I'm generally not a big fan of extended warranties but I got one when I bought my '15 TCH. Having said that, in the past I've owned a Prius and two Corollas and have never had any issues with any of them. ~Andie

 

I don't think there is a specific warranty for the TCH.

http://www.toyotacertified.com/ebrochures/tcuv_platinum_vsa.pdf - I stand corrected - there are specific items covered for a Hybrid.

Basically, the advice is the same as other extended warranties:

• Think of it as insurance/peace-of-mind.
• I would only get an official Toyota one.
• I would get a zero-deductible one (if I got one at all).
• There are other threads on this. Toby in LA has the best prices, but Toyota dealers aren't supposed to sell out-of-state if you don't buy in person - but shop around, prices vary.
• There are different mileage limits - i.e. if you drive 10K miles a year, get a 8-year/75K one, not 8-year/120.
• Remember, it only kicks in after 3-years, so the 8-year warranty only warrants the last 5-years that you own the vehicle.
• If you want the dealer to repair the car, it MIGHT be a good deal. If you can do a lot of your own work or have an independent shop with cheaper labor, you might lose money on it.
• Finally - not accounting for inflation, you want to buy it before you use up the 3-year/36K comprehensive warranty, but it doesn't cost more to buy it at the end or the beginning of the period. Personally, I would probably wait until I had 34-months or 33K miles on the car and then:
  • If the car had constantly had things breaking on it, I would probably sell the car.
  • If the car had NEVER had a warranty repair, I would be inclined to take my chances without the warranty.
  • If the car had needed a few but not many repairs, and I didn't want to work on it myself or have an independent shop I trusted, the warranty might make sense.

 

This is what gets to me...36K miles is less than 18 months for my historical driving habits. The extended warranty seems as though it might make sense, for me, if the car isn't looking like a lemon.

Jay

 

My experience has been very bad on the toyota warranties. Currently have one on my TCH and the dealer charges you when you come in for extended warranty service ($120 for a diagnostic test) prior to covering anything. First time trying to use the warranty service results in a diagnostic charge before anything is done to review the problem.

Also, many warranties are dealer add on's that do not transfer across dealerships or to any future owners.

Also, the final decision on coverage or not is in the hands of the warranty company that is offering the warranty. Translated - small problems may be covered and bigger problems (money losers) are up to the profit driven warranty company. Let's see.... do we pay on it and lose money or do we say it's uncovered and force the owners to prove that its something that should be covered. Chances are that you don't have the expertise needed to be able to prove the problem.

Once burned twice shy....

 

I said above, I would only get the official Toyota one, and I should add that I would probably also only get the Platinum Toyota one that covers most everything.

My experience has been very bad on the toyota warranties. Currently have one on my TCH and the dealer charges you when you come in for extended warranty service ($120 for a diagnostic test) prior to covering anything. First time trying to use the warranty service results in a diagnostic charge before anything is done to review the problem.

Pretty common with Ford also - but if you get the Platinum warranty, virtually everything is covered and they refund the diagnostic fee if the repair is covered.

My experience with Ford was that if is was a covered problem (CEL on), they would invoice the diagnostic fee and then refund that to cover the problem. When it was not a covered item (door handle, molding coming loose) they would tell me that was not covered without charging a diagnostic fee.

Also, many warranties are dealer add on's that do not transfer across dealerships or to any future owners.

Toyota warranty transfers across dealerships, but you have to have the work done at a Toyota dealer. I think it transfers to future owners, but if I don't think I will own the car for as long as the extended warranty, I won't buy the warranty.

Also, the final decision on coverage or not is in the hands of the warranty company that is offering the warranty.

True, but Toyota realizes that if they try to say "Sorry, the transmission failed at 65K miles, it is just wear and tear and not a warranty issue, you won't buy another Toyota or extended warranty and will tell all your friends to buy something else and they don't want that ...

 

Once burned twice shy...


My experience has been very bad on the toyota warranties. Currently have one on my TCH and the dealer charges you when you come in for extended warranty service ($120 for a diagnostic test) prior to covering anything. First time trying to use the warranty service results in a diagnostic charge before anything is done to review the problem.

Also, many warranties are dealer add on's that do not transfer across dealerships or to any future owners.

Also, the final decision on coverage is in the hands of the warranty company that is offering the warranty. Translated - small problems may be covered and bigger problems (money losers) are up to the profit driven warranty company. Let's see.... do we pay on it and lose money or do we say it's uncovered and force the owners to prove that its something that should be covered. Chances are that you don't have the expertise needed to be able to prove the problem.

Once burned twice shy....