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Louisiana Lemon Law: Do You Qualify?

Under the La. R.S. 51:1941-51:1948 (Motor Vehicle Warranties).

Louisiana's lemon law covers new vehicles that are bought or leased, and a person to whom a vehicle is transferred during the express warranty. You may qualify if the same problem has been subject to repair four or more times within the warranty term or the first year, whichever ends first, and is still not fixed, or if the vehicle has been out of service for repair for a cumulative 45 or more calendar days during the warranty period. The manufacturer then chooses between replacing the vehicle and refunding your money. The free checker below applies these rules to your answers in minutes.

Louisiana lemon law at a glance

Coverage window
The express warranty term or one year from original delivery, whichever is earlier (R.S. 51:1942). The act states no mileage figure of its own; a warranty that expires by mileage ends the term then.
Repair attempts
The same nonconformity subject to repair four or more times by the manufacturer, its agent or its authorized dealer within that period, and still not repaired (R.S. 51:1943(A)(1), 51:1944(A)).
Days out of service
A cumulative total of 45 or more calendar days out of service by reason of repair during the warranty period (La. R.S. 51:1944(A)).
What is a nonconformity
"any specific or generic defect or malfunction, or any defect or condition which substantially impairs the use, market value or both of a motor vehicle" (R.S. 51:1941(7)). The warranty is "the written warranty of the manufacturer" (51:1941(5)).
Notice
You report the nonconformity to the manufacturer or any of its authorized motor vehicle dealers and make the vehicle available for repair. No form, method or written-notice requirement is stated.
War, strike and disaster
The warranty term is extended by any time repair services are not available to you because of war, invasion, strike, fire, flood or natural disaster, and the presumption of subsection (A) is suspended while the manufacturer cannot repair for those causes (R.S. 51:1943(B), (C)).
Dispute program
If the manufacturer has established an informal dispute procedure that substantially complies with 16 C.F.R. Part 703, the refund and replacement provisions do not apply to a consumer who has not first resorted to it (R.S. 51:1944(D)).
Refund or replacement
The manufacturer chooses: a comparable new vehicle or, at its option, the full purchase price plus amounts paid at the point of sale and all collateral costs, less a reasonable allowance for use, paid in thirty days after your offer to transfer title (R.S. 51:1944(A), 51:1945).
Leases
A lessee is a consumer. The manufacturer replaces the vehicle or, if the lessor is willing, accepts return and reimburses the lessee for all reasonable expenditures in connection with the lease and satisfies the lease's early-termination conditions; the lessee is liable for a reasonable allowance for use (R.S. 51:1941(2)(c), 51:1944(B)).
Time to sue
Three years from the date you purchased the vehicle or one year from the end of the warranty, whichever is longer (R.S. 51:1944(E)).
Attorney fees
A consumer who has complied with the chapter is entitled to reasonable attorney fees actually incurred if a judgment is rendered in part or whole in the consumer's favor (R.S. 51:1947). The chapter provides no multiplied damages.
Rental reimbursement
Up to $20 a day for the repair period when it exceeds ten work days or the same defect was tendered on two previous occasions, for the warranty term or two years, whichever is first; damages for a violation are not less than $200 (R.S. 51:1948).
Other remedies
The chapter does not limit other rights and remedies (R.S. 51:1946). The Civil Code's redhibition action against a seller who did not know of the defect runs two years from delivery or one year from discovery, whichever is first (art. 2534(A)).
Used vehicles
No separate used-vehicle law was found. A person to whom a vehicle is transferred during the express warranty is a consumer under R.S. 51:1941(2)(b).

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Louisiana lemon law: frequently asked questions

How many repair attempts does the Louisiana lemon law require?
Four or more repairs of the same nonconformity by the manufacturer, its agent or its authorized dealer within the warranty term or the first year after original delivery, whichever is earlier (La. R.S. 51:1943(A)(1)); the refund or replacement is owed if the nonconformity has still not been repaired (51:1944(A)). Forty-five or more cumulative calendar days out of service for repair during the warranty period is an alternative (51:1944(A)). Louisiana has no separate safety-defect number in the text we reviewed.
Who decides between a refund and a replacement?
The manufacturer. It replaces the vehicle with a comparable new one or, at its option, accepts return and refunds the full purchase price plus amounts paid at the point of sale and collateral costs, less a reasonable allowance for use (La. R.S. 51:1944(A)).
Do I have to go through the manufacturer's dispute program first?
If the manufacturer has established an informal dispute procedure that substantially complies with 16 C.F.R. Part 703, the refund and replacement provisions do not apply to a consumer who has not first resorted to it (La. R.S. 51:1944(D)). The chapter refers only to a procedure the manufacturer has established; it sets up no state program.
Can I recover my attorney fees?
If you have complied with the requirements of the chapter and a judgment is rendered in part or whole in your favor, you are entitled to reasonable attorney fees actually incurred (La. R.S. 51:1947).
Does the Louisiana lemon law cover used vehicles?
There is no separate used-vehicle lemon law in the text we reviewed. A person to whom a vehicle is transferred during the express warranty is a consumer under the act (La. R.S. 51:1941(2)(b)). Other remedies, such as redhibition under the Civil Code, are preserved (La. R.S. 51:1946).

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Statutes cited on this page

This page summarizes the statute in plain language and is not legal advice. The linked official text controls.

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