Saw warranties: what the US warranty law and two maker warranty pages say

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The statute and rule below are US federal law. The maker pages are the makers' own statements, not law. Right-to-repair laws, whether in the European Union, a US state, Canada or Australia, are not covered, because no official text of them was read for this page. Rules on changing a saw's emission parts are on the guide to saw modifications and tampering rules.

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, section 2302

Title 15 of the US Code, section 2302, sets rules for the contents of warranties. It applies to a "consumer product". Section 2301 defines that as tangible personal property distributed in commerce and normally used for personal, family or household purposes. Section 2302(e) says the section applies only to warranties on consumer products actually costing the consumer more than US$5.

Section 2302(a) says a warrantor giving a written warranty must, to the extent the Federal Trade Commission's rules require, disclose its terms fully and conspicuously in simple language. It lists items the rules may require in the warranty text. Among the thirteen are:

the names and addresses of the warrantors, and the party to whom the warranty is extended;
the products or parts covered;
what the warrantor will do about a defect, at whose expense and for what period;
what the consumer must do and what expenses the consumer bears;
exceptions and exclusions;
the step-by-step procedure for getting the warranty honoured, including who is authorized to perform it;
information on any informal dispute settlement procedure.

Section 2302(b)(4), added in 2015, lets a manufacturer meet the availability rule by posting the terms on its website and indicating on the product, packaging or manual the website and a phone number or postal address.

The ban on tying a warranty to a named brand

Section 2302(c) says no warrantor of a consumer product may condition a written or implied warranty on the consumer using, with the product, any article or service identified by brand, trade or corporate name, other than one provided without charge under the warranty. The same subsection lets the Commission waive that prohibition if the warrantor satisfies it that the product will function properly only with the named article or service and the Commission finds the waiver in the public interest. The Commission must publish waiver applications and its decisions in the Federal Register.

The emission warranty on small engines

Under 40 CFR 1054.120, a manufacturer certifying small non-road spark-ignition engines must warrant to the first and every later purchaser that the engine conforms to the part when sold and is free from defects in materials and workmanship that may keep it from meeting the part. The minimum warranty period is two years from the date of sale, with two exceptions. The EPA may set a shorter period for handheld engines in severe-service seasonal equipment, and for engines with hour meters the manufacturer may deny claims once an engine has run more than 50 percent of its useful life hours. The section says the warranty may not be shorter than any published warranty the manufacturer gives free for the engine, and that the owner's manual must describe the emission warranty and how to obtain service. The manufacturer may deny a claim when the operator caused the problem through improper maintenance or use, as 40 CFR 1068.115 describes.

What two maker warranty pages print

Item	Husqvarna US	Husqvarna UK
What is covered	Defects in material or workmanship under normal use during the warranty period; repair or replacement at no charge	The same wording
Where service is obtained	The dealer of purchase, or an authorized service center the dealer recommends; the product is returned as a complete set	The same, with "authorised" spelling
Proof of purchase	A filled-in warranty card, invoice or receipt showing date, model number, serial number and dealer name and address	The same list
Registration	Purchase information can be found online if the product is registered; registered products still need reliable proof of purchase	The same wording
Cover outside the warranty	Not published on the page	A non-warranty service paragraph: where the dealer finds the defect is not covered by the "Legal Warranty", the dealer repairs it with genuine parts and charges for the service
Warranty period	Not printed in the page text; the page links a warranty statement for each year from 2019 to 2026, which this page does not summarise	Not published on the page

Both pages tell the owner to stop using the product immediately when warranty service is needed. The UK page links to a separate warranty policy document that this page does not summarise.