Is A Honda Accord Extended Warranty Worth It?

The Honda Accord is one of the most popular and most reliable cars on the road and has been for some time. But like all cars, even the Accord is likely to experience problems at some point. To prepare for that and avoid surprise bills for expensive repairs, some owners look to a Honda Accord extended warranty.

This article takes an in-depth look at the automaker’s extended warranty program, Honda Care^®. We’ll examine its levels of coverage, additional benefits, and other vehicle protection products. This can help you determine whether this branded option is your best choice for a Honda Accord extended warranty or if third-party coverage from one of the best extended car warranty companies might be a better fit.

Whether you purchase your Honda Accord as a new car or a pre-owned one, the salesperson at the dealership will offer you a chance to purchase a Honda Care^® vehicle service contract. Though they go by a different name, the company’s vehicle service contracts are essentially a Honda extended warranty from the manufacturer. Terms as long as 8 years/120,000 miles are available.

Honda’s plans require covered repairs for your Accord to be done by factory-trained Honda technicians using genuine Honda parts. The Honda Accord extended warranty can be transferred to a new owner if you sell your car.

These vehicle warranties come in two categories:

• Powertrain coverage
• New, pre-owned, and certified additional coverage

Powertrain Coverage

The most basic level of Honda Accord extended warranty coverage is its powertrain plan. It only covers specified components in your Accord’s drivetrain and most vital systems, including these:

• Engine
• Front and rear drive axles
• Transmission
• Fluids, seals, and gaskets

New, Pre-Owned, And Certified Additional Coverage

Honda also offers more comprehensive new and used car warranties. This plan is the closest the manufacturer offers to a bumper-to-bumper warranty. It covers everything in the powertrain warranty and listed components in the following systems:

• Electronics: Computers, electronic components, and the electrical system
• Chassis: The suspension, steering, and braking systems
• Heating and cooling: The heating and cooling systems and the air conditioning
• Honda genuine accessories: Honda audio, communication, navigation, and security systems

Honda Care^® Extended Warranty Benefits

Whichever plan you choose for your Honda Accord extended warranty, you’ll get a few benefits along with your coverage. These include:

• Roadside assistance: This covers the cost of emergency services such as towing, lockout assistance, battery jump-starts, tire replacement, and fuel delivery.
• Rental car reimbursement: If your Honda Accord requires covered repairs, the company will reimburse up to $35 in rental car expenses per day for up to six days.
• Trip interruption benefit: If a mechanical breakdown interrupts your travel plans while you’re more than 100 miles from home, Honda will cover up to $100 in meals and lodging expenses per day for up to three days.

Each Honda Accord extended warranty plan also includes concierge services such as emergency cash advance, insurance claim assistance, and auto glass replacement referrals. These services come with a membership in Honda’s motor club, which you’ll automatically be enrolled in at no additional cost when you purchase a Honda Care^® plan.

What’s Not Included In A Honda Extended Warranty?

If you purchase a Honda Care^® powertrain plan, you’ll only have protection for listed components within the drivetrain system. That means you’ll be responsible for anything other than the engine, drive axles, transmission, fluids, seals, and gaskets.

The Honda Care^® additional coverage plan, however, is exclusionary coverage, similar to a bumper-to-bumper warranty. That means the plan covers everything that isn’t specifically listed as an exclusion. With Honda’s extended auto warranty, those exclusions are:

• Body panels and other exterior body parts 
• Carpets
• Glass
• Maintenance items
• Ornamental items
• Tires

Honda Care^® vehicle service contracts aren’t the only types of additional coverage you can buy from the manufacturer. The company offers a few other forms of protection in addition to its Honda Accord extended warranty options.

Sentinel Services

In addition to all of the same extended warranty benefits like roadside assistance, trip interruption benefits, and rental car reimbursement, the Sentinel Services plan offers coverage for these items:

• Routine oil and filter changes
• Tire rotation
• Key fob replacement (up to $400 benefit)
• Road hazard protection for your tires

Both plans only cover the four tires that are on your Honda Accord at the time you buy coverage. Reimbursement for repair costs is limited to $35 per tire.

Honda Sentinel Services plans don’t cover damage caused by the following:

• Manufacturing defects
• Collision
• Theft
• Vandalism
• Intentional damage

Sentinel Plus Services

The Sentinel Plus plan is basically a combination of the Sentinel Services plan and coverage you’d get from a Honda Accord extended warranty. With this vehicle protection plan, you’ll get everything included in the Sentinel Services plan. You’ll also get stated-component coverage for parts of these systems:

• Chassis
• Electronics
• Heating and cooling
• Honda genuine accessories

It’s important to note that the benefits, exclusions, and coverage limits in these plans can change depending on where you live. Ask your Honda dealer about what each plan covers in your specific situation before agreeing to a warranty.

Maintenance Program

The Honda Care^® maintenance program covers all the routine maintenance services outlined in your Honda Accord owner’s manual. This includes service for these items:

• Automatic-transmission fluid
• Brake fluid
• Multipoint inspections
• Oil and filter changes
• Tire rotations

This plan is only available for 2023 or newer Honda vehicles.

Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP)

It’s not uncommon for owners of vehicles, especially new vehicles, to owe more on their cars than they’re worth. That can leave you in a bad spot if your car is totaled in an accident, as you’ll still need to make payments on a car you can no longer drive.

Honda offers guaranteed asset protection, also known as GAP coverage, to help prevent this situation. The company’s GAP can cover up to the difference between what you owe and what your car insurance covers. It also comes with the following benefits:

• Unlimited loss coverage
• Covers your insurance deductible up to $1,000
• Available for loan terms up to 84 months
• Can be paid as a one-time fee or rolled into your monthly loan payments

However, just like with Honda Accord extended warranty products, how much your GAP coverage actually protects varies greatly based on the state you live in and a few other factors. Read through the fine print so you understand exactly what is and isn’t covered under Honda’s GAP program.

Depending on where you bought your vehicle and how old it is, you may already have a Honda Accord extended warranty. A new Honda Accord comes with a 3-year/36,000-mile new vehicle limited warranty and a 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty. While someone might be happy to sell you a warranty you don’t need, doubling up on coverage won’t benefit you.

The automaker also packages a warranty with certain used Hondas sold at its dealerships. Coverage is based on which of three categories your Honda Accord falls under: HondaTrue Certified, HondaTrue Certified+, or HondaTrue Used.

HondaTrue Certified Vs. HondaTrue Certified+

Honda classifies its certified pre-owned (CPO) vehicles as HondaTrue Certified or HondaTrue Certified+. The main difference between these two is the age of the used vehicle. As of August 2022, vehicles with model years 2017–2022 are eligible to be HondaTrue Certified, and vehicles with model years 2021 and 2022 are eligible to be HondaTrue Certified+. Both categories require the vehicle to have fewer than 80,000 miles.

Both come with some of the same benefits found in Honda Care^® programs, plus a few others:

• Roadside assistance
• Trip interruption benefit
• Concierge services
• 90 days of free Sirius XM service
• Up to two complimentary oil changes in the first year of ownership

Both categories extend the used car’s powertrain coverage to 7 years/100,000 miles from the original in-service date. The main difference is in how long the non-powertrain coverage lasts. This warranty is similar to what you find in a Honda Care® additional coverage service plan, including coverage for your car’s electrical, heating, and cooling systems.

HondaTrue Certified+ vehicles come with a 5-year/86,000-mile non-powertrain warranty.

HondaTrue Certified vehicles bought while the original Honda factory warranty is still active extend that coverage to 4 years/48,000 miles. HondaTrue Certified vehicles bought after the factory warranty has expired come with a 1-year/12,000-mile warranty from the date of delivery.

HondaTrue Used

HondaTrue Used coverage is available for vehicles with model years 2012–2022, and there’s no mileage limit. It offers much shorter protection, at 100 days/5,000 miles for both powertrain and non-powertrain coverage. It offers the same benefits as HondaTrue Certified or HondaTrue Certified+ plans, except that it comes with only one oil change in the first year of ownership instead of two.

Honda Accord Reliability

The Honda Accord is a famously reliable car. RepairPal gives the vehicle 4.5 out of 5.0 for reliabilty. The site estimates average annual maintenance and repair costs for a Honda Accord to be $400, which is about 39% lower than the average for all vehicle models. 

According to RepairPal users, the most common issue with the Honda Accord is a failed ignition switch, which the site estimates to cost between $151 and $186 to replace. Here are some other common Honda Accord repairs and their estimated costs:

But despite how reliable the car is, major mechanical failures are a risk with any vehicle. Major issues might be less likely with an Accord than with other cars, but they’re still a possibility. Ultimately, whether or not you need a Honda Accord extended warranty depends on how willing you are to live with the risk of huge surprise repair bills.

Third-party extended warranties may not carry the Honda name, but they do come with some key advantages. These include:

• Repair nearly anywhere: Honda Care^® requires you to get your Accord repaired at a dealership. But with a third-party warranty, you can take it to almost any licensed mechanic you like. This can be especially helpful if you need repairs while traveling. 
• Buy anytime: Unlike Honda’s plans, you can buy third-party coverage any time you want. That means you can take your time finding the right plan and provider for you.
• More options: The Honda Accord extended warranty only offers two plans. But most extended warranty companies have several options, allowing you to tailor coverage to your needs.
• High-mileage options: Honda’s plans cover your Accord for up to 8 years/120,000 miles at most. However, third-party providers offer plans with coverage for up to 10 years and up to 300,000 miles.

As an example, here’s how Honda Care^® stacks up to third-party extended warranty provider Endurance:

As manufacturer extended warranties go, Honda Care^® is a solid option for your Honda Accord.  The automaker’s plans come with attractive perks and excellent coverage. For people who insist on getting their Accords serviced with genuine Honda parts at the brand’s dealerships, this could be the way to go.

But the reality is that you can still have your Accord serviced at that same dealership with a third-party vehicle service contract if you want. And you’ll have other options when that isn’t possible.

While Honda Care^® offers good coverage, you’re likely to find more flexibility, more options, and maybe even better prices elsewhere.

*Data accurate at time of publication.