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Indiana lemon law: when your car is a lemon and how to claim

In Indiana, a new car counts as a lemon after 4 repairs for the same problem or 30 business days in the shop within the first 18 months or 18,000 miles. First, send the manufacturer a written notice: the free letter below does it.

Checked against official sources: Oct 22, 2026

18 mo / 18,000 milemon law period
4 triesrepairs for the same problem
30 business daysout of service
Maybecheck your warranty booklet for an arbitration program (e.g. BBB AUTO LINE)
See the ruledeadline to sue or file
Get your letter ↓

Your next 4 steps in Indiana

  1. Keep every repair order

    Get a written repair order at every visit, with the date, mileage and days in the shop. In Indiana, a car is presumed a lemon after 4 repairs for the same problem or 30 business days in the shop.

  2. Send the manufacturer a written notice

    Required only if the manufacturer's warranty or owner's manual clearly says written notice is required and gives the name and address to send it to. Write your notice letter ↓

  3. Let the manufacturer make its final repair attempt

    If the manufacturer asks for one more repair after your notice, take the car in and get a repair order.

  4. Ask for a refund or replacement, use arbitration, or call a lawyer

    If your manufacturer has a dispute program that meets the state’s rules (check your warranty booklet), you may have to use it first. See the Arbitration section below. 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 Indiana

A reasonable number of attempts is considered made if the defect has been repaired at least 4 times and still exists, or the vehicle has been out of service for repair of any defect for a total of at least 30 business days (any day except Sunday and legal holidays) and the defect still exists. The defect must substantially impair the vehicle's use, market value or safety, or make it fail to conform to the warranty.

Period: The term of protection runs 18 months or 18,000 miles from original delivery, whichever comes first. You must report the defect within that period; repairs must continue even after it ends.

Is your car a lemon in Indiana? A quick check

Indiana: The term of protection runs 18 months or 18,000 miles from original delivery, whichever comes first. You must report the defect within that period; repairs must continue even after it ends.

Count only business days, as Indiana’s law does.

Fill in what you knowThe result updates as you type.

A rough guide to Indiana’s presumption, not legal advice. Even if your car falls short, you may still have a claim under your warranty or federal law.

Notice to the manufacturer

Required only if the manufacturer's warranty or owner's manual clearly says written notice is required and gives the name and address to send it to. In that case you must first notify the manufacturer in writing of your claim. If the manufacturer did not make that disclosure, you do not have to notify it. The statute does not set a mailing method.

Write your notice letter below.

Arbitration

Maybe — check your warranty booklet for an arbitration program (e.g. BBB AUTO LINE). Indiana has no state-run arbitration. You must first use a manufacturer's dispute program only if the Attorney General has certified it and the manufacturer told you about it in writing (for example, in the warranty). The 2-year lawsuit deadline is paused while you are in that program.

Deadline to sue or file in Indiana

A lawsuit must be filed within 2 years after the date you first reported the defect to the manufacturer, its agent or dealer, with that time paused while you are in a certified manufacturer dispute program (Ind. Code § 24-5-13-23).

What you can get

At your choice, the manufacturer must, within 30 days, either refund what you paid or give you a replacement of comparable value. A refund is the full contract price, including trade-in credit, plus sales tax, the unused part of prepaid registration fees and excise tax, finance charges you actually paid, and dealer-added options, minus a use allowance: contract price times miles driven before the manufacturer takes the car back, divided by 100,000. Either way, you are reimbursed for towing and rental costs caused by the defect, and for a replacement, the manufacturer pays registration transfer fees and sales tax. You may keep using the car until you get the refund or replacement.

Attorney fees: A buyer who wins a lawsuit under the Lemon Law recovers court costs and expenses, including attorney's fees based on actual time spent (Ind. Code § 24-5-13-22).

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.

Send it by certified mail with return receipt so you have proof, and keep the receipt.

On your registration, insurance card or the driver’s side of the dashboard. A VIN never uses I, O or Q.

Find it in your warranty booklet or owner's manual (look for 'Customer Assistance').

Other formats

Who to contact

Office
Indiana Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division
Phone
800-382-5516

Official page · Official lemon law guide

What the law covers

New vehicles
Yes
Used vehicles
No
Leased vehicles
Yes
Which vehicles
Self-propelled vehicles under 10,000 lbs declared gross vehicle weight, made mainly for public roads, sold to a buyer in Indiana and registered in Indiana (or sold in Indiana to a nonresident). Not covered: conversion vans, motor homes, motorcycles, motor-driven cycles, snowmobiles, off-road vehicles, farm tractors and machinery, road-building equipment, and truck or road tractors. Leases must be longer than 4 months. A separate chapter (Ind. Code 24-5-13.1) covers new vehicles converted for people with disabilities.
Who can claim
Any person who buys or leases a covered vehicle in Indiana other than for resale or sublease. The statute does not limit coverage to personal use; the AG's guide describes it as protecting personal-use buyers.

Used cars in Indiana

Indiana's Lemon Law covers only vehicles within 18 months/18,000 miles of original delivery; there is no separate used-car lemon law.

Used car rules in every state

Good to know

  • A car in which methamphetamine was made within the previous 2 years counts as having a defect; sellers must disclose it in writing, and buyers can sue for cleanup costs and up to $10,000 in damages.
  • Bought-back lemons get a title brand reading 'Manufacturer Buyback-Disclosure on File', and the first resale requires written notice and a 12-month/12,000-mile manufacturer warranty (per the AG guide).
  • Vehicles converted to be accessible for people with disabilities have their own lemon law chapter with the same 18-month/18,000-mile protection (Ind. Code 24-5-13.1, added 2022).

Questions about Indiana's lemon law

How many repair attempts make a car a lemon in Indiana?

A reasonable number of attempts is considered made if the defect has been repaired at least 4 times and still exists, or the vehicle has been out of service for repair of any defect for a total of at least 30 business days (any day except Sunday and legal holidays) and the defect still exists. The defect must substantially impair the vehicle's use, market value or safety, or make it fail to conform to the warranty.

How long does Indiana's lemon law cover a car?

The term of protection runs 18 months or 18,000 miles from original delivery, whichever comes first. You must report the defect within that period; repairs must continue even after it ends.

Do I have to notify the manufacturer in Indiana?

Required only if the manufacturer's warranty or owner's manual clearly says written notice is required and gives the name and address to send it to. In that case you must first notify the manufacturer in writing of your claim. If the manufacturer did not make that disclosure, you do not have to notify it. The statute does not set a mailing method.

Do I have to go to arbitration in Indiana?

Indiana has no state-run arbitration. You must first use a manufacturer's dispute program only if the Attorney General has certified it and the manufacturer told you about it in writing (for example, in the warranty). The 2-year lawsuit deadline is paused while you are in that program.

What can I get under Indiana's lemon law?

At your choice, the manufacturer must, within 30 days, either refund what you paid or give you a replacement of comparable value. A refund is the full contract price, including trade-in credit, plus sales tax, the unused part of prepaid registration fees and excise tax, finance charges you actually paid, and dealer-added options, minus a use allowance: contract price times miles driven before the manufacturer takes the car back, divided by 100,000. Either way, you are reimbursed for towing and rental costs caused by the defect, and for a replacement, the manufacturer pays registration transfer fees and sales tax. You may keep using the car until you get the refund or replacement.

Is there a deadline to file a lemon law claim in Indiana?

A lawsuit must be filed within 2 years after the date you first reported the defect to the manufacturer, its agent or dealer, with that time paused while you are in a certified manufacturer dispute program (Ind. Code § 24-5-13-23).

Does Indiana's lemon law cover used cars?

Indiana's Lemon Law covers only vehicles within 18 months/18,000 miles of original delivery; there is 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 law

Sources

Last checked: Oct 22, 2026.

Law: Motor Vehicle Protection Act (Indiana Lemon Law), Ind. Code §§ 24-5-13-1 to 24-5-13-24

Other states