Polestar 2 Owner Denied Lifetime Warranty Claim for Door Handle, Then Offered Free Replacement

In 2023, a first owner bought a Polestar 2, which came with a lifetime vehicle warranty. More than a year after delivery, the front passenger door handle wobbled when pulled. The owner took the car to an official service center, which said the issue was a common design flaw, refastened the handle without replacing parts, and charged no fee. By 2026, the handle wobbled severely. After dismantling and inspecting it, the store said an internal clip had broken and the part needed replacement, with parts and labor totaling about RMB 800. The owner applied for a lifetime warranty repair, which was not approved.

Polestar required the owner to provide an ID card, vehicle registration certificate, purchase contract, invoice, motor vehicle registration certificate, and lifetime warranty contract, and to use a designated watermark camera to verify first-owner status. The store then said the door handle had been damaged by external force, not a quality problem, so it could not be covered by the warranty and the owner would have to pay. Polestar's warranty contract lists exclusions: wear items such as wipers, air conditioning filters, and brake discs, as well as damage caused by wear, normal aging, or improper use, are not covered.

Later, the manufacturer contacted the owner, saying that after coordination the repair could proceed, with the original store still replacing the part free of charge. The store said this was not a warranty parts replacement but was handled as a clearance. The manufacturer did not determine during the repair that the door handle had a quality problem, but arranged a free replacement through other means.

In owner feedback, other warranty disputes have also emerged. One owner said the vanity mirror cover fell off three times, and the store determined it was caused by excessive force, declined warranty coverage, and the owner paid more than RMB 1,000 for the repair; other owners reported the same problem. Another vehicle's roof shark-fin antenna leaked and was damaged, and the store said it had been damaged by a high-pressure water gun and declined warranty coverage. Another owner used the lifetime warranty to replace two headlights, saving about RMB 8,000, and also received free replacements of the steering wheel, daytime running lights, and tow hook.

Most automakers' lifetime warranty terms include various conditions. Some brands also set specific operating requirements; for example, MG07's lifetime warranty for the three electric systems states that the battery pack must undergo a charge equalization under slow charging at least once a month. Different brands and models have different coverage for whole-vehicle warranty, three-electric-system warranty, and key component warranty; for vehicles without lifetime warranty, some automakers offer extended warranty services.