Lemon law in North Dakota

At a glance

Who qualifies

Which vehicles

New passenger cars and trucks with a registered gross weight of 10,000 pounds or less, sold or leased in North Dakota and normally used for personal, family, or household purposes. Motor homes (house cars) are not covered.

“or a truck with registered gross weight of ten thousand pounds [4536 kilograms] or less which is sold or leased in this state. The term does not include a house car, as defined in section 39-01-01.”

ndlegis.gov

Repair attempts

The car is presumed a lemon if the same defect continues after it has been repaired more than three times (so at least four attempts) within the warranty term or one year.

“The same nonconformity has continued to exist, despite having been subject to repair more than three times by the manufacturer, its agent, or its authorized dealer”

ndlegis.gov

Serious safety defects

The law does not say.

Days out of service

The car is presumed a lemon if it is out of service for repair a total of at least 30 business days during the warranty term or the first year, whichever is less.

“The passenger motor vehicle is out of service for repair for a cumulative total of at least thirty business days during the warranty term or in a year, whichever is less.”

ndlegis.gov

Used vehicles

No. The Attorney General says the law applies only to new cars, not used cars, and North Dakota has no separate used car lemon law.

“It does not apply to any other motorized vehicle or to used cars.”

attorneygeneral.nd.gov

Leased vehicles

Yes. Lessees are covered, and a refund on a leased car returns the lessee's payments less a use allowance and ends the lease without an early termination penalty.

“The manufacturer shall provide to the lessee the sum of all payments previously paid to the motor vehicle lessor by the lessee less a reasonable allowance for the consumer's use of the vehicle.”

ndlegis.gov

Deadlines

Protection period

The defect must be reported during the express warranty term or within one year after delivery, whichever ends first.

“during the term of the express warranties or during the period of one year following the date of original delivery of the passenger motor vehicle to a consumer, whichever is the earlier date”

ndlegis.gov

Time limit to file

A lawsuit must be filed within 6 months after the earlier of the warranty expiring or 18 months after delivery.

“must be commenced within six months after the earlier of:”

ndlegis.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. The defect must be reported during the express warranty term or within one year after delivery, whichever ends first. A lawsuit must be filed within 6 months after the earlier of the warranty expiring or 18 months after delivery.
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 presumption only applies if the manufacturer was notified directly by or for the owner and given a chance to fix the defect.

“The presumption does not apply against a manufacturer unless the manufacturer has received prior direct notification from or on behalf of the consumer and an opportunity to cure the alleged defect.”

ndlegis.gov

Arbitration

If the manufacturer has a qualifying informal dispute program, the owner must use it before getting a refund or replacement under this law. North Dakota does not run its own state arbitration program.

“the remedy under subsection 1 is not available to a consumer who has not first resorted to that procedure.”

ndlegis.gov

What you get

The manufacturer must replace the car with a comparable one or refund the full purchase price plus collateral charges, minus a use allowance of no more than 10 cents per mile or 10 percent of the price, whichever is less.

“refund to the consumer the full purchase price, including all collateral charges, less a reasonable allowance for the consumer's use of the vehicle not exceeding ten cents per mile”

ndlegis.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 (North Dakota Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division), 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 North Dakota. 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 North Dakota Lemon Law (passenger motor vehicle warranty provisions) (N.D. Cent. Code §§ 51-07-16 to 51-07-22), 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 North Dakota

The refund is reduced for your use of the car: up to 10 cents a mile for the miles driven, and never more than 10% of the price. For a $40,000 car with 6,000 miles at the first repair and 15,000 now, that is about $1,500.

Estimate your buyback

Questions people ask about North Dakota's lemon law

Find a North Dakota lemon law lawyer

The law does not say.

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 North Dakota cases like yours. The firm contacts you, and you decide whether to hire them.

Sources

• N.D. Cent. Code §§ 51-07-16 to 51-07-22, North Dakota Lemon Law (passenger motor vehicle warranty provisions)
• North Dakota Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division
• 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.