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The law declares it a public policy that any manufacturer of new vehicles is duty bound to abide by the commitments that he has given to the consumer about the integrity of his product in the warranty of the product.

Manufacturer's duty towards the warranty

If any new vehicle developed defects within the warranty period, then the manufacturer has to repair the same as soon as he receives a written intimation from the consumer.

The manufacturer should provide the consumer with a detailed written record of all the repairs that he has carried out himself or through his dealer on the vehicle in order to rectify the fault occurred.

If even after reasonable number of attempts, the manufacturer is unable to correct the defect, then, he would have to replace the vehicle with a new comparable vehicle.

The manufacturer must inform the consumer about his rights under the state laws regarding his vehicle being under lemon at the time of the purchase of the vehicle.

Reasonable number of attempts

The vehicle has to be repaired, unsuccessfully, by the manufacturer or his dealer for at least three or more times in the warranty period or during one year of deliver. Or the vehicle has remained out of commission for 30 days or more during the warranty period due to repairs.

In case the defect is such that it would lead to serious injury, or possible death, then one attempt will be sufficient.

Duty of manufacturer while resale or returned vehicles

If a manufacturer wishes to resell a returned vehicle to a new buyer, then he has to first do all in his powers to rectify the defect in the vehicle.

He is then required to issue a written statement to the new consumer about the history of the vehicle and reasons for its return.

Provisions for dispute resolution

The statute dictates a third party dispute resolution mechanism to resolve disputes in between the manufacturers and the consumers.

The Attorney General of the state is empowered to frame rules and procedures of this mechanism. This mechanism will work under the supervision of the Attorney General's office.

In case the consumer is aware of the existence of the above mechanism, then the consumer would be required to exercise this option first and only if he is dissatisfied with its results, would he be able to resort to the conventional means of dispute resolution.

This statute does not bar the consumer from exercising any remedy available to him under any other law for the time being in force.

The US federal law governing lemons is officially called The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, however, most American states each have their own lemon law.


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