Chrysler ends lifetime warranty for 2010

Chrysler Group LLC is discontinuing its lifetime powertrain warranty beginning with 2010 models. In its place will be five-year, 100,000- mile warranty. The new warranties will be transferable if covered vehicles are resold during the warranty period. The lifetime warranty was not transferable.
 
Powertrain warranties typically cover engine, transmission, and other driveline components. Some vehicles that were excluded from the lifetime warranty will now be covered, including the Dodge Viper and SRT performance models. Police, taxi, and some fleet vehicles will also now have coverage. The Dodge Sprinter van and Dodge Ram trucks with diesel engines will not get the new coverage.
 
Spokesman Rick Denneau says the company is making the change because market research indicated customers prefer a warranty with a fixed time limit. The lifetime powertrain warranty was introduced in the fall of 2007, and it replaced three-year, 36,000-mile overage.
 
In choosing your next car, the warranty protection can provide peace of mind, but be sure to check what it covers. And research the reliability for the company and model—a prime indicator of how much you may need to rely on a warranty and later, your checkbook, to keep a car running.
 
—Jim Travers

Comments

[Derrick G]

I can see most buyers preferring something that can be transfered to a subsequent buyer. But honestly, if Chrysler truly believes and expects us to believe that people really would rather have a warranty with a fixed time period over the same warranty with no time limit, it's time to go ahead and cut our losses and pull the plug on the company.

[CyCarConsulting]

Good solid reasonable warranty. No shame here. If the product remains the same, without some clear cut improvements, Chrysler will be shelling out some dough. I predict the consumer will need every minute of this warranty.

[John-o]

I'm curious... when Chrysler filed their bankruptcy, did they transfer all of the existing lifetime powertrain warranty liability to the "Old" company? That is, if someone bought a Chrysler with the lifetime warranty in the Fall of 2008, did the lifetime warranty become void when Chrysler went bankrupt? I know a few people with Chrysler's and they believed that their lifetime warranty was void since they bought their vehicles pre-bankruptcy (they have not transferred the title of their vehicles).

[Brian]

Seems to me another reason to never purchase a Chrysler product. I can read in-between the lines that too many cars were having problems and the "lifetime" warranty was costing them way too much! Again, stick with Toyota and Honda...Thanks Consumer Reports! PS - I will await and see what Government Motors does before thinking about purchasing any of their vehicles.

[Paul Rivers]

"I can see most buyers preferring something that can be transfered to a subsequent buyer. But honestly, if Chrysler truly believes and expects us to believe that people really would rather have a warranty with a fixed time period over the same warranty with no time limit, it's time to go ahead and cut our losses and pull the plug on the company."

This is exactly what I was going to write. In other news, the Chrysler spokesman said today that prices are going up because "people prefer to spend more money on an identical car", lol. :-)

[Kurt Mundt]

I bought an 09 Caliber SXT Sport. I fully intend it to be the last gasoline powered vehicle I buy; a Lifetime Powertain warranty is reassuring. Most people do not keep their cars very long; I will keep it all of it's life. I have had no problems with my car and expect none - but if I do, well, that lifetime warranty is reassuring.

[Ross Herman]

Chrysler's "lifetime warranty" was a complete and total fraud anyway. I have a 2009 Jeep with a defective manual transmission that pops out of gear in cold weather. They simply refused to repair it saying the defect, "was a Jeep thing and the normal operation of the car". I was awarded a full refund at a Lemon Law arbitration, but Chrysler is so far refusing to comply which may result in further legal action.