Minnesota’s motor vehicle warranty statute protects consumers during the period covered by the vehicles original warranty, or two years, whichever comes first. The lemon law covers newly purchase vehicles and leased vehicles that have been leased for a period of at least four months.

Covered vehicles include automobiles, pickup trucks and vans and the motor vehicle chassis of motor homes.

The manufacturer must repair a motor vehicle in accordance with the terms of the warranty, even if the warranty has expired, if the motor vehicle has a problem covered by the warranty and if the problem has been reported to the manufacturer during the warranty period.

Under Minnesota’s statute, a vehicle is defined as a lemon if it meets the following qualifications:

• The vehicle must have a defect or nonconformity which adversely affects the use or value of the vehicle.
• The manufacturer must have been notified of the problem and permitted a “reasonable” number of attempts to repair the problem. The state defines “reasonable” as four or more unsuccessful attempts to repair the problem during the warranty period.
• A vehicle also qualifies after one unsuccessful repair attempt if the defect relates to the vehicle’s steering or braking system, since such a defect would render the vehicle unsafe to drive.
• Should a vehicle be out of service due to repairs for a total of 30 or more business days, it will also qualify as a lemon under the statute. This period may be extended should the manufacturer be unable to repair the problem due to circumstances beyond its control, such as fire, strike, invasion, flood, war or other natural disaster.

Should the vehicle qualify as a lemon, the owner is entitled to his or her choice of a replacement with a comparable new vehicle or a refund of the purchase price. This refund is to include the full purchase price of the vehicle, plus all other charges including sales tax, excise tax, license and registration fees, reimbursement for rental vehicle and/or towing expenses and any other additional expenses as may apply. The manufacturer may reduces this refund amount to compensate for miles driven and wear and tear. This compensation may not exceed ten cents per mile or 10% of the purchase price, whichever is less.

If the manufacturer requires it, the owner must handle the dispute through arbitration. The arbitration decision is binding only on the manufacturer; the vehicle owner does not have to abide by the arbitration decision and may sue at a later date. Lawsuits must be filed no later than three years from the original date of purchase.

Vehicles returned to the manufacturer as defective may be resold in the state under the following provisions:

The manufacturer must provide a warranty of at least twelve months or twelve thousand miles.

The manufacturer must provide a written statement, in at least 10 point type in all capital letters, stating that "IMPORTANT: THIS VEHICLE WAS RETURNED TO THE MANUFACTURER BECAUSE IT DID NOT CONFORM TO THE MANUFACTURER'S EXPRESS WARRANTY AND THE NONCONFORMITY WAS NOT CURED WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME AS PROVIDED BY MINNESOTA LAW."

If you are experiencing headaches with your car, sport utility vehicle or van, you may discover that you need legal assistance. LegalMatch can help locate an experienced attorney in your city. Confidentiality is guaranteed, all lawyers are licensed, and inquiries are free.

Details can be found the Minnesota State Lemon Law page