What Does CNA Warranty Cover? Tiers, Exclusions, and Deductibles

A CNA National warranty is a vehicle service contract sold through franchised dealerships that pays for mechanical breakdowns on covered parts of your car, truck, or SUV. What it covers depends on which of four tiers you bought: the basic plan protects the powertrain only, while the top exclusionary plan covers nearly everything except a defined list of wear items, maintenance parts, and cosmetic components. Every plan also includes roadside assistance, rental car reimbursement, and travel and lodging reimbursement, and separate contracts are available for electric vehicles and for add-ons like tires, wheels, glass, and GAP.¹

The Four Coverage Tiers

CNA National builds its core contracts in layers. Each tier includes everything in the tier below it and adds more systems.¹

Powertrain Advantage Care+Plus (basic). Covers the engine, transmission, and drivetrain assembly, including internal engine parts, the torque converter, transfer case, axle shafts, universal and constant velocity joints, drive shafts, and related seals and gaskets.²
Vehicle Value Care+Plus (good). Adds suspension, steering, brakes, electrical, air conditioning and heating, fuel, and cooling.¹
Mechanical Advantage Care+Plus (better). Adds interior electronics, powertrain electronics, ABS brakes, convenience accessories, and vehicle hardware.¹
Automotive Preferred Care+Plus / Automotive Essential Care+Plus (best). An exclusionary plan spanning 16 or more major component categories, from the engine through occupant restraint systems. Instead of listing what’s covered, it lists what isn’t.³

Two variants sit alongside these. Term Protect targets short-term owners and lessees and is the only plan that explicitly includes select wear-and-tear items and scheduled maintenance. Warranty Wraps add comprehensive coverage on top of an existing manufacturer warranty in stated-term options based on time or mileage.⁴

What the Powertrain Plan Actually Covers

Since powertrain is the most common purchase, the parts list is worth spelling out. Engine coverage under Powertrain Advantage Care+Plus includes the cylinder block, cylinder heads, internal parts, intake and exhaust manifolds and their gaskets, timing gears, chains, tensioners, valve covers, the oil pump and oil pan, the water pump, turbocharger or supercharger housings and internals, engine mounts, the EGR valve, and all associated seals and gaskets.²

Transmission coverage extends to the transmission and transaxle cases and internal parts, the torque converter, the vacuum modulator, the cooler and metal cooler lines, transmission mounts, and the manual transmission clutch slave and master cylinders. Drivetrain coverage picks up the final drive and axle housings, axle shafts and bearings, universal and constant velocity joints, drive shafts, center bearings, the four-wheel-drive engagement actuator, and traction control components.²

Coverage for Electric Vehicles

CNA National launched an EV-specific contract on May 1, 2023, after covering electric vehicles under its standard plans for more than five years. The EV product strips out parts that don’t exist in a battery-electric vehicle and adds EV-specific components.⁵ It comes in four tiers: Standard Protect for essential stated components, Premier Protect for comprehensive stated components, Elite Protect for comprehensive exclusionary coverage, and Elite Protect with Battery, which repairs or replaces the propulsion battery when it drops below the manufacturer’s specified capacity allowance.⁶

EV contracts also include flatbed towing and a “limp-along” roadside benefit for situations where a battery-electric vehicle cannot be conventionally towed or driven at highway speed.⁷

What Is Not Covered

Even the exclusionary top tier keeps a defined list of parts off the contract. These are the items that most often wear out on a daily driver, and they apply across all plans.¹

Wear items: brake pads, shoes, drums, and rotors; the manual transmission clutch disc, pressure plate, and throw-out bearing; tires, wheels, and wheel covers.
Maintenance and consumables: filters and filter housings, spark plugs, plug wires, glow plugs, accessory drive belts, hoses, clamps, and windshield wiper blade inserts.
Cosmetic and body: paint, glass (including fogged headlight lenses), upholstery, carpet, body panels, bumpers, trim, bright metal, mirrors, and convertible tops.
Exhaust: the exhaust system and catalytic converter.
Electrical consumables: audio speakers and wiring, fuses, fusible links, and the starting/lighting/ignition battery.
Miscellaneous: natural gas or propane fuel systems, PCV valves, antenna masts, jacks and tool kits, and wheel lugs.⁸

Exclusions Tied to How the Vehicle Is Used

A sample contract adds several conditional exclusions on top of the parts list.⁹ Damage from continuing to drive with a known problem, such as ignoring a warning light, is not covered. Failures traced to the wrong fluids, insufficient fluid, sludge, contaminants, or foreign objects are excluded. Aftermarket parts and modifications are excluded unless the contract carries a Sport Package or Custom Suspension Package surcharge. Racing and towing beyond the manufacturer’s recommended weight void coverage on the resulting damage. Any repair performed without prior authorization from CNA National is denied, and coverage is void if the odometer has been altered so actual mileage can’t be determined.

One provision cuts the other way: the sample contract states that pre-existing conditions are not excluded, which differs from some competing service contracts that deny claims for problems present before the contract start date.⁹

Benefits Included With Every Plan

Every CNA National vehicle service contract carries a package of ancillary benefits regardless of tier.¹

24/7 roadside assistance with sign-and-drive service up to $50 per occurrence or up to $150 for towing, covering fuel and fluid delivery, flat-tire help, lock-out service, and battery assistance.
Rental car reimbursement up to $50 per day, capped at $350 per covered breakdown.
Travel and lodging reimbursement up to $100 per day, capped at $300 per occurrence, when you’re stranded more than 100 miles from home.
Factory warranty deductible reimbursement up to $100 for repairs that fall under the manufacturer’s warranty.

Coverage is valid throughout the United States and Canada.

Add-On Products

CNA National sells several protection products separately from the mechanical contract, either standalone or bundled into what it calls Choice Care Bundles with terms from six to 84 months.¹⁰

Tire and wheel protection for road hazard damage from potholes and nails, with optional cosmetic wheel repair for scrapes and dents.
Windshield repair and replacement.
Paintless dent repair, which uses specialized hand tools to remove dents without repainting.
Key replacement for lost or misplaced keys.
GAP protection, which pays the difference between an insurance total-loss payout and the remaining loan balance. Available on loans up to 84 months and vehicles up to $100,000 in retail value.¹¹

All ancillary products transfer to a new owner if the vehicle is sold.¹⁰

Deductibles and the Disappearing Deductible

Each covered repair visit carries a deductible. The amount is set in the Deductible Selection section of your individual contract at the time of purchase, so there is no single standard figure. Customer reports place typical amounts between $0 and $200.¹²

Some contracts include a Disappearing Deductible option. Under that feature, the deductible drops to $0 when you have the repair done at an approved facility, typically the selling dealership or a designated network shop. Take the car elsewhere and the full deductible applies. Contracts also carry a no-deductible guarantee: if a covered part previously repaired or replaced under the contract fails again during the term, you don’t pay a deductible on the follow-up repair.⁹

How to Use the Coverage

Repairs must be authorized before work begins. Take the vehicle to your selling dealership’s service department or any licensed repair facility in the United States or Canada.¹² The shop calls CNA National at (800) 345-0191 with the contract number, the complaint, the cause of failure, and a parts-and-labor breakdown. Phone claims run Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Arizona time and Saturday from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a 24/7 online portal for authorized dealer partners.¹³

Diagnostic tear-down charges are your responsibility up front, but they’re refunded if the failed component turns out to be covered. Once a claim is approved, CNA National pays by check on average within two days of receiving the final paperwork, with a credit card option for faster processing. If the shop requires you to pay out of pocket, CNA National reimburses you directly for covered repairs.¹³

Transferring or Canceling Coverage

Contracts can be transferred to a new owner when the vehicle is sold if the contract includes a Transfer Guarantee. The transfer request form must be submitted within 15 days of the sale along with a $50 fee payable to CNA National, and the new owner must obtain all maintenance records from the original purchaser and confirm that any remaining manufacturer’s warranty has been reassigned.¹⁴

Cancellations are handled by the dealership that sold the contract rather than by CNA National directly. Not every product is cancelable, and refund amounts depend on the individual contract’s terms. If you can’t reach the selling dealership, CNA National’s customer line at (800) 345-0191 can help.¹²

If Your Coverage Is CarMax MaxCare

CNA National also administers some CarMax MaxCare extended service plans, and the terms differ from a standard CNA National contract. MaxCare covers major mechanical and electrical systems, including the engine, transmission, drivetrain, steering, suspension, electronics, cooling, climate control, and electrical, for up to five years. MaxCare Plus adds tire, wheel, and paintless dent repair with a $0 deductible on those items.¹⁵ MaxCare uses a different claims number, 1-888-882-0200, and rental reimbursement is capped at $40 per day for up to seven days rather than the $50 per day and $350 cap on standard CNA National contracts.¹²

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CNA National. Vehicle Service Contract Consumer Brochure
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CNA National. VSC PAC Menu Highlight
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CNA National. VSC Care
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CNA National. Vehicle Service Contracts
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CNA National. CNA National Announces EV Service Contract
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CNA National. EV VSC
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Providers & Administrators. CNA National Launches EV-Specific Service Contract
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CNA National. VSC All Flipbook
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Dealer-CDN DealerSync. Sample CNA National Contract
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CNA National. Ancillary Products
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CNA National. Guaranteed Asset Protection
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CNA National. Customer Services
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CNA National. CNA National Home
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IPS Agency. VSC Transfer Request
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CarMax. MaxCare Explained