State lemon law
Ohio Lemon Law
When a new vehicle keeps failing, Ohio law can require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. These are the numbers the statute actually sets.
3
Repair attempts
1
If it is a safety defect
30
Days out of service
12
Months covered
18,000
Miles covered
What counts as a lemon in Ohio
Meeting any one of these raises a presumption that the manufacturer has had a reasonable number of attempts. The repairs have to fall inside one year from delivery or the first 18,000 miles, whichever is earlier.
- Substantially the same defect has been subject to repair three or more times and still exists or keeps coming back.
- There has been at least one attempt to repair a defect likely to cause death or serious bodily injury if the vehicle is driven, and it still exists or recurs.
- The vehicle has been out of service for repair for a cumulative total of 30 or more calendar days.
- There have been eight or more attempts to repair any defect, whether or not it is the same one.
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 bought or leased in Ohio, and vehicles used for personal, family or household purposes. Ohio counts eight repair attempts for any defects together, which no other state on this list does.
What you get
At the consumer's option, a new vehicle acceptable to the consumer, or the return of the vehicle for a refund of the purchase price and incidental damages (§ 1345.72).
The deadline
An action must be commenced within five years of the date of original delivery. Time spent in an informal dispute resolution mechanism is tolled and does not count against that (§ 1345.75).
Where it is decided
Where the manufacturer runs an informal dispute resolution mechanism that meets the federal standard, the consumer generally has to use it before suing.
Worth knowing
- Ohio is the only state here with a cumulative test that does not care whether the failures are related: eight repair attempts at anything raises the presumption.
- One attempt is enough where the defect is likely to cause death or serious injury, the lowest threshold of any state on this list.
How Ohio compares
No state on this site asks for fewer than Ohio's 3 repair attempts, and 19 others ask for the same 3. 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 Ohio Rev. Code §§ 1345.71-1345.78 and from Ohio Attorney General, 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.
- Ohio Rev. Code § 1345.73 (the presumption)
- Ohio Rev. Code § 1345.72 (refund or replacement)
- Ohio Rev. Code § 1345.75 (the deadline)
- Lemon laws, Ohio Attorney General
- Ohio Attorney General, 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 Ohio Attorney General, Consumer Protection Section, or to a lawyer in Ohio.
Compiled and maintained by guarledes . Data last checked 2026-08-20.
Independent developer and analyst