Louisiana · Lemon law · Updated Oct 2026
Louisiana Lemon Law (Motor Vehicle Warranties) (La. Rev. Stat. §§ 51:1941–51:1948) protects buyers of new vehicles that can't be fixed. Here is what counts as a lemon in Louisiana, the notice you must send and what you can get back.
During the warranty term or the first year after delivery (whichever ends first), your vehicle is presumed a lemon if the same defect has been repaired 4 or more times, or if the vehicle has been out of service for repairs for a total of 45 or more calendar days. Time when repairs are impossible because of war, invasion, strike, fire, flood or natural disaster does not count. If the manufacturer fails to respond to you or to do the repairs within these time limits, it loses its right to a final attempt to fix the defect.
Period: The manufacturer's warranty term or 1 year from original delivery to you, whichever ends first. There is no mileage limit in the statute.
You must report the defect to the manufacturer or one of its authorized dealers and make the vehicle available for repair before the warranty expires or within 1 year of original delivery, whichever is earlier (R.S. 51:1942). The statute does not require a specific written-notice method, but it refers to a manufacturer's right to a final repair attempt, so writing directly to the manufacturer is wise.
If the manufacturer has an informal dispute program that substantially complies with federal rules (16 C.F.R. Part 703), you must use it first before you can claim a refund or replacement. Louisiana has no state-run lemon law arbitration program. After a program decision awarding a refund or replacement, the manufacturer must deliver it within 30 days.
The manufacturer must replace the vehicle with a comparable new one, or (at its option) take it back and refund the full purchase price, any amounts you paid at the point of sale, and collateral costs (sales tax, license and registration fees, similar government charges), minus a reasonable allowance for use. The use allowance covers only your use before you first reported the defect and later periods when the vehicle was not in for repair. For a lease, the manufacturer may take the vehicle back (if the lessor agrees), reimburse your reasonable lease expenses and settle early-termination charges; you pay a reasonable allowance for use. The manufacturer must deliver the refund or replacement within 30 days after you offer to transfer title.
Attorney fees: Yes. If you win a judgment in whole or in part, you are entitled to reasonable attorney fees actually incurred (R.S. 51:1947).
Deadline: You must sue within 3 years from the date you bought the vehicle, or within 1 year after the warranty ends, whichever is longer (R.S. 51:1944(E)).
Louisiana has no separate used-car lemon law. Louisiana's redhibition law (Civil Code arts. 2520–2548) protects buyers against hidden defects in vehicles, and a vehicle bought back as a lemon must carry a written disclosure and a title notice when resold.
Most states require you to tell the manufacturer in writing and give it a last chance to fix the car. You must report the defect to the manufacturer or one of its authorized dealers and make the vehicle available for repair before the warranty expires or within 1 year of original delivery, whichever is earlier (R.S. 51:1942). The statute does not require a specific written-notice method, but it refers to a manufacturer's right to a final repair attempt, so writing directly to the manufacturer is wise. Fill this in, copy the letter, sign it and send it by certified mail with return receipt. Keep a copy. Nothing you type here is sent to us; the letter is made in your browser.
During the warranty term or the first year after delivery (whichever ends first), your vehicle is presumed a lemon if the same defect has been repaired 4 or more times, or if the vehicle has been out of service for repairs for a total of 45 or more calendar days. Time when repairs are impossible because of war, invasion, strike, fire, flood or natural disaster does not count. If the manufacturer fails to respond to you or to do the repairs within these time limits, it loses its right to a final attempt to fix the defect.
The manufacturer's warranty term or 1 year from original delivery to you, whichever ends first. There is no mileage limit in the statute.
You must report the defect to the manufacturer or one of its authorized dealers and make the vehicle available for repair before the warranty expires or within 1 year of original delivery, whichever is earlier (R.S. 51:1942). The statute does not require a specific written-notice method, but it refers to a manufacturer's right to a final repair attempt, so writing directly to the manufacturer is wise.
If the manufacturer has an informal dispute program that substantially complies with federal rules (16 C.F.R. Part 703), you must use it first before you can claim a refund or replacement. Louisiana has no state-run lemon law arbitration program. After a program decision awarding a refund or replacement, the manufacturer must deliver it within 30 days.
The manufacturer must replace the vehicle with a comparable new one, or (at its option) take it back and refund the full purchase price, any amounts you paid at the point of sale, and collateral costs (sales tax, license and registration fees, similar government charges), minus a reasonable allowance for use. The use allowance covers only your use before you first reported the defect and later periods when the vehicle was not in for repair. For a lease, the manufacturer may take the vehicle back (if the lessor agrees), reimburse your reasonable lease expenses and settle early-termination charges; you pay a reasonable allowance for use. The manufacturer must deliver the refund or replacement within 30 days after you offer to transfer title.
You must sue within 3 years from the date you bought the vehicle, or within 1 year after the warranty ends, whichever is longer (R.S. 51:1944(E)).
Louisiana has no separate used-car lemon law. Louisiana's redhibition law (Civil Code arts. 2520–2548) protects buyers against hidden defects in vehicles, and a vehicle bought back as a lemon must carry a written disclosure and a title notice when resold.
Car not covered, or the period has passed? Federal warranty law may still help, and small claims court can handle smaller repair bills.
Federal warranty lawLast checked: Oct 2026.