State lemon law
Oregon Lemon Law
When a new vehicle keeps failing, Oregon 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
24
Months covered
24,000
Miles covered
What counts as a lemon in Oregon
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 or 24,000 miles from the purchase or lease, whichever comes first.
- Three or more failed attempts to fix the same problem.
- One failed attempt, where the problem is likely to cause injury or death.
- The vehicle has been in the shop for a combined total of 30 or more calendar days, or 60 or more for a motor home.
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 vehicles bought or leased in Oregon, with motor homes given 60 days out of service rather than 30.
What you get
A replacement or a refund, less a reasonable allowance for use. A court that finds the manufacturer did not act in good faith may award up to three times the damages, capped at $50,000 over what is otherwise due.
The deadline
The failed repairs have to fall inside the two-year, 24,000-mile window.
Where it is decided
Where the manufacturer runs an informal dispute settlement procedure meeting the federal standard and told the consumer about it, the consumer has to use it first.
Worth knowing
- The treble damages provision, capped at $50,000, is the sharpest penalty on this list and applies where a court finds bad faith.
How Oregon compares
No state on this site asks for fewer than Oregon's 3 repair attempts, and 19 others ask for the same 3. 7 states count fewer days out of service. 15 states stop counting at fewer than 24,000 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 Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 646A.400 to 646A.418 and from Oregon Department of Justice, 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.
- Lemon Law, Oregon Department of Justice
- Or. Rev. Stat. ch. 646A
- Lemon law buyback, Oregon DMV
- Oregon Department of Justice, 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 Oregon Department of Justice, Consumer Protection, or to a lawyer in Oregon.
Compiled and maintained by guarledes . Data last checked 2026-08-20.
Independent developer and analyst