What Is the 30-Day Lemon Law in Indiana?

Four or more failed repair attempts for the same unresolved defect is the other route to the same remedies, a refund or a replacement vehicle.

If you prevail, Ind. Code §24-5-13-22 entitles you to recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs. See how to file a lemon law claim in Indiana, or Indiana lemon laws for used cars if you bought secondhand.

Last year an Indiana family sued Ford Motor Company because they think their loved one died due to a defective seat belt in the car. But you don't have to wait for something fatal to happen. You can act immediately and seek refunds or replacements that the law provides when dealing with a defective vehicle.

The Indiana Lemon Law is a law designed to help car owners who have purchased either new or used vehicles and find them defective. Its protection lasts for 18 months or 18,000 miles from the date when the vehicle was originally delivered, whichever happens first.

To get a refund, exchange for a different car, or negotiate a settlement in cash, you want an Indiana Lemon Law Attorney. They handle the legal details and argue your case in court or arbitration.

Easy Lemon handles Lemon Law Attorney Services. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

We work on a contingency basis: no upfront fees, and our fee comes out of any recovery. Book a free case evaluation today so we can help you file a Lemon law claim.

This article talks about the 30-day Lemon law rule, which depends on how long your car has been out of service and how it applies to new and used cars in Indiana. We also look at how to file a Lemon Law claim and what kinds of remedies you would be entitled to.

What Qualifies as a "Lemon" Under Indiana Law

According to Indiana Lemon Law, a vehicle is defined as a "lemon" if it meets specific criteria under the state's Motor Vehicle Protection Act (Indiana Code 24-5-13). Here are the criteria:

• The vehicle must be a truck, van, SUV, or car purchased in Indiana with a declared gross vehicle weight under 10,000 lbs.
• It must be vehicles designed primarily for public roads.
• There must be a nonconformity in this vehicle: a defect or condition that substantially impairs its use, its resale value, or safety; or it fails to meet manufacturer warranties. Either of these is sufficient.
• You must report the defect within 18 months of original delivery or before the vehicle reaches 18,000 miles, whichever comes first. 
• The car needs to have undergone at least four repair attempts or been out of service because of the defects for a cumulative 30 business days. For either scenario, the fault must persist.

If your vehicle meets these requirements, it may qualify under the Act. The next step is to talk to a lemon law attorney about your options.

Vehicles Covered Under Indiana Lemon Law

Indiana Lemon Law applies only to vehicles that you buy or lease directly from dealers or manufacturers in Indiana. As mentioned earlier, these include cars, pickups, SUVs and light trucks that have a declared gross vehicle weight of less than 10,000 pounds.

Other kinds of vehicles do not qualify as a lemon. Indiana Code 24-5-13-5 excludes conversion vans, motor homes, farm tractors and other machines used in producing, harvesting and caring for farm products, road building equipment, truck tractors, road tractors, motorcycles, motor driven cycles, snowmobiles, and vehicles designed primarily for off-road use.

Conversion vans are worth singling out, because an ordinary van is covered and a conversion van is not. It's noteworthy that the Indiana Lemon Law does not differentiate between new and used vehicles. 

So the question isn't whether you bought the car new. It's whether you reported the defect inside the term of protection. The statute measures that window as 18 months or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first, from the date the vehicle was first delivered, not from the date you bought it.

A used car still inside that window can qualify. One well past it generally won't. See Indiana lemon laws for used cars for what applies once the term of protection has run. The same rule applies to leased vehicles as outlined in the Indiana Code 24-5-13-1.

If your vehicle is defective but not covered by the Indiana Lemon Law, you may get some relief under the Federal Lemon Law.

Also known as the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, it applies to both new and used cars in the state of Indiana that come with a written warranty: either the factory warranty balance, a warranty from the dealership, or a service contract. Cars sold strictly on an "as is" basis without any written warranty are not covered by this law.

According to this law, a defect only needs to be reported while the car is still under warranty. So even if you bought a car with over 18,000 miles, the car could still count as a lemon if there's a valid warranty covering that defect. But responding quickly is important since it helps you meet the deadline for reporting.

What is the 30-Day Lemon Law in Indiana?

The 30-day Lemon law is a provision under Indiana Code 24-5-13-15(a)(2) that determines whether a vehicle can be classified as a lemon or not. It's one of the two main grounds for filing a lemon claim in Indiana—with the other being four or more failed repair attempts.

Under the 30-day lemon law, a car can qualify for a claim if it's out of use for at least 30 business days due to defects that have not yet been fixed.

Note the emphasis on "business days." This typically means Monday-Saturday, excluding Sundays and the legal holidays listed in Indiana Code 1-1-9-1.

It doesn't have to be 30 consecutive days; the total number of different days that the car stays at authorized repair places because of the same or different problems counts.

The 30-day period starts when the car is originally delivered to its first retail buyer and not when someone buys it later on as a used car.

You must also report the issue within the first 18 months from original delivery or the first 18,000 miles, whichever comes first. Repairs themselves can continue beyond that time period too.

The manufacturer or an authorized dealer stays responsible for keeping those repairs moving, even once the window has passed.

Indiana Code 24-5-13-15(b) sets out seven things that can stop the clock ticking: strikes, periods of civil unrest, fires, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, acts of God and acts of war. Days lost due to lack of repair service as a direct result of any of these reasons do not count toward your 30 business days.

The extension isn't automatic; according to Indiana Code Section 24-5-13-15(c), it's the manufacturer who has to prove that the event caused the delay directly.

For the same seven events, the manufacturer or an authorized dealer must provide free use of a car when your own car is not available. Outside that situation, Indiana doesn't give you a general right to get a rental car.

What Happens After the 30 Business Days?

If after 30 business days the issue has not been resolved, consumers legally have the right to seek some form of compensation or remedy from the manufacturer of their car under the Lemon Law.

Indiana Code section 24-5-13-24 says that this chapter does not create any right to sue a dealer, so a Lemon Law claim goes directly against the manufacturer and not against the dealership that sold you the car. After that you need to start formal proceedings against the manufacturer for breach of warranty as well as bringing any other charges that your lawyer thinks are appropriate.

You have some time but you need to file a lawsuit no later than two years after you initially reported the defect to the manufacturer or its agents or authorized dealers.

Under Indiana Code 24-5-13-23(b), that two-year period is paused whenever a certified informal dispute resolution process described in Indiana Code 24-5-13-19 is active. So you don't lose any time for filing if you go through a certified arbitration program first.

The Process for Filing a Lemon Law Claim in Indiana

Filing a Lemon law claim in Indiana requires a cautious step-by-step approach to ensure you're compliant with the state's requirements for seeking relief. The steps are as follows: 

Step 1: Identify the Defects 

The fact that you're considering filing a Lemon law claim means that your car already has defects. So the first step here is to check whether the defects meet the basic requirements for a lemon qualification.

If after a reasonable number of repair attempts (four, in this case), you keep encountering the same problem, that might fall under the Act.

There might also be other kinds of problems preventing the car from being used for 30 business days and yet those issues remain unresolved. Also, the defect has to substantially impair the vehicle's use, market value, or safety, or cause it to violate the manufacturer's warranty.

Step 2: Keep Detailed Records

To effectively prove your case, proper documentation is really important. Thus, you need to keep track of and document everything that happens when you bring your car in for repairs. Save emails, letters and notes from any phone calls with the dealership and the manufacturer as well.

Keep careful records for relevant time periods such as when the defect first appeared, when repairs were made, and how long the vehicle has been off the road.

It would be good to also check your warranty to confirm that repairs are covered. Taking photos and video of the car's defects is also useful.

Also, collect a copy of the written repair order after each repair attempt. You do not have to rely on goodwill for this.

Indiana Code 24-5-13-16(b) requires the manufacturer, its agent, or an authorized dealer to provide a written repair order every time a vehicle comes in for inspection or repair. This repair order must list what has been done including any examinations, replacement parts and labor performed.

The same section, at 24-5-13-16(a), bars them from refusing to diagnose or repair a vehicle to dodge liability under the Act. That matters here more than anywhere else: a 30-business-day claim is proved by the paperwork from each visit, and a visit nobody wrote up is a day you cannot count.

A repair order is an official document issued by service centers or dealers that details any problems encountered with a vehicle and the work done to fix those problems. It also notes dates of visits and other minor details that might be relevant during litigation.

Step 3: Attempt to Resolve With the Dealer or Manufacturer

Whether you need to send any notices at all depends on who the manufacturer is. Under Indiana Code 24-5-13-9, you must notify them first only if they disclosed something required by law in their warranty or owner's manual; if they never disclosed anything like that, then you don't have to notify them about a claim.

If notifications are required, send an official written notice to the manufacturer about defects inherent in the vehicle. This notice should include personal information such as your contact details, vehicle identification number and a list of issues you have encountered. Also attach copies of any relevant written repair orders.

Make sure that your mail goes only to the address listed in the warranty booklet or owner's manual. Also, send the letter via certified mail with return receipt. This way you will have proof that you gave them proper notice and enough time to fix any problems.

After sending the letter, the manufacturer has to act. Once it accepts the vehicle's return, Indiana Code 24-5-13-10 gives it 30 days to either refund what you paid or hand over a comparable replacement, at your option. If they fail to honor your request, you may proceed to arbitration or an outright lawsuit.

Step 4: Seek Arbitration

Some car makers have informal dispute resolution programs for dealing with lemon cars and some do not. Consult your Lemon law attorney to know if your manufacturer is part of such programs certified by the Indiana Attorney General's office as complying with 16 C.F.R. 703. Before you consider filing a lawsuit, you need to follow this process if your manufacturer has one.

The decision is not legally binding on either side. 16 C.F.R. 703.5(j), which Indiana Code 24-5-13-19 requires a certified program to comply with in all respects, provides that a decision binds no one; the manufacturer owes only a duty of good faith, and the decision is admissible as evidence if you later sue.

You are free to go to court if you are dissatisfied with the result. Also, if there is no certified process from the manufacturer or they never gave you written notice about any such process, you would be able to bypass that step.

Step 5: File a Lemon Lawsuit

When you're trying to get some relief under the Indiana Lemon Law, a lawsuit is your final option. If the defect is still unfixed after either four failed repairs or 30 business days out of service, the two routes Indiana Code 24-5-13-15(a) treats as a reasonable number of attempts, you may then sue if arbitration doesn't work.

Provide your attorney with specific details, solid evidence and other important information pertinent to your lemon law case. The attorneys at Easy Lemon can help organize all this information and build a strong case for you.

Building a record to back your claim is necessary. Under Indiana's statute, you can either get a refund or a replacement car as a remedy; you choose which one. Many claims settle for cash instead, but that is a negotiated outcome rather than something the statute provides.

If you win, attorney fees can be recovered as well. Under Indiana Code 24-5-13-22, a buyer who wins is entitled to recover costs and expenses including attorney fees for actual time spent; the court will determine what fees were reasonable to incur.

In addition to Lemon Law suits, you also have recourse through the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act if you buy either new or used vehicles with written warranties. That's a federal law.

Its refund-or-replace remedy applies to full warranties, and nearly every manufacturer warranty is a limited one, so the usual outcome is damages plus attorney's fees rather than a refund or a replacement vehicle.

What Remedies Are Available Under Indiana's Lemon Law?

Under Indiana's Lemon Law, consumers are entitled to receive refunds or replacement vehicles if they win their lemon case. The refund is the full contract price of the vehicle, including all credits and allowances for any trade-in and all sales tax, less a reasonable allowance for use.

It also caters to any finance charges actually expended, the unexpended portion of the registration fee and excise tax prepaid for the calendar year, the cost of options added by the authorized dealer, and, under Indiana Code 24-5-13-13, necessary towing and rental costs actually incurred as a direct result of the defect.

Those incidental items are reimbursed in full; the use allowance is deducted from the contract price, not from them. 

Indiana doesn't leave this allowance to negotiation; instead, Indiana Code Section 24-5-13-11(b) specifies this through a formula: total price of the contract times the number of miles driven before the manufacturer accepted the return divided by 100,000.

On a $38,000 vehicle handed back at 14,000 miles, that is $38,000 × 14,000 ÷ 100,000, or $5,320. Two practical consequences follow.

Mileage counts up to the date when the manufacturer accepts your return request rather than the date you first complained about defects. So a drawn-out dispute increases the deduction while you keep driving.

Because the divisor is fixed at 100,000, allowances work out the same whether you have a small hatchback for commuting or a big SUV.

A buyer who prevails in an action under the chapter is also entitled to recover all reasonable costs and expenses as part of the judgment, including reasonable attorney fees, under Indiana Code 24-5-13-22.

If someone wants the car replaced instead, the manufacturer has to supply a replacement vehicle of equal or comparable value. Depending on what the specific situation is, consumers might also be entitled to additional compensation.

Indiana Code section 24-5-13-20 protects your rights that exist under other laws and so claims for damages that exceed refunds or replacements provided by statute rely on other theories of law rather than just the Lemon Law itself.

One common outcome is the "cash-and-keep" settlement: the customer keeps the car with problems and gets some cash compensation directly from the manufacturer for the issues they ran into.

Need an Experienced Indiana Lemon Law Lawyer?

Dealing with a broken car in Indiana is really tricky and time consuming. That's why it's very important to work with an experienced lawyer who knows lemon law well; they can guide you through the often complicated legal process.

From gathering the necessary documentation and ensuring critical deadlines are met to negotiating with the manufacturer or filing a lawsuit if needed, a skilled attorney handles the documentation, the deadlines, and the negotiation with the manufacturer. 

With 25+ years of combined experience, Easy Lemon's attorneys work on lemon law claims. Whether you're dealing with repeated repairs or safety issues, our team is willing to help.

You can contact us today for a free case evaluation and let us review your situation and advise you on the best path forward.

FAQs

Can I File if I Bought My Car From Out of State?

Usually not. The purchase itself has to happen in Indiana. Indiana Code 24-5-13-1 applies the chapter to vehicles sold, leased, transferred, or replaced by a dealer or manufacturer in Indiana, and Indiana Code 24-5-13-3 defines a buyer as someone who enters into the agreement within Indiana.

Registering the car here afterward does not pull an out-of-state purchase under the Act. The vehicle also has to be designed primarily for public highway use. If you did buy out of state, the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act or that state's own lemon law may still give you a route.

How Long Do I Have to File a Claim?

In Indiana you have two years from when the first defect is reported to file a lawsuit. You have to report the defect within the first 18 months from the original delivery date or the first 18,000 miles, whichever happens first.

According to Indiana Code 24-5-13-8, it's when you report the defect that the requirement kicks in, not when the defect first shows up. Also, manufacturers still need to fix it even if they do repairs after this window closes.

Under Indiana Code section 24-5-13-23(b), if you use a certified informal dispute resolution process as described in section 24-5-13-19, then the two-year countdown is paused and time spent on that arbitration doesn't count against the time limit.

Do I Need to Go to Court?

Not always. Many Indiana lemon law claims resolve through arbitration or an informal dispute resolution program offered by the manufacturer.

Under Indiana Code 24-5-13-19 you actually have to use that route first, but only where two things are true: the program is certified by the Indiana Attorney General as complying in all respects with 16 C.F.R. 703, and you received adequate written notice of it. The decision that comes out of it is not legally binding on anyone, and you keep the right to sue.

What if the Dealership Blames the Manufacturer?

Regardless of who is at fault for a defective product, you might be able to seek legal recourse under the Indiana Lemon Law if your car turns out to be defective and still within the term of protection.

The Lemon Law duty to repair, replace, or refund sits with the manufacturer. A dealer can still owe you something under a written warranty or your purchase contract, but Indiana Code 24-5-13-24 bars a Lemon Law claim against the dealer itself.

Which defendant you have depends on what you were promised in writing, and an Indiana lemon law attorney can sort that out with you. 

Attorney Advertising. This article is general information about Indiana law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Lemon law outcomes depend on the facts of each case, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. For advice about your own vehicle, speak with a licensed Indiana attorney.

Related reading

• How to File a Lemon Law Claim in Indiana
• Indiana Lemon Law: New & Used Car Rights Explained
• Washington Lemon Law Attorney Fees: Who Pays?
• Colorado Lemon Law Attorney Fees: Who Pays?
• Georgia Lemon Law Attorney Fees: Who Pays?

Helpful guides: Lemon Law Attorneys in Indiana · Lemon Law FAQ