If taking your new car out for a track day and risking a parts failure is too much of a headache for your wallet, ease up if it happens to be a V8 Chevrolet Camaro. That’s right—you can succumb to the temptation of the race track or drag strip, and parts failures will more than likely fall under warranty.
Just like parts failures that occur on track with the Corvette are under warranty by the manufacturer, General Motors confirmed to Autoblog last week that the sixth-generation V8 Camaro SS has the same guarantee. The policy doesn’t apply to all versions of the car, but Autoblog added that GM will extend it to the Camaro 1LE and ZL1 as well as the expected Z/28. The previous generation of the ZL1 and Z/28 both had track coverage as well, according to Autoblog.
Despite the number of cars suitable for track days out there, such a forgiving warranty toward the activity isn’t really common. Take the 2015 Ford Mustang, for example—it has the Line Lock burnout-control feature, which Ford said is specifically geared toward owners who enjoy taking their cars to the track, but “using this feature in an actual race” voids the warranty.
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Like the Mustang, lots of warranties can become invalid in cases of “unusual use.” According to Autotrader and our guy Doug DeMuro, that category includes activities that put extra strain on a vehicle such as using it as a snowplow or taking it out for an track day. But from what it sounds like, GM has enough confidence to shove aside at least one of those norms. From Autoblog:
“If you’re not modifying your car and you take your production car to a track day and you have an issue with one of your parts, it’s covered under warranty,” [Camaro chief engineer Al] Oppenheiser told Motor Authority. “That’s pride of craftsmanship that we know it will stand up to track use.”
As mentioned by Oppenheiser, there are several exceptions to the policy and owners who make significant modifications to their cars can’t expect warranty backup from GM.
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As for how far the warranty goes in the case of putting on racing tires or track-focused brake pads, Autoblog reports that GM has yet to specify. They’re waiting on a reply, but expect the warranty to keep in tact.
So, if the fear of warranty coverage has kept you from enjoying yourself and the vehicle that you paid hard-earned money for at a race track, fear not—as long as your car is one of the lucky few, that is.
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