Defective Products: Lemon Laws

What are “lemon laws”?

Lemon laws are one of the federal consumer protection laws created to prevent fraud and the misrepresentation of the condition of cars, trucks, vans, SUVs, boats and other consumer products at the time of sale. While the lemon laws actually cover many types of products, most people refer to the lemon laws when they talk about either new or used vehicles still under warranty that cannot be properly repaired.

Lemon laws vary from state to state; therefore, you will need to know the laws in the jurisdiction in which you purchased the product you wish to return. Lemon laws will define what constitutes a product as being a “lemon” and will usually mandate that the manufacturer, not the dealer, assume responsibility.

What qualifies as a “lemon”?

In most states, in order to be categorized as a “lemon,” the vehicle must have a substantial defect that occurred within a certain period of time after you bought it and that cannot be fixed after a reasonable number of repair attempts.

What is a “substantial defect”?

A substantial defect is a problem that impairs the vehicle’s use, value or safety. Depending on the state law, the substantial defect must occur within a certain period of time (usually 1 or 2 years) or within a certain number of miles (usually 12,000 or 24,000).

What are “reasonable repair attempts”?

If the defect is a serious safety defect involving brakes or steering, it must remain unfixed after one repair attempt to qualify as a lemon. If the defect is not a serious safety defect, it must remain unfixed after three or four repair attempts depending on the particular law of the state. If the vehicle is in the shop a certain number of days (usually 30 days in a 1-year period), it may fit the definition of a lemon.

Do lemon laws apply to used cars?

All states have lemon laws that apply to new cars, but only a few states have lemon laws covering used cars. Under most of these laws, it is the dealer’s responsibility to repair the car or refund the buyer’s money if repair is unsuccessful.

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