Car and Truck US Federal Emissions Warranty

Emissions Parts Coverage, Smog Check, Mileage and Time Limits

Aug 23, 2009

The Emissions Warranty can go beyond the vehicles factory warranty. If a vehicle doesn't pass a smog check or the check engine light comes on, the repair may be covered.

The Federal Emissions Warranty can cover emissions related components for vehicles up to 8 years after the in service date or up to 80,000 miles, whichever comes first. Even though a check engine light comes on or the vehicle doesn’t pass a smog check, it doesn’t necessarily mean that a part is covered under the Federal Emissions warranty.

There are two basic types of coverage, the performance warranty and the design and defect warranty.

Federal Emissions Performance Warranty

The Federal Emissions Performance Warranty covers the vehicle if it fails an emissions test in the first 2 years or 24,000 miles. Under these conditions most vehicles are already covered under the factory new vehicle warranty, so the 2 year 24,000 mile warranty is somewhat irrelevant. However many emissions components that can cause a vehicle to fail smog test, are covered up to 8 years or 80,000 miles, whichever occurs first.

Federal Emission Design and Defect Warranty

The Federal Emission Design and Defect Warranty covers the vehicle for a manufacturing design defect for an emissions component for the first 2 years or 24,000 miles. Like the performance warranty, specific major emissions components that fail due to a defect, may be covered up to 8 years of 80,000 miles.

Parts Coverage - Federal Emissions Warranty

There are literally hundreds of parts that are covered under Federal Emissions Warranty. There are however some differences from one model year to another. There are also some differences for various engines, especially when comparing a gasoline engine to a diesel engine. There are also major differences between trucks that are over/under 8,500 pounds gross vehicle weight (GVW).

Even though there are many parts covered under the Federal Emissions Warranty, there are very few that are covered for 8 years or 80,000 miles. Some parts that are covered under the Federal Emissions 8/80 Warranty are listed below. The parts coverage was taken for the model year 2007 and for gasoline vehicles under 8,500 GVW.

Even though there’s not a lot of parts coverage for 8/80, in some cases the repairs on some of these parts could run the car owner well over $1,000 in repairs.

California Emissions Warranty

California naturally has stricter emissions standards than the Federal Government. Because of these stricter standards, California has its own coverage for 7 years or 70,000 miles. This emissions warranty is an addition to the Federal Emissions Warranty and the Federal Emissions Warranty takes precedents over the California Emissions Warranty. The California Emissions Warranty covers a lot more parts that are not covered under the Federal Emissions Warranty for 8/80.

There are also certain vehicle models that may have parts covered under the Federal Emissions Warranty that go above and beyond the normal parts coverage for 8/80. Hybrid vehicles as an example have certain components that are covered for an even greater period than 8/80.

The next time a vehicle is brought in for repairs after the vehicles factory warranty expires, don’t always assume that the repairs aren’t covered under warranty. There are other repairs after the factory warranty expires that may be covered. If a yellow check engine light comes on or the vehicle won’t pass a smog test, it may be beneficial to check with the dealership to see if the repairs are covered under emissions warranty.

The copyright of the article Car and Truck US Federal Emissions Warranty in Car Care/Ownership is owned by James Clausen. Permission to republish Car and Truck US Federal Emissions Warranty in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.