State lemon law
New York Lemon Law
When a new vehicle keeps failing, New York 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
24
Months covered
18,000
Miles covered
What counts as a lemon in New York
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 first 18,000 miles of operation or two years from delivery, whichever is earlier.
- The same defect has been subject to repair four or more times and still exists.
- The vehicle has been out of service for repair for a cumulative total of 30 or more calendar days.
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 or used vehicles bought or leased in New York and covered by a manufacturer's new car warranty, used primarily for personal purposes.
What you have to send the manufacturer
The defect must be reported to the manufacturer, its agent or an authorized dealer within the covered period. A dealer that receives the report must forward it to the manufacturer within seven days; if the dealer refuses to repair the vehicle within seven days, the owner sends written notice of the refusal to the manufacturer by certified mail, return receipt requested.
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 replacement vehicle, or a refund of the purchase or lease price plus fees and charges, less an allowance for use above the first 12,000 miles on the statutory formula and for damage beyond normal wear.
The deadline
An action must be commenced within four years of the date of original delivery.
Where it is decided
New York runs a state arbitration program through the Attorney General's office, administered by the New York State Dispute Resolution Association. A hearing is scheduled within 35 days of assignment and the decision, which binds both sides, follows within 40 days.
Used cars
New York also has a used-car lemon law (Gen. Bus. Law § 198-b) covering vehicles bought from a dealer with under 100,000 miles, with a warranty whose length depends on the mileage at sale.
Worth knowing
- The mileage deduction only starts above 12,000 miles, so an owner who qualifies early loses nothing to use.
- The state arbitration route is binding on the manufacturer as well as on the owner.
How New York compares
20 states ask for fewer repair attempts than New York'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 N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 198-a and from New York Attorney General, Lemon Law Unit, 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.
- N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 198-a
- New Car Lemon Law, New York Attorney General
- New York Attorney General, Lemon Law Unit
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 New York Attorney General, Lemon Law Unit, or to a lawyer in New York.
Compiled and maintained by guarledes . Data last checked 2026-08-20.
Independent developer and analyst