ToyotaCare Overview
ToyotaCare comes standard with new Toyotas and covers maintenance services and roadside assistance.
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Motor1 Reviews Team Take:
- Every new Toyota vehicle includes ToyotaCare coverage at no additional cost, which covers recommended maintenance services for up to two years or 25,000 miles.
- ToyotaCare Plus extends the same coverage offered under ToyotaCare for a fee.
- Toyota owners may benefit from combining extended maintenance and warranty plans to reduce the impact of both maintenance and potential repairs.
There are over 30 car brands on the market today, but only about a third of them offer free maintenance plans for new cars. Toyota is one of these brands, which makes getting a new Toyota an even more attractive deal.
New Toyota owners get a perk called ToyotaCare. It’s a free program that covers normal factory scheduled maintenance for 2 years/25,000 miles, whichever comes first. ToyotaCare also includes 24-hour roadside assistance for two years and unlimited miles.
While that’s a good deal, the ToyotaCare plan covers maintenance – not repairs, like a warranty does. The factory Toyota warranty covers your car for 3 years or 36,000 miles, but you might consider adding an extended auto warranty for piece of mind. We’ve researched the best extended car warranty companies on the market to help you in your search for coverage.
What Is ToyotaCare?
Every new Toyota comes with a ToyotaCare no-cost maintenance plan that covers the vehicle for 2 years/25,000 miles. ToyotaCare plans cover routine maintenance items that most extended car warranties don’t cover, including:
- Engine oil and oil filter changes
- Inspection and adjustment of fluid levels
- Tire rotations
- Multi-point inspections
Services must be scheduled and completed at an approved Toyota dealer or service center. These plans come with 2 years/unlimited miles of roadside assistance.
ToyotaCare’s included 24-hour roadside assistance covers:
- Battery jump-starts
- Lockout services
- Emergency fuel delivery
- Flat tire service
- Towing
- Winching
Here’s what you need to know of ToyotaCare:
- Eligibility: ToyotaCare comes standard on all new Toyota models. ToyotaCare has been around for a number of years, so two-year-old models could still be eligible depending on mileage. You can check your car’s eligibility on Toyota’s website.
- Coverage period: The free factory scheduled service is available for 2 years or 25,000 miles, whichever comes first. 24-hour roadside assistance is available for two years and unlimited mileage.
- Scheduled maintenance: ToyotaCare covers scheduled maintenance at 5,000-mile or 6-month intervals. That means a car would get about four free services during the plan. The standard service types include oil changes, fluid level adjustments, tire services like rotations, and multi-point inspections performed by Toyota-trained technicians.
- Roadside assistance: The 24-hour roadside assistance program includes lockout protection, battery jump-starts, spare tire installation, towing, winching, and emergency fuel delivery. It doesn’t include parts and fluids except for emergency fuel. Roadside assistance is only valid in the continental U.S. and Alaska.
- Transferability: ToyotaCare is fully transferable to private buyers as long as the coverage period hasn’t expired.
- Mirai: If you own a Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, ToyotaCare extends to 3 years or 35,000 miles. Enhanced 24-hour roadside assistance is also included with quicker towing service and generous trip interruption benefits.
While you are required to keep up with regularly recommended maintenance and inspections, ToyotaCare doesn’t provide coverage for new brake pads, windshield wipers, or other wear items. The program also won’t cover excess service visits.
Your Toyota dealer can deliver timely reminders so you don’t forget your service date. The dealer keeps track of all services, and you can view a complete history of service in the owners’ section of Toyota’s website.
Below you’ll find Toyota service recommendations for the first 25,000 miles (conventional oil changes will happen every 5,000 miles):
| Interval | ToyotaCare Service |
|---|---|
| 6 months/5,000 miles | Tire rotation, inspection, fluid adjustment |
| 12 months/10,000 miles | Oil change, tire rotation, inspection, fluid adjustment |
| 18 months/15,000 miles | Tire rotation, inspection, fluid adjustment |
| 24 months/20,000 miles to 25,000 miles | Oil change, tire rotation, inspection, fluid adjustment |
ToyotaCare Plus Overview
If you think two years and 25,000 miles sounds a bit short, you can extend your maintenance program. However, this option isn’t free. ToyotaCare Plus extends the same coverage offered through the ToyotaCare program for a fee. In order to qualify for a ToyotaCare Plus plan, your vehicle must have fewer than 31,000 miles and be within 37 months of the vehicle’s date of first use.
Here are the different plan options you can choose from:
| Time | Mileage |
|---|---|
| 3 years | 35,000 miles |
| 45,000 miles | |
| 4 years | 45,000 miles |
| 60,000 miles | |
| 5 years | 60,000 miles |
| 75,000 miles |
You can see that there are three time limit options but six mileage options available. Many prepaid maintenance plans work in this way. It gives drivers a way to choose based on their driving habits.
For example, if you put more miles on your car than the average person per year – about 17,000 miles for men and 10,000 miles for women, according to the Federal Highway Administration – you could choose a higher mileage limit. On the other hand, if you don’t drive very often, you can keep a lower limit with the same amount of time.
In addition to the four standard service types that ToyotaCare provides, ToyotaCare Plus subscribers will also get more coverage for more involved scheduled maintenance. This includes inspecting the transmission, driveshaft, and fuel line systems at 30,000, 45,000, 60,000, and 75,000 miles. ToyotaCare Plus also covers any recommendations outlined in your car’s maintenance plan under normal driving circumstances.
Here are a few more things to know about ToyotaCare Plus:
- Eligibility: To get ToyotaCare Plus, a used car needs to be less than 37 months old with fewer than 31,000 miles on the odometer.
- Roadside assistance: 24-hour assistance is included for the duration of your plan.
- Transferability: ToyotaCare Plus is fully transferable, for a $50 fee.
- Cancellation: You can cancel a ToyotaCare Plus plan within 30 days if you haven’t used coverage. If you have used the plan, or if it has been more than 30 days, you’ll have to talk to your Toyota dealer for details on cancellation.
ToyotaCare Limitations
While ToyotaCare and ToyotaCare Plus help cover many aspects of routine vehicle maintenance, these programs are not all-inclusive. Regular maintenance items such as cabin air filter changes, alignments, tune-ups, and other services are not covered through these plans. Weigh the cost of these services in combination with the cost of ToyotaCare Plus before committing to an extension of your maintenance coverage.
Why You Might Need An Extended Warranty
In addition to maintenance costs, it’s worth considering how much you may pay for repairs in the case of a mechanical breakdown. Once your car breaks down, ToyotaCare won’t help out, and neither will other prepaid maintenance plans.
To offset repair costs, we recommend looking into your extended warranty options, also called vehicle service contracts. Toyota offers its own extended warranty, but you also have the option to purchase from a third-party warranty company.
Independent companies generally offer greater accessibility and flexibility when it comes to warranty plans. Contracts are often cheaper than going with a dealer-backed plan, especially since they don’t require you to schedule service at a Toyota dealership.
When you buy an extended warranty plan, the provider will cover certain breakdowns or malfunctions. You can choose what’s covered through different plan levels. When a covered breakdown happens, you call the provider, and they pay the repair shop to get your car fixed.
What Toyota Customers Say
In 2023, our team surveyed 1,000 drivers who had purchased extended warranties from their car’s manufacturer. Out of the total, 187 respondents had purchased a Toyota extended warranty.
Most customers were satisfied overall. Here are a few examples of customer comments on our survey:
- “I’m completely satisfied with my warranty. If anything happens I take it to my dealership and they handle all the issues.”
- “I am somewhat satisfied with the warranty. It has paid for most of the repairs for my vehicle and all I have to do is pay the deductible.”
- “I am extremely satisfied with the warranty coverage that I have purchased as it makes me feel less stressed since I have costs covered.”
That said, some people weren’t satisfied for various reasons:
- “I’m very dissatisfied. Getting an existing brake issue took over a year and I had to fight a lot with them.”
- “I’m not super satisfied just because they overprice the warranty but it doesn’t fix anything for you.”
Toyota Maintenance Cost
When it comes to Toyota repair costs and the car brand’s reliability, we recommend drivers turn to RepairPal’s 2023 Reliability Ratings. This rating bases reliability on three measures: average annual repair cost, frequency of trips to the repair shop, and likelihood that a repair will be severely expensive. See how Toyota ranked in those categories compared to the average across all car types:
| Category | Toyota | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Average Annual Repair Cost | $441 | $652 |
| Frequency of Annual Trips to the Repair Shop | 0 | 0.4 |
| Likelihood of Severe Repairs | 12% | 12% |
Overall, Toyota earns a 4.0 out of a possible 5.0 and is 8th out of 32 ranked brands, placing the car brand above average in reliability.
Benefits Of Third-Party Extended Warranties
One of the main benefits of an extended warranty is the peace of mind that many repairs are covered. Instead of paying $1,000 to get your car fixed, you could pay a small or even $0 deductible depending on your coverage. Extended warranties make budgeting makes budgeting for auto costs easier.
Another nice thing about all of our recommended providers is they can pay repair shops directly. That means you don’t have to pay much, if at all, out of pocket when you go to the shop. And speaking of shops, many providers let you choose your own certified shop from thousands across the country, instead of requiring only brand-specific service centers.
Third-party providers usually have much more flexibility when it comes to terms and coverage. You have to add Toyota’s extended warranty before the factory warranty expires, but you could add a third-party contract at almost any time. Also, some warranty companies can cover Toyotas for up to 250,000 miles, while a dealer extended warranty would only last 125,000 at most.
Best Third-Party Extended Warranty Providers
Our team conducted a survey of 1,000 consumers who had purchased an extended warranty. When respondents were asked which companies they chose for coverage, CarShield, Carchex, and Endurance were three of the most popular choices.
In our comparison of the top providers, we named Endurance the best choice overall for its coverage options, customer service, and prices. We also think Carchex offers great service based on stellar customer reviews, its A+ Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating, and strong endorsements from reputable organizations. CarShield offers flexible month-to-month coverage plans and has some of the highest mileage limits in the industry.
Because Toyota is known for its reliable cars, coverage plans can be cheaper than plans for other brands. Learn about your options for an extended car warranty for your Toyota by visiting our top recommendations below.
ToyotaCare Coverage: FAQs
Below are some common questions about ToyotaCare:
What is ToyotaCare?
ToyotaCare is a no-cost maintenance plan that covers scheduled maintenance like oil changes, tire rotations, and inspections. It is transferable to secondary owners as long as the time or mileage hasn’t run out.
What’s covered under ToyotaCare?
ToyotaCare covers scheduled maintenance for the first 2 years or 25,000 miles for all new vehicles. ToyotaCare also includes 24-hour roadside assistance for 2 years and unlimited miles.
Does ToyotaCare cover battery replacement?
Technically, ToyotaCare does not cover battery replacement. However, factory batteries are covered under Toyota’s limited warranty for 3 years/36,000 miles, so you’ll get a battery replacement if it dies within that time period.
Can you extend ToyotaCare?
Yes, you can extend ToyotaCare by purchasing a ToyotaCare Plus plan. To be eligible, your car needs to be fewer than 37 months old and have fewer than 31,000 miles. You can choose from plans that extend coverage from 3 years/35,000 miles to 5 years/75,000 miles.
Methodology
In an effort to provide accurate and unbiased information to consumers, our expert review team collects data from dozens of extended auto warranty companies to formulate rankings of the best providers. Companies receive a score in each of the following categories, as well as an overall weighted score out of 5.0 stars.
- Industry Standing: Warranty providers with a history of strong business practices and endorsements from experts receive the highest scores in this category.
- Coverage: This rating is based on types of extended warranty plans available, coverage terms, and added benefits like roadside assistance.
- Cost: Our research team reviews sample quotes for a variety of plans and vehicles. Companies with lower prices per year of coverage receive the best scores.
- Transparency: This score takes into account contract transparency and the availability of a money-back guarantee.
- Customer Service: We comb through customer reviews and perform our own shopper analysis to get a sense of the responsiveness and helpfulness of each warranty company.
*Data accurate at time of publication.
