State lemon law
Rhode Island Lemon Law
When a new vehicle keeps failing, Rhode Island 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
12
Months covered
15,000
Miles covered
What counts as a lemon in Rhode Island
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 or 15,000 miles, whichever comes first.
- The vehicle has been serviced four or more times for the same defect and it still exists.
- The vehicle has been out of service for repair of any defect for more than 30 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
Cars, trucks, motorcycles and vans registered under 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight.
What you get
A refund or a replacement, awarded by the state arbitration board.
The deadline
The qualifying repairs have to fall inside the first year or 15,000 miles, whichever comes first.
Where it is decided
The Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board at the Attorney General's office hears new vehicle cases. An owner can instead use the manufacturer's own process or BBB Auto Line.
Worth knowing
- Motorcycles are covered, which they are not in many states.
How Rhode Island compares
20 states ask for fewer repair attempts than Rhode Island's 4, and 29 others ask for the same 4. 7 states count fewer days out of service. 6 states stop counting at fewer than 15,000 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 Consumer Enforcement of Motor Vehicle Warranties, R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 31-5.2 and from Rhode Island Attorney General, Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board, 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.
- R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 31-5.2
- Lemon Law, Rhode Island Attorney General
- Rhode Island Attorney General, Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board
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 Rhode Island Attorney General, Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board, or to a lawyer in Rhode Island.
Compiled and maintained by guarledes . Data last checked 2026-08-20.
Independent developer and analyst