Missouri · Lemon law · Updated Oct 2026
Missouri Lemon Law (New Motor Vehicle Warranties) (Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 407.560–407.579) protects buyers of new vehicles that can't be fixed. Here is what counts as a lemon in Missouri, the notice you must send and what you can get back.
Within the warranty term or the first year (whichever ends first), your vehicle is presumed a lemon if the same defect has been repaired 4 or more times and still exists, or if it has been out of service for repair of the defect for a total of 30 or more working days (not counting routine maintenance). Before you can use the law, you must notify the manufacturer in writing; it then directs you to a franchised dealer's repair shop and gets a final 10 calendar days after you deliver the vehicle to fix it.
Period: The manufacturer's express warranty term or 1 year from original delivery to you, whichever ends first. It can be extended if a reported problem has not been fixed by then.
Before using the lemon law, you must give the manufacturer written notice of the need for repair so it has a final chance to fix the defect (10 calendar days after you deliver the vehicle to the repair shop it names). The statute does not require a specific mailing method; certified mail with a return receipt is a sensible way to prove it.
If the manufacturer has an informal dispute program that fully complies with federal rules (16 C.F.R. Part 703), you must use it before you can claim a refund or replacement; the manufacturer must tell you about it. Missouri has no state-run lemon arbitration. If you use the program, you have 90 days after its final action to sue.
The manufacturer, at its option, must either replace the vehicle with a comparable new vehicle acceptable to you, or take it back and refund the full purchase price plus reasonable collateral charges (sales tax, license, registration and title fees, and inspections), minus a reasonable allowance for your use. The use allowance applies to replacements as well as refunds; the statute gives no formula. The manufacturer may instead have you apply to the Department of Revenue for the refund of sales tax and fees.
Attorney fees: Yes. If you complied with the law and finally win in court, the court must award your costs and expenses, including attorney fees based on actual time spent (§ 407.577.1). But you may have to pay the manufacturer's fees if your claim was in bad faith or your final recovery is not at least 10% more than the manufacturer's pre-suit settlement offer (§ 407.577.2).
Deadline: You must sue within 6 months after the express warranty ends or within 18 months after original delivery, whichever is earlier; if you used the manufacturer's dispute program, within 90 days after its final action (§ 407.573.3).
Missouri's lemon law covers only new vehicles, but it includes demonstrators sold with a manufacturer's warranty and later owners who receive the vehicle while the warranty is still in effect.
Most states require you to tell the manufacturer in writing and give it a last chance to fix the car. Before using the lemon law, you must give the manufacturer written notice of the need for repair so it has a final chance to fix the defect (10 calendar days after you deliver the vehicle to the repair shop it names). The statute does not require a specific mailing method; certified mail with a return receipt is a sensible way to prove it. 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.
Within the warranty term or the first year (whichever ends first), your vehicle is presumed a lemon if the same defect has been repaired 4 or more times and still exists, or if it has been out of service for repair of the defect for a total of 30 or more working days (not counting routine maintenance). Before you can use the law, you must notify the manufacturer in writing; it then directs you to a franchised dealer's repair shop and gets a final 10 calendar days after you deliver the vehicle to fix it.
The manufacturer's express warranty term or 1 year from original delivery to you, whichever ends first. It can be extended if a reported problem has not been fixed by then.
Before using the lemon law, you must give the manufacturer written notice of the need for repair so it has a final chance to fix the defect (10 calendar days after you deliver the vehicle to the repair shop it names). The statute does not require a specific mailing method; certified mail with a return receipt is a sensible way to prove it.
If the manufacturer has an informal dispute program that fully complies with federal rules (16 C.F.R. Part 703), you must use it before you can claim a refund or replacement; the manufacturer must tell you about it. Missouri has no state-run lemon arbitration. If you use the program, you have 90 days after its final action to sue.
The manufacturer, at its option, must either replace the vehicle with a comparable new vehicle acceptable to you, or take it back and refund the full purchase price plus reasonable collateral charges (sales tax, license, registration and title fees, and inspections), minus a reasonable allowance for your use. The use allowance applies to replacements as well as refunds; the statute gives no formula. The manufacturer may instead have you apply to the Department of Revenue for the refund of sales tax and fees.
You must sue within 6 months after the express warranty ends or within 18 months after original delivery, whichever is earlier; if you used the manufacturer's dispute program, within 90 days after its final action (§ 407.573.3).
Missouri's lemon law covers only new vehicles, but it includes demonstrators sold with a manufacturer's warranty and later owners who receive the vehicle while the warranty is still in effect.
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 law