Illinois Lemon Law: Do You Qualify?
Under the 815 ILCS 380 (New Vehicle Buyer Protection Act).
Illinois protects new-vehicle buyers through the New Vehicle Buyer Protection Act, with a 12-month / 12,000-mile presumption window and two traps that surprise owners: the out-of-service threshold is measured in business days, not calendar days, and the deadline to sue is only 18 months from delivery, the shortest in the country among comparable states. If your new car, light truck under 8,000 lbs, or RV keeps failing the same way, you may qualify for a refund or replacement. The free checker below applies Illinois's rules to your answers in minutes.
Illinois lemon law at a glance
- Coverage window
- 12 months from delivery or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first (or the express warranty term if it ends earlier).
- Repair attempts
- 4 attempts for the same defect. Illinois provides no reduced count for safety defects.
- Days out of service
- 30 BUSINESS days out of service. Illinois counts business days, not calendar days, a divergence from most states that matters when tallying shop time.
- Written notice
- Written notification to the manufacturer, granting a final cure opportunity, is required before filing suit.
- Used vehicles
- Not covered by the Act. Motorcycles are excluded, and trucks over 8,000 lbs GVWR (a notably low cap) fall outside coverage. Illinois is also a manufacturer-choice state: the manufacturer picks between refund and replacement.
Check your Illinois eligibility now
Free, anonymous, and specific to Illinois. Answer a few questions about your vehicle and repair history to see whether you may qualify.
Illinois lemon law: frequently asked questions
- How long do I have to file an Illinois lemon law claim?
- Only 18 months from the original delivery date, one of the shortest lemon-law limitation periods in the country, and it runs from delivery rather than from when the problem appeared. Time spent in a manufacturer dispute program tolls the period.
- What makes a car a lemon in Illinois?
- A defect that substantially impairs the vehicle's use, market value, or safety and that the manufacturer has not fixed after 4 attempts, or a vehicle out of service 30 business days, within 12 months or 12,000 miles of delivery, whichever comes first. Note that Illinois counts business days, not calendar days.
- Who chooses between refund and replacement in Illinois?
- The manufacturer does. Illinois is a manufacturer-choice state, unlike neighbors such as Pennsylvania where the purchaser elects the remedy. The refund is the purchase price plus collateral charges minus a reasonable use offset.
- Does the Illinois lemon law cover used cars or motorcycles?
- No. The New Vehicle Buyer Protection Act does not cover used vehicles, motorcycles, or trucks over 8,000 lbs GVWR. Used-car buyers generally rely on the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act, which is also where attorney-fee recovery comes from.
Think you qualify? Estimate your refund with the Illinois lemon law calculator →
Statutes cited on this page
- 815 ILCS 380/3(a) (Illinois New Vehicle Buyer Protection Act: manufacturer must replace or refund after a reasonable number of attempts; "statutory warranty period" = 1 year / 12,000 miles is defined in 380/2)
- 815 ILCS 380/3(b) (Illinois New Vehicle Buyer Protection Act: presumption of reasonable number of repair attempts: 4 repairs of the same nonconformity, or 30 business days out of service)
- 815 ILCS 380/4(a) (Illinois New Vehicle Buyer Protection Act: consumer must first resort to a manufacturer 16 C.F.R. Part 703 informal dispute settlement procedure, where one is established and disclosed)
- 815 ILCS 380/6 (Illinois New Vehicle Buyer Protection Act: 18-month statute of limitations from original delivery)
This page summarizes the statute in plain language and is not legal advice. The linked official text controls.