State lemon law
Indiana Lemon Law
When a new vehicle keeps failing, Indiana law can require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. These are the numbers the statute actually sets.
4
Repair attempts
30
Days out of service
18
Months covered
18,000
Miles covered
What counts as a lemon in Indiana
Meeting any one of these raises a presumption that the manufacturer has had a reasonable number of attempts. The repairs have to fall inside 18 months from delivery or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first, which indiana calls the term of protection.
- The vehicle has been through at least four repair attempts for the same defect and it still exists.
- The vehicle has been out of service for repairs for at least 30 business days and the defect still exists.
Failing all of these does not end a claim. The presumption is a shortcut through the evidence, not the whole of the law, and a vehicle that misses it can still be a lemon on ordinary warranty grounds. It does mean the owner has to prove what the presumption would have assumed.
Which vehicles the law reaches
Cars and light trucks bought or leased from an Indiana dealer, inside the term of protection.
What you get
Replacement or a refund, where the defect substantially impairs the use, market value or safety of the vehicle.
The deadline
The term of protection is the window that matters: 18 months or 18,000 miles from delivery, whichever comes first.
Worth knowing
- Indiana counts business days, so 30 days out of service is about six working weeks.
How Indiana compares
20 states ask for fewer repair attempts than Indiana's 4, and 29 others ask for the same 4. 7 states count fewer days out of service. 8 states stop counting at fewer than 18,000 miles.
Before you file: what is already on record
A lemon law claim is about your car. What other owners have reported about the same year, make and model is separate, and it is public: it can tell you whether the failure is a known pattern, whether NHTSA is investigating it, and whether a recall already covers the repair you have been paying for.
Under investigation 2010 Ford Fusion 2012 Ford Focus 2011 Hyundai Sonata 2013 Ford F-150 2010 Toyota Prius 2011 Ford Fusion
Where this comes from
Read from Motor Vehicle Protection Act, Ind. Code § 24-5-13 and from Indiana Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division, checked on 2026-08-20. Nothing on this page is copied from another summary, and there are a great many of them that disagree with the statutes they describe.
- Indiana's Lemon Law, Attorney General Consumer Protection Division
- Indiana Lemon Law requirements, IN.gov
- Indiana Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division
This is not legal advice. It is a reading of a public statute, written by somebody who is not a lawyer and does not know your car, your paperwork or your state's case law. A lemon law claim turns on facts this page cannot see. Take the statute and your repair orders to Indiana Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division, or to a lawyer in Indiana.
Compiled and maintained by guarledes . Data last checked 2026-08-20.
Independent developer and analyst