Ford F-150 Extended Warranty: Cost, Coverage and Plans

Ford F-150 extended warranty coverage

An extended warranty lengthens your vehicle’s warranty protection beyond what you get from the factory. For context, all new Ford vehicles come with the following manufacturer’s warranty:

• A 3-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, which covers virtually everything on your vehicle except for a specific list of exclusions

• A 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty, which covers your engine, transmission and drive axle(s) (plus the drive unit on Ford electric vehicles)

The earlier you buy an extended warranty, the better the price.

Like most manufacturer warranties, Ford’s factory warranty will automatically transfer to new owners until it expires. So, if you purchase a two-year-old F-150 with 20,000 miles on the odometer, you should still have one year or 16,000 miles of bumper-to-bumper protection remaining.

That said, three years or 36,000 miles of bumper-to-bumper coverage is basically the minimum for a major automaker. (Ford isn’t the only one to offer this much coverage — Toyota and Chevrolet are just as brief.) Regardless, it may not be enough if you plan to own your truck long-term.

Generally speaking, you have two options when it comes to buying an extended warranty for your F-150:

• Buy the official, Ford-backed extended warranty plan (called Ford Protect)

• Buy a third-party plan from a company like olive or Endurance that offers similar coverage, sometimes for less

Ford Protect offers four plan levels: PowertrainCARE, BaseCARE, ExtraCARE and PremiumCare. You can choose from a $0, $50, $100 or $200 deductible. Ford Protect plans extend coverage up to 10 years or 175,000 miles. Ford offers the same plan levels for its electric vehicles, including the F-150 Lightning.

Like other extended auto warranties, Ford Protect plans have exclusions you should be aware of. For example, plans exclude nonmechanical components (like your car’s bumper, glass and paint) and wear-and-tear items (like belts and hoses), as well as damage due to improper use of the vehicle, unauthorized modifications or lack of maintenance. These are typical exclusions.

By and large, first- and third-party plans have similar coverage and benefits, so it mostly comes down to price.

Ford F-150 extended warranty cost

The cost of a 7-year/100,000-mile Ford F-150 extended warranty is around $2,000 to $4,000. The overall cost of your extended warranty will vary based on vehicle age, mileage and trim level.

To get that range, we got three quotes for a brand-new Ford F-150 XLT (MSRP: $45,695): one for a Ford Protect PremiumCARE plan and two for equivalent third-party plans, each with a $100 deductible.

It’s worth noting that while Ford Protect does have other plan options (PowertrainCARE, BaseCARE and ExtraCARE), the best of these plans — ExtraCARE — only covers 113 parts. PremiumCARE covers 1,000-plus parts for just around 20% more in most cases, making it by far the better value.

Get quotes from multiple providers so you know you’re not getting overcharged.

The quotes we received were all for equivalent coverage terms, but you should be careful when you’re comparing quotes for your own vehicle. A “7-year/100,000-mile” extended warranty might start on the date the first owner purchased the car. Considering the first three years/36,000 miles are covered by the factory bumper-to-bumper warranty, you’re really paying for four years/64,000 miles of added protection in those cases.

For context, the average extended car warranty costs around $1,000 per year of coverage, which would be $4,000 for four years. That makes our quotes from olive, Endurance and Ford Protect seem like relative bargains.

F-150 extended warranty pros and cons

Ford Protect vs. third-party F-150 warranties

When shopping for an extended warranty for your Ford F-150, you’ll generally be deciding between a Ford-backed plan and a third-party provider. Both options can offer bumper-to-bumper-style coverage, but there are some meaningful differences in where you can get repairs, how benefits work and how much you’ll pay.

Here’s how Ford Protect compares with most third-party extended warranty companies.

If you’re looking to extend warranty coverage and your F-150 is approaching its Ford Protect coverage limit, check your options before the plan expires. Older or higher-mileage F-150s may have fewer Ford-backed options, making a third-party extended warranty an alternative for continued coverage.

Is an F-150 extended warranty worth it?

An extended warranty on a Ford F-150 is worth it if you can get one for under $3,000 or so. You can probably expect your Ford F-150 to exhibit below-average reliability, and it may start needing major repairs before reaching 100,000 miles. Plus, the odds of you getting a good deal on a bumper-to-bumper extended warranty are decent.

In general, an extended auto warranty is more likely to be worth it if any of the following apply to you:

1. Your vehicle has below-average expected reliability.

2. The cost of the warranty is lower than the expected cost of repairs.

3. A big surprise repair bill could be financially catastrophic for you.

4. You don’t mind paying a few thousand dollars for added peace of mind alone.

Since points three and four are subjective, let’s look at the Ford F-150’s reliability and repair costs.

Ford F-150 reliability and repair costs

Ford vehicles in general are expected to exhibit below-average reliability. J.D. Power ranked the American brand 19th out of 28 brands for dependability. That’s also backed up by some reviews from real customers, too.

“My husband’s F-150 3.5 liter Eco boost truck has only 70,000 miles and all at once everything started going wrong!” wrote Lauren, a ConsumerAffairs reviewer in Michigan.

David, a ConsumerAffairs reviewer in California, told us: “I took my truck (F150 Raptor) to have heater core replaced, I informed the service department that there was also an issue with the transmission that needed to be looked at and a a/c issue. They fixed the heater core, however, that was all. After driving the truck off and traveling 10 miles all sorts of alarms went off, causing the truck to become disabled and non functioning.”

Here are some common F-150 repair issues with estimated repair costs.

• Turbocharger assembly replacement: $1,600 to $1,950

• Timing belt replacement: $2,300 to $3,300

• Transmission fluid change: $550 to $650

RepairPal, which rates vehicles based on the cost and frequency of repairs, gave the F-150 a score of 3.5 out of 5. Its 2020 data suggests the F-150 costs $788 per year in repairs and maintenance and that 15% of repairs cost about $2,000 or more. Those numbers are below average for a full-size pickup but above average for all cars, trucks and SUVs combined.

FAQ