States
Arkansas lemon law: when a new car is a lemon
What Ark. Code §§ 4-90-401 to 4-90-417 (Act 297 of 1993) asks before a manufacturer must repurchase or replace a car, the steps on the way and the last day to act.
Does your car meet the Arkansas lemon law tests?
Arkansas, November 5, 2026 read in the statute
The presumption appears to be met
| Protection period | 2 years or 24,000 miles, whichever is later: until January 5, 2028 or 24,000 miles. You are inside it. |
| Repair attempts, same defect | Met: needs 3, you have 3 |
| Serious safety defect | Not met: needs 1 attempt, you have no safety defect |
| Days out of service | Not met: needs 30 calendar days, you have 12 |
| Also | Or 5 or more separate attempts on all defects together (Sec. 12(1)(c)). The 3 attempts and the 1 safety attempt are followed by the final attempt. The act reads “whichever is the latter” for 24 months or 24,000 miles. The manufacturer then has 40 days to repurchase or replace. |
| Notice | Where the manufacturer disclosed the requirement, written notice by certified or registered mail after the attempts: the manufacturer has 10 days to offer a repair facility and 10 days to repair after delivery (Act 297, Sec. 5). |
| Dispute step | A manufacturer procedure certified by the Attorney General must be used first, at no cost to you (Act 297, Sec. 16). |
Tests as written in the law; a court or arbitrator decides. Ark. Code §§ 4-90-401 to 4-90-417 (Act 297 of 1993) · Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration
The Arkansas lemon law in detailThe Arkansas New Motor Vehicle Quality Assurance Act, Act 297 of 1993, protects a new car for 24 months or 24,000 miles, and its wording reads “whichever is the latter”, which makes Arkansas a state where the longer of the two limits applies. As enacted, the act presumes a reasonable number of attempts after three repairs of the same defect followed by a final attempt, after one repair plus a final attempt when the defect is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury, after five or more separate attempts on all defects together, or after 30 calendar days out of service. A procedure certified by the Attorney General comes first and costs the owner nothing. A lawsuit must be filed within two years of the first report. We read the act as approved on March 1, 1993, on the legislature’s site, not the current consolidated code, which could not be opened.
What notice does your state ask for?
Arkansas
Written notice
| Rule: Where the manufacturer disclosed the requirement, written notice by certified or registered mail after the attempts: the manufacturer has 10 days to offer a repair facility and 10 days to repair after delivery (Act 297, Sec. 5). | |
| Law: Ark. Code §§ 4-90-401 to 4-90-417 (Act 297 of 1993) |
State laws read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
The final attempt in Arkansas
After the count, the owner writes by certified or registered mail, where the manufacturer has disclosed that requirement. The manufacturer has ten days to offer a reasonably accessible repair facility, then ten days to repair after the car is delivered. If it misses those limits, it loses the right to a final attempt. The manufacturer then has 40 days to repurchase or replace.
A date only you know
The two-year limit runs from the day the defect was first reported, so the deadline calculator cannot compute it from the delivery date: write that date on your file. In the act, a calendar day means any day except a legal holiday.
The Department of Finance and Administration handles the tax side of a buyback, and its page words the safety test in a way that is hard to follow; we kept the act’s wording. Check the current code before relying on the 1993 text.
The Arkansas lemon law at a glance
| Law | Ark. Code §§ 4-90-401 to 4-90-417 (Act 297 of 1993) |
| Protection period | 2 years or 24,000 miles, whichever is later |
| Repair attempts | 3 attempts on the same defect |
| Serious safety defect | 1 attempt for a serious safety defect |
| Days out of service | 30 calendar days |
| Also | Or 5 or more separate attempts on all defects together (Sec. 12(1)(c)). The 3 attempts and the 1 safety attempt are followed by the final attempt. The act reads “whichever is the latter” for 24 months or 24,000 miles. The manufacturer then has 40 days to repurchase or replace. |
| Written notice | Where the manufacturer disclosed the requirement, written notice by certified or registered mail after the attempts: the manufacturer has 10 days to offer a repair facility and 10 days to repair after delivery (Act 297, Sec. 5). |
| Dispute step | Manufacturer program first. A manufacturer procedure certified by the Attorney General must be used first, at no cost to you (Act 297, Sec. 16). |
| Deadline | Lawsuit within 2 years after the defect is first reported to the manufacturer or dealer (Act 297, Sec. 20): enter that date yourself, the calculator cannot know it. |
| Use offset in a buyback | Price × miles before the car is first delivered for repair ÷ 120,000 (Act 297). |
| Vehicles covered | New vehicles bought or leased in Arkansas, leases of at least 1 year. Not mopeds, motorcycles, the living quarters of a motor home, or vehicles over 10,000 lb gross weight other than motor homes. |
| Used cars | Not covered. |
| State page | Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration |
| Level of reading | read in the statute |
| What we read | Act 297 of 1993 as enacted, approved March 1, 1993, read on the legislature’s site on November 1, 2026. It is the act as first passed, not the current consolidated code, which could not be opened, so a later amendment would not show here. |
From written notice to a decision
Certified mail, return receipt requested.
Earliest decisionbetween Nov 5, 2026 and Dec 15, 2026
1. Done · milestone
Written notice reaches the manufacturer
Oct 16, 2026
Where the manufacturer disclosed the requirement, written notice by certified or registered mail after the attempts: the manufacturer has 10 days to offer a repair facility and 10 days to repair after delivery (Act 297, Sec. 5).
Ark. Code §§ 4-90-401 to 4-90-417 (Act 297 of 1993)2. In progress · 3 weeks
Final repair window
Nov 5, 2026
10 days to offer a repair facility, then 10 days to repair after delivery (Act 297 of 1993).
Ark. Code §§ 4-90-401 to 4-90-417 (Act 297 of 1993)3. Upcoming · 0 day – 6 weeks
Dispute program decides
Nov 5, 2026 – Dec 15, 2026
A program that follows 16 CFR Part 703 must decide within 40 days of receiving your dispute. A manufacturer procedure certified by the Attorney General must be used first, at no cost to you (Act 297, Sec. 16).
16 CFR 703.5(d)4. Upcoming · milestone
Accept, refuse or go further
Nov 5, 2026 – Dec 15, 2026
Lawsuit within 2 years after the defect is first reported to the manufacturer or dealer (Act 297, Sec. 20): enter that date yourself, the calculator cannot know it.