Lemon law in Louisiana

At a glance

Who qualifies

Which vehicles

New passenger vehicles and passenger and commercial vehicles sold in Louisiana, plus personal watercraft and ATVs used only for personal purposes. Vehicles of 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight or more and vehicles used only for commercial purposes are excluded.

“For the purposes of this Chapter, the following motor vehicles are excluded: (a) Motor vehicles 10,000 GVW or above. (b) Motor vehicles used exclusively for commercial purposes.”

legis.la.gov

Repair attempts

The car is presumed a lemon if the same defect has been repaired 4 or more times within the warranty term or the first year, whichever ends first.

“the same nonconformity has been subject to repair four or more times by the manufacturer, its agent, or its authorized dealer within the warranty term or during a period of one year following the date of the original delivery”

legis.la.gov

Serious safety defects

The law does not say.

Days out of service

The car is presumed a lemon if it has been out of service for repairs a total of 45 or more calendar days.

“if the vehicle is out of service by reason of repair for a cumulative total of forty-five or more calendar days”

legis.la.gov

Used vehicles

Used cars are covered only if ownership passed to you while the manufacturer's express warranty was still in effect.

“A person, other than for purposes of resale, to whom a motor vehicle is transferred during the duration of an express warranty applicable to the motor vehicle.”

legis.la.gov

Leased vehicles

Yes. A person who leases a vehicle counts as a consumer under the law.

“A person to whom a motor vehicle is leased.”

legis.la.gov

Deadlines

Protection period

You must report the defect before the warranty ends or within 1 year after original delivery, whichever comes first. The law sets no mileage limit.

“before the expiration of the warranty or during a period of one year following the date of the original delivery of the motor vehicle to a consumer, whichever is the earlier date”

legis.la.gov

Time limit to file

You must sue within 3 years from the purchase date or within 1 year after the warranty ends, whichever is longer.

“The consumer shall have no more than three years from the date he purchased the motor vehicle or until one year from the end of the warranty period, whichever is longer, in which to file suit against the manufacturer”

legis.la.gov

Steps

1. Keep every repair order. Each visit to the dealer should give you a work order with the date, the mileage, what you reported and what they did. Ask for one every time, even when they find nothing. These papers are your case.
2. Check the dates. You must report the defect before the warranty ends or within 1 year after original delivery, whichever comes first. The law sets no mileage limit. You must sue within 3 years from the purchase date or within 1 year after the warranty ends, whichever is longer.
3. Tell the manufacturer in writing. The law asks for written notice. See written notice below.
4. Use the dispute program if one is required. See arbitration below for whether you must go there before court.
5. Ask for a refund or a replacement, or file. Send the letter, then file before the time limit if the manufacturer will not buy the vehicle back or replace it.

Written notice

The law does not spell out a written notice rule, but it refers to a final attempt to fix the car: a manufacturer that fails to respond to you or make the repairs within the set time periods loses its right to that final attempt.

“If a manufacturer fails to respond to the consumer or to perform the repairs within the time periods described in this Subsection, such manufacturer shall be considered to have waived his rights to a final attempt to cure the nonconformity.”

legis.la.gov

Arbitration

If the manufacturer has a dispute program that meets federal rules, you must use it before claiming a refund or replacement. Louisiana does not run its own lemon law arbitration program.

“the provisions of Subsections A, B and C of this Section concerning refunds or replacement shall not apply to any consumer who has not first resorted to such procedure”

legis.la.gov

What you get

The manufacturer must replace the car with a comparable new one or, at its option, take it back and refund the full price, amounts paid at the sale and taxes and fees, minus a reasonable allowance for your use.

“Accept return of the motor vehicle and refund the full purchase price plus any amounts paid by the consumer at the point of sale, and all collateral costs less a reasonable allowance for use”

legis.la.gov

Do it yourself

You can bring a lemon law claim without a lawyer. It takes letters, records and patience. The usual route:

1. Put your repair orders in date order and count the attempts and the days out of service.
2. Send the manufacturer the letter below, by a tracked method, to the address in your owner's manual or warranty booklet.
3. If it offers a final repair, let it try within the time the law gives it.
4. If it refuses or does not answer, file with the manufacturer's dispute program or the state program (Louisiana Motor Vehicle Commission), then court if you need to.
5. Do not sell or trade in the vehicle while the claim is open.

[Your name]
[Your address]
[Date]

[Manufacturer name]
[Address from your owner's manual or warranty booklet]

Re: Lemon law claim, [year make model], VIN [VIN]

I bought (or leased) this vehicle on [date] from [dealer], in Louisiana. It has a defect that the dealer has not been able to fix: [describe it in one or two sentences].

It has been in for repair of this defect [number] times, on [dates], and out of service for a total of [number] days. Copies of the repair orders are enclosed.

Under Louisiana Lemon Law (La. R.S. 51:1941-1948), I ask you to repurchase or replace the vehicle. Please reply in writing within 15 days. I can bring the vehicle in for a final repair attempt if the law gives you one.

[Your name]
[Phone and email]

What a buyback pays in Louisiana

The law asks for a reasonable allowance for your use without a fixed formula. Makers and courts often use the one several states write into law: the price times the miles driven before the first repair visit for the defect, divided by 120,000. For a $40,000 car with 6,000 miles at the first repair and 15,000 now, that is about $2,000.

Estimate your buyback

Questions people ask about Louisiana's lemon law

Find a Louisiana lemon law lawyer

Yes. You are entitled to reasonable attorney fees if the court rules in your favor in whole or in part.

“the consumer shall be entitled to reasonable attorney fees actually incurred if a judgment is rendered in part or whole in his favor”

legis.la.gov

Because the manufacturer usually pays the lawyer's fees when you win, most lemon law lawyers charge you nothing up front. A lawyer also knows what the manufacturer offers in cases like yours and what the use deduction should be.

Send the free case check below and we find a lemon law firm that takes Louisiana cases like yours. The firm contacts you, and you decide whether to hire them.

Sources

• La. R.S. 51:1941-1948, Louisiana Lemon Law
• Louisiana Motor Vehicle Commission
• Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, 15 U.S.C. § 2310, the federal warranty law that also lets owners recover attorney fees.

Each quote above is copied from the page it links to, checked 2026-10-26. If a page has moved, the citation still finds the law.