Statistical Analysis of Product Warranty Data*

Summary Data bases regarding warranty claims for manufactured products record claims experience and information about concomitant factors. If constructed and maintained properly, warranty data bases may be used for a variety of purposes that include the prediction of future claims, the comparison of claims experience for different groups of products, the estimation of field reliability, and the identification of opportunities for quality and reliability improvement. This paper reviews some methods of analyzing warranty data and of addressing these objectives. Some extensions of previous work and suggestions for future development are included. Examples involving warranty claims for automobiles and regrigerators are considered.