Honda extended warranty: cost, coverage and plans

Honda extended warranty coverage

Honda’s official extended warranty program is called Honda Care. Honda Care warranties (also called vehicle service contracts) are underwritten by American Honda Finance Corporation (meaning they’re bona fide Honda products) and can be purchased for both new and pre-owned Honda vehicles. To qualify, used vehicles must be within Honda’s three-year/36,000-mile Limited warranty period, though.

As for what’s covered, Honda Care essentially mimics and extends Honda’s factory warranties by covering component groups such as your:

• Drivetrain, including your engine, transmission, differential and axles
• Electronics, ranging from computers to electrical systems
• Chassis, including your suspension, steering and brake systems
• Heating/cooling, including your air conditioning and all related heating and cooling systems
• Honda OEM accessories, including your infotainment system, security system and stereo system

Plans are available with terms ranging from four years/60,000 miles to eight years/120,000 miles for new vehicles and from one year/12,000 miles to four years/48,000 miles for used vehicles. (Honda defines new vehicles as having fewer than 6,000 miles.)

It’s important to clarify that Honda’s coverage terms for extended warranties on new vehicles start from the “in-service date” when the original owner bought the vehicle. So, a five-year/60,000-mile extended warranty on a new car doesn’t add that amount to your existing three-year/36,000-mile warranty — it extends your old Honda warranty to five years/60,000 miles, effectively adding two years/24,000 miles of coverage.

Warranty terms usually outline time and mileage maximums, with the warranty ending whenever you hit either limit.

For used cars, however, a Honda extended warranty does extend whatever factory coverage remains. So, if you buy a used Civic with 5,000 miles of factory warranty left, a one-year/12,000-mile Honda Care warranty will extend your coverage to 17,000 miles.

And it’s not just a Honda thing — this is similar to how some other extended warranties are advertised. To avoid confusion, clarify with your Honda dealer how long your new warranty coverage will last and get it in writing.

» MORE: Extended warranties for cars with over 100K miles

Honda extended warranty benefits

On top of repair coverage, Honda Care warranties also come with an extensive list of benefits, including:

• Rental car reimbursement: While your car is in the shop for a covered repair, Honda Care may cover the cost of a rental car — up to $35 per day for six days.
• Trip interruption benefits: If your car goes into the shop for a covered mechanical breakdown more than 100 miles from home, Honda may help to cover meals and lodging — up to $100 per day for three days.
• Concierge service: Honda Care concierge service is available 24/7 and may help with cash advances, travel assistance, insurance claim assistance and other needs.
• Roadside assistance*: Honda Care’s roadside assistance service operates 24/7 and includes towing, lockout assistance, jump-starts, tire changes and fuel delivery.

*Included with New Vehicle Coverage, Sentinel Services, and Sentinel Plus Plans

Honda extended warranty plans

There are four levels of Honda Care:

• New Vehicle Coverage for vehicles under one year old with fewer than 6,000 miles
• Pre-Owned Vehicle Coverage for used vehicles under three years old with fewer than 36,000 miles
• Certified Additional Coverage for certified pre-owned vehicles under three years old with fewer than 36,000 miles
• Powertrain Coverage, which only covers powertrain components like your engine, transmission, differential and axles

The first three plans cover similar systems and components, with the only key differences being their costs and available terms.

Honda also offers Honda Care Sentinel as an optional add-on to New Vehicle plans. Honda Care Sentinel adds warranty coverage for regular oil changes, tire protection, key fob replacement and roadside assistance for an additional fee.

Honda Care Sentinel Plus, another add-on option, adds tire replacement coverage, meaning Honda will replace your tire instead of just repairing it. Honda Care Sentinel Plus can also extend your roadside assistance to up to five family members.

Honda Care vs. HondaTrue: What’s the difference?

Honda Care is an optional extended warranty offered on new, certified pre-owned (CPO) and used Honda vehicles with under 36,000 miles. HondaTrue, on the other hand, is a complimentary warranty that comes with all certified pre-owned Honda vehicles.

HondaTrue has three levels:

• HondaTrue Used covers CPO vehicles up to 10 years old and includes 100 days/5,000 miles of both Powertrain and Limited warranty coverage.
• HondaTrue Certified covers CPO vehicles up to five years old with under 80,000 miles and includes seven years/100,000 miles of Powertrain coverage and one year/12,000 miles of Limited coverage (which also stacks on your remaining Honda factory warranty).
• HondaTrue Certified+ covers CPO vehicles up to one year old and includes seven years/100,000 miles of Powertrain coverage plus five years/86,000 miles of Limited coverage (extending the Honda factory warranty by two years/50,000 miles).

According to a local Honda dealer we spoke with, some customers still choose to purchase a Honda Care warranty to extend their HondaTrue Certified or HondaTrue Used warranty. Others, however, determine that the complimentary CPO warranty will suffice.

Honda extended warranty cost

To find out how much Honda extended warranties cost, we got quotes from Curry Honda Care’s online tool for a variety of vehicles, and the results ranged from around $700 to $1,800, depending on the Honda vehicle in question and its mileage.

See extended warranty costs for specific Honda models:

• Honda Accord
• Honda Civic
• Honda Odyssey
• Honda Pilot
• Honda Ridgeline

One thing that interested us about these quotes was that they all fall well below the average cost of an extended auto warranty, which is roughly $1,000 per year of additional bumper-to-bumper coverage.

The exceedingly low cost of Honda Care warranties may be due to Honda’s past reputation for build quality — claims are less common on reliable vehicles. However, Honda’s hallowed reliability has been in question in recent model years, which could actually make an extended warranty an even better value.

Honda extended warranty terms and conditions

Standard terms and conditions for extended warranties apply, which include:

• Maintenance requirements: To maintain coverage, you must follow Honda’s vehicle maintenance schedule. That means getting regular oil changes, tire rotations and other services at the specified intervals and keeping the receipts.
• Preexisting conditions: Any preexisting conditions won’t be covered by Honda Care, which is why we strongly recommend getting a pre-purchase inspection before purchasing any used vehicle. You may want paperwork showing what was — and wasn’t — an issue when you bought the car if you ever file a claim.
• Transferability: You can transfer your Honda Care extended warranty to a new owner within 20 days of the sale by contacting the dealer where you purchased the warranty and paying a $50 fee.

What’s not covered by a Honda extended warranty?

Like virtually all extended warranties, Honda Care won’t cover repairs made without prior authorization or parts that fail due to:

• Missed or delayed maintenance, like putting off an oil change
• Aftermarket parts or modifications, like suspension damage caused by a lift kit
• The failure of a part that’s not covered, like a transmission failure (normally covered) caused by a bad clutch bearing (not covered)
• Improper towing, like hauling more than your vehicle is rated for
• Racing or track use (with limited exceptions for the Civic Type R)
• Damage caused by animals, weather or a collision — that’s what car insurance is for

Honda Care’s list of specific exclusions is pretty typical for an extended warranty. That means it also won’t cover:

• Clutch discs and bearings
• Fuses, hoses and timing belt failures
• Tailgates, trunk latches and taillight housings
• Insulation and water shields
• Handles and latches
• Exhaust systems, including mufflers, resonators, gaskets and related fasteners
• Frame and frame subcomponents, like bushings, seals and trim
• Convertible tops

We aren’t lawyers, but we do read lots of contracts. And to our eyes, there don’t seem to be any major gremlins or gotchas hiding in the sample Honda Care contract we read. Still, you’ll want to read your warranty contract carefully to make sure you understand what you’re agreeing to.

» MORE: Questions to ask a car warranty provider

Honda extended warranty alternatives

Before you commit to a Honda Care warranty, it’s a good idea to shop around and compare it with extended warranties from third-party providers. After all, a third-party warranty can make up for some of Honda Care’s greatest limitations:

• Cost: Third-party warranties offer deductibles of up to $500, helping to drive the cost of the warranty down significantly.
• Flexibility: Honda Care requires you to bring your vehicle to the nearest Honda dealer, while third parties generally allow you to choose your mechanic from a broader list.
• Term length: Honda Care coverage caps at 120,000 miles for new cars, while third-party warranties can extend all the way up to 300,000 miles.

We collected sample quotes from four third-party warranty providers and included the results below. All quotes were for a bumper-to-bumper-equivalent warranty with a $100 deductible (unless otherwise stated).

The only company to really compete with HondaCare in terms of pricing was olive. Most of the other brands we got estimates from were far more expensive. Just know that your results may differ considerably.

We recommend that you check pricing with multiple providers and compare rates, coverages and sample contracts to find the right warranty for your vehicle. There’s no guarantee that a third-party warranty will be better or cheaper than a Honda Care warranty, but it’s worth doing the research to confirm you’re making the right choice before such an important purchase.

Is a Honda extended warranty worth it?

Remember that new and CPO Hondas come with free warranties from Honda. So, if you don’t plan to own the vehicle past this complimentary warranty period, an extended warranty probably isn’t worth purchasing.

The first step in determining whether an extended warranty makes sense is to get a crystal clear understanding of what the warranty does and doesn’t cover. For example, many drivers know that warranties never cover wear-and-tear items (like tires), but many are also surprised to learn that certain seemingly permanent components (like clutches) can fall into that category.

If you do plan to own your Honda past the factory warranty period, you should know that Honda’s once solid reputation for reliability has recently come into question.

As a brand, Honda has fallen in J.D. Power’s U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study from 2018 to the time of publishing, with its problems-per-100 vehicles rising from 140 to 206 during that period. Although it may sound counterintuitive, if you own an older Honda, you may actually have less need for an extended warranty.

Those concerning numbers for 2018 to 2023 Hondas are also reflected in some consumer reviews, with rising complaints of poor quality control and lacking customer service.

When we surveyed 1,000 drivers, we found that 13% of them had no way to pay for a $1,000 car repair.

Terry, a ConsumerAffairs reviewer from Maryland, discovered leaks in both their 2022 Honda Ridgeline and 2019 Honda Pilot, leaving them to question Honda’s quality assurance. “The entire experience left a bad taste,” Terry wrote.

Considering that newer Hondas seem to have an above-average number of problems — and Honda Care costs just $1,000 or so in many cases — an extended warranty might make sense. That’s especially true if you can’t afford a major repair out of pocket.

Plus, even if you never end up using it, having extended warranty protection may provide valuable peace of mind.

» MORE: Pros and cons of extended auto warranties