Genesis maintenance: cost, plans and service schedule

Are Genesis vehicles expensive to maintain?

Considering that Genesis vehicles have only been around for seven years, there’s not a whole lot of data out there to indicate exactly how expensive they’ll be to own long-term. That being said, early signs indicate that they’re decently well put together and have below-average ownership costs for a luxury brand.

According to RepairPal data from 2019, the average annual cost of repairs and maintenance for a Genesis vehicle was around $565 per year. Adjusted for inflation, that’s around $772 per year in 2024 — far below the adjusted cost of owning a BMW ($1,323) or a Mercedes-Benz ($1,241).

How Genesis compares to other automakers

Early data points to Genesis vehicles being very affordable to own and maintain compared with similar luxury brands. In fact, RepairPal gave Genesis a 3.5 out of 5 in its reliability rating, which ranks it 7th out of 30 for luxury full-size cars. The annual repair and maintenance costs for a Genesis ($772) are also below the industry average  of $891. Here’s how it compares with other popular makes.

Genesis maintenance and repair costs by model

Overall, Genesis vehicles are relatively affordable to own compared with other luxury brands (and even many non-luxury brands), but are some Genesis models cheaper than others?

For context, Genesis offers three sedans (the G70, G80 and G90), three SUVs (the GV70, GV80 and GV90) and three electric vehicles (the Electrified G80, GV60 and Electrified GV80) at the time of publishing.

The brand debuted its SUVs in 2021 and its EVs in 2023, meaning all of those vehicles are still under Genesis’ lengthy five-year factory warranty in 2024. As a result, while we can estimate maintenance costs, we simply don’t know how much post-warranty repairs might cost on those vehicles.

When it comes to the older line of sedans, however, things are looking good. Edmunds estimates that during their first year out of warranty, the G70 and G80 will require $766 in repairs, and the flagship G90 will cost $834. For comparison, the G80-like BMW 5 Series will cost $955 in that year, and the G90-like Mercedes S Class will cost $970.

However, not even Genesis can match Lexus for low ownership costs. According to Edmunds, the G90-like Lexus LS 500 will cost a mere $418 in repairs during its first year out of warranty.

Genesis maintenance cost and schedule

All new Genesis vehicles come with complimentary scheduled maintenance for their first three years or 36,000 miles, which includes:

• Oil changes
• Tire rotations
• Air cleaner filter replacements
• Climate control air filter replacements
• Multipoint inspections

That means you won’t have to pay for any of these services out of pocket for a while, and your overall ownership costs should drop significantly. The complimentary maintenance transfers between owners, too, so you’ll still get the benefits of free oil changes and more if you buy a newer, pre-owned Genesis.

Even though Genesis offers complimentary maintenance for those first three years, it’s still helpful to know how often you’ll have to book a service appointment.

Plus, you’ll be on the hook for every service interval past 36,000 miles, although you don’t necessarily have to visit a Genesis dealership for basic maintenance (most ASE-certified technicians can help at a lower cost).

In general, you can expect Genesis maintenance schedules to look similar across models. That might mean an oil change, tire rotation and multipoint inspection every 12 months or 8,000 miles; cabin air filter replacement and parking brake, fuel system and fuel tank air filter inspections every 24 months or 16,000 miles; and front/rear differential oil inspections every 48 months or 32,000 miles.

Where you’ll see a difference is with the Genesis EVs — you won’t have to schedule oil changes, but the rest of the service intervals are more frequent. On the GV60, for example, Genesis recommends tire rotations every four months or 5,000 miles, and it recommends brake inspections and fluid changes every 12 months or 15,000 miles. So if you purchase a Genesis EV, expect to apply some of your gas savings toward more regular maintenance.

Once your complimentary maintenance is up, the cost of maintaining a Genesis is still far cheaper than maintaining a German luxury car — but nowhere near as cheap as maintaining a Lexus.

According to Edmunds, during your first year without complimentary maintenance, you can expect to pay around $2,352 to maintain a Genesis G80. A BMW 530i would cost you $3,551, for instance, but a Lexus ES would cost a mere $1,088.

Example: 2017 Genesis G80 maintenance costs

To show how much Genesis maintenance might cost you, we got estimates for various recommended services on a 2020 Genesis G80 based in Atlanta. Just bear in mind that your costs may differ based on your vehicle and location.

These estimates don’t factor in taxes and fees, but they should help you get a general idea of what you can expect to spend. While these numbers may be intimidating to some, people familiar with luxury cars appear generally satisfied with the cost of Genesis ownership, according to the mechanics we spoke with.

“I’ve only heard good things about Genesis so far,” an experienced mechanic in Atlanta told ConsumerAffairs. “Good luxury and performance for your dollar, and they don’t seem to have any major issues so far.”

Schedule maintenance for severe driving conditions

Genesis provides a maintenance schedule for vehicles operated under severe driving conditions, which typically include situations such as driving in heavy traffic, making frequent short trips, driving in extremely hot or cold weather, towing a trailer or driving on mountainous, rough or muddy terrain.

This maintenance schedule usually requires more frequent service intervals, including oil and filter changes every 3,000 to 5,000 miles. Check your owners manual for specific details.

Genesis repair costs

It’s hard to come by reliable information on how much Genesis repairs cost because most Genesis vehicles are still under warranty. However, Edmunds projects that most Genesis vehicles will cost less than $1,000 in annual repairs once their warranty expires, which is remarkably cheap for a luxury performance brand.

That may change as these vehicles continue to age, but for now, the lack of data on Genesis repair costs is both good news and bad news for prospective Genesis owners. It’s rarely comforting to place a bet on the unknown, but the fact that this data is so sparse might actually show that Genesis’ strong warranty coverage is working.

» LEARN: What is a manufacturer’s warranty?

How can an extended warranty help?

Extended warranties and prepaid maintenance plans are two ways to keep your Genesis ownership costs low, but they work in very different ways.

Extended warranties help protect you from paying for repair bills when your Genesis breaks down. It’s hard to say how useful these plans are when repair cost data is so hard to come by for Genesis vehicles (and the data that does exist shows these vehicles to be fairly reliable), but Genesis does offer its own warranty program for extended warranties, which it calls Genesis Protection Plan Vehicle Service Contracts.

Extended warranties are available from both manufacturers and third-party warranty companies.

In our full analysis of these plans, we determined that the $2,000+ cost may not be worth it unless you want absolute peace of mind. Remember: All Genesis vehicles come with a five-year/60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty from the factory, which automatically transfers to new owners if you buy used. If you buy new or certified pre-owned, you’ll also get a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty to cover your engine, transmission and drive axle(s), further lessening the need for an extended warranty.

Third-party extended warranty companies can often offer similar coverage at lower rates. The key to finding the right deal is to get quotes from multiple warranty providers and compare their offerings.

“I actually talked to eight different warranty companies and some of them didn't cover my car because they put my car in a luxury category,” says Keyyshav, a ConsumerAffairs reviewer from Ohio. “Some warranty companies offer very basic coverage. I was looking for a warranty that also provides me maintenance so that my expenses on the car would be close to zero. Fortunately, [one auto warranty company] was giving that. They also have three oil changes a year, brake pads replacement and wiper blades replacement.”

» RELATED: What is a certified pre-owned car?

As for prepaid maintenance, Genesis offers five plan options that can help you save money on your regularly scheduled maintenance visits. While a lot of the value of these plans comes from the peace of mind you get knowing your maintenance is paid for, they can also save you money in some cases by protecting you from inflation or price increases. (Some dealers even offer discounts on maintenance services bought through prepaid plans because they guarantee future business.)

Both extended warranties and prepaid maintenance plans are optional (you may not even want them given how relatively affordable Genesis upkeep is and how long the warranties last), but if ownership costs are a potential problem for you, they’re worth considering.

» MORE: Car warranty vs. car insurance