive parts, and a federal emissions warranty. Each maker writes its own terms in a booklet for each model year, and that booklet is the promise.
This page is general information, not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Lemon laws, deadlines and required steps vary by state and change. The statute, the maker, a state board or a court decides a claim.
How long a car warranty lasts
In the maker booklets and warranty pages we read on 11 November 2026, the basic warranty runs from 3 years or 36,000 miles to 5 years or 60,000 miles, and the powertrain warranty from 5 years or 60,000 miles to 10 years or 100,000 miles. BMW and Mercedes-Benz have no separate powertrain warranty. The 10-year powertrain terms (Genesis, Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi and 2026 Ram trucks and vans) apply in full only to the original owner, and at Kia also to buyers of its certified pre-owned cars. Our table of warranty coverage by maker lists each maker alphabetically, not as a ranking, with its source and read date.
The clock usually starts when the car is first delivered or put in use, so a demonstrator sold as new may have less time left than you expect. And no federal law sets these terms: the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act says nothing in it lets the FTC “prescribe the duration of written warranties” (15 U.S.C. 2302(b)(2), US Code 2024 edition, read 11 November 2026).
Bumper-to-bumper: defects, not wear
The basic warranty covers almost every part the maker supplied, if it fails from a defect, minus the booklet’s exclusions. Across six makers’ 2026 booklets, those fall into the same groups: maintenance, normal wear (brake pads, wiper blades, bulbs), damage from outside the car (collision, hail, road salt, stone chips), misuse and add-on parts that cause a failure, and costs such as a rental car. Tires split the makers: Chevrolet and Ford cover a defective original tire on a sliding scale by mileage, while Honda, Hyundai, Nissan and Tesla send you to the tire’s own maker. Our page on what a bumper-to-bumper warranty covers and leaves out sets the six booklets side by side.
Powertrain: the listed parts, for longer
A powertrain warranty covers fewer parts for longer: the engine, the transmission or transaxle and the drive system. The booklet’s parts list is the promise, and a part that isn’t listed isn’t promised. Every 2026 list we read covers the transmission; the edges differ by maker, notably fuel pumps, clutches, wheel bearings, control modules, sensors and the cooling system. The lists and who keeps the coverage after a sale are on our page on what a powertrain warranty covers.
The emissions warranty runs alongside
Federal law does set one term, for emissions parts. For cars and light trucks from model year 1995 on, the Clean Air Act sets “the first 2 years or 24,000 miles of use (whichever first occurs)”, and 8 years or 80,000 miles for a catalytic converter, an electronic emissions control unit or an onboard emissions diagnostic device (42 U.S.C. 7541(i), US Code 2024 edition, read 11 November 2026). Makers can give more; the booklet’s emissions parts list says which parts.
Why every booklet says “limited”
Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, a written warranty on a consumer product costing more than $10 must be labelled “full” or “limited” (15 U.S.C. 2303(a), (d)). Only a full warranty carries the federal right to choose a refund or a free replacement after “a reasonable number of attempts” to fix a defect (2304(a)(4)). Every car booklet we read is labelled limited, so for cars a buyback right comes from state lemon laws instead. The maker still may not disclaim the implied warranties state law gives a buyer, though it may limit their length (2308(a), (b)). The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act guide goes through the Act section by section.
What can and can’t void a warranty
A maker can’t make its warranty depend on you using a part or service “identified by brand, trade, or corporate name” unless it provides it free under the warranty or the FTC has granted a waiver (15 U.S.C. 2302(c)). The FTC’s rule names “This warranty is void if service is performed by anyone other than an authorized ‘ABC’ dealer” as a prohibited clause for work the warranty doesn’t pay for (16 CFR 700.10(c), eCFR up to date as of 9 November 2026). So an oil change at an independent shop or in your driveway does not by itself end coverage.
The same rule lets the maker exclude damage an outside part or service caused, and deny a claim where it “can demonstrate” that cause (700.10(c)). In the 2026 Ford and Chevrolet booklets, mod and maintenance exclusions follow the parts damaged or affected, while a salvage or similar title brand, a total loss or an odometer whose true mileage can’t be determined ends the warranty outright. Lift kits, tunes and records are on our page on what can’t void your car warranty.
When a warranty claim is denied
A denial is a decision you can question, in this order:
- Get the reason on paper. Ask for the repair order and the booklet clause relied on; we found no general federal duty to give one.
- Look for bulletins and extended coverage. Makers must send NHTSA copies of bulletins and “warranty and policy extension communiqués” about a defect (49 CFR 579.5(a), eCFR up to date as of 9 November 2026).
- Climb the booklet’s ladder. Every written warranty must give a step-by-step procedure for getting warranty work done (16 CFR 701.3(a)(5)).
- Use the maker’s dispute program if it has one. A program under 16 CFR 703 charges consumers no fee, must decide within 40 days with limited allowed delays, and its decision binds no one (703.3(a), 703.5(d), (e), (j)). If the warranty requires it, you use it before a Magnuson-Moss lawsuit (15 U.S.C. 2310(a)(3)); see how lemon law arbitration and maker programs work.
Connecticut, Maryland and Virginia also have adjustment-program laws on refunds for repairs already paid. A goodwill repair after the warranty ends is the maker’s choice, not a right. The full path is on our page on what to do when a car warranty claim is denied.
Extended warranties and recalls are separate
An “extended warranty” sold by a dealer or another company is not part of the factory warranty. Federal law calls it a service contract (15 U.S.C. 2301(8)), and an agreement bought for an extra price or after the sale is one (16 CFR 700.11(c)). The extended warranty break-even calculator compares one with the factory coverage you still have, using only your own numbers. Safety recalls sit outside the warranty too: federal law makes the recall remedy free of charge, within limits explained in your rights in a car recall (49 U.S.C. 30120(a), (g), US Code 2024 edition, read 11 November 2026).
When the warranty meets the lemon law
The warranty promises a repair, not a new car. If the same covered defect keeps coming back, or the car spends weeks in the shop, your state’s lemon law may apply, with its own window, counts and steps that may have to come first. That window is often much shorter than a powertrain term: Illinois’s covers the earlier of one year or 12,000 miles after delivery (815 ILCS 380/2(f), read in official text on 11 November 2026), so a transmission that first fails in year four can be outside it while still under the powertrain warranty. Every state’s rule, with its section and read date, is in our table of lemon laws in all 50 states and DC.
Your next step
- Find the booklet for your car’s model year, in the glovebox or on the maker’s owner site, and read the terms, the parts lists and the “not covered” section.
- Work out the time and miles left from the warranty start date and your odometer. If you bought used, read the section on later owners.
- Report problems before the limit and keep every repair order (dates in and out, mileage, your complaint as written) and every maintenance receipt.
Statutes and rules checked on 11 November 2026: 15 U.S.C. 2301, 2302, 2303, 2304, 2308 and 2310, 42 U.S.C. 7541 and 49 U.S.C. 30120 in the US Code, 2024 edition, on govinfo; 16 CFR 700.10, 700.11, 701.3 and 703 and 49 CFR 579.5 on the eCFR, up to date as of 9 November 2026; 815 ILCS 380/2 in the Illinois General Assembly’s official statute files. Makers’ booklets and pages read the same day, as named on each linked page; your own booklet governs your car.
