Guides
What qualifies as a lemon car?
Enter your car’s repair history to test it against your state’s law. Below, the conditions that every state lemon law shares, and what does not make a car a lemon.
Does your car qualify as a lemon?
Texas, November 5, 2026 read on the official state page
The presumption is not met yet
| Protection period | 2 years or 24,000 miles or the warranty term, whichever ends first: until January 5, 2028 or 24,000 miles. You are inside it. |
| Repair attempts, same defect | Not met: needs 4, you have 2 |
| Serious safety defect | Not met: needs 2 attempts, you have no safety defect |
| Days out of service | Not met: needs 30 calendar days, you have 20 |
| Notice | Written notice to the manufacturer (certified mail preferred) and at least one chance to repair. |
| Dispute step | Complaint to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles ($35 fee), which holds the hearing. |
| File the state complaint by July 5, 2028 (608 days left) | TxDMV complaint within 6 months after the earliest of the warranty end, 24 months or 24,000 miles. |
Tests as written in the law; a court or arbitrator decides. Tex. Occ. Code §§ 2301.601 to 2301.613 · Texas DMV
The Texas lemon law in detailA car is a lemon, in the legal sense, when four conditions are met. It must be a vehicle the state’s law covers, usually a new car, truck or van bought or leased for personal use. It must have a defect, often called a nonconformity, that substantially impairs its use, its market value or its safety; a rattle or a cosmetic flaw is not enough. The defect must appear within the protection period, which runs from one year in many states to three years in Maine, counted from delivery. And the manufacturer must have failed to fix it after a reasonable number of attempts, which the laws presume after three or four repairs of the same defect, fewer for a serious safety defect, or a set number of days out of service. The checker above tests all four with your state’s figures.
Quick check: the lemon law tests of one state
New York: a car is presumed a lemon after
4 attempts or 30 calendar days
| Period: 2 years or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first | |
| Safety defect | no separate test |
| Days out of service | 30 calendar days |
| Read | read on the official state page |
State laws read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Condition 1: a car the law covers
Most laws cover passenger cars, light trucks and vans bought new for personal, family or household use, and many cover leases. Motorcycles, motor homes and heavy trucks are covered in some states and left out in others; the motorcycle and RV page lists them. Business vehicles are covered in some states within limits, such as Georgia’s ten vehicles a year. Used cars are covered only in a few states, as the used car page explains.
Condition 2: a substantial defect
The defect must be covered by the manufacturer’s warranty and must substantially impair use, value or safety. The word substantially does the work: the law is for cars that do not do what a car must do, not for imperfections. A defect that comes and goes counts if it is real and documented; ask the dealer to record the conditions in which it happens.
Condition 3: inside the protection period
The defect must be reported, and usually the attempts made, within the period the state sets: one year, 18 months, two years or more, often with a mileage limit. Several states count attempts made after the period if the first report fell inside it, such as Alabama, Idaho and South Dakota. The checker shows the end of your period from the delivery date.
Condition 4: a reasonable number of attempts
This is the presumption: three or four attempts on the same defect, one or two for a serious safety defect, or a set number of days out of service, as the repair attempts page lists by state. Meeting it does not end the case; it shifts the burden to the manufacturer, which may still argue that the defect was fixed or caused by misuse.