Automotive warranty statistics span two different worlds: accounting measures of reserves and costs, and consumer-facing limits for time, distance, components and battery capacity. The figures below cover General Motors, Tesla, Ford, Hyundai, Kia and the 2026 CAA-Quebec comparison, with periods and limitations stated for each measure.
Key Automotive Warranty Statistics
The most quotable figures in this overview are:
- GM reported a $10.6 billion product-warranty and recall-campaign liability for its consolidated business on December 31, 2024.
- Tesla’s accrued warranty balance reached $6.716 billion at December 31, 2024, primarily from automotive activity within consolidated Tesla.
- Ford ended the first quarter of 2024 with an $11.540 billion warranty and field-service-action reserve for its consolidated business.
- GM paid $4.474 billion against product-warranty and related liabilities during 2024 in its consolidated business.
- Tesla incurred $1.453 billion in warranty costs during 2024 on a consolidated basis.
- Ford paid $1.391 billion for warranty and field-service-action obligations during the first quarter of 2024.
- GM recorded $3.621 billion of product-warranty additions during 2024 for its consolidated business.
- Tesla recorded $2.730 billion of warranty provision during 2024 on a consolidated basis.
- Ford estimated up to about $1.3 billion of reasonably possible costs above accruals for material field-service and customer-satisfaction actions at March 31, 2024.
- Acura, Ford, Hyundai and Kia listed 8-year/160,000-kilometre key electric-powertrain coverage in the 2026 CAA-Quebec comparison.
- Lexus listed 10-year/240,000-kilometre battery coverage for 100% electric vehicles in the 2026 comparison.
- Mitsubishi listed 10-year/160,000-kilometre key electric-powertrain coverage in the 2026 comparison.
- Rivian listed 8-year/280,000-kilometre coverage for its specified extended-range four-motor configuration in the 2026 comparison.
- Tesla listed 8-year/192,000-kilometre coverage for long-range Model 3 and Model Y batteries in the 2026 comparison.
- Porsche listed an 80% battery-capacity threshold through 3 years/50,000 kilometres and 70% thereafter to 8 years/160,000 kilometres in the 2026 comparison.
- Hyundai listed 10-year/200,000-kilometre HEV engine and main power-transmission coverage in its 2025 report description.
- Hyundai listed 10-year/160,000-kilometre EV/FCEV engine and main power-transmission coverage in its 2025 report description.
- Kia’s U.S. roadside-assistance network listed more than 17,000 providers on the current page accessed in October 2026.
Contents
- Key Automotive Warranty Statistics
- Manufacturer Warranty Reserve Trends
- Warranty Costs, Claims and Recall Liabilities
- New-Vehicle Warranty Coverage Data
- Electric-Vehicle Battery Warranty Thresholds
- Hyundai Warranty Terms and Quality Measures
- Kia Program Limits and Reserve Uncertainty
Manufacturer Warranty Reserve Trends
Company filings show the scale of expected obligations, but a reserve is not the same thing as claims paid. GM’s balance includes product warranty and recall campaigns, Ford’s includes field-service actions and is net of estimated supplier recoveries, while Tesla’s balance is primarily automotive but also includes some energy-related warranty activity.
| Manufacturer and period | Opening or prior balance | Ending balance | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| GM, 2022 to 2023 | $8.530 billion | $9.295 billion | Warranty balance |
| GM, 2024 | $9.295 billion | $10.571 billion | Product warranty and recall-related liabilities |
| Tesla, 2022 to 2023 | $3.505 billion | $5.152 billion | Accrued warranty balance |
| Tesla, 2024 | $5.152 billion | $6.716 billion | Accrued warranty balance |
| Ford, Q1 2023 | $9.193 billion | $9.284 billion | Warranty and field-service reserve |
| Ford, Q1 2024 | $11.504 billion | $11.540 billion | Warranty and field-service reserve |
Sources: General Motors Company 2024 Form 10-K, Tesla, Inc. 2024 Form 10-K, and Ford Motor Company First Quarter 2024 Form 10-Q.
GM’s ending balance was $10.571 billion on December 31, 2024, including $438 million of supplier recoveries shown separately from the gross ending balance. Tesla’s accrued balance reached $6.716 billion at December 31, 2024, while the filing describes it as primarily automotive rather than exclusively automotive.
These balances are observed accounting figures, not population-wide repair rates. Cross-company comparisons should therefore be treated cautiously because the scopes differ by recalls, field actions, supplier recoveries and non-automotive products.
Warranty Costs, Claims and Recall Liabilities
The filings provide several kinds of measures: cash paid, additions for new warranties, provisions, adjustments to existing warranties and incurred costs. They should not be combined into a single claims statistic.
GM reported the following consolidated measures:
- In 2024, GM recorded $997 million of warranties issued or assumed for recall campaigns and $3.621 billion for product warranty.
- GM paid $4.474 billion against product-warranty and related liabilities in 2024 and recorded $1.237 billion of adjustments to pre-existing warranties.
- In 2023, GM recorded $864 million of recall-campaign warranties and $2.418 billion of product-warranty additions.
- In 2022, GM recorded $651 million of recall-campaign warranties and $1.943 billion of product-warranty additions.
- GM paid $4.009 billion in 2023 and $4.097 billion in 2022 against warranty and related liabilities.
Tesla reported $1.453 billion in warranty costs incurred in 2024, compared with $1.225 billion in 2023 and $803 million in 2022. Its warranty provision was $2.730 billion in 2024, $2.333 billion in 2023 and $1.685 billion in 2022; the provision is an accounting estimate, not cash claims paid.
Tesla also recorded $287 million of net changes in liability for pre-existing warranties in 2024. That measure includes expirations and foreign-exchange impact, so it is not a count of new repairs.
Ford’s first-quarter disclosures show a different reporting scope:
- Ford paid $1.391 billion in Q1 2024 for warranty and field-service-action obligations, after paying $990 million in Q1 2023.
- Ford added $1.091 billion for warranties issued in Q1 2024, compared with $972 million in Q1 2023.
- Ford added $397 million for pre-existing warranty obligations in Q1 2024, compared with $226 million in Q1 2023.
The Ford reserve is net of estimated supplier recoveries and includes field-service actions. At March 31, 2024, Ford estimated that reasonably possible costs above accruals for material field-service and customer-satisfaction actions could reach about $1.3 billion in aggregate; this is an upper-range exposure estimate, not an expected loss or paid amount.
New-Vehicle Warranty Coverage Data
The 2026 CAA-Quebec comparison reports warranty limits in years and kilometres, with the first time or distance limit applying. These are contractual terms, not observed failure or repair rates.
| Automaker or group | Key electric-powertrain coverage | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Acura | 8 years / 160,000 km | 2026 model-year table |
| BMW plug-in hybrid | 8 years / 128,000 km | 2026 model-year table |
| Chrysler/Dodge/Fiat/Jeep/Ram | 5 years / 100,000 km | 2026 model-year table |
| Ford | 8 years / 160,000 km | 2026 model-year table |
| Hyundai | 8 years / 160,000 km | 2026 model-year table |
| Kia | 8 years / 160,000 km | 2026 model-year table |
| Lexus, battery for 100% EVs | 10 years / 240,000 km | 2026 model-year table |
| Mitsubishi | 10 years / 160,000 km | 2026 model-year table |
| Nissan | 5 years / 100,000 km | 2026 model-year table |
| Rivian, specified extended-range four-motor | 8 years / 280,000 km | 2026 model-year table |
Source: 2026 manufacturers’ warranties: Electric and hybrid vehicles.
The same table lists Tesla Model 3 and Model Y standard-battery coverage at 8 years/160,000 km, and long-range-battery coverage at 8 years/192,000 km. Toyota’s hybrid and plug-in-hybrid battery coverage is listed at 10 years/240,000 km, applying to those vehicle types in the comparison.
The table’s limits are model- and configuration-specific. They should not be interpreted as evidence that one manufacturer’s vehicles fail more or less often than another’s.
Electric-Vehicle Battery Warranty Thresholds
Battery-capacity provisions define a warranty threshold rather than measuring the average battery condition of a fleet. The 2026 CAA-Quebec table uses different definitions in some cases, so the figures are not all directly interchangeable.
| Manufacturer or vehicle line | Capacity threshold or definition | Period or scope |
|---|---|---|
| Acura; Buick/Chevrolet/GMC; Honda | 75% of original capacity | Warranty end, 2026 table |
| Audi; BMW; Genesis; Hyundai; Kia | 70% of original capacity | Warranty end, 2026 table |
| Nissan Ariya | 10 bars out of 12 | Warranty end, 2026 table |
| Nissan Leaf | 70% of initial capacity | Warranty end, 2026 table |
| Porsche | 80%, then 70% | 80% through 3 years/50,000 km; 70% to 8 years/160,000 km |
| Rivian | 70% of original capacity | Specified extended-range configurations |
| Toyota | 70% of original capacity | Warranty end, 2026 table |
| Volkswagen | 70% of original capacity | Net-capacity coverage |
Source: 2026 manufacturers’ warranties: Electric and hybrid vehicles.
Porsche’s provision is piecewise: the table lists 80% through 3 years/50,000 km, then 70% from 3 years/50,000 km to 8 years/160,000 km. Nissan’s Ariya and Leaf use different capacity definitions, which is why the bar-based and percentage-based terms should be read separately.
Hyundai Warranty Terms and Quality Measures
Hyundai’s 2025 report description separates ordinary body and general parts from engines, powertrain parts and electrified systems. The terms below describe free-repair warranty categories for the stated vehicle populations, not claim rates.
| Hyundai vehicle or component group | Warranty term | Period stated |
|---|---|---|
| Passenger cars and SUVs: body and general parts | 3 years / 60,000 km | 2025 report description |
| Passenger cars and SUVs: engines and powertrain parts | 5 years / 100,000 km | 2025 report description |
| HEVs: engines and main power-transmission parts | 10 years / 200,000 km | 2025 report description |
| EVs and FCEVs: engines and main power-transmission parts | 10 years / 160,000 km | 2025 report description |
Source: Hyundai Motor Company Sustainability Report 2025.
The electrified-vehicle terms are longer than Hyundai’s stated general body and powertrain periods, but the categories cover different components and vehicle populations. Commercial vehicles differ from the passenger-car and SUV terms shown here.
Kia Program Limits and Reserve Uncertainty
Kia’s U.S. program illustrates why warranty statistics need both headline coverage and service conditions. The current Kia America page describes a 10-year/100,000-mile warranty package with powertrain and basic limited-warranty components, while also stating that warranties and roadside assistance are limited and that individual component terms govern.
Kia’s U.S. roadside-assistance network lists more than 17,000 providers. That is a provider-network count, not the number of warranty repairs or covered vehicles.
Kia’s trip-interruption policy applies when a warranty-related disablement occurs more than 150 miles from home, provided repairs take more than 24 hours and other restrictions are met. The distance is an eligibility condition, not a measure of breakdown frequency.
Source: Kia America Warranty.
Across manufacturers, reserve uncertainty comes from the difference between an accrued balance, a provision, a cash payment, a field-service estimate and a contractual coverage limit. GM, Tesla and Ford’s filings therefore provide scale and accounting trends, while the CAA-Quebec, Hyundai and Kia sources describe customer-facing terms; none of those measures alone is a universal automotive failure rate.