State lemon law
Montana Lemon Law
When a new vehicle keeps failing, Montana law can require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. These are the numbers the statute actually sets.
4
Repair attempts
24
Months covered
18,000
Miles covered
What counts as a lemon in Montana
Meeting any one of these raises a presumption that the manufacturer has had a reasonable number of attempts. The repairs have to fall inside two years from the original delivery or the first 18,000 miles, whichever is earlier.
- The same defect has been subject to repair four or more times during the warranty period and 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
New motor vehicles sold in Montana, where the defect substantially impairs the use and market value or safety of the vehicle.
What you get
A new vehicle of the same model and style and equal value, or one of comparable market value where that is not available. The manufacturer may instead take the vehicle back and refund the full purchase price plus reasonable collateral charges and incidental damages, less an allowance for use.
The deadline
The repairs have to fall inside the warranty period: two years or 18,000 miles, whichever ends first.
Where it is decided
Montana certifies manufacturers' dispute settlement procedures and regulates what they may contain (§ 61-4-511).
Worth knowing
- Replacement comes first in the Montana statute and the refund is the alternative, which is the reverse of how most states write it.
How Montana compares
20 states ask for fewer repair attempts than Montana's 4, and 29 others ask for the same 4. 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 New Motor Vehicle Warranties, Mont. Code Ann. §§ 61-4-501 to 61-4-533 and from Montana Department of Justice, Office of Consumer Protection, 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.
- Mont. Code Ann. § 61-4-504 (reasonable number of attempts)
- Mont. Code Ann. § 61-4-503 (replacement or refund)
- Vehicles and the lemon law, Montana Department of Justice
- Montana Department of Justice, Office of Consumer Protection
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 Montana Department of Justice, Office of Consumer Protection, or to a lawyer in Montana.
Compiled and maintained by guarledes . Data last checked 2026-08-20.
Independent developer and analyst