Illinois Lemon Law Attorneys
You Can Get a Cash Settlement, a Replacement Car, or a Refund with Easy Lemon
The Illinois Lemon Law (815 ILCS 380/1 to 380/7) requires manufacturers to repurchase or replace a new motor vehicle with a substantial defect after 4 repair attempts for the same defect or 30 cumulative business days out of service. Under this statute, the manufacturer pays the consumer's attorney fees when the consumer prevails, no attorney fees unless we recover for you. Easy Lemon represents Illinois drivers at every stage.
How your Illinois claim gets built
Our lemon law work is directed by Steven P. Nassi, Esq., Managing Partner, Easy Lemon by RockPoint Law P.C. An Illinois claim gets built on two things: the Illinois lemon law statute, and the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which applies in all fifty states. Send the repair orders and the purchase or lease paperwork, and we can tell you which of the two fits your vehicle.
Read Steven Nassi’s full bio →Is Your Car a Lemon?
Your car may be a lemon if it keeps going back to the dealer or the mechanic for the same problem. Under Illinois law, the defect must make the car unsafe, unreliable or worth much less. The manufacturer or dealer must also have failed to fix it after several tries.
The same noise, shaking or warning light keeps coming back.
The dealer has worked on it multiple times and the problem is still there.
Understanding Illinois's Lemon Law
Illinois's Lemon Law is found at 815 ILCS 380/1 to 380/7 and sets the rules for defective new vehicles in the state.
How Illinois's Lemon Law Process Works
Document Your Repairs
Ask for a repair order every time you visit an Illinois dealer, even if the technician finds nothing. Under 815 ILCS 380/1 to 380/7, these papers prove your repair attempts. Keep every receipt and work order.
Contact Easy Lemon
Send us your records. We check your repair history against Illinois's statute and tell you if your car qualifies as a lemon. The consultation is free, with no obligation.
We File Your Claim
We prepare the claim and handle the paperwork. This includes any notice to the manufacturer that 815 ILCS 380/1 to 380/7 requires.
Manufacturer Response
If Illinois law gives the manufacturer a final repair attempt, it gets one. If the defect remains, Illinois law entitles you to relief. Most claims then move toward settlement.
Get Compensated
You receive a refund, a replacement vehicle or a cash settlement. No attorney fees unless we recover for you.
Why Choose Us for Lemon Law?
Past Results
We've recovered over $30 million for our clients by securing refunds, cash settlements, and replacements.
Client-Centered Approach
We receive positive feedback from clients we have represented.
Fee-Shift Representation
Under 815 ILCS 380/1 to 380/7, the manufacturer pays the consumer's attorney fees when the consumer prevails. No fee unless we recover compensation.
Focused Results
We know the stress defective vehicles bring, so we simplify the process for you.
At Easy Lemon, your success is our mission. Let us simplify the process and get you the justice you deserve.
Illinois Lemon Law Results
These are actual settlements obtained by the firm, shown because we do not yet have enough resolved matters in Illinois to report state-level figures. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome; every case is different. See our recent settlements page for more.
Defect: electrical/ technology
Results may vary. Prior outcomes do not guarantee a similar result. Each case is unique and depends on its specific facts and applicable law.
What The Manufacturer May Owe You
Refund
You get your purchase price back, including taxes and fees, minus any use deduction Illinois law allows.
Cash Settlement
You receive a payment for the unresolved defect and keep your car.
Vehicle Replacement
You get a comparable new vehicle in place of the defective one, at no extra cost.
Meet Our Legal Team
Our lawyers are only permitted to practice law in the jurisdictions in which they are licensed or have been authorized to practice.
What Our Clients Say
About the Illinois Lemon Law
Answers anchored to 815 ILCS 380/1 to 380/7, the statute that governs lemon law claims in Illinois.
Frequently Asked Questions
Still Have Questions?
Our team reviews every case individually. The fastest answer is a free consultation — no pressure, no commitment.
Get a Free Case Review →Illinois Lemon Law Arbitration
Sometimes you do have to arbitrate in Illinois: if the manufacturer's dispute program follows federal FTC rules and you were told about it in writing, you must use it first, while the federal Magnuson-Moss act adds that step before a lawsuit only if the written warranty makes you use a program that meets FTC rules. Our lemon law FAQ has more on how these programs work.
There is a second rule, in 815 ILCS 380/4. Where the manufacturer has set up a qualifying informal settlement procedure, the refund-or-replacement remedy is barred until the consumer has used it, so the buyback waits. We look at which program, if any, applies to the car early in every Illinois file. A program takes the case once the repair history meets the Illinois threshold and the manufacturer has had the written notice 815 ILCS 380/3(h) calls for. After that the program sets the timing, and we prepare the filing.
Do Illinois laws let me go to court after the program decides?
You can generally still appeal to civil court, even though the decision is often binding on the manufacturer. Appeal deadlines vary, so we want to see the decision the day it arrives. If the program doesn't resolve the case, either side can file a civil suit, and the circuit courts for Chicago, Naperville, Rockford, Peoria and Waukegan are listed in the statute-cited answers below.
Illinois Lemon Law vs Federal Magnuson-Moss
Most Illinois cases can use both the state lemon law and the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (15 U.S.C. §2301). We look at each case under both and lead with whichever is stronger. Illinois has the repair presumption and the buyback remedy, while Magnuson-Moss adds a federal fee provision and can reach defects outside the Illinois lemon law period.
Illinois wants four attempts at the same defect, or 30 cumulative business days in the shop, but the federal act just asks for a "reasonable number" of repair attempts, and that depends on the facts.
The clocks are different too. Illinois has a shorter coverage period than most states, 1 year or 12,000 miles, and a filing deadline within 18 months from the date of original delivery, while the federal time limit goes by how long the express warranty lasts. So the federal act can cover a defect that shows up after the Illinois period is over, as long as the warranty still runs.
Used cars are where the federal law matters most. The Illinois act covers new motor vehicles purchased or leased in the state for personal, family, or household use, but Magnuson-Moss applies to products under a written warranty, and that is why used cars often qualify.
If there is a qualifying manufacturer program, Illinois makes you use it first, but federal law adds that step before suit only if the written warranty makes you use a program that meets FTC rules. Either kind of case can go to state or federal court, and on the federal side fees follow 15 U.S.C. §2310(d)(2).
Illinois Lemon Law: Statute-Cited Answers
What does the Illinois lemon law statute count, and how did our client's Stelvio meet it?
It counts four attempts at the same defect, or 30 cumulative business days out of service. The presumption from that count in 815 ILCS 380/3 only works against the manufacturer once it has had direct written notice and a chance to fix the car. Our client bought a new 2023 Alfa Romeo Stelvio in Illinois. It first went in at 4,343 miles, in December 2023, and it stayed at the dealer 9 days, into January 2024. Alfa Connect stopped working. So did SOS Roadside Assistance and remote start, and the gateway module had problems too. They kept coming back across the visits. The driver-side vent quit blowing air. The dealer tried to calibrate the actuator and that failed, so it put in a new A/C and Heater actuator. After six visits to an authorized Alfa Romeo dealership over nearly two years the Stelvio had been out of service 279 days. The owner called us, and in the end kept the car and got $17,000.
Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Where do Illinois lemon law attorneys file suit if arbitration fails?
Usually in the circuit court for the county where you live or where the car was sold. If arbitration does not resolve the case, 815 ILCS 380 lets either side file a civil suit. Chicago is split between Cook County and DuPage County, per the 2020 Census, so its courts are the Circuit Court of Cook County and the Circuit Court of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, DuPage County. Schaumburg is split the same way, while Arlington Heights, Skokie and Berwyn are in Cook. Naperville is in DuPage and Will. Will County's court is the Circuit Court of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit, which also hears the Will County part of Orland Park, while the rest of Orland Park is in Cook. Rockford sits in Winnebago County, with the Circuit Court of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and in Ogle County, with the Fifteenth. Peoria is in Peoria County, with the Circuit Court of the Tenth Judicial Circuit, Peoria County, and Waukegan is in Lake County, with the Circuit Court of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, Lake County. A Magnuson-Moss claim can also go to Federal District Court if damages exceed $50,000 or party diversity permits it (15 U.S.C. §2310(d)(1)). In the end, which court hears a particular case still depends on its facts, the warranty issues involved and the law it is brought under.
How is an Illinois buyback figured under 815 ILCS 380?
A lot of states use a formula that divides your mileage by the car's useful life, usually 100,000 to 120,000 miles, and multiplies by the purchase price. Illinois does it its own way. The allowance covers wear and tear from use before you first reported the defect to the seller, and then later use while the car isn't in the shop for repair. Registration, taxes and finance charges usually come back to you in the refund, and so do towing or rental costs, but attorney fees are paid separately from the buyback. Kia bought our clients' 2025 Telluride back in November 2025, and in a buyback like that we check the manufacturer's formula against the statute before anything is signed.
Serving Drivers Across All of Illinois
Easy Lemon represents Illinois consumers from Chicago to the Mississippi. We handle 815 ILCS 380/1 to 380/7 cases remotely, regardless of city or county.
Illinois by Manufacturer
Illinois-specific manufacturer pages: notice procedure for that automaker, defect patterns by model line, and how each interacts with 815 ILCS 380/1 to 380/7.
Chevrolet × Illinois
Silverado, Tahoe, Equinox, Bolt EV: GM notice procedure, BBB AutoLine pre-suit step under 815 ILCS 380/4, 12mo/12k presumption and 18-month SOL, Cook/DuPage/Lake/Will/Kane/Winnebago/Sangamon venues, road-salt and cold-soak defect classes.
See page →Ram × Illinois
Ram 1500 / 2500 / 3500 / ProMaster: FCA US LLC notice, 815 ILCS 380 + 815 ILCS 505 Consumer Fraud Act, Cummins 6.7L relay fire (21V-798), eTorque stall (23V-265), tailgate latch (22V-904), salt-belt brake-line corrosion patterns.
See page →Jeep × Illinois
Wrangler 4xe, Grand Cherokee, Wagoneer cluster: FCA US LLC (Stellantis) notice, BBB AutoLine pre-suit under 815 ILCS 380/4, 4xe cold-soak battery defects, Chicago short-trip duty cycle patterns.
See page →Ford × Illinois
F-150 / F-250 / Explorer / Mustang Mach-E / Bronco: Ford Motor Company notice, 815 ILCS 380, F-150 PowerBoost 12V battery fire (22V-066), Mach-E HV contactor (22V-526), Explorer door latch (22V-844), Bronco rear-axle hub bolt (24V-228).
See page →GMC × Illinois
Sierra 1500/2500HD/3500HD, Yukon/Yukon XL, Terrain/Acadia, Hummer EV: GM notice procedure, 815 ILCS 380 + BBB AutoLine pre-suit, 6.2L L87 lifter/oil-pump cluster (25V-274), 10L80 cold shudder, Hummer EV Ultium thermal (23V-085).
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