States
Indiana lemon law: when a new car is a lemon
What Ind. Code 24-5-13 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 Indiana lemon law tests?
Indiana, November 5, 2026 read in the statute
Not yet: one more repair attempt
| Protection period | 18 months or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first: until July 5, 2027 or 18,000 miles. You are inside it. |
| Repair attempts, same defect | Not met: needs 4, you have 3 |
| Days out of service | Not met: needs 30 business days, you have 12 |
| Also | Business days leave out Sundays and legal holidays, so Saturdays count. The 30 days require that the defect still exists. The manufacturer has 30 days to refund. |
| Notice | Written notice to the manufacturer if the warranty or owner’s manual discloses that it is required. |
| Dispute step | An informal procedure certified by the Attorney General must be used first if the manufacturer has one (IC 24-5-13-19). |
Tests as written in the law; a court or arbitrator decides. Ind. Code 24-5-13 · Indiana Attorney General
The Indiana lemon law in detailIndiana’s lemon law, chapter 13 of article 5 of title 24 of the Indiana Code, protects a vehicle under 10,000 pounds sold to a buyer in Indiana for 18 months or 18,000 miles from delivery, whichever comes first. A reasonable number of attempts is presumed after four repairs of the same defect, or after 30 business days out of service while the defect still exists. Where the warranty or the owner’s manual tells the buyer that written notice to the manufacturer is required, the notice must be sent before the remedies apply. An informal procedure certified by the Attorney General comes first if the manufacturer has one. A lawsuit must be filed within two years after the defect is first reported, with the time suspended during the procedure. We read the 2026 edition of the chapter on the legislature’s site on November 1, 2026.
What notice does your state ask for?
Indiana
Written notice
| Rule: Written notice to the manufacturer if the warranty or owner’s manual discloses that it is required. | |
| Law | Ind. Code 24-5-13 |
State laws read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Reading the Indiana test
The chapter joins its two tests with the word or: four attempts, or 30 business days. Either one is enough. An earlier version of this page said the wording could be read two ways; the 2026 text does not support that, so we removed it.
Saturdays count
A business day in the chapter is any day except a Sunday or a legal holiday, so a Saturday at the dealer adds to the total. Ask for dated repair orders that show both the drop-off and the pick-up.
The deadline runs from the first report, a date the calculator cannot know, so write it on your file. The manufacturer has 30 days to refund, and the deduction is price times miles before it accepts the return, divided by 100,000. Conversion vans, motor homes and motorcycles are outside the chapter; leases over four months are inside it.
The Indiana lemon law at a glance
| Law | Ind. Code 24-5-13 |
| Protection period | 18 months or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first |
| Repair attempts | 4 attempts on the same defect |
| Serious safety defect | no separate test |
| Days out of service | 30 business days |
| Also | Business days leave out Sundays and legal holidays, so Saturdays count. The 30 days require that the defect still exists. The manufacturer has 30 days to refund. |
| Written notice | Written notice to the manufacturer if the warranty or owner’s manual discloses that it is required. |
| Dispute step | Manufacturer program first. An informal procedure certified by the Attorney General must be used first if the manufacturer has one (IC 24-5-13-19). |
| Deadline | Lawsuit within 2 years after the defect is first reported to the manufacturer or dealer, suspended during the dispute procedure: enter that date yourself, the calculator cannot know it. |
| Use offset in a buyback | Price × miles before the manufacturer accepts the return ÷ 100,000 (IC 24-5-13). |
| Vehicles covered | Vehicles under 10,000 lb sold to a buyer in Indiana; leases over 4 months. Not conversion vans, motor homes, motorcycles and other listed vehicles. |
| Used cars | Not named in the chapter, whose term runs from the original delivery. |
| State page | Indiana Attorney General |
| Level of reading | read in the statute |
| What we read | Indiana Code 24-5-13, 2026 edition on the legislature’s site, read on November 1, 2026. |
From written notice to a decision
Certified mail, return receipt requested.
Earliest decisionbetween Oct 16, 2026 and Nov 25, 2026
1. Done · milestone
Written notice reaches the manufacturer
Oct 16, 2026
Written notice to the manufacturer if the warranty or owner’s manual discloses that it is required.
Ind. Code 24-5-132. Done · milestone
Final repair attempt
Oct 16, 2026
No fixed number of days for this step in the Indiana text we read.
3. In progress · 0 day – 6 weeks
Dispute program decides
Oct 16, 2026 – Nov 25, 2026
A program that follows 16 CFR Part 703 must decide within 40 days of receiving your dispute. An informal procedure certified by the Attorney General must be used first if the manufacturer has one (IC 24-5-13-19).
16 CFR 703.5(d)4. Upcoming · milestone
Accept, refuse or go further
Oct 16, 2026 – Nov 25, 2026
Lawsuit within 2 years after the defect is first reported to the manufacturer or dealer, suspended during the dispute procedure: enter that date yourself, the calculator cannot know it.