What Vehicles Are Covered Under The Lemon Law?

Effective January 4, 1999, consumers who lease new motor vehicles for personal, family or household use are afforded the same legal remedies as purchasers of motor vehicles.

The new law protects a consumer whose new motor vehicle has a defect or condition that impairs the use or value of the new motor vehicle to the consumer. Each consumer will have his or her own opinion whether the defect or condition meets this level of impairment. The important part is that the defect or condition must be measured from the point of view of the individual consumer, not the manufacturer or dealer. Clearly an engine, transmission, brake or steering defect may meet this level of impairment. However, a persistent intermittent defect, such as a water leak, noxious odor, or paint problem may also be a defect or condition entitling the consumer to relief under the Lemon Law.

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 new car, van or truck bought by a resident of Michigan for personal or family use.

4 repair attempts or 30 business 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.