The law defines a lemon as a new motor vehicle (passenger car, van or truck) that:
- was bought on or after October 3, 1989;
- has a defect that impairs its use or will lower its market value substantially; and
- which the manufacturer cannot repair within a reasonable time.
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 |
| Passenger motor vehicles including cars, vans, and small trucks. | 3 repair attempts or 30 calendar days out of service |
| 1 year or 12,000 miles. |
| 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. |
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