State lemon law
West Virginia Lemon Law
When a new vehicle keeps failing, West Virginia law can require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. These are the numbers the statute actually sets.
3
Repair attempts
30
Days out of service
12
Months covered
What counts as a lemon in West Virginia
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 express warranty term or one year from the original delivery, whichever is earlier.
- The same defect has been subject to repair three 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 motor vehicles sold in West Virginia under an express warranty.
What you have to send the manufacturer
The presumption applies only where the manufacturer had prior written notice from the consumer and at least one chance to cure the defect.
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 new vehicle that does conform to the warranty, where the manufacturer cannot repair a defect that substantially impairs the use or market value of the car.
The deadline
The repairs have to fall inside the warranty term or the first year, whichever ends earlier.
How West Virginia compares
No state on this site asks for fewer than West Virginia's 3 repair attempts, and 19 others ask for the same 3. 7 states count fewer days out of service. West Virginia sets no mileage limit at all, which is unusual: most states end the window at a mileage as well as a date.
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 W. Va. Code art. 46A-6A and from West Virginia Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division, 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.
- W. Va. Code § 46A-6A-5 (the presumption)
- W. Va. Code art. 46A-6A
- West Virginia Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division
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 West Virginia Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division, or to a lawyer in West Virginia.
Compiled and maintained by guarledes . Data last checked 2026-08-20.
Independent developer and analyst