Chevrolet And GMC Scale Back Powertrain Warranty

2015 Chevrolet Camaro (Credit: Chevrolet )

According to a new report from Automotive News, GM is cutting back on its warranty offerings for the Chevrolet and GMC lines. More specifically, the powertrain warranties for both brands will be rolled back from 100,000 miles to 60,000 miles. The five-year term, however, will be retained.

Chevy Volts will still feature a 100,000-mile warranty for the battery pack and drive unit.

The old powertrain warranty has been around for almost ten years now, and helped differentiate Chevy and GMC models from the competition. Despite that fact, GM says it didn’t draw in buyers. Instead, the new warranty lines up with what Toyota, Honda, and Ford offer. Kia and Hyundai still offer 100,000-mile, 10-year powertrain warranties, which appears to be working for the Koreans.

Originally, GM offered the 100,000 miles of powertrain coverage as a way to signal to car shoppers that it could provide the same kind of quality as Japanese brands. Through its own research, GM says that it found car shoppers actually rank warranties and included maintenance low when it comes to reasons why the choose one brand over another.

Buick and Cadillac powertrain warranties were scaled back two years ago. Originally, they were for five years/100,000 miles, but they are now for six years/70,000 miles.

More change is coming for the Chevy, GMC, and Buick brands as GM says it will trim back on the free maintenance program for new vehicles. With the exception of select models, the two years or coverage will be rolled back to just two free service visit. The change will take effect on 2016 models. According to GM, dealerships say that most consumers never bother to collect on the free maintenance visits. Whether they just skip out on maintenance or go with private shops is unclear.

With what money GM says it will save from scaling back coverage on new vehicles, it plans to invest in implementing advanced technology in future models.