Louisiana lemon law: when your car is a lemon and how to claim
In Louisiana, a new car counts as a lemon after 4 repairs for the same problem or 45 calendar days in the shop within the first 12 months. 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 Louisiana
Keep every repair order
Get a written repair order at every visit, with the date, mileage and days in the shop. In Louisiana, a car is presumed a lemon after 4 repairs for the same problem or 45 calendar days in the shop.
Send the manufacturer a written notice
You must report the defect to the manufacturer or one of its authorized dealers and make the vehicle available for repair before the warranty expires or within 1 year of original delivery, whichever is earlier (R.S. 51:1942). Write your notice letter ↓
Let the manufacturer make its final repair attempt
The statute does not require a specific written-notice method, but it refers to a manufacturer's right to a final repair attempt, so writing directly to the manufacturer is wise.
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 Louisiana
During the warranty term or the first year after delivery (whichever ends first), your vehicle is presumed a lemon if the same defect has been repaired 4 or more times, or if the vehicle has been out of service for repairs for a total of 45 or more calendar days. Time when repairs are impossible because of war, invasion, strike, fire, flood or natural disaster does not count. If the manufacturer fails to respond to you or to do the repairs within these time limits, it loses its right to a final attempt to fix the defect.
Period: The manufacturer's warranty term or 1 year from original delivery to you, whichever ends first. There is no mileage limit in the statute.
Is your car a lemon in Louisiana? A quick check
Notice to the manufacturer
You must report the defect to the manufacturer or one of its authorized dealers and make the vehicle available for repair before the warranty expires or within 1 year of original delivery, whichever is earlier (R.S. 51:1942). The statute does not require a specific written-notice method, but it refers to a manufacturer's right to a final repair attempt, so writing directly to the manufacturer is wise.
Arbitration
Maybe — check your warranty booklet for an arbitration program (e.g. BBB AUTO LINE). If the manufacturer has an informal dispute program that substantially complies with federal rules (16 C.F.R. Part 703), you must use it first before you can claim a refund or replacement. Louisiana has no state-run lemon law arbitration program. After a program decision awarding a refund or replacement, the manufacturer must deliver it within 30 days.
Deadline to sue or file in Louisiana
You must sue within 3 years from the date you bought the vehicle, or within 1 year after the warranty ends, whichever is longer (R.S. 51:1944(E)).
What you can get
The manufacturer must replace the vehicle with a comparable new one, or (at its option) take it back and refund the full purchase price, any amounts you paid at the point of sale, and collateral costs (sales tax, license and registration fees, similar government charges), minus a reasonable allowance for use. The use allowance covers only your use before you first reported the defect and later periods when the vehicle was not in for repair. For a lease, the manufacturer may take the vehicle back (if the lessor agrees), reimburse your reasonable lease expenses and settle early-termination charges; you pay a reasonable allowance for use. The manufacturer must deliver the refund or replacement within 30 days after you offer to transfer title.
Attorney fees: If you win a judgment in whole or in part, you are entitled to reasonable attorney fees actually incurred (R.S. 51:1947).
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
- Louisiana Attorney General, Consumer Protection Section
- Phone
- 800-351-4889
What the law covers
- New vehicles
- Yes
- Used vehicles
- No
- Leased vehicles
- Yes
- Which vehicles
- New passenger cars and passenger/commercial vehicles normally used for personal, family or household purposes, plus personal watercraft and all-terrain vehicles used only for personal purposes. Not covered: vehicles of 10,000 lbs gross vehicle weight or more, and vehicles used only for commercial purposes.
- Who can claim
- The buyer of a new vehicle (not for resale), anyone the vehicle is transferred to while the manufacturer's warranty is still running, a lessee, and anyone else entitled to enforce the warranty.
Used cars in Louisiana
Louisiana has no separate used-car lemon law. Louisiana's redhibition law (Civil Code arts. 2520–2548) protects buyers against hidden defects in vehicles, and a vehicle bought back as a lemon must carry a written disclosure and a title notice when resold.
Good to know
- When a dealer's repair takes more than 10 work days, or the car is in for the same defect a third time, the manufacturer must pay you up to $20 a day for a rental car, during the warranty or 2 years, whichever is shorter (R.S. 51:1948).
- A lemon buyback that is resold must come with a written notice that it was returned for a warranty defect, and the notice must be printed on the title (R.S. 51:1945.1).
- The law also covers personal watercraft and all-terrain vehicles used only for personal purposes (R.S. 51:1941).
Questions about Louisiana's lemon law
How many repair attempts make a car a lemon in Louisiana?
During the warranty term or the first year after delivery (whichever ends first), your vehicle is presumed a lemon if the same defect has been repaired 4 or more times, or if the vehicle has been out of service for repairs for a total of 45 or more calendar days. Time when repairs are impossible because of war, invasion, strike, fire, flood or natural disaster does not count. If the manufacturer fails to respond to you or to do the repairs within these time limits, it loses its right to a final attempt to fix the defect.
How long does Louisiana's lemon law cover a car?
The manufacturer's warranty term or 1 year from original delivery to you, whichever ends first. There is no mileage limit in the statute.
Do I have to notify the manufacturer in Louisiana?
You must report the defect to the manufacturer or one of its authorized dealers and make the vehicle available for repair before the warranty expires or within 1 year of original delivery, whichever is earlier (R.S. 51:1942). The statute does not require a specific written-notice method, but it refers to a manufacturer's right to a final repair attempt, so writing directly to the manufacturer is wise.
Do I have to go to arbitration in Louisiana?
If the manufacturer has an informal dispute program that substantially complies with federal rules (16 C.F.R. Part 703), you must use it first before you can claim a refund or replacement. Louisiana has no state-run lemon law arbitration program. After a program decision awarding a refund or replacement, the manufacturer must deliver it within 30 days.
What can I get under Louisiana's lemon law?
The manufacturer must replace the vehicle with a comparable new one, or (at its option) take it back and refund the full purchase price, any amounts you paid at the point of sale, and collateral costs (sales tax, license and registration fees, similar government charges), minus a reasonable allowance for use. The use allowance covers only your use before you first reported the defect and later periods when the vehicle was not in for repair. For a lease, the manufacturer may take the vehicle back (if the lessor agrees), reimburse your reasonable lease expenses and settle early-termination charges; you pay a reasonable allowance for use. The manufacturer must deliver the refund or replacement within 30 days after you offer to transfer title.
Is there a deadline to file a lemon law claim in Louisiana?
You must sue within 3 years from the date you bought the vehicle, or within 1 year after the warranty ends, whichever is longer (R.S. 51:1944(E)).
Does Louisiana's lemon law cover used cars?
Louisiana has no separate used-car lemon law. Louisiana's redhibition law (Civil Code arts. 2520–2548) protects buyers against hidden defects in vehicles, and a vehicle bought back as a lemon must carry a written disclosure and a title notice when resold.
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
- La. R.S. 51:1944 – Motor vehicle replacement or refund
- La. R.S. 51:1941 – Definitions
- La. R.S. 51:1943 – Presumption; time limit to conform
- La. R.S. 51:1947 – Attorney fees
- La. R.S. 51:1948 – Rental vehicle reimbursement
- Louisiana Motor Vehicle Commission – Louisiana Consumer Protection Laws
- Louisiana Attorney General – Consumer Protection
Last checked: Oct 22, 2026.
Law: Louisiana Lemon Law (Motor Vehicle Warranties), La. Rev. Stat. §§ 51:1941–51:1948