Lemon Law FAQs
A new vehicle that keeps going back to the dealership for the same problem raises the same questions for almost every owner: whether the car is legally a lemon, what has to happen before the manufacturer owes a refund, and how much the refund will be. The answers below apply in both states.
Ronald S. Weiss, Attorney & Counselor has handled Michigan lemon law and Ohio lemon law claims for more than 25 years, and the two statutes differ on several numbers; each answer below notes and explains these distinctions whenever applicable.
What is a lemon?
In everyday use, a lemon is any car that gives its owner trouble. The legal definition is narrower. A lemon is a new vehicle with a defect, covered by the manufacturer's warranty, that substantially impairs the vehicle's use or value (and in Ohio, its safety), and that the manufacturer or its dealer has been unable to fix after a reasonable number of repair attempts.
Both the defect and the failed repairs must fall within the time limits set by the state's lemon law. When those conditions are met, the manufacturer must replace the vehicle or take it back and refund the price.
What kinds of problems are covered?
Any defect that substantially impairs the vehicle's use or value is covered, judged from the consumer's point of view rather than the manufacturer's. Engine, transmission, brake, steering, and electrical defects are the clearest examples. Persistent intermittent problems also qualify, such as water leaks, stalling that the dealer cannot reproduce, warning lights that keep returning, noxious odors, or paint and body defects, as long as they affect how the vehicle can be used or what it is worth. Minor annoyances that do not affect use or value generally do not qualify. In Ohio, a single defect that is likely to cause death or serious injury qualifies after one unsuccessful repair attempt.
Which vehicles are covered?
Both states cover new passenger vehicles bought or leased under a manufacturer's express warranty, including cars, SUVs, pickup trucks, and vans, and both cover lessees as well as buyers.
Each state has its own exclusions. Michigan's lemon law excludes motorcycles, motor homes, buses, and trucks other than pickups and vans, while Ohio's lemon law covers motorcycles but excludes recreational vehicles and the living quarters of motor homes. Business buyers are covered in Michigan if they buy or lease fewer than ten new vehicles a year, and in Ohio if the vehicle is used for non-business purposes.
Does the lemon law cover used vehicles?
Generally, no. Both laws are written for new vehicles.
A used vehicle can qualify only if it is still inside the original coverage window, meaning the manufacturer's warranty is still in effect and the defect is reported within the state's time limit measured from the date the vehicle was first delivered to its original buyer. A two- or three-year-old used car is outside the window in both states. Used car buyers whose vehicle is still under the manufacturer's warranty often have a claim under federal warranty law instead.
Are leased vehicles covered?
Yes. Both states treat leased vehicles the same as purchased ones for purposes of the lemon law. The refund in a lease case returns the payments the lessee has made, including the down payment, security deposit, taxes, and fees, and ends the lease without an early termination charge, although the two states calculate the lease refund differently.
Can I return my new car within three days of purchase?
No. There is no three-day right to return a new vehicle in Michigan or Ohio. The lemon law's refund and replacement remedies apply only after the manufacturer has had a reasonable number of attempts to repair a covered defect. A buyer who wants to undo a purchase in the first days of ownership has no lemon law claim unless a defect has already appeared and been reported.
How do I know if my car is a lemon?
Each state's law sets out specific situations in which a vehicle is presumed to be a lemon, based on the number of repair attempts for the same defect, the total number of repair attempts for different defects, or the number of days the vehicle has been out of service.
Michigan's repair-attempt presumptions turn on four attempts for the same defect or 30 days out of service, while Ohio's lemon law presumptions use three attempts, 30 calendar days, eight attempts for any defects, or one attempt for a safety defect. Both states also require that the defect was first reported within the coverage window, which is the warranty term or one year in Michigan and one year or 18,000 miles in Ohio. A vehicle that does not fit a presumption exactly may still be a lemon if the repair history shows the manufacturer has had a reasonable opportunity to fix it, so the repair orders should be reviewed by an attorney.
What is the first step?
Report the problem to the manufacturer or an authorized dealer as soon as it appears, and make sure the complaint is written on the repair order exactly as you described it. The report must be made within the state's coverage window, and once it is, the manufacturer must repair the defect even if the repair is completed after the warranty expires. Keep every repair order, because the dates, mileage, and listed complaints on those documents are how a claim is proven, and collecting them is the first of the steps to take toward a buyback.
Do I have to notify the manufacturer in writing?
In Michigan, yes. After the third repair attempt for the same defect, or after the vehicle has been out of service for 25 days, MCL 257.1403 requires the consumer to send written notice to the manufacturer by a return-receipt mail service, after which the manufacturer gets one final opportunity to repair the vehicle. This letter is often called a last-chance letter.
Ohio's statute does not require a written notice before a claim, although the Ohio Attorney General recommends sending one by certified mail, and manufacturers often require it under their warranty terms. In both states, call our office before sending the letter, because its wording and timing affect the claim.
How long can the dealership keep my car for repairs?
Neither state sets a fixed number of days a dealership may hold a vehicle, but the days matter. Every day the vehicle is out of service for a warranty repair counts toward the state's out-of-service presumption, and the count is cumulative across different visits and different defects.
Michigan counts partial days and Ohio counts calendar days, including weekends. Michigan's repair act requires a written estimate before work begins and bars unauthorized repair charges, and Ohio's repair rule requires the shop to state an anticipated completion date on the intake form, so a dealership that misses its own date without explanation has created useful evidence.
Do I have to use the manufacturer's arbitration program before going to court?
Often, yes. Both states require a consumer to use the manufacturer's informal dispute settlement program before filing a lawsuit if the manufacturer offers one that meets the legal requirements: in Michigan, a program that complies with the FTC's dispute rules, and in Ohio, a program qualified by the Ohio Attorney General that the consumer was told about at the time of purchase.
Many manufacturers, including Ford, General Motors, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, and Volkswagen, use the BBB AUTO LINE program for this purpose; others use different programs, and some have none, in which case the consumer can proceed directly to a claim. Whether arbitration is required depends on your manufacturer, and the warranty booklet describes the program that applies.
Is the arbitration decision binding on me?
No. In both states, the program's decision is binding on the manufacturer if you accept it, but it is never binding on you.
A consumer who rejects the decision keeps every right the lemon law provides, including the right to sue. In Ohio, the time a claim spends in the program is added to the deadline for filing suit, so using the program costs no time.
These programs are arbitration, not mediation; a mediator only helps the parties negotiate, while an arbitrator issues a decision that the manufacturer must honor if the consumer accepts it.
Can I choose between a refund and a replacement vehicle?
Yes. In both states, the choice belongs to the consumer.
A consumer may demand a refund even if the manufacturer offers a replacement, or may accept a comparable new vehicle currently in production instead. A lessee who accepts a replacement has the lease amended to substitute the new vehicle's identification number.
Manufacturers also sometimes offer a cash payment for the inconvenience while the consumer keeps the vehicle, which is a settlement outside the statute and should be evaluated against what the statute would provide.
What is included in a refund?
In both states, the refund includes the price paid for the vehicle, including any trade-in allowance, cash down payment, sales tax, and license and registration fees, plus the cost of options and modifications installed by or for the manufacturer.
The manufacturer must also reimburse incidental costs caused by the defect, such as towing and a comparable rental vehicle. Amounts owed to a lender are paid off out of the refund.
The states differ on one large item: Michigan permits the manufacturer to deduct a reasonable allowance for the miles driven, calculated by a formula in the statute, while Ohio permits no deduction for use and adds finance, insurance, and service contract charges to the refund. Manufacturers' buyback offers frequently miscalculate the refund amount, so the figure should be checked before it is accepted.
Can the manufacturer or dealer make me waive my lemon law rights in the contract?
No. The lemon laws are consumer protection statutes that apply regardless of what the sales contract or lease says, and a clause that purports to waive them is not enforceable. The one procedural step a manufacturer can require is use of its qualifying arbitration program before suit, and even that program cannot bind the consumer to its decision.
If the lemon law does not apply, are there other laws that might help?
Yes. The federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act gives a consumer a claim for breach of a written warranty and allows a court to award attorney fees, and it applies to used vehicles still under warranty and to defects reported after the lemon law window closes.
Each state's Uniform Commercial Code provides warranty remedies, and each state has a consumer protection statute, the Michigan Consumer Protection Act and the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act, that covers deceptive practices in the sale or repair of a vehicle. These claims are often pursued together with or instead of a lemon law claim.
Is there a deadline to bring a lemon law claim?
Yes, and it differs by state. Ohio requires a lawsuit to be filed within five years of the date the vehicle was originally delivered, extended by any time a claim spent in the manufacturer's arbitration program.
Michigan's lemon law contains no deadline of its own, and courts generally apply the four-year warranty period under the Uniform Commercial Code, so a Michigan claim should be started well within four years of delivery. The coverage window for reporting the defect is separate from these deadlines and is much shorter in both states.
Can I recover attorney fees if I win?
Yes. In both states, a consumer who prevails in a lemon law lawsuit may be awarded reasonable attorney fees and court costs by the court, under MCL 257.1407 in Michigan and ORC 1345.75 in Ohio, and the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act contains the same provision.
In practice, manufacturers settle most claims before trial and the settlement includes the consumer's attorney fees, which is why our office handles lemon law claims with no fee owed by the client unless there is a recovery.
How long does the process take?
It depends on how quickly the repair history meets the state's presumption and on the manufacturer. Reaching the required number of repair attempts or out-of-service days can take several months, and once a claim is submitted, a manufacturer's arbitration program typically issues a decision within about 40 days.
Claims that settle directly with the manufacturer often conclude within two to four months of the demand; claims that go to court take longer. Each manufacturer handles these cases differently, and some are considerably more cooperative than others.
Will I have to go to trial?
Almost never. Manufacturers generally prefer to resolve lemon law claims through arbitration or a negotiated buyback rather than litigate them, because the statutes allow the consumer to recover attorney fees.
Our office prepares every case as if it will be tried, and we will take a case to court when the manufacturer refuses a fair resolution, but the large majority of claims settle.
Should I hire an attorney?
We recommend it. An attorney knows which arbitration program applies, how to prepare the written notice Michigan requires, how to present the repair history so it fits the statutory presumptions, and how to check the manufacturer's buyback calculation, which is frequently wrong.
Attorney Ron Weiss has worked in this field for more than 25 years and has dealt with the manufacturers' representatives in both states, which gives a consumer more negotiating power than a self-prepared demand. Because the lemon laws provide for attorney fees, there is no fee unless money is recovered.
What documents do you need to review my case?
To evaluate a potential claim, we review the purchase agreement, retail installment sales contract, or lease agreement; the title or memorandum of title and the application for title; the registration; the manufacturer's warranty booklet; and every repair invoice or work order from the dealership. The repair orders are the most important item, so if any are missing, request copies from the dealership's service department before the consultation.
How do I start?
Contact Ronald S. Weiss, Attorney & Counselor before contacting the manufacturer. We will review the repair history at no charge, tell you whether the vehicle qualifies as a lemon law claim in Michigan or Ohio, and handle the notice, arbitration, and negotiation from there. We discuss cases by phone with consumers anywhere in either state.