Virginia · Lemon law · Updated Oct 2026
Virginia Motor Vehicle Warranty Enforcement Act (Va. Code §§ 59.1-207.9 to 59.1-207.16:1) protects buyers of new vehicles that can't be fixed. Here is what counts as a lemon in Virginia, the notice you must send and what you can get back.
Within the 18-month period, your vehicle is presumed a lemon if the same defect has been repaired 3 or more times and still exists, a serious safety defect has been repaired 1 or more times and still exists, or the vehicle has been out of service for repairs a total of 30 calendar days. The defect must significantly impair use, market value or safety (it does not have to affect driveability). If the manufacturer itself was never notified, it gets one more chance of up to 15 days to fix the problem.
Period: The "lemon law rights period": 18 months from the date the new vehicle was first delivered to you. It is extended if the manufacturer was notified but the defect still was not fixed by the end of the 18 months.
You must notify the manufacturer in writing of the defect before you can claim a refund or replacement, unless it already counts as notified (for example, it answered you in writing or a factory representative inspected the car). The manufacturer must list the address for this notice in the warranty or owner's manual. If you mail it to the dealer, the dealer must forward it.
Using a manufacturer's informal dispute program is your choice. If you use it and win a refund or replacement, the manufacturer has 40 days to comply. The Attorney General's office takes lemon-law complaints against manufacturers that do not take part in BBB Auto Line.
A comparable replacement vehicle acceptable to you, or a refund of the full contract price, including collateral charges (sales tax, license, registration and title fees, finance charges and interest, transportation, dealer prep, service contracts and installed options) and incidental damages. You may also recover mileage, expenses and reasonable loss of use caused by the repair attempts. A use allowance is subtracted, counted only up to your first notice of the defect, and it may not exceed half the IRS business mileage rate per mile (plus any damage beyond normal wear). You have an unconditional right to choose a refund over a replacement and to keep driving the car until you get it. A lease is ended without penalty.
Attorney fees: Yes. A consumer who wins a lawsuit under the act recovers reasonable attorney fees, expert witness fees and court costs (a manufacturer can recover them if your suit is frivolous).
Deadline: Sue within the 18-month lemon law rights period. If you used the manufacturer's dispute program within that period, you have the longer of 12 months from the program's final action or the original period (Va. Code § 59.1-207.16).
The act covers later owners who get the vehicle while a warranty applies, and the Attorney General notes it may apply to used vehicles under certain conditions (Subaru of America, Inc. v. Peters, 1998).
Most states require you to tell the manufacturer in writing and give it a last chance to fix the car. You must notify the manufacturer in writing of the defect before you can claim a refund or replacement, unless it already counts as notified (for example, it answered you in writing or a factory representative inspected the car). The manufacturer must list the address for this notice in the warranty or owner's manual. If you mail it to the dealer, the dealer must forward 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 18-month period, your vehicle is presumed a lemon if the same defect has been repaired 3 or more times and still exists, a serious safety defect has been repaired 1 or more times and still exists, or the vehicle has been out of service for repairs a total of 30 calendar days. The defect must significantly impair use, market value or safety (it does not have to affect driveability). If the manufacturer itself was never notified, it gets one more chance of up to 15 days to fix the problem.
The "lemon law rights period": 18 months from the date the new vehicle was first delivered to you. It is extended if the manufacturer was notified but the defect still was not fixed by the end of the 18 months.
You must notify the manufacturer in writing of the defect before you can claim a refund or replacement, unless it already counts as notified (for example, it answered you in writing or a factory representative inspected the car). The manufacturer must list the address for this notice in the warranty or owner's manual. If you mail it to the dealer, the dealer must forward it.
Using a manufacturer's informal dispute program is your choice. If you use it and win a refund or replacement, the manufacturer has 40 days to comply. The Attorney General's office takes lemon-law complaints against manufacturers that do not take part in BBB Auto Line.
A comparable replacement vehicle acceptable to you, or a refund of the full contract price, including collateral charges (sales tax, license, registration and title fees, finance charges and interest, transportation, dealer prep, service contracts and installed options) and incidental damages. You may also recover mileage, expenses and reasonable loss of use caused by the repair attempts. A use allowance is subtracted, counted only up to your first notice of the defect, and it may not exceed half the IRS business mileage rate per mile (plus any damage beyond normal wear). You have an unconditional right to choose a refund over a replacement and to keep driving the car until you get it. A lease is ended without penalty.
Sue within the 18-month lemon law rights period. If you used the manufacturer's dispute program within that period, you have the longer of 12 months from the program's final action or the original period (Va. Code § 59.1-207.16).
The act covers later owners who get the vehicle while a warranty applies, and the Attorney General notes it may apply to used vehicles under certain conditions (Subaru of America, Inc. v. Peters, 1998).
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.