FTC Extends Collection for Car Warranty Dispute Rules
Published Date: 4/17/2026
Notice
Summary
The Federal Trade Commission wants to keep its rule that helps car makers and others settle warranty disputes without going to court for three more years. This rule affects companies that offer informal dispute processes and costs about $765,000 yearly in labor and other expenses. If you have thoughts, you’ve got until June 16, 2026, to speak up!
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 4 costs, 1 mixed.
Annual Compliance Burden and Costs
If you operate an informal dispute settlement mechanism (IDSM) or are a warranty provider that requires consumers to use one, the Rule imposes about 11,738 hours of paperwork each year and roughly $339,496 in annual labor costs plus $425,987 in non-labor costs (about $765,483 total) to comply.
Annual Audit Fee Requirement
IDSMs operating under the Rule must undergo an annual audit, and FTC staff estimates the combined annual audit cost is about $378,000 (an increase of 20% from a prior $315,000 estimate).
Recordkeeping and Reporting Time Burden
If you run an IDSM covered by the Rule (for example, BBB AUTO LINE or NCDS), you must maintain case records and submit summaries and audits; staff estimates about 7,843 recordkeeping hours and 2,614 reporting hours annually (totaling 10,457 hours for those activities).
Warrantors' Annual Disclosure Workload
If you are one of the approximately 34 automobile manufacturers covered by the Rule, FTC staff estimates each manufacturer spends about 30 hours per year creating, revising, and distributing informational materials required by the Rule, for a combined disclosure burden of about 1,020 hours annually and an estimated disclosure labor cost portion of about $103,700.
Consumer Access to Case Files and Potential Copy Charges
If you file a warranty dispute with an IDSM, you have the right to request copies of your case file and the IDSM's annual audit report; IDSMs are permitted to charge for providing those copies, and FTC staff used a copying cost of $0.18 per page (average dispute file 35 pages, audit report 200 pages) in its cost estimates.
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