Hyundai Used Car Warranty: Coverage & Costs

Most of Hyundai’s warranty is transferable. Here’s what changes from the original warranty:

• The 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty decreases to 5 years/60,000 miles.
• The lifetime hybrid battery warranty for 2012-2019 vehicles decreases to 10 years/100,000 miles.
• Roadside assistance and complimentary maintenance are not transferable to a subsequent owner.

Here’s what stays the same:

• Bumper-to-bumper factory warranty: 5 years/60,000 miles
• Anti-perforation warranty: 7 years/unlimited miles
• Replacement parts and accessories limited warranty: 12 months/12,000 miles
• Federal emission defect and performance warranty: 8 years/80,000 miles
• California emission control systems warranty: 7 years/70,000 miles
• Hybrid system components warranty: 10 years/100,000 miles
• Hybrid electric battery for 2020 vehicles: 10 years/100,000 miles

All of these coverage periods are measured from the original in-service date. So, if you bought a 2014 Hyundai Sonata, everything except the anti-perforation and emissions warranties would have expired by 2020.

Purchasing a used Hyundai does not extend any of the original warranties – unless it’s a certified pre-owned (CPO) vehicle, which we’ll cover in a minute. At the end of the day, Hyundai’s America’s Best Warranty is really only best for the original buyer.

If you’re buying or selling a hybrid Hyundai, there’s something else you should know. On a standard Hyundai, the transmission is covered under the powertrain warranty, which gets cut short to a 5-year/60,000-mile warranty for a secondary buyer.

However, the transmission for a hybrid vehicle is actually covered under the hybrid system components warranty, which lasts for 10 years/100,000 miles and is fully transferable.

That means a used hybrid Hyundai will have coverage for the transmission, transaction motor, housing case, and clutch until 10 years/100,000 miles from the in-service date. The hybrid systems warranty also includes engine parts related to the hybrid battery, plus the oil and water pumps. At the same time, it doesn’t cover non-hybrid engine parts like the cylinder block, gaskets, and timing chain.

When you get a CPO Hyundai, you can take advantage of a few more perks. Here’s what’s included in a CPO Hyundai used car warranty:

• The 10-year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty is maintained from the original in-service date.
• You have access to Hyundai’s roadside assistance for the duration of the powertrain warranty.
• You also get a rental allowance and trip interruption benefits during the powertrain warranty.
• Warranties on everything else – bumper-to-bumper, anti-perforation, replacement parts, emissions systems, and hybrid components – are transferred to you.

Remember, lifetime warranties on hybrid batteries from 2012-2019 reduce to 10 years or 10,000 miles when transferred. Also, you’ll have to pay a $50 deductible each time you have a repair done under the powertrain warranty. But, if the same part fails during the warranty period, you won’t have to pay a deductible to have it repaired again.

Each CPO vehicle undergoes a 173-point inspection from a Hyundai dealership technician. To be eligible, a used Hyundai needs to be younger than five model years old and have less than 60,000 miles on the odometer. As with a transferred warranty, a CPO warranty starts from the original in-service date, not the day when you buy the car.

Like most other auto manufacturers, Hyundai offers a protection plan that can add coverage when the factory warranty expires. However, in most cases, you can only buy a Hyundai extended warranty when you purchase a new or CPO Hyundai. One selling point of a dealer protection plan is that you can finance the cost into your payments, but that’s not always the best thing. That’s because you’ll be paying interest on the cost of the plan over time.

Getting a CPO Hyundai can definitely come with some peace of mind from the extensive inspection, but the only real warranty perk is really the powertrain warranty. If you’re shopping for CPO Hyundai models from 2016, they would only have one more year of bumper-to-bumper coverage in 2020.

Finally, whenever you use a factory warranty or protection plan, you have to visit a Hyundai dealership for the repairs. When you go, there’s always a chance that other parts not covered by the warranty would need to be fixed. You would pay for these parts yourself, and dealerships aren’t known for being the cheapest option for repairs.

According to RepairPal, Hyundai ranks in fourth place for reliability across all car brands. That’s good news, but that doesn’t mean you won’t have to pay for repairs at some point.

Hyundai Santa Fe owners pay about $515 annually to repair their cars. Similarly, Sonata owners pay about $458 per year on repairs, and Elantra owners pay $452. Those are all pretty low costs, but those are also yearly averages. Some repairs can cost much more, especially as cars age.

Third-party extended warranties let you add a range of coverage options to brand new cars and cars that may be a bit older or have more miles. These plans are commonly called vehicle service contracts, and they have more versatility than factory warranties. Third-party warranties can be a good option whether you’re buying a used Hyundai from a private seller or a CPO from a dealership.

There are hundreds of warranty companies out there, and some provide better value than others. In our research, we narrowed down companies based on reputation, customer service, coverage, and perks. Looking at the results, we found that Endurance, CARCHEX, and CarShield all are reputable extended warranty providers. All three of these companies offer money-back guarantees, let you choose your repair shop, and have options for roadside assistance.

We rated Endurance 4.6 out of 5.0 stars and named it as the Best Coverage provider. Endurance is a direct provider, meaning it services its own plans instead of selling plans from other companies. Each plan comes with one free year of Endurance Elite Benefits, which includes extra perks like key fob replacement and roadside assistance. We found that Endurance has good reviews from its customers.

CARCHEX offers five levels of coverage for brand new cars to used vehicles with many miles. We rated the provider 4.4 out of 5.0 stars and named it Best for Used Cars because of its coverage options for high-mileage vehicles. CARCHEX is endorsed by Edmunds, Kelley Blue Book, and CARFAX, and it has an A+ rating from the BBB.

CarShield is our Best Value provider thanks to its month-to-month contracts and flexible payment options. It has been in business for 15 years and offers six types of warranty plans. We rated the company 4.2 out of 5.0 stars, as CarShield is the one with the most online reviews by far – most of which are positive.

Any of these companies can cover used Hyundais with more flexibility than factory plans. Just call or visit one of the websites below to get a free quote from a top-rated provider.