EV warranties aren’t like those for non-electric cars. Here’s what you should know

EVs are on the rise. With awesome new models finally rolling out and charging networks rapidly expanding, it feels like we’re at the tipping point of electric cars being as mainstream as non-electric vehicles. But with a whole new type of vehicle come new challenges. One challenge is adapting to charging times. Another is paying closer to attention to range. And another, as some drivers are finding out, has to do with electric car warranties.

Contents

It’s not all new
It’s all about the battery
How to void an EV battery warranty
Big brands
Some parting advice

Turns out, the warranty that comes with electric cars isn’t necessarily quite the same as the one that you might get with your non-electric car. If you really think about it, that’s probably not all that surprising — after all, while they can look the same, electric cars have a completely different makeup under the hood compared to their gas-powered cousins. But understanding an EV warranty could be the difference between winding up having to pay thousands for a battery replacement, or getting one repaired on the house.

It’s not all new

Before diving into things like battery warranties, it’s worth doing a quick primer on car warranties in general. EVs and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles usually come with two different warranties — at least when they’re bought new. First, there’s the basic warranty (also known as bumper-to-bumper warranty), which covers every part of a car except for basic maintenance, usually for up to three years or 36,000 miles.

Second is a powertrain warranty — which, as you might expect, only covers the car’s powertrain. This warranty extends longer than the basic warranty. Both ICE vehicles and EVs can come with a powertrain warranty, however they’ll cover completely different things depending on the type of car that you have. On an ICE vehicle, this powertrain warranty covers a car’s engine, transmission, and drivetrain — three parts that can be very expensive to repair or replace. On an EV, however, the powertrain warranty instead usually covers the car’s battery and drive units, or motors.

The basic warranty is usually pretty much all-inclusive, and