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Virginia lemon law: when your car is a lemon and how to claim

In Virginia, 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 18 months. First, send the manufacturer a written notice: the free letter below does it.

Checked against official sources: Oct 22, 2026

18 monthslemon law period
3 triesrepairs for the same problem
30 calendar daysout of service
Optionalarbitration or state process before suing
See the ruledeadline to sue or file
Get your letter ↓

Your next 4 steps in Virginia

  1. Keep every repair order

    Get a written repair order at every visit, with the date, mileage and days in the shop. In Virginia, 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.

  2. Send the manufacturer a written notice

    You must notify the manufacturer in writing of the defect before you can claim a refund or replacement, unless it already counts as notified (for example, it answered you in writing or a factory representative inspected the car). Write your notice letter ↓

  3. Let the manufacturer make its final repair attempt

    If the manufacturer asks for one more repair after your notice, take the car in and get a repair order.

  4. Ask for a refund or replacement, use arbitration, or call a lawyer

    Arbitration is optional in Virginia. 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 Virginia

Within the 18-month period, your vehicle is presumed a lemon if the same defect has been repaired 3 or more times and still exists, a serious safety defect has been repaired 1 or more times and still exists, or the vehicle has been out of service for repairs a total of 30 calendar days. The defect must significantly impair use, market value or safety (it does not have to affect driveability). If the manufacturer itself was never notified, it gets one more chance of up to 15 days to fix the problem.

Period: The "lemon law rights period": 18 months from the date the new vehicle was first delivered to you. It is extended if the manufacturer was notified but the defect still was not fixed by the end of the 18 months.

Is your car a lemon in Virginia? A quick check

Virginia: The "lemon law rights period": 18 months from the date the new vehicle was first delivered to you. It is extended if the manufacturer was notified but the defect still was not fixed by the end of the 18 months.

Fill in what you knowThe result updates as you type.

A rough guide to Virginia’s presumption, not legal advice. Even if your car falls short, you may still have a claim under your warranty or federal law.

Notice to the manufacturer

You must notify the manufacturer in writing of the defect before you can claim a refund or replacement, unless it already counts as notified (for example, it answered you in writing or a factory representative inspected the car). The manufacturer must list the address for this notice in the warranty or owner's manual. If you mail it to the dealer, the dealer must forward it.

Write your notice letter below.

Arbitration

Optional. Using a manufacturer's informal dispute program is your choice. If you use it and win a refund or replacement, the manufacturer has 40 days to comply. The Attorney General's office takes lemon-law complaints against manufacturers that do not take part in BBB Auto Line.

Deadline to sue or file in Virginia

Sue within the 18-month lemon law rights period. If you used the manufacturer's dispute program within that period, you have the longer of 12 months from the program's final action or the original period (Va. Code § 59.1-207.16).

What you can get

A comparable replacement vehicle acceptable to you, or a refund of the full contract price, including collateral charges (sales tax, license, registration and title fees, finance charges and interest, transportation, dealer prep, service contracts and installed options) and incidental damages. You may also recover mileage, expenses and reasonable loss of use caused by the repair attempts. A use allowance is subtracted, counted only up to your first notice of the defect, and it may not exceed half the IRS business mileage rate per mile (plus any damage beyond normal wear). You have an unconditional right to choose a refund over a replacement and to keep driving the car until you get it. A lease is ended without penalty.

Attorney fees: A consumer who wins a lawsuit under the act recovers reasonable attorney fees, expert witness fees and court costs (a manufacturer can recover them if your suit is frivolous).

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.

On your registration, insurance card or the driver’s side of the dashboard. A VIN never uses I, O or Q.

Find it in your warranty booklet or owner's manual (look for 'Customer Assistance').

Other formats

Who to contact

Office
Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection Section
Phone
800-552-9963

Official page · Official lemon law guide

What the law covers

New vehicles
Yes
Used vehicles
Yes
Leased vehicles
Yes
Which vehicles
Passenger cars, pickup and panel trucks, motorcycles, autocycles, mopeds, the self-propelled chassis of motor homes, and demonstrators or leased vehicles sold with a warranty. The vehicle must be used in substantial part for personal, family or household purposes.
Who can claim
The buyer (not for resale) or lessee, anyone the vehicle is transferred to for personal, family or household use while a warranty applies, and anyone else entitled to enforce the warranty.

Used cars in Virginia

The act covers later owners who get the vehicle while a warranty applies, and the Attorney General notes it may apply to used vehicles under certain conditions (Subaru of America, Inc. v. Peters, 1998).

Used car rules in every state

Good to know

  • If a manufacturer ignores a dispute-program decision in your favor, a court may triple the award (Va. Code § 59.1-207.15(C)).
  • A returned lemon resold in Virginia must come with a written disclosure of the defect, passed on to the next buyer (Va. Code § 59.1-207.16:1).
  • The law is enforced by private lawsuits, not by a state agency, according to the Attorney General.

Questions about Virginia's lemon law

How many repair attempts make a car a lemon in Virginia?

Within the 18-month period, your vehicle is presumed a lemon if the same defect has been repaired 3 or more times and still exists, a serious safety defect has been repaired 1 or more times and still exists, or the vehicle has been out of service for repairs a total of 30 calendar days. The defect must significantly impair use, market value or safety (it does not have to affect driveability). If the manufacturer itself was never notified, it gets one more chance of up to 15 days to fix the problem.

How long does Virginia's lemon law cover a car?

The "lemon law rights period": 18 months from the date the new vehicle was first delivered to you. It is extended if the manufacturer was notified but the defect still was not fixed by the end of the 18 months.

Do I have to notify the manufacturer in Virginia?

You must notify the manufacturer in writing of the defect before you can claim a refund or replacement, unless it already counts as notified (for example, it answered you in writing or a factory representative inspected the car). The manufacturer must list the address for this notice in the warranty or owner's manual. If you mail it to the dealer, the dealer must forward it.

Do I have to go to arbitration in Virginia?

Using a manufacturer's informal dispute program is your choice. If you use it and win a refund or replacement, the manufacturer has 40 days to comply. The Attorney General's office takes lemon-law complaints against manufacturers that do not take part in BBB Auto Line.

What can I get under Virginia's lemon law?

A comparable replacement vehicle acceptable to you, or a refund of the full contract price, including collateral charges (sales tax, license, registration and title fees, finance charges and interest, transportation, dealer prep, service contracts and installed options) and incidental damages. You may also recover mileage, expenses and reasonable loss of use caused by the repair attempts. A use allowance is subtracted, counted only up to your first notice of the defect, and it may not exceed half the IRS business mileage rate per mile (plus any damage beyond normal wear). You have an unconditional right to choose a refund over a replacement and to keep driving the car until you get it. A lease is ended without penalty.

Is there a deadline to file a lemon law claim in Virginia?

Sue within the 18-month lemon law rights period. If you used the manufacturer's dispute program within that period, you have the longer of 12 months from the program's final action or the original period (Va. Code § 59.1-207.16).

Does Virginia's lemon law cover used cars?

The act covers later owners who get the vehicle while a warranty applies, and the Attorney General notes it may apply to used vehicles under certain conditions (Subaru of America, Inc. v. Peters, 1998).

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 law

Sources

Last checked: Oct 22, 2026.

Law: Virginia Motor Vehicle Warranty Enforcement Act, Va. Code §§ 59.1-207.9 to 59.1-207.16:1

Other states