Lemon law in Rhode Island

At a glance

Who qualifies

Which vehicles

New cars, trucks, motorcycles, and vans with a registered gross weight under 10,000 pounds, sold, leased, or replaced by a dealer or manufacturer. Motorized campers are not covered.

“an automobile, truck, motorcycle, or van having a registered gross vehicle weight of less than ten thousand pounds (10,000 lbs.), sold, leased, or replaced by a dealer or manufacturer, except that it shall not include a motorized camper”

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Repair attempts

The car is presumed a lemon if the same defect has been repaired four or more times during the protection period and still exists or comes back.

“The same nonconformity has been subject to repair four (4) or more times by the manufacturer or its agents or authorized dealers or lessors within the term of protection”

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Serious safety defects

The law does not say.

Days out of service

The car is also presumed a lemon if it was out of service for repairs for a total of 30 or more calendar days during the protection period.

“The vehicle is out of service by reason of the repair of any nonconformity for a cumulative total of thirty (30) or more calendar days during the term of protection”

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Used vehicles

This lemon law covers new vehicles. A separate law, R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 31-5.4, requires dealers to give a written warranty on used vehicles: at least 60 days or 3,000 miles for vehicles with 36,000 miles or less, and 30 days or 1,000 miles for vehicles with up to 100,000 miles.

“No dealer shall sell a used motor vehicle to a consumer without giving the consumer a written warranty”

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Leased vehicles

Yes. Lessees of a year or more, or under a lease-purchase agreement, are covered and can get a refund of their lease payments or a replacement.

““Lessee” means any consumer who leases a motor vehicle for one year or more pursuant to a written lease agreement”

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Deadlines

Protection period

One year or 15,000 miles from delivery, whichever comes first. A replacement vehicle gets its own new one year or 15,000 miles.

““Term of protection” means one year or fifteen thousand (15,000) miles of use from the date of original delivery of a new motor vehicle to the consumer, whichever comes first”

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Time limit to file

A lawsuit must be filed within 3 years of delivery, or within 2 years of the date the odometer reached 15,000 miles, whichever is earlier.

“shall be commenced within three (3) years of the date of original delivery of the motor vehicle to the consumer or lessee or within two (2) years of the date on which the mileage on the motor vehicle reached fifteen thousand (15,000) miles, whichever is earlier”

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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. One year or 15,000 miles from delivery, whichever comes first. A replacement vehicle gets its own new one year or 15,000 miles. A lawsuit must be filed within 3 years of delivery, or within 2 years of the date the odometer reached 15,000 miles, whichever is earlier.
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

Yes. After four repair attempts or 30 days out of service, you must notify the manufacturer by certified mail with return receipt. If it has not had a final chance to repair, it gets seven days after notice to fix the car.

“it shall have one final opportunity to cure the nonconformities within seven (7) calendar days of receipt of the notice”

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Arbitration

You may choose the Attorney General's Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board or the manufacturer's program, if it has one. You file a complaint form with a $20 nonrefundable fee.

“shall file the complaint with a nonrefundable filing fee of twenty dollars ($20.00)”

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What you get

At your choice, a full refund of the contract or lease price, including trade-in credit, or a comparable new vehicle. A refund also covers sales tax, registration, finance charges, and dealer-added options, minus a use allowance based on the miles driven before you first reported the defect, divided by 100,000.

“refund the full contract price or lease price of the vehicle including all credits and allowances for any trade-in vehicle, less a reasonable allowance for use, or replace it with a comparable new motor vehicle in good working order”

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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 (Rhode Island Department of Attorney General, Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board), 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 Rhode Island. 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 Rhode Island Lemon Law (New Motor Vehicle Warranties) (R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 31-5.2 (§§ 31-5.2-1 to 31-5.2-14); used vehicles: ch. 31-5.4), 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 Rhode Island

The refund is reduced for your use of the car: the price times the miles driven before the first repair visit for the defect, divided by 100,000. For a $40,000 car with 6,000 miles at the first repair and 15,000 now, that is about $2,400.

Estimate your buyback

Questions people ask about Rhode Island's lemon law

Find a Rhode Island lemon law lawyer

Yes. The court must award reasonable attorney fees to a consumer who wins.

“shall award reasonable attorney’s fees to a prevailing plaintiff”

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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 Rhode Island cases like yours. The firm contacts you, and you decide whether to hire them.

Sources

• R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 31-5.2 (§§ 31-5.2-1 to 31-5.2-14); used vehicles: ch. 31-5.4, Rhode Island Lemon Law (New Motor Vehicle Warranties)
• Rhode Island Department of Attorney General, Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board
• 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.