Dodge extended warranty: cost, coverage and plans

Dodge extended warranty coverage

Dodge technically doesn’t have its own brand-specific extended warranty program. Instead, all Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep, Ram, FIAT, Alfa Romeo and Wagoneer vehicles are eligible for a special, factory-backed extended warranty program called Mopar Vehicle Protection.

Mopar is the official parts supplier for all of the brands listed above, which were formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automotive (FCA). FCA has since merged with several European brands to become Stellantis, which is why you’ll often see Dodge, FCA and Stellantis mentioned together.

All you really need to know is that Mopar Vehicle Protection serves as the de facto Dodge extended warranty program.

It’s worth a brief reminder that practically no warranty covers repairs needed due to negligence, collision damage or missed maintenance. Warranties only cover repairs needed due to factory defects, i.e., parts that fail entirely on their own for no discernable reason other than poor build quality or design.

Mopar has a variety of Vehicle Protection plans available, but its traditional extended warranty options are divided into two categories:

• Mopar Vehicle Protection plans for “new vehicles” are available for Dodge vehicles that are still within their Basic factory warranty period (three years/36,000 miles) and don’t require an inspection. Terms last anywhere from five to eight years and 60,000 to unlimited miles.
• Mopar Vehicle Protection plans for “pre-owned vehicles” are available for any Dodge under 10 years old that passes a dealer inspection (usually about $150 and not included in the cost of the warranty). Terms can last anywhere from one to five years and from 12,000 miles and up with no limit.

These warranties are designed to build off of your existing Dodge factory warranty, which offers three years or 36,000 miles of Basic (aka bumper-to-bumper) coverage and five years or 60,000 miles of powertrain coverage.

Given that your Dodge has a free bumper-to-bumper warranty for the first three years of its life, most drivers won’t need a Mopar Vehicle Protection plan right away. In fact, it may be better to wait before you buy.

A five-year/60,000-mile Mopar Vehicle Protection plan for a new Dodge may only add two years or 24,000 miles of coverage past your factory bumper-to-bumper warranty.

Mopar extended warranties for new vehicles have terms that are measured from your Dodge’s in-service date (when it was sold to its first owner with zero miles on the odometer). However, terms for pre-owned vehicle plans are measured from the day you buy your warranty. That means a Mopar Vehicle Protection plan for your Dodge may not actually add warranty coverage for as long as the advertised term would have you believe.

» LEARN: What does a car warranty cover?

Dodge extended warranty plans

New and pre-owned vehicle plans share three coverage options: Powertrain Care Plus, Added Care Plus and Maximum Care. Pre-owned plans also have a fourth option, called Added Care, which splits the difference between Powertrain Care Plus and Added Care Plus. However, according to multiple dealer reps we spoke with, a significant majority of customers end up choosing Maximum Care regardless.

You can see what component groups each of these plans covers and how thoroughly they cover the parts in each component group below.

There isn’t a massive price difference between Maximum Care and the other three options, but it does cover substantially more components. That’s why, according to the Zeigler Auto Group, a wholesale retailer of Mopar Vehicle Protection plans, the vast majority of customers choose Maximum Care.

According to two reps we spoke with, Maximum Care covers 80% more components for 10% to 50% more cost. The only reason they reported seeing anyone choose lesser coverage is because they’re on a tight budget or only want to protect a certain component (like the Hellcat V-8).

Dodge extended warranty benefits

Besides paying for repairs to covered components, Mopar Vehicle Protection plans also provide the following benefits:

• Car rental allowances of up to $45 a day (up to a maximum of $225 or five days) to help with the cost of a rental car (or Lyft rides, etc.) while your Dodge is in the shop for a covered repair
• 24/7 roadside assistance of up to $100 per occurrence, which includes towing, flat-tire changes (assuming you have a spare tire), jump-starts, fuel deliveries (up to two gallons) and locksmithing
• Trip interruption protection of up to $1,000 to help with the cost of meals and a hotel room if your Dodge needs covered repairs over 100 miles from home

Overall, these are above-average benefits for a factory-backed extended warranty. Some automakers cap trip interruption at $500 — and roadside assistance at $50 total — so it’s nice to see Mopar step up to cover more of the costs you might incur while your Dodge is in the shop.

» READ: Dodge certified pre-owned warranty

Dodge extended warranty cost

Something handy about Mopar extended warranties is that — unlike most other factory extended warranties — you can buy one online. That’s a bigger deal than it sounds because most manufacturers require you to purchase factory-backed extended warranties through their dealerships. (Our experience suggests that dealers often tack on $500-plus in fees to these products.)

See extended warranty costs for specific Dodge models:

• Dodge Charger

While you can’t technically purchase Mopar Vehicle Protection plans directly from Mopar, retailers, like Zeigler Auto Group, sometimes sell them for wholesale prices from their websites. (When we compared Zeigler’s quotes for Mopar extended warranties to dealership quotes, we saw that Zeigler offered the same plans for around 40% less.)

» LEARN: Where can you use an extended auto warranty?

Mopar Vehicle Protection plan costs for Dodge vehicles

Here are some of the quotes we collected from Zeigler for various Dodge vehicles. Note that all plans were quoted using a $100 deductible and do not include tax or the cost of the required dealership inspection (roughly $150) for pre-owned plans.

Overall, prices for Maximum Care plans on Dodge vehicles tend to be around the industry average for an extended auto warranty. But is “average” actually a good deal for a Dodge warranty? More on that in a bit.

First, let’s dive into the nitty-gritty terms of the contract itself.

Dodge extended warranty terms and conditions

While you should always read every line of an extended warranty contract extremely carefully, here is a general summary of the key points in Mopar’s warranty agreements.

All things considered, these are pretty standard warranty terms, but there is one more thing we should point out.

If you drive a Hellcat- or Demon-branded Dodge, you may want to confirm with Mopar what sort of driving behavior may void your warranty. Even if you never take your performance vehicle to the track, some extended warranty providers will deny claims on the basis that the vehicle simply appears to have been used for competitive events based on signs like bald tires or visible stress on the engine mounts. We’d recommend asking about this before you buy and getting all responses in writing.

Is a Dodge extended warranty worth it?

Based on everything we’ve covered, is a Dodge extended warranty worth it? The odds aren’t good, and here’s why.

Broadly speaking, an extended auto warranty is more likely to be worth what you pay for it if:

1. Your vehicle isn’t very reliable.
2. You think you’ll spend less on your extended warranty than you would on the repairs it would likely cover.
3. Getting a surprise repair bill would trigger a chain of events that severely impacts other parts of your life.
4. You’re okay with paying a few thousand dollars for extra peace of mind.

Since points three and four above are personal, we’ll leave those for you to consider and focus on the first two.

Historically speaking, Dodge has had a mixed record of reliability, but things have been looking up in recent years. J.D. Power ranked the brand 10th out of 29 carmakers in 2024, and Consumer Reports ranked Dodge 21 out of 30 carmakers in 2023.

RepairPal data suggests that Dodge vehicles only make unplanned trips to the mechanic 0.2 times per year, compared with an average of 0.4 times per year for the industry overall. 2019 Repairpal data also estimates that Dodges cost their owners $634 per year in maintenance and repairs, which when adjusted for inflation is around $867 — a pinch below the industry average of $891 per year.

It’s worth noting, however, that Dodge owners are given eye-popping quotes more often than the average driver. According to RepairPal, 15% of Dodge repairs are “severe” — costing about $2,000 or more. Compare that with the 12% average across all brands.

If you have significant savings, getting stuck with a massive repair bill might not be a huge worry, but if you don’t, it could be ruinous. A ConsumerAffairs investigation found that most drivers surveyed couldn’t afford to pay cash for a $1,000 repair bill, and 13% of respondents simply had no way to handle a bill that large — even with credit.

All things considered, though, these vehicles have slightly above-average reliability and slightly below-average repair costs. This diminishes the value of an extended warranty since paying out-of-pocket would likely end up cheaper than investing $2,500 or more in a Mopar Vehicle Protection plan.

But before we wrap up, let’s see if a third-party warranty company can do any better.

» MORE: Pros and cons of extended auto warranties

Dodge extended warranty alternatives

We got quotes from olive and Endurance, two other extended car warranty companies, to see how their rates compared with what Mopar offered us. (The quotes below are for a Maximum Care-equivalent warranty with a $100 deductible and don’t include tax or the cost of a dealer inspection report).

Overall, the results were a mixed bag. Zeigler offered better rates for our example Caravan and Challenger but higher rates for the brand new V-6 Charger. So, you might be able to save money and tilt the scales in favor of an extended warranty being worth it if you shop around for coverage.

In our experience, extended warranty quotes can vary significantly based on a variety of factors, so it often pays to get quotes from different warranty companies before you decide whether warranty protection is right for you.

» MORE: How to choose an extended car warranty