Rhode Island lemon law: when your car is a lemon and how to claim
In Rhode Island, 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 15,000 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 Rhode Island
Keep every repair order
Get a written repair order at every visit, with the date, mileage and days in the shop. In Rhode Island, 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
The statute does not require a specific written notice; you must report the defect to the manufacturer, its agent, dealer or lessor during the term of protection. Write your notice letter ↓
Let the manufacturer make its final repair attempt
Because the manufacturer gets a final 7-day chance once it knows the limit has been met, a written notice to the manufacturer helps start that clock.
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 Rhode Island
Your car is presumed a lemon if, within the term of protection, the same defect was repaired 4 or more times and still exists or came back, or the car was out of service for repairs a total of 30 or more calendar days. The manufacturer then gets one more chance to fix it, lasting no more than 7 calendar days, starting when it knew or should have known the limit was reached.
Period: 1 year or 15,000 miles from original delivery, whichever comes first (the 'term of protection'). A replacement vehicle gets a new 1-year/15,000-mile term.
Is your car a lemon in Rhode Island? A quick check
Notice to the manufacturer
The statute does not require a specific written notice; you must report the defect to the manufacturer, its agent, dealer or lessor during the term of protection. Because the manufacturer gets a final 7-day chance once it knows the limit has been met, a written notice to the manufacturer helps start that clock.
Arbitration
Maybe — check your warranty booklet for an arbitration program (e.g. BBB AUTO LINE). If the manufacturer has an approved dispute program and told you about it in writing at delivery, you must first use either that program or the state's Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board. The state board charges a $20 filing fee, must decide within 90 days, and you have 5 days to accept or reject; if you accept, the manufacturer must comply within 30 days or appeal to Superior Court with a bond.
Rhode Island Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board (Department of Attorney General)
Deadline to sue or file in Rhode Island
You must sue within 3 years of original delivery, or within 2 years of the date the car reached 15,000 miles, whichever is earlier (§ 31-5.2-12). The deadline is paused while you are in a dispute program and for 30 days after its final decision (§ 31-5.2-7).
What you can get
At your choice, a refund or a comparable new replacement vehicle. A refund covers the full contract or lease price including trade-in credits, plus sales tax, registration fee, finance charges and dealer-added non-removable options; towing and rental costs are also covered if not provided free. If a replacement is not delivered within 30 days, you get the refund. The use deduction is the contract price times miles driven before your first report (plus miles driven later while the car was not in for repair), divided by 100,000. For a replacement, the manufacturer pays the registration transfer fees and sales tax.
Attorney fees: The court must award reasonable attorney fees to a consumer who wins (§ 31-5.2-11).
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
- Rhode Island Department of Attorney General, Consumer Protection Unit (Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board)
What the law covers
- New vehicles
- Yes
- Used vehicles
- No
- Leased vehicles
- Yes
- Which vehicles
- Cars, trucks, motorcycles and vans with a registered gross vehicle weight under 10,000 lb, sold, leased or replaced by a dealer or manufacturer. Motorized campers are excluded. Municipal fire apparatus is also covered.
- Who can claim
- The buyer (not for resale), anyone the vehicle is transferred to while any express or implied warranty lasts, anyone entitled to enforce the warranty, and lessees with a lease of 1 year or more that makes them responsible for repairs (or a lease-purchase).
Used cars in Rhode Island
Rhode Island has a separate used-car warranty law (R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 31-5.4): dealers must give a written warranty of at least 60 days/3,000 miles on cars with 36,000 miles or less, and 30 days/1,000 miles on cars with 36,001-100,000 miles, covering major parts like the engine, transmission, brakes and steering. If the dealer cannot fix a covered defect that substantially impairs the car's value, it must take the car back and refund the price.
Good to know
- Rhode Island's lemon law also covers defects under implied warranties, not just the written warranty (§ 31-5.2-2).
- If a manufacturer loses its court appeal of a state arbitration award, you can also get $25 a day for each day without a car, and the award is doubled if the appeal was frivolous (§ 31-5.2-7.1(g)).
- Rhode Island has a used-car warranty law that requires dealers to warrant most used cars with under 100,000 miles (ch. 31-5.4).
Questions about Rhode Island's lemon law
How many repair attempts make a car a lemon in Rhode Island?
Your car is presumed a lemon if, within the term of protection, the same defect was repaired 4 or more times and still exists or came back, or the car was out of service for repairs a total of 30 or more calendar days. The manufacturer then gets one more chance to fix it, lasting no more than 7 calendar days, starting when it knew or should have known the limit was reached.
How long does Rhode Island's lemon law cover a car?
1 year or 15,000 miles from original delivery, whichever comes first (the 'term of protection'). A replacement vehicle gets a new 1-year/15,000-mile term.
Do I have to notify the manufacturer in Rhode Island?
The statute does not require a specific written notice; you must report the defect to the manufacturer, its agent, dealer or lessor during the term of protection. Because the manufacturer gets a final 7-day chance once it knows the limit has been met, a written notice to the manufacturer helps start that clock.
Do I have to go to arbitration in Rhode Island?
If the manufacturer has an approved dispute program and told you about it in writing at delivery, you must first use either that program or the state's Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board. The state board charges a $20 filing fee, must decide within 90 days, and you have 5 days to accept or reject; if you accept, the manufacturer must comply within 30 days or appeal to Superior Court with a bond.
What can I get under Rhode Island's lemon law?
At your choice, a refund or a comparable new replacement vehicle. A refund covers the full contract or lease price including trade-in credits, plus sales tax, registration fee, finance charges and dealer-added non-removable options; towing and rental costs are also covered if not provided free. If a replacement is not delivered within 30 days, you get the refund. The use deduction is the contract price times miles driven before your first report (plus miles driven later while the car was not in for repair), divided by 100,000. For a replacement, the manufacturer pays the registration transfer fees and sales tax.
Is there a deadline to file a lemon law claim in Rhode Island?
You must sue within 3 years of original delivery, or within 2 years of the date the car reached 15,000 miles, whichever is earlier (§ 31-5.2-12). The deadline is paused while you are in a dispute program and for 30 days after its final decision (§ 31-5.2-7).
Does Rhode Island's lemon law cover used cars?
Rhode Island has a separate used-car warranty law (R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 31-5.4): dealers must give a written warranty of at least 60 days/3,000 miles on cars with 36,000 miles or less, and 30 days/1,000 miles on cars with 36,001-100,000 miles, covering major parts like the engine, transmission, brakes and steering. If the dealer cannot fix a covered defect that substantially impairs the car's value, it must take the car back and refund the price.
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
- R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 31-5.2 (index and sections 31-5.2-1 to -14)
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-5.2-7.1 (Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board procedure)
- 470-RICR-00-00-1, Regulations Governing the Rhode Island Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board
- R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 31-5.4 (used motor vehicle warranties)
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-5.4-2 (used car written warranty terms)
Last checked: Oct 22, 2026.
Law: Rhode Island Lemon Law (Consumer Enforcement of Motor Vehicle Warranties), R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 31-5.2-1 to 31-5.2-14