When automakers decide to build additional models on a platform, it’s usually a good decision to improve efficiency and cost savings. But new data released on Monday shows the strategy used by one automaker has led to skyrocketing warranty and service costs for those vehicles.

Using millions of service record search companies We predict compared average maintenance and warranty costs for four vehicle model years (2018-2021) after 12 months on the road. While costs for some have remained constant over this period, that’s not the case for some 2021 SUV models that General Motors built for the first time on a platform originally used for pickup trucks.

“Incredibly expensive launch. Costs have tripled since the last year of the last iteration until this one, the premiere of the first iteration, that’s unusual,” said We Predict Founder and CEO James Davies, at Forbes.com.

The numbers are dramatic. Service and warranty costs for the 2020 models of the Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV were $341 and $348, respectively. When they switched to the new platform for 2021, those costs skyrocketed to $1,115 for the Escalade and $1,030 for the Escalade ESV.

The results are similar for the Chevrolet Tahoe and the GMC Yukon. Tahoe maintenance and warranty costs have increased from $144 in 2020 to $668 in 2021. For Yukon, costs have more than tripled from $193 to $716 and increased from $251 in 2020 for the Yukon XL at $719 in 2021.

Over time, as issues are resolved, costs may start to come down, but when they’re high from the start, that’s a bad omen.

“Our data shows that the first 12 months of expensive service will turn into expensive years of service year after year,” Davies warned.

However, change is sometimes good, especially in the case of the Ford Explorer. When Ford updated the popular SUV for 2020, it didn’t go smoothly. First-year service and warranty costs were $412 according to We Predict data, more than double the $184 of the previous year’s model.

For the following model year, Ford fixed the issues, and in 2021, first-year service and warranty costs for the Explorer returned to $211.

“Ford went from making the most expensive Explorer they’ve ever made to just about making it all the way back in the span of two years,” Davies said. “Manufacturers are getting better and better at learning quickly from their mistakes.”

First-time repair costs for a few vehicles remained consistently low over the four years of data We Predict reviewed, particularly the Toyota Prius Prime and Subaru Crosstrek.

Service and warranty expense after 12 months on the road for the 2018 Prius Prime was $138, but then quickly dropped to $108 in 2019, $109 in 2020 and increased by two dollars to $111 in 2021.

The Crosstrek had more of a trip up and down to $105 in 2018, $139 in 2019, then started to drop to $125 in 2020 and $123 in 2021.

And electric vehicles? There was not much data and none at all for Tesla. From 2018 to 2020, Chevrolet Bolt 12-month service and warranty costs have increased from $143 to $122. There is no data for 2021 when the battery electric car and its larger cousin the Bolt EUV were recalled due to battery fires. Production of both Bolt models has been temporarily halted.

First year repair costs for the Porsche Taycan EV were $3,008 in 2020.

A We Predict study published last August showed that repair costs for electric vehicles are initially high, but are expected to decrease over the period of ownership given that electric vehicles have far fewer mechanical parts and components than electric vehicles. internal combustion engine.

This study found that the cost of repairing an electric vehicle after three months of service is more than 2.3 times higher per vehicle than the costs of repairing other vehicles. This ratio drops to more than 1.6 after one year of service.

A year after the launch of an electric vehicle, We Predict found that the number of so-called “incidents” per 1,000 vehicles had dropped by 33% since its initial launch and repair costs had fallen by 27%. But by the second year, incidents per 1,000 vehicles fell by 14%, but the cost of repairing these vehicles fell by 65%.

“Electric powertrain platforms are being used longer by manufacturers and they’re improving them quickly and we’re benefiting from that,” Davies noted.

Whether powered by electricity or an internal combustion engine, there’s one rule for the consumer Davies reiterates: “Everyone knows you shouldn’t buy the first model year of a vehicle.”