New Jersey lemon law: when your car is a lemon and how to claim
In New Jersey, a new car counts as a lemon after 3 repairs for the same problem, 1 for a serious safety defect or 20 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 New Jersey
Keep every repair order
Get a written repair order at every visit, with the date, mileage and days in the shop. In New Jersey, a car is presumed a lemon after 3 repairs for the same problem, 1 for a serious safety defect or 20 calendar days in the shop.
Send the manufacturer a written notice
Send the manufacturer (not the dealer) a letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, saying you may have a lemon law claim. Write your notice letter ↓
Let the manufacturer make its final repair attempt
The manufacturer then has 10 calendar days from receiving it to fix the car.
Ask for a refund or replacement, use arbitration, or call a lawyer
Arbitration is optional in New Jersey. 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 New Jersey
Within 24,000 miles or 2 years, your vehicle is presumed a lemon if the same defect has been repaired 3 or more times and is still there; or a defect likely to cause death or serious injury has been examined or repaired at least once and is still there; or the vehicle has been out of service for repairs for a total of 20 or more calendar days (45 days for a motor home). The defect must substantially impair use, value or safety. Before the presumption applies, you must send the manufacturer a certified letter and give it one final chance to fix the defect within 10 calendar days of receiving the letter.
Period: The first 24,000 miles or 2 years from original delivery, whichever comes first (farm tractors: 2 years)
Is your car a lemon in New Jersey? A quick check
Notice to the manufacturer
Send the manufacturer (not the dealer) a letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, saying you may have a lemon law claim. You can send it after 2 failed repairs of the same defect, after 20 days out of service (45 for a motor home), or after 1 failed repair of a serious safety defect. The manufacturer then has 10 calendar days from receiving it to fix the car. The Division of Consumer Affairs says the letter must reach the manufacturer before 24,000 miles and 2 years, and must go to the regional address the Lemon Law Unit gives you. This notice is required before you can apply to the state program.
Arbitration
Optional. You do not have to use the manufacturer's program or the state program before suing in Superior Court. If you choose the state program, you apply to the Lemon Law Unit and pay a $50 filing fee (refunded if you win); an administrative law judge holds a hearing, usually within 20 days, and the Director issues a final decision that binds both sides, subject to appeal to the Appellate Division.
What you can get
You get a full refund; you may turn down a replacement offer. The refund covers the purchase price (including any trade-in credit), options added by the manufacturer or dealer within 30 days of delivery, sales tax, license and registration fees, finance charges, towing, and rental of a similar car while yours was out of service. The manufacturer deducts a use allowance: miles at your first repair visit for the defect x purchase price / 100,000. Lessees get back what they paid under the lease, and the lease ends with no early-termination penalty.
Attorney fees: A winning consumer must be awarded reasonable attorney's fees, expert witness fees and costs, in court or in the Division's program (§ 56:12-42).
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.
New Jersey law says to send this notice by certified mail, return receipt requested. Keep the receipt.
Who to contact
- Office
- New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Lemon Law Unit
- Phone
- 973-504-6226
Official page · Official lemon law guide
Forms
What the law covers
- New vehicles
- Yes
- Used vehicles
- Yes
- Leased vehicles
- Yes
- Which vehicles
- Passenger cars, motorcycles, farm tractors and authorized emergency vehicles bought or leased in New Jersey or registered with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. The living quarters of motor homes are not covered (the rest of a motor home is).
- Who can claim
- The buyer or lessee (not for resale or sublease), anyone the vehicle is transferred to while the warranty is in effect, and anyone else the warranty lets enforce it. Leases must run more than 60 days.
Used cars in New Jersey
New Jersey's Used Car Lemon Law (N.J.S.A. 56:8-67 to 56:8-80) requires dealers to give a written warranty on most used cars: 90 days/3,000 miles (up to 24,000 miles on the odometer), 60 days/2,000 miles (24,001-59,999 miles), or 30 days/1,000 miles (60,000+ miles, which you can waive by negotiating the price). It does not apply to cars sold for under $3,000, cars 7 or more model years old, cars with over 100,000 miles, or disclosed insurance total losses; if the dealer cannot fix a covered defect after 3 tries or 20 days, it must buy the car back.
Good to know
- The law also covers farm tractors and authorized emergency vehicles such as fire trucks and ambulances (§ 56:12-30).
- A manufacturer that unreasonably fails to comply with a state decision owes $5,000 for each day of delay, and a frivolous manufacturer appeal can lead to treble damages (§ 56:12-37).
- A returned lemon cannot be resold or re-leased in New Jersey unless the buyer gets a written notice that it was returned for a defect and signs a receipt (§ 56:12-35).
Questions about New Jersey's lemon law
How many repair attempts make a car a lemon in New Jersey?
Within 24,000 miles or 2 years, your vehicle is presumed a lemon if the same defect has been repaired 3 or more times and is still there; or a defect likely to cause death or serious injury has been examined or repaired at least once and is still there; or the vehicle has been out of service for repairs for a total of 20 or more calendar days (45 days for a motor home). The defect must substantially impair use, value or safety. Before the presumption applies, you must send the manufacturer a certified letter and give it one final chance to fix the defect within 10 calendar days of receiving the letter.
How long does New Jersey's lemon law cover a car?
The first 24,000 miles or 2 years from original delivery, whichever comes first (farm tractors: 2 years)
Do I have to notify the manufacturer in New Jersey?
Send the manufacturer (not the dealer) a letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, saying you may have a lemon law claim. You can send it after 2 failed repairs of the same defect, after 20 days out of service (45 for a motor home), or after 1 failed repair of a serious safety defect. The manufacturer then has 10 calendar days from receiving it to fix the car. The Division of Consumer Affairs says the letter must reach the manufacturer before 24,000 miles and 2 years, and must go to the regional address the Lemon Law Unit gives you. This notice is required before you can apply to the state program.
Do I have to go to arbitration in New Jersey?
You do not have to use the manufacturer's program or the state program before suing in Superior Court. If you choose the state program, you apply to the Lemon Law Unit and pay a $50 filing fee (refunded if you win); an administrative law judge holds a hearing, usually within 20 days, and the Director issues a final decision that binds both sides, subject to appeal to the Appellate Division.
What can I get under New Jersey's lemon law?
You get a full refund; you may turn down a replacement offer. The refund covers the purchase price (including any trade-in credit), options added by the manufacturer or dealer within 30 days of delivery, sales tax, license and registration fees, finance charges, towing, and rental of a similar car while yours was out of service. The manufacturer deducts a use allowance: miles at your first repair visit for the defect x purchase price / 100,000. Lessees get back what they paid under the lease, and the lease ends with no early-termination penalty.
Does New Jersey's lemon law cover used cars?
New Jersey's Used Car Lemon Law (N.J.S.A. 56:8-67 to 56:8-80) requires dealers to give a written warranty on most used cars: 90 days/3,000 miles (up to 24,000 miles on the odometer), 60 days/2,000 miles (24,001-59,999 miles), or 30 days/1,000 miles (60,000+ miles, which you can waive by negotiating the price). It does not apply to cars sold for under $3,000, cars 7 or more model years old, cars with over 100,000 miles, or disclosed insurance total losses; if the dealer cannot fix a covered defect after 3 tries or 20 days, it must buy the car back.
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
- N.J.S.A. 56:12-30 Definitions
- N.J.S.A. 56:12-32 Refunds
- N.J.S.A. 56:12-33 Presumption; written notification
- N.J.S.A. 56:12-37 Dispute resolution
- N.J.S.A. 56:12-42 Attorney, expert fees; cost
- NJ Division of Consumer Affairs - New Car Lemon Law consumer brief (rev. 01/04/24)
- NJ Lemon Law Unit - Application for New Car Lemon Law Dispute Resolution
- N.J.S.A. 56:8-69 Used car written warranty; minimum durations
Last checked: Oct 22, 2026.
Law: New Jersey Lemon Law (New Car Lemon Law), N.J. Stat. Ann. §§ 56:12-29 to 56:12-49