GM Trims Chevy, GMC Powertrain Warranty

General Motors is rolling back the 100,000-mile powertrain warranty it has offered since 2007 on Chevrolet and GMC vehicles, because it wasn’t boosting sales as much as expected.

The warranty, which was actually for five years or 100,000 miles, was introduced eight years ago as a way to demonstrate GM’s confidence in the quality of its vehicles, and to appeal to consumers who drive more than 16,000 miles annually.

All 2016 Chevrolet and GMC models will now come with limited powertrain warranties of five years or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first. The two brands and Buick also will reduce the number of free service appointments from four to two in the first 24,000 miles of ownership.

“We’ve talked to our customers and learned that scheduled maintenance and warranty coverage do not rank high as a reason to purchase a vehicle among buyers of non-luxury vehicles,” the automaker said in a statement.

Buick will maintain its six-year/70,000-mile powertrain warranty.

Chrysler introduced a lifetime limited powertrain warranty in 2007, but rolled it back to five years or 100,000 miles after emerging from bankruptcy in 2009.

Most automakers, including Ford, Toyota and Honda, offer five-years-or-60,000-mile coverage on their powertrains.

“We will reinvest the savings in features customers value more, such as 4G LTE, OnStar and advanced connected vehicle technology,” GM said in the statement.

This article appeared in print in the March 13th, 2015 edition of Hamodia.