Like most manufacturers, Hyundai offers extended vehicle warranties it calls the Hyundai Protection Plan. Unlike most manufacturers, Hyundai vehicles come with one of the best standard new car warranties in the business. With Hyundai’s new car limited warranty lasting an unusually-long 5-years or 60,000-miles and its powertrain coverage lasting up to 10-years, or 100,000-miles for original owners, the need for an extended warranty on a Hyundai vehicle is a bit different than most mainstream models.
The Hyundai Protection Plan Vehicle Service Contract (VSC) is offered in three different flavors: Platinum, Gold, and Powertrain. Hyundai tries hard to make it clear which plan covers what breakdown. Like all extended vehicle warranties, the Hyundai VSC plan is exclusionary, meaning it only covers what is spelled out in the VSC contract. As you go up in the tiers of the plan, more is covered.
Hyundai only offers to sell its VSC plans to buyers who have a Hyundai vehicle that has not yet reached the end of the original 5-year, 60,000-mile warranty. Also, there has to be at least one month and 1,000 miles left on the New Vehicle Limited Warranty. The company only sells through its authorized dealers. Finally, there is no plan that exceeds beyond 10-years or 100,000-miles. We confirmed these three things with Hyundai by phone.
This begs the question, “why would anyone buy a Powertrain VSC if the original Hyundai warranty is already 10-years or 100,000-miles?” The reason is that this portion of Hyundai’s new car warranty only applies to the original owner of the Hyundai. If a person purchases a Hyundai used, but it still is within the 5-year / 60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty period, that subsequent owner can purchase an extended warranty from Hyundai. The Hyundai representative we spoke with noted that the VSC products are at their least expensive when purchased on the day the original owner buys the Hyundai vehicle. So subsequent owners and those who wait may pay a bit more for the VSC.
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Aside from the three selections of tiers, Hyundai also offers three deductibles. Zero, $50, and $100 per repair.
Third-party warranties are an option for any make or model vehicle. These plans are offered by companies who profit by selling used vehicle owners a plan that they know will cost them more on average than the cost of any repairs.
Endurance is one of the most well-known extended vehicle warranty companies. Endurance administers the policies it sells to vehicle owners, so you won’t be dealing with a surprise provider you have never heard of when you need to use the policy. Overall ratings for Endurance are better than average. You can read our full review of Endurance here.
CARCHEX is known as one of the more flexible third-party car warranty companies which is helpful for older model owners. CARCHEX acts as a broker and sells plans that are administered by others. This enables CARCHEX to offer a wider range of plan options. CARCHEX has very good overall ratings, including an A+ rating from BBB. You can read our full review of CARCHEX here.
The chart below is taken from CarComplaints.com and reflects owner-reported problems.
Model | Repair | Cost |
---|---|---|
Sonata | Seized Engine (96,150 miles) | $5,080 |
Sonata | Brake Light failure (98,850 miles) | $350 |
Sonata | Engine Starter (63,100 miles) | $610 |
Elantra | Ticking in Engine (70,100 miles) | $4,390 |
Santa Fe | Engine failure (79,700 miles) | $3,700 |
Hyundai’s Platinum plan is very similar to the new car comprehensive warranty. It covers pretty much everything a warranty would cover. The Gold plan seems to hit the traditional worries. The Powertrain warranty includes just the engine, transmission and drive systems.
Repair Type | Platinum | Gold | Powertrain |
---|---|---|---|
Engine or Transmission | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Climate Control | Yes | Yes | No |
Electrical System | Yes | Yes | No |
Steering | Yes | No | No |
Infotainment | Yes | No | No |
This is an “exclusionary coverage” policy, so anything that’s not on the Hyundai VSC contract is not covered. Hyundai’s plans do not include normal wear items like tires. The VSC plan is also not a pre-paid maintenance plan. You will still pay for oil changes, timing belts, and services for other normal wear items.
Hyundai does offer a product it calls Term Protection Plus that adds coverage for some wear items excluded from the extended warranty plans. They include one set of brake pads, one 12-Volt battery replacement, one wheel alignment, and one set of wiper blades. This plan straddles the line between an extended warranty and a pre-paid maintenance plan.
If you are the original owner, the short answer is “probably not.” Most of the expensive problems with Hyundai vehicles we found when researching this story were engine and transmission related, and owners reported that they occurred prior to the end of the original powertrain warranty.
If you are a subsequent owner, the answer is “well worth considering.” Although Hyundai offers a fantastic 5-year or 60,000-mile warranty that covers pretty much everything, if you are a second owner, that coverage ends when the car is one day older than five years, or if the mileage ticks past 60K. Our research of owner-reported trouble revealed that Hyundai vehicles had an unusual amount of engine failures and transmission problems.
Ask yourself two questions:
Given the broad range of prices of new and used Hyundais, the three plans, and three deductibles, there is no single answer. However, our research indicates an extended warranty from Hyundai will cost from the high hundreds to low thousands of dollars.
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It really depends on whether you are the first owner of the Hyundai and if you have the money to cover a large repair. If your engine fails at 74,000 miles and you are a second owner, you’re going to wish you had the warranty. If it doesn’t, and you’ve paid thousands of dollars for a warranty, you’re going to wish you had that money back.
Yes. Hyundai offers extended warranties called Hyundai Protection Plan Vehicle Service Contracts. Second owners of Hyundai's whose vehicle has not yet reached the end of the 5-year / 60,000-0mile warranty are the best candidates for such a warranty.
Hyundai’s standard warranty covers everything vehicle warranties do until 5-years or 60,000-miles. Its powertrain warranty extends to 10-years or 100,000-miles. Hyundai’s VSC extended warranties come three ways so owners can choose their level of coverage.
Yes. A Hyundai extended warranty can be purchased until one month prior to the vehicle’s five-year New Car Limited warranty expiration or within 1,000 miles of its 60,000-mile limit.