What Is A Lemon?

A Lemon is a motor vehicle sold or leased after January 1, 1987, that has a defect or condition that substantially impairs the motor vehicle; and the manufacturer, its agent, or authorized dealer cannot repair the vehicle after four attempts or the vehicle is out of service for repairs for a cumulative total of 30 or more days during the term of protection. This Law is only applicable if the vehicle was bought new. Under the statute, the manufacturer must replace the motor vehicle or refund the purchase price (less a reasonable allowance for use).

The following table summarizes what is covered, how many times the vehicle has to be repaired for the same defect and the warranty period.

Vehicles Covered

Repair Interval and Coverage Period

Any motor vehicle not including motorized bicycles, motor homes, recreational vehicles or offroad vehicles and vehicles over 10,000 pounds GVW.

4 repair attempts or 30 calendar days out of service

Warranty period or 1 year.

Note:

Generally, the term Repair Attempts, as it relates to Lemon Law, refers to one or more attempts to fix the same defect although some states consider a vehicle to be a lemon if it required the specified number of repairs within the coverage period.

A car is out of service while being repaired or waiting for parts.

Warranty Period refers to the Manufacturer`s Express Warranty. Where the Coverage Period lists more than 1 option, the period applies to that option which occurs first.

This is only a summary, to get the complete Lemon Law Statute select your state from the combo box menu on the right side of this page, and click Get Statute.

Other Tennessee Lemon Law FAQs

Q: What Does Substantially Impair Mean?
A: ubstantially impair means to render a motor vehicle unreliable or unsafe for normal operation, or to reduce its resale market value below the average resale value for … More
Q: What Is The Lemon Law Term Of Protection?
A: The term of protection is defined as one year from the date of original delivery or the term of the warranty, whichever comes first. The Law is unclear about whether … More
Q: I Think I Have A Lemon. What Should I Do?
A: If you have a lemon, you must notify the manufacturer of the problem in writing by certified mail. The manufacturer has an additional opportunity to repair your car … More
Q: When Can I Take Action?
A: You can file a law suit at anytime within one year from the date of original delivery of your car or within six months from the expiration of your expressed warranty, … More
Q: What If My Problem Does Not Fit The Requirements Of My State's Lemon Law?
A: You still may be able to invoke the Lemon Law as long as you can justify that the number of repair attempts or days out of service you encountered were unreasonable. … More
Q: Where Can I Get More Information About The Lemon Law?
A: Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs (www.state.tn.us/consumer) Department of Commerce and Insurance (www.state.tn.us/commerce) 500 James Robertson Parkway, 5th … More

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