Arkansas lemon law: when your car is a lemon and how to claim
In Arkansas, a new car counts as a lemon after 3 repairs for the same problem, 1 for a serious safety defect or 30 calendar days in the shop within the first 24 months or 24,000 miles. First, send the manufacturer a written notice: the free letter below does it.
Checked against official sources: Oct 22, 2026
Your next 4 steps in Arkansas
Keep every repair order
Get a written repair order at every visit, with the date, mileage and days in the shop. In Arkansas, a car is presumed a lemon after 3 repairs for the same problem, 1 for a serious safety defect or 30 calendar days in the shop.
Send the manufacturer a written notice
After 3 repair attempts on the same defect (or 1 attempt on a defect likely to cause death or serious injury), send a written letter by certified or registered mail to the manufacturer (not the dealer) giving it a final chance to repair. Write your notice letter ↓
Let the manufacturer make its final repair attempt
For the final repair chance, the manufacturer has 10 days after your letter to offer a nearby repair shop and then 10 days to fix the car; if it misses either deadline, the final chance is waived.
Ask for a refund or replacement, use arbitration, or call a lawyer
Before suing, Arkansas requires you to go through the manufacturer’s dispute program. See the Arbitration section below for who goes first and the deadlines. If you win, the court can make the manufacturer pay your lawyer (see What you can get), so many lemon law lawyers charge nothing up front.
When a car is a lemon in Arkansas
Your car is presumed a lemon if, during the quality assurance period: (1) the same defect was repaired 3 times, you then gave the manufacturer a final repair chance, and it still is not fixed; (2) a defect likely to cause death or serious injury was repaired once, you gave the manufacturer a final repair chance, and it still is not fixed; (3) the car was out of service for repairs a total of 30 calendar days; or (4) there were 5 or more repair attempts on separate occasions for any defects that together substantially impair the car's use and value. For the final repair chance, the manufacturer has 10 days after your letter to offer a nearby repair shop and then 10 days to fix the car; if it misses either deadline, the final chance is waived.
Period: The 'motor vehicle quality assurance period' is 24 months from original delivery or the first 24,000 miles, whichever is LATER. A replacement vehicle gets a new period starting on its delivery date.
Is your car a lemon in Arkansas? A quick check
Notice to the manufacturer
After 3 repair attempts on the same defect (or 1 attempt on a defect likely to cause death or serious injury), send a written letter by certified or registered mail to the manufacturer (not the dealer) giving it a final chance to repair. You must also notify the manufacturer of your claim if it disclosed that requirement to you in writing when you bought or leased the car. The Attorney General's guide includes sample letters.
Arbitration
Required. Every manufacturer must run or join an informal dispute program located in Arkansas and certified by the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division, and you generally must use it before suing for a refund or replacement. It is free to you; your claim should be heard and decided within 40 days, you can have an in-person hearing in Arkansas, and the decision binds the manufacturer only if you accept it.
Deadline to sue or file in Arkansas
File suit within 2 years after you first report the defect to the manufacturer or dealer; if you start the informal dispute program, the 2 years run from when that program begins (Ark. Code Ann. § 4-90-416).
What you can get
You have an unconditional right to choose a refund instead of a replacement. A refund covers the full purchase price (including any trade-in allowance) plus collateral charges such as manufacturer- or dealer-installed items, earned finance charges, sales tax, title charges, and manufacturer extended warranties, plus incidental costs like towing and rental cars caused by the defect. The manufacturer may subtract a use offset: price paid × (miles before you first brought the car in for the defect ÷ 120,000), and an offset for physical damage. Lessees get back what they paid minus the use offset, and the lease ends with no early-termination penalty. The manufacturer must act within 40 days, and you may keep using the car until you get your refund or replacement.
Attorney fees: A consumer who wins is entitled to costs and expenses, including attorney fees based on the time the attorney actually spent.
Free lemon law notice letter
Most states require you to tell the manufacturer in writing and give it a last chance to fix the car. Fill this in, download the letter, sign it and mail it to the manufacturer. Keep a copy.
Arkansas law says to send this notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by registered mail, return receipt requested. Keep the receipt.
Who to contact
- Office
- Arkansas Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division
- Phone
- 800-482-8982
What the law covers
- New vehicles
- Yes
- Used vehicles
- No
- Leased vehicles
- Yes
- Which vehicles
- New or previously untitled self-propelled vehicles licensed, bought, or leased in Arkansas and designed mainly to carry people or property on public roads. Mopeds, motorcycles, and the living quarters of motor homes are excluded. Vehicles over 13,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating are excluded, but motor homes over that weight are covered. A vehicle over 10,000 pounds GVWR that was substantially altered after its first sale by a dealer is excluded.
- Who can claim
- The buyer or lessee (a lease of 1 year or more where you are responsible for repairs), not someone buying to resell or lease out, plus anyone else entitled to enforce the warranty during the quality assurance period, such as a later owner. The vehicle must be titled and registered as required by law.
Used cars in Arkansas
The lemon law covers only new or previously untitled vehicles, so used cars are not covered. Arkansas has no separate used-car lemon law.
Good to know
- Arkansas also has a separate lemon law for farm machinery, with its own Attorney General guide.
- A bought-back lemon can be resold in Arkansas only with a signed disclosure that it was returned for an uncured defect and a new 12-month/12,000-mile warranty from the manufacturer.
- A violation of the lemon law is also a deceptive trade practice under Arkansas's consumer protection law.
Questions about Arkansas's lemon law
How many repair attempts make a car a lemon in Arkansas?
Your car is presumed a lemon if, during the quality assurance period: (1) the same defect was repaired 3 times, you then gave the manufacturer a final repair chance, and it still is not fixed; (2) a defect likely to cause death or serious injury was repaired once, you gave the manufacturer a final repair chance, and it still is not fixed; (3) the car was out of service for repairs a total of 30 calendar days; or (4) there were 5 or more repair attempts on separate occasions for any defects that together substantially impair the car's use and value. For the final repair chance, the manufacturer has 10 days after your letter to offer a nearby repair shop and then 10 days to fix the car; if it misses either deadline, the final chance is waived.
How long does Arkansas's lemon law cover a car?
The 'motor vehicle quality assurance period' is 24 months from original delivery or the first 24,000 miles, whichever is LATER. A replacement vehicle gets a new period starting on its delivery date.
Do I have to notify the manufacturer in Arkansas?
After 3 repair attempts on the same defect (or 1 attempt on a defect likely to cause death or serious injury), send a written letter by certified or registered mail to the manufacturer (not the dealer) giving it a final chance to repair. You must also notify the manufacturer of your claim if it disclosed that requirement to you in writing when you bought or leased the car. The Attorney General's guide includes sample letters.
Do I have to go to arbitration in Arkansas?
Every manufacturer must run or join an informal dispute program located in Arkansas and certified by the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division, and you generally must use it before suing for a refund or replacement. It is free to you; your claim should be heard and decided within 40 days, you can have an in-person hearing in Arkansas, and the decision binds the manufacturer only if you accept it.
What can I get under Arkansas's lemon law?
You have an unconditional right to choose a refund instead of a replacement. A refund covers the full purchase price (including any trade-in allowance) plus collateral charges such as manufacturer- or dealer-installed items, earned finance charges, sales tax, title charges, and manufacturer extended warranties, plus incidental costs like towing and rental cars caused by the defect. The manufacturer may subtract a use offset: price paid × (miles before you first brought the car in for the defect ÷ 120,000), and an offset for physical damage. Lessees get back what they paid minus the use offset, and the lease ends with no early-termination penalty. The manufacturer must act within 40 days, and you may keep using the car until you get your refund or replacement.
Is there a deadline to file a lemon law claim in Arkansas?
File suit within 2 years after you first report the defect to the manufacturer or dealer; if you start the informal dispute program, the 2 years run from when that program begins (Ark. Code Ann. § 4-90-416).
Does Arkansas's lemon law cover used cars?
The lemon law covers only new or previously untitled vehicles, so used cars are not covered. Arkansas has no separate used-car lemon law.
Car not covered, or the period has passed? Federal warranty law may still help, and small claims court can handle smaller repair bills.
Federal warranty lawSources
- Arkansas Code (official public access via LexisNexis) – Title 4, Chapter 90, Subchapter 4
- Ark. Code § 4-90-403 Definitions (text copy, Onecle)
- Ark. Code §§ 4-90-401 to 4-90-417 (text copy, Center for Auto Safety)
- Arkansas Attorney General – A Consumer's Guide to the Arkansas Lemon Law (2025)
- Arkansas Attorney General – Arkansas Lemon Laws
- Arkansas Attorney General – Farm Machine Lemon Law guide
Last checked: Oct 22, 2026.
Law: Arkansas New Motor Vehicle Quality Assurance Act (Arkansas Lemon Law), Ark. Code Ann. §§ 4-90-401 to 4-90-417