How Many Repair Attempts Must Be Made Before Your Vehicle Is Considered A Lemon?

The Lemon Law gives the manufacturer, its agent or authorized dealer a reasonable number of attempts to repair the substantial defect. The Lemon Law creates a presumption that a reasonable number of attempts has been allowed if either of the following happens within the law`s term of protection (the manufacturer`s express warranty, two years after delivery to the original buyer, or 18,000 miles of use, whichever comes first):

(1) a repair is attempted three or more times for the same substantial defect (at least two of the repair attempts must be by the same dealer or the manufacturer);

OR

(2) repair attempts for any substantial defect or combination of defects results in the vehicle being out of service for a cumulative total of 15 or more business days.

NOTE: A business day is any day that the service department of an authorized dealer is open for business.

If the defect continues or recurs despite the repair attempts and still substantially impairs your vehicle, then you can take the next step in the Lemon Law process—offering the manufacturer a final repair opportunity.

If your defect is so serious that you cannot wait (e.g., a safety problem) you do not necessarily have to meet the 3 repair attempts/out of service 15 days standard. However, you must give the manufacturer at least one opportunity to repair and then a final opportunity to repair.