How Long Do Car Manufacturers Have to Make Parts: No 10-Year Rule

No federal law tells car manufacturers how long they have to make replacement parts. The answer to how long car manufacturers have to make parts depends entirely on which part you’re asking about: warranty parts must be available for the term of the warranty, most emissions parts are covered for 2 years or 24,000 miles (with catalytic converters and a few other major components protected for 8 years or 80,000 miles), and safety recall parts must be supplied free for 15 years from the date of first purchase. Everything else is up to the manufacturer.

The 10-Year Rule Is Not a Law

One of the most persistent beliefs among car owners is that manufacturers must produce parts for 10 years after a model ends production. NHTSA has addressed this directly: no provision in the Vehicle Safety Act or any federal safety standard requires a manufacturer to make replacement parts available for any particular period of time, or at all.¹

What does exist is a widespread industry practice. Most major manufacturers keep producing common replacement parts for roughly 10 years after a model leaves the assembly line. This is a business decision driven by customer loyalty, dealer network support, and the revenue parts generate. It isn’t guaranteed and it isn’t uniform. Models that sold in the millions stay supported longer than niche ones. Mechanical wear items like brake pads and filters stay in production longer than body panels or interior trim.

The confusion may stem partly from the recall statute. Until 2015, the free-remedy obligation under federal recall law lasted 10 calendar years. Congress extended it to 15, but the older figure stuck in the public imagination and got tangled up with the idea of a parts-production mandate.

Warranty Parts

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, passed in 1975, is the federal law governing consumer product warranties. It doesn’t force a manufacturer to offer a warranty, but once one is offered in writing, the manufacturer has to back it up.² That means having the parts to make good on what the warranty promises, for as long as the warranty runs.

If the warranty is labeled “full” rather than “limited,” the stakes climb. A manufacturer offering a full warranty must fix defects within a reasonable time and at no cost, and if it can’t fix the problem after a reasonable number of attempts, you get to choose between a replacement or a full refund.³ Most new car warranties are limited, which gives the manufacturer more flexibility, but even a limited warranty obligates the manufacturer to supply parts to fulfill whatever it promised.

A breach of these obligations is a violation of federal law. You can sue, and if you win, the manufacturer may have to cover your court costs and attorney fees on top of the remedy.²

Emissions Parts Under the Clean Air Act

The Clean Air Act creates the most concrete federal requirement for part availability. Manufacturers must warrant emissions control systems under two separate federal warranties: a performance warranty and a design and defect warranty.⁴

Most emissions-related parts are covered for 2 years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first. Three specific components get much longer protection: the catalytic converter, the electronic emissions control unit, and the onboard diagnostics device. These “specified major emission control components” carry an 8-year or 80,000-mile warranty. The EPA can add components to this extended coverage if they weren’t commonly used before 1990 and cost more than $200 at retail in 1989 dollars, adjusted for inflation.⁵

The law also requires manufacturers to bear the cost of replacing any emissions control component scheduled for replacement during the vehicle’s useful life, as long as the expected retail price including installation exceeds 2 percent of the vehicle’s suggested retail price.⁵ That’s separate from the warranty and means certain expensive emissions parts must be replaced at the manufacturer’s expense regardless of defect.

Safety Recall Parts: 15 Years

When a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle has a safety defect or fails to comply with a federal safety standard, the manufacturer must fix it free of charge. The fix can be a repair, a replacement with a comparable vehicle, or a refund minus reasonable depreciation. This obligation lasts for 15 calendar years from the date the first purchaser bought the vehicle. For tires, the window is 5 years.⁶

This is where the parts question gets teeth. If your 12-year-old car is subject to an active recall, the manufacturer must supply the parts to fix it at no cost to you. If the remedy isn’t available immediately, the manufacturer must send a follow-up notification once parts are ready. There’s no exception for models that have been discontinued.

Manufacturers that drag their feet face serious consequences. NHTSA can impose civil penalties of up to $27,874 per violation, with a maximum of roughly $139.4 million for a related series of violations.⁷ Those per-violation numbers add up quickly when thousands of vehicles are involved. Ford and Toyota have each been hit with penalties exceeding $17 million for untimely recall responses.⁸

EV Battery Requirements

Electric vehicles add a new dimension because the battery is the single most expensive component. Starting with model year 2027, the EPA requires manufacturers of battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles at or below 6,000 pounds to warrant their high-voltage battery systems. The battery must retain at least 80 percent of its certified usable energy at 5 years or 62,000 miles, and at least 70 percent at 8 years or 100,000 miles.⁹

For heavier vehicles above 6,000 pounds, the requirements kick in when the vehicle first meets Tier 4 emissions standards, but no later than model year 2031. An alternative compliance path extends coverage to 10 years or 150,000 miles.⁹ Many manufacturers already offer 8-year/100,000-mile battery warranties voluntarily, but the federal mandate locks in minimum performance standards. If the battery degrades below the required thresholds, the manufacturer must address it.

Once the Legal Obligation Ends

Once a part falls outside any warranty or recall obligation and the manufacturer stops producing it, the legal question is over, but your practical options aren’t.

Aftermarket manufacturers produce replacements for high-demand parts long after the original manufacturer moves on, typically at lower cost than OEM.
Auto recyclers pull usable parts from scrapped vehicles. For structural, body, and interior components that aftermarket companies don’t reproduce, this is often the best route.
Remanufactured parts rebuild worn components like alternators, transmissions, and steering racks to original or better specifications, generally with their own warranty.
Custom fabrication using CNC machining, 3D printing, or traditional metalwork can recreate parts that no longer exist anywhere. You can legally 3D print parts for your own vehicle, though you should verify you aren’t reproducing a patented design.

If the Manufacturer Disappears

Brand discontinuation creates real parts anxiety. When General Motors shed Pontiac, Saturn, Oldsmobile, and Hummer during its 2009 bankruptcy, it retained parts supply obligations for those brands as part of the restructured company. GM still stocks parts for those discontinued brands through its dealer network, though selection narrows every year.

The legal picture depends on how the bankruptcy plays out. If a successor company acquires the brand or its assets, that company typically inherits warranty and recall obligations as part of the purchase agreement. If no successor exists and the company liquidates entirely, warranty claims become unsecured creditor claims in bankruptcy court, which realistically means you’ll collect little to nothing. Open safety recalls are different. NHTSA can pursue recall remedies against successor entities and has the authority to require any entity that acquired the manufacturing assets to complete outstanding recalls.

If you’re buying a vehicle from a brand that looks financially shaky, factor parts availability into your decision. Once the dealer network dissolves, even parts that technically exist become much harder to find.

State Laws Can Add More

Federal rules aren’t the whole picture. A few states have consumer protection statutes that require manufacturers to supply functional parts for products above certain price thresholds for a set number of years after the model was produced, regardless of whether the warranty has expired. These laws vary widely. Some tie parts availability to the original warranty period; others set fixed timeframes.

Several states also regulate the use of OEM versus aftermarket parts in collision repairs, typically giving owners the right to insist on OEM parts while the vehicle is under its original warranty or within a certain age, and requiring shops to disclose when non-OEM parts are used. The specifics differ enough that it’s worth checking your own state’s consumer protection agency, particularly if you’re dealing with a relatively new vehicle and the manufacturer or insurer is pushing aftermarket components.

1
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Interpretation ID: time.replcepart.Pollak.12-03
2
Federal Trade Commission. Businessperson’s Guide to Federal Warranty Law
3
GovInfo. 15 USC 2304 – Federal Minimum Standards for Warranties
4
US EPA. Frequent Questions Related to Transportation, Air Pollution, and Climate Change
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 7541 – Compliance by Vehicles and Engines in Actual Use
6
GovRegs. 49 USC 30120 – Remedies for Defects and Noncompliance
7
Federal Register. Revisions to Civil Penalty Amounts, 2025
8
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Civil Penalty Settlement Amounts Archive
9
eCFR. 40 CFR 86.1815-27 – Battery-Related Requirements for Battery Electric Vehicles and Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles