Vehicle Warranty Extension: Application for Engine and Transmission 2005-01-3997

As the Brazilian market opened to foreigner automakers and the phenomenon of globalization started some years ago, the four traditional automakers began to share its market with many competitors. As a result, demand for quality and reliability on products offered to the customers grew continuously and it is more perceptive on the automobile business. Nobody likes warranty expenses; it is a universally recognized evil. It means that something went wrong, a customer is not satisfied and it probably will cost to the manufacturer.

As it happens, automakers need to develop vehicles with superior quality, less manufacturing costs and better processes, shorten development process and to accomplish this goal it is necessary to use engineering tools available as much as possible. Many companies are setting as their goal: customer satisfaction, quality improvement, reduction of warranty costs and it happens more often on the automobile market that is because reliability and warranty became one of the key points when making decisions of purchasing a vehicle. Today it is necessary to offer more options to the customers so they can decide which one is the best deal for them. We believe that warranty extension already offered by some companies in this market can be a significant differential on the moment of a purchase decision. Unfortunately however, when we are dealing with a population of several thousands vehicles, each one containing about 15,000 parts, the statistical facts show us that some level of defects will always be present. The positive side of this scenario is that warranty data can be useful information through which corrective and preventative measures can be taken. The purpose of this paper is to draw a model by explaining the methods of increasing quality by using engineering tools and to analyze incoming field data to extend the warranty of one product.