State lemon law
Louisiana Lemon Law
When a new vehicle keeps failing, Louisiana law can require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. These are the numbers the statute actually sets.
4
Repair attempts
45
Days out of service
12
Months covered
What counts as a lemon in Louisiana
Meeting any one of these raises a presumption that the manufacturer has had a reasonable number of attempts. The repairs have to fall inside the express warranty term or one year from the original delivery, whichever ends earlier.
- The same defect has been through four or more repair attempts and has not been repaired.
- The vehicle has been out of service for repair for a cumulative total of 45 or more calendar days during the warranty period.
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
New motor vehicles sold in Louisiana under an express warranty.
What you have to send the manufacturer
The consumer has to report the defect to the manufacturer or an authorized dealer, and make the vehicle available for repair, before the warranty or the first year runs out.
Keep every repair order. The dates a vehicle went in and came out are what the whole test is counted from, and they are the one part of the record the owner controls.
What you get
A comparable new vehicle, or, at the manufacturer's option, the return of the vehicle for a refund of the full purchase price plus amounts paid at the point of sale and collateral costs, less a reasonable allowance for use.
The deadline
The defect has to be reported and the vehicle made available for repair before the warranty expires or one year passes, whichever comes first.
Worth knowing
- Louisiana asks for 45 days out of service, the longest on this list, where most states set 30.
- The choice between a replacement and a refund is the manufacturer's here, not the consumer's. In most states it is the other way round.
How Louisiana compares
20 states ask for fewer repair attempts than Louisiana's 4, and 29 others ask for the same 4. 46 states count fewer days out of service. Louisiana sets no mileage limit at all, which is unusual: most states end the window at a mileage as well as a date.
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 La. Rev. Stat. §§ 51:1941 to 51:1948 and from Louisiana Department of Justice, Consumer Protection Section, 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.
- La. Rev. Stat. § 51:1944 (replacement or refund)
- La. Rev. Stat. § 51:1941 (definitions)
- Louisiana Department of Justice, Consumer Protection Section
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 Louisiana Department of Justice, Consumer Protection Section, or to a lawyer in Louisiana.
Compiled and maintained by guarledes . Data last checked 2026-08-20.
Independent developer and analyst