Toyota upgrades to five-year unlimited kilometre warranty

Toyota Australia has announced that any Toyota sold from January 1, 2019 will be covered by a new five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty for private buyers.

It represents a leap over Toyota’s previous three-year/100,000km coverage.

Commercial buyers will also be eligible for an increased five-year/160,000km warranty on new car purchases.

Part of the new warranty scheme – branded ‘Toyota Warranty Advantage’ – is a 60-day money-back guarantee which entitles new buyers to a full refund for any vehicle that becomes “undrivable” within the first 60 days of ownership. 

Toyota will now also cover the costs of towing and a loan car if a customer’s car becomes undrivable.

Further, the warranty can be extended to seven years/unlimited kilometres if the owner has adhered to scheduled log-book servicing for the life of the first five years.

Warranties of hybrid batteries can also be extended out to 10 years (and still unlimited kilometres) if annual “health inspections” are adhered to beyond the five-year warranty.

This comes just after the significant recall in December 2017 of new 2.0-litre powered Corolla hatchbacks to replace the entire gearbox which could potentially result in a ‘loss of motive power’.

The announcement also arrives just days after Subaru’s announcement of a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty across its range. Toyota's move should put pressure on the remaining manufacturers offering less than five-year coverage, including Nissan and Suzuki, each with three-year/100,000km warranties.

Toyota’s warranty scheme does come with a few notable exceptions to the five-year coverage, including utility deck panel paint and surface rust which is covered for just one year or 20,000km and auxiliary batteries which are covered by a two-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. Rust ‘perforations’ are covered by warranty for seven years.

While the Toyota 86 will be covered by the new five-year scheme despite its drivetrain sharing components with Subaru, it remains to be seen whether the yet-to-arrive new-generation Toyota Supra will also be covered considering it will have large amounts of BMW componentry. 

BMW currently only covers its range with a three-year/100,000km warranty.

Does the announcement of a five-year unlimited kilometre warranty sway you toward Toyota? Tell us what you think in the comments below.