Iowa lemon law: when your car is a lemon and how to claim
In Iowa, 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 Iowa
Keep every repair order
Get a written repair order at every visit, with the date, mileage and days in the shop. In Iowa, 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 (or 1 for a dangerous defect), send written notice to the manufacturer by certified or registered mail or overnight service so it gets a final repair attempt. Write your notice letter ↓
Let the manufacturer make its final repair attempt
The manufacturer has 10 days after receiving it to direct you to a reasonably accessible repair shop, and 10 days after you deliver the car to fix it.
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 Iowa
Your car is presumed a lemon if, during the rights period: the same defect that substantially impairs it was examined or repaired at least 3 times, plus a final repair attempt by the manufacturer after your written notice, and it still exists; a defect likely to cause death or serious injury was examined or repaired at least once, plus a final attempt, and it still exists; or the car was out of service for repairs for a total of 30 or more calendar days (not counting routine maintenance). After 20 days out of service you can notify the manufacturer, which then has 10 more out-of-service days to fix it.
Period: The Lemon Law rights period ends when the first of these happens: the manufacturer's written warranty ends, 2 years pass from original delivery, or you drive 24,000 miles. If you reported a defect that was not fixed before the period ended, the presumption period can be extended up to 2 years/24,000 miles.
Is your car a lemon in Iowa? A quick check
Notice to the manufacturer
After 3 repair attempts (or 1 for a dangerous defect), send written notice to the manufacturer by certified or registered mail or overnight service so it gets a final repair attempt. The manufacturer has 10 days after receiving it to direct you to a reasonably accessible repair shop, and 10 days after you deliver the car to fix it. After 20 cumulative days out of service, send the same kind of written notice; the manufacturer then has 10 more out-of-service days. If the manufacturer has no certified dispute program, you must have sent this notice before you can sue. The Attorney General offers a Motor Vehicle Defect Notification Form.
Arbitration
Maybe — check your warranty booklet for an arbitration program (e.g. BBB AUTO LINE). Iowa has no state-run program. If the manufacturer has a dispute program certified by the Attorney General and told you how to file with it, you must use it before you can get a refund or replacement under the law. Certified programs are free to consumers and must decide within 60 days; you have 25 days to accept a decision, and either side can appeal to district court.
Deadline to sue or file in Iowa
If the manufacturer has no certified dispute program and you sent the final-repair notice, or a certified program misses its decision deadline, file in district court within 1 year after the Lemon Law rights period (or its extension) ends. If the manufacturer does not perform a certified program decision you accepted, sue within 6 months after the date it had to comply. To appeal a certified program decision, file within 50 days after receiving it or 25 days after you accept it, whichever comes first (Iowa Code § 322G.8).
What you can get
Your choice of a replacement vehicle or a refund (you have an unconditional right to choose the refund). The refund is the full purchase price, including net trade-in allowance, plus collateral charges (such as items installed by the manufacturer or its agent, earned finance charges, use taxes and title charges) and incidental charges (such as towing and alternative transportation; not loss of use, lost income or injury). The manufacturer deducts a reasonable offset for use: miles driven up to the 3rd repair attempt, the 1st repair of a dangerous defect, or the 20th day out of service (whichever comes first), times the purchase price, divided by 120,000. The manufacturer must act within 40 days, and must lend you a vehicle while a replacement is on the way. Lessees get their payments back, minus the offset, with no early-termination penalty.
Attorney fees: A consumer who wins a Lemon Law lawsuit gets reasonable attorney's fees and costs (Iowa Code § 322G.8(3)).
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.
Iowa law says to send this notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by registered mail, return receipt requested, or by overnight delivery service. Keep the receipt.
Who to contact
- Office
- Iowa Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division
- Phone
- 515-281-5926
Official page · Official lemon law guide
Forms
What the law covers
- New vehicles
- Yes
- Used vehicles
- No
- Leased vehicles
- Yes
- Which vehicles
- New or previously untitled self-propelled vehicles bought or leased in Iowa and made mainly for public roads. Not covered: mopeds, motorcycles, autocycles, motor homes, and vehicles over 15,000 lbs gross vehicle weight rating. A vehicle bought or leased in another state can be covered if you live in Iowa when you make your claim. Leases must be for at least 1 year with you responsible for repairs.
- Who can claim
- The buyer or lessee (not for resale or lease to others) of a new or previously untitled vehicle, and anyone else entitled to enforce the manufacturer's warranty during the Lemon Law rights period. The statute does not limit coverage to personal use.
Used cars in Iowa
Iowa's Lemon Law covers new or previously untitled vehicles only; there is no separate used-car lemon law.
Good to know
- A bought-back lemon gets a permanent title designation in Iowa showing it was returned to the manufacturer under a lemon law.
- If a manufacturer appeals a certified program decision in bad faith and loses, the court must double (and may triple) the award; you also get $25 a day for delays beyond the compliance period.
- Iowa residents can use the law even if the vehicle was bought or leased in another state.
Questions about Iowa's lemon law
How many repair attempts make a car a lemon in Iowa?
Your car is presumed a lemon if, during the rights period: the same defect that substantially impairs it was examined or repaired at least 3 times, plus a final repair attempt by the manufacturer after your written notice, and it still exists; a defect likely to cause death or serious injury was examined or repaired at least once, plus a final attempt, and it still exists; or the car was out of service for repairs for a total of 30 or more calendar days (not counting routine maintenance). After 20 days out of service you can notify the manufacturer, which then has 10 more out-of-service days to fix it.
How long does Iowa's lemon law cover a car?
The Lemon Law rights period ends when the first of these happens: the manufacturer's written warranty ends, 2 years pass from original delivery, or you drive 24,000 miles. If you reported a defect that was not fixed before the period ended, the presumption period can be extended up to 2 years/24,000 miles.
Do I have to notify the manufacturer in Iowa?
After 3 repair attempts (or 1 for a dangerous defect), send written notice to the manufacturer by certified or registered mail or overnight service so it gets a final repair attempt. The manufacturer has 10 days after receiving it to direct you to a reasonably accessible repair shop, and 10 days after you deliver the car to fix it. After 20 cumulative days out of service, send the same kind of written notice; the manufacturer then has 10 more out-of-service days. If the manufacturer has no certified dispute program, you must have sent this notice before you can sue. The Attorney General offers a Motor Vehicle Defect Notification Form.
Do I have to go to arbitration in Iowa?
Iowa has no state-run program. If the manufacturer has a dispute program certified by the Attorney General and told you how to file with it, you must use it before you can get a refund or replacement under the law. Certified programs are free to consumers and must decide within 60 days; you have 25 days to accept a decision, and either side can appeal to district court.
What can I get under Iowa's lemon law?
Your choice of a replacement vehicle or a refund (you have an unconditional right to choose the refund). The refund is the full purchase price, including net trade-in allowance, plus collateral charges (such as items installed by the manufacturer or its agent, earned finance charges, use taxes and title charges) and incidental charges (such as towing and alternative transportation; not loss of use, lost income or injury). The manufacturer deducts a reasonable offset for use: miles driven up to the 3rd repair attempt, the 1st repair of a dangerous defect, or the 20th day out of service (whichever comes first), times the purchase price, divided by 120,000. The manufacturer must act within 40 days, and must lend you a vehicle while a replacement is on the way. Lessees get their payments back, minus the offset, with no early-termination penalty.
Is there a deadline to file a lemon law claim in Iowa?
If the manufacturer has no certified dispute program and you sent the final-repair notice, or a certified program misses its decision deadline, file in district court within 1 year after the Lemon Law rights period (or its extension) ends. If the manufacturer does not perform a certified program decision you accepted, sue within 6 months after the date it had to comply. To appeal a certified program decision, file within 50 days after receiving it or 25 days after you accept it, whichever comes first (Iowa Code § 322G.8).
Does Iowa's lemon law cover used cars?
Iowa's Lemon Law covers new or previously untitled vehicles only; 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 lawSources
- Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 322G - Defective Motor Vehicles (Lemon Law) (Iowa Legislature)
- Vehicles & Travel - Iowa Lemon Law (Iowa Attorney General)
- Motor Vehicle Defect Notification Form (Iowa Attorney General)
- Manufacturers' National Offices & Dispute Resolution Programs (Iowa Attorney General)
Last checked: Oct 22, 2026.
Law: Iowa Lemon Law (Defective Motor Vehicles), Iowa Code ch. 322G (§§ 322G.1 to 322G.15)