What to Do With a Lemon

Reviewed by Elodie Sark (ES), Editor-in-Chief — Consumer Protection & Lemon Law Practice. Updated May 2026.

If you have a vehicle with a recurring defect that the dealer cannot fix, you may have a lemon law claim. The steps you take — and importantly, the documentation you preserve — from the very first repair visit significantly affect the strength of your eventual claim. This guide explains what to do at each stage, from the first dealer visit through the resolution of the claim.

Step 1: Document Every Repair Visit with a Detailed Repair Order

The repair order is the foundation of any lemon law claim. It is the written record, prepared by the dealer, that documents what you complained about and what the dealer found and did. For lemon law purposes, a repair order must accurately capture the specific defect you described — "engine stalls at highway speeds" is useful evidence; "customer concern" is not. At every dealer visit for a defect-related repair, you should:

• Describe the defect in specific, concrete terms when you drop off the vehicle. Do not use vague phrases like "runs rough" — say "engine hesitates and stalls when accelerating between 40 and 60 mph" or "transmission jerks when shifting from 2nd to 3rd gear at low speeds."
• Before signing anything or taking the vehicle back, read the repair order carefully. Verify that your description of the defect is accurately captured. If it is vague or incorrect, ask the service advisor to correct it before you accept the vehicle.
• Request and keep a copy of the repair order every time — you have a legal right to it under most state laws. Keep them in a file organized by date.
• Note the date you brought the vehicle in and the date you picked it up. The days in between count toward the "days out of service" threshold.

If the dealer claims to have fixed the problem but you experience it again shortly afterward, document that too — return immediately, get another repair order, and note that this is a continuation of the same defect that was "repaired" on a specific date. Showing the same defect recurring across multiple repair orders is essential evidence.

Step 2: Keep a Personal Log of All Defect Incidents

Alongside the official repair orders, keep a personal contemporaneous log of every time the defect occurs — even when you have not yet brought the vehicle to the dealer. Write down: the date, the mileage, the exact conditions under which the defect occurred, and what happened. This personal log documents the frequency and pattern of the defect and can corroborate your claim that the same problem persisted across repair attempts. Courts and arbitrators find contemporaneous personal logs persuasive because they were written at the time, not reconstructed months later from memory.

Step 3: Give Written Notice to the Manufacturer

Some states require the consumer to send written notice to the manufacturer directly before a lemon law claim can proceed. Florida specifically requires it after the second repair attempt. California does not impose this requirement before suing, but sending written notice creates a record and triggers a formal response from the manufacturer. Texas’s mandatory dispute resolution process begins with notification. Even in states without a mandatory notice requirement, a certified letter to the manufacturer’s customer relations address — describing the vehicle (make, model, VIN, purchase date), the defect, the repair history (dates, repair order numbers), and demanding repurchase or replacement — establishes the consumer’s formal legal position and creates a documented record of when the demand was made.

Send the notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, and keep the receipt. The letter should be addressed to the manufacturer (not the dealer) at the manufacturer’s customer relations address, which is listed in your owner’s manual or on the manufacturer’s website. Keep a copy of everything you send.

Step 4: Consult a Lemon Law Attorney Before the Claim Process Begins

Lemon law attorneys offer free initial consultations and typically work on a fee-shifting basis: if you win, the manufacturer pays their fees; if you do not, you owe nothing. This means there is no financial downside to consulting a lemon law attorney at any stage of the process. The attorney can advise you on: whether you have met the qualifying threshold under your state’s law; whether you need additional repair attempts to strengthen the case before filing; how to document the next repair visit to best support the claim; whether to use manufacturer arbitration or proceed directly to court (a significant strategic decision that varies by state); and what your refund amount should be based on the mileage offset and incidental costs.

Consulting an attorney early — ideally before the third or fourth repair attempt, not after — gives the attorney the opportunity to advise on documentation strategy while you still have repair visits ahead of you. Attorneys who see cases early can sometimes identify documentation gaps that would weaken the claim and help you address them before the claim is fully formed.

Step 5: Do Not Surrender the Vehicle During the Claim

While a lemon law claim is pending — whether in manufacturer arbitration, at the Texas DMV, or in court — keep the vehicle in your possession and continue documenting any additional occurrences of the defect. Do not voluntarily return the vehicle to the dealer or sell it during this period. Doing so can significantly complicate the claim by making it harder to prove current defect status and by raising issues about what the consumer’s actual damages are if the vehicle is no longer in their hands.

If you absolutely must get a different vehicle for transportation while the claim is pending, consult your attorney first about how to handle the transition without undermining the lemon law claim. Keep all records from the defective vehicle, including the final odometer reading at the time of any transfer.

What to Expect from the Resolution Process

Most lemon law cases resolve through negotiated settlement rather than trial. Once the consumer retains an attorney and the manufacturer understands that formal legal action is imminent, manufacturers often make settlement offers relatively quickly — particularly in strong cases with clear documentation. The manufacturer’s calculation is: settle now for X, or continue litigating and owe X plus substantial attorney fees later. This dynamic is why the attorney fee provision is such a powerful enforcement tool.

Resolution timelines vary by state and manufacturer. California cases with a represented consumer and clear documentation often settle within 3–6 months of demand. Texas cases take longer because of the mandatory DMV process. Cases in states without mandatory pre-litigation procedures may settle faster but can take up to 12–18 months if the manufacturer disputes the qualifying thresholds or the defect severity. Cases that proceed through arbitration and then to court take the longest.

See the how lemon law works guide, the misconceptions guide, or return to the calculator.