Kentucky lemon law: when your car is a lemon and how to claim
In Kentucky, a new car counts as a lemon after 4 repairs for the same problem or 30 calendar days in the shop within the first 12 months or 12,000 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 Kentucky
Keep every repair order
Get a written repair order at every visit, with the date, mileage and days in the shop. In Kentucky, a car is presumed a lemon after 4 repairs for the same problem or 30 calendar days in the shop.
Send the manufacturer a written notice
If the manufacturer or its dealers cannot fix the defect after a reasonable number of tries during the first 12 months or 12,000 miles, you must report the defect to the manufacturer in writing. Write your notice letter ↓
No extra final repair attempt
The law has no separate rule for safety defects and no final repair attempt for the manufacturer.
Ask for a refund or replacement, use arbitration, or call a lawyer
Before suing, Kentucky 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 Kentucky
Within the first 12 months or 12,000 miles, your car is presumed a lemon if the same defect has been repaired 4 or more times and still is not fixed, or if the car has been out of service for a total of at least 30 calendar days for repair of the same defect. The 30 days can be extended if parts are unavailable because of war, civil unrest, fire, flood or natural disaster. The defect must substantially impair the car's use, value or safety. The law has no separate rule for safety defects and no final repair attempt for the manufacturer.
Period: The first 12 months after delivery to you or the first 12,000 miles, whichever comes first.
Is your car a lemon in Kentucky? A quick check
Notice to the manufacturer
If the manufacturer or its dealers cannot fix the defect after a reasonable number of tries during the first 12 months or 12,000 miles, you must report the defect to the manufacturer in writing. The law does not require a specific method such as certified mail, but sending it in a way you can prove is wise.
Arbitration
Required. Before you sue for a refund or replacement, you must first use the manufacturer's dispute resolution program (one that meets Kentucky's rules in KRS 367.860–367.870 or the federal rules in 16 C.F.R. Part 703). The program must be free to you and offer an oral hearing; its decision binds the manufacturer but not you unless you sign a special written waiver.
Deadline to sue or file in Kentucky
You must file a lawsuit under the lemon law within 2 years after the original delivery of the new car to you (KRS 367.842(8)).
What you can get
At your choice, the manufacturer must replace the car with a comparable one or take it back and refund the full purchase price. The refund includes what you paid for the car, finance charges, all sales tax, license and registration fees, similar government charges, and all collateral charges, minus a reasonable allowance for your use of the car. The use allowance cannot count time the car was out of service because of the defect; the law gives no formula. Refunds are paid to you and any lienholder as their interests appear.
Attorney fees: A court may award reasonable attorney fees to a consumer who wins (KRS 367.842(9)).
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.
Who to contact
- Office
- Kentucky Office of the Attorney General, Office of Consumer Protection
- Phone
- 502-696-5300
What the law covers
- New vehicles
- Yes
- Used vehicles
- No
- Leased vehicles
- Yes
- Which vehicles
- New self-propelled vehicles meant mainly for public roads that must be registered in Kentucky, including new conversion vans. Not covered: motor homes, motorcycles, mopeds, farm tractors and farm machines, vehicles with more than two axles, and vehicles substantially altered after the first sale from a dealer to an individual.
- Who can claim
- A Kentucky resident who buys, contracts to buy, or leases a new motor vehicle in Kentucky. For a lease, the lessor, the lessee, or both count as the buyer. The law does not say whether later owners are covered.
Used cars in Kentucky
Kentucky has no used-car lemon law, and there is no legal right to cancel a car purchase. Dealers must post the federal FTC Buyers Guide showing whether the car is sold "as is" or with a warranty; "as is" means no warranties at all.
Good to know
- Any contract clause that waives or limits your lemon law rights is void (KRS 367.842(7)).
- Dealers cannot be held liable under the lemon law; your claim is against the manufacturer (KRS 367.842(5)).
- The Attorney General can enforce the lemon law against manufacturers as a Consumer Protection Act violation (KRS 367.845).
Questions about Kentucky's lemon law
How many repair attempts make a car a lemon in Kentucky?
Within the first 12 months or 12,000 miles, your car is presumed a lemon if the same defect has been repaired 4 or more times and still is not fixed, or if the car has been out of service for a total of at least 30 calendar days for repair of the same defect. The 30 days can be extended if parts are unavailable because of war, civil unrest, fire, flood or natural disaster. The defect must substantially impair the car's use, value or safety. The law has no separate rule for safety defects and no final repair attempt for the manufacturer.
How long does Kentucky's lemon law cover a car?
The first 12 months after delivery to you or the first 12,000 miles, whichever comes first.
Do I have to notify the manufacturer in Kentucky?
If the manufacturer or its dealers cannot fix the defect after a reasonable number of tries during the first 12 months or 12,000 miles, you must report the defect to the manufacturer in writing. The law does not require a specific method such as certified mail, but sending it in a way you can prove is wise.
Do I have to go to arbitration in Kentucky?
Before you sue for a refund or replacement, you must first use the manufacturer's dispute resolution program (one that meets Kentucky's rules in KRS 367.860–367.870 or the federal rules in 16 C.F.R. Part 703). The program must be free to you and offer an oral hearing; its decision binds the manufacturer but not you unless you sign a special written waiver.
What can I get under Kentucky's lemon law?
At your choice, the manufacturer must replace the car with a comparable one or take it back and refund the full purchase price. The refund includes what you paid for the car, finance charges, all sales tax, license and registration fees, similar government charges, and all collateral charges, minus a reasonable allowance for your use of the car. The use allowance cannot count time the car was out of service because of the defect; the law gives no formula. Refunds are paid to you and any lienholder as their interests appear.
Is there a deadline to file a lemon law claim in Kentucky?
You must file a lawsuit under the lemon law within 2 years after the original delivery of the new car to you (KRS 367.842(8)).
Does Kentucky's lemon law cover used cars?
Kentucky has no used-car lemon law, and there is no legal right to cancel a car purchase. Dealers must post the federal FTC Buyers Guide showing whether the car is sold "as is" or with a warranty; "as is" means no warranties at all.
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
- KRS 367.842 – Options of buyer if manufacturer unable to repair nonconformity
- KRS 367.841 – Definitions
- KRS 367.865 – Informal dispute resolution system
- KRS 367.846 – Application (leases after July 15, 1998)
- Kentucky Attorney General – Buying a Used Car
- Kentucky Attorney General – Consumer Complaints
Last checked: Oct 22, 2026.
Law: Kentucky Motor Vehicle Lemon Law (new motor vehicle warranty law), Ky. Rev. Stat. §§ 367.840–367.846; informal dispute resolution: §§ 367.860–367.870