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Montana Lemon Law: Do You Qualify?

Under the Mont. Code Ann. §§ 61-4-501 to 61-4-533 (New Motor Vehicle Warranty Act).

Montana’s lemon law covers a consumer of a new passenger motor vehicle, including a lessee, used for personal, family, or household purposes. You may qualify if a defect that substantially impairs the use and market value or safety of the vehicle is not corrected after a reasonable number of attempts during the warranty period: 2 years after original delivery or the first 18,000 miles, whichever is earlier. The act presumes a reasonable number of attempts when the same defect has been subject to repair four or more times by the manufacturer, its agent or an authorized dealer and still exists, or the vehicle has been out of service for a cumulative 30 or more business days after notification. The presumption may not apply against a manufacturer that has not received prior written notice and has not had an opportunity to cure. If you may qualify, the free checker below applies Montana’s rules to your answers.

Montana lemon law at a glance

Coverage window
2 years after original delivery to the consumer or the first 18,000 miles of operation, whichever is earlier. The warranty period is extended by the time repair services are not available because of war, invasion, strike, fire, flood, or other natural disaster.
Standard
After a reasonable number of attempts, a defect or condition that “substantially impairs the use and market value or safety” of the vehicle to the consumer. The manufacturer may defend by showing the nonconformity does not substantially impair “the use, market value, or safety” of the vehicle, or results from abuse, neglect, or unauthorized modification or alteration by the consumer.
Repair attempts
Four or more repairs of the same nonconformity by the manufacturer, its agent or an authorized dealer during the warranty period, and it continues to exist. The act has no separate safety-defect number. Fewer repairs can still show a reasonable number of attempts; the presumption is one way to show it.
Days out of service
A cumulative total of 30 or more business days during the warranty period, after notification of the manufacturer, agent, or dealer.
Written notice
The presumption may not apply against a manufacturer that has not received prior written notification from or on behalf of the consumer and has not had an opportunity to cure. The manufacturer must tell you in the warranty or owner’s manual that written notification is required and where to send it. Written notice to the manufacturer or its agent during the warranty period keeps its repair duty alive after the period ends. The Department of Justice guide suggests certified mail after the third repair attempt and says it is not required.
Dispute program
The replacement-or-refund provision is not applicable against a manufacturer with a Department-certified informal dispute procedure unless you first resorted to it without satisfaction. If it has none, or on appeal from a nonconforming procedure, the Department of Justice provides arbitration; a decision may provide repair, replacement, refund, or reimbursement of expenses and costs to the prevailing party, and a decision not accepted goes to Title 27, chapter 5.
Used vehicles
A consumer includes a person to whom the vehicle is transferred during an express warranty applicable to it. We read that as a manufacturer’s warranty; whether a dealer’s own warranty counts is not settled. The vehicle must be sold or registered in Montana.
Vehicles
A vehicle propelled by its own power, designed primarily to transport persons or property upon the public highways, and sold or registered in Montana, including the nonresidential portion of a motor home. A truck with a gross vehicle weight rating of 15,000 pounds or more is excluded, and so are features designed, used, and maintained primarily for residential purposes. The Department of Justice page says motorcycles are included (guidance only).
Who is liable
The manufacturer. The part imposes no liability on a dealer and creates no cause of action by a consumer against a dealer under the replacement-or-refund provision, and the manufacturer’s obligations cannot be delegated or assigned.
What you can recover
The manufacturer replaces the vehicle or, as an alternative, accepts its return and refunds the full purchase price plus reasonable collateral charges (all governmental charges) and incidental damages, less an allowance for use: the total contract price times miles before the return divided by 100,000. The part does not limit your rights or remedies under any other law.
Returned vehicles
A vehicle returned to the manufacturer for replacement or refund may not be sold in Montana without a clear and conspicuous written disclosure that it was returned.

Check your Montana eligibility now

Free, anonymous, and specific to Montana. Answer a few questions about your vehicle and repair history to see whether you may qualify.

Montana lemon law: frequently asked questions

How many repair attempts does the Montana lemon law require?
The duty applies after “a reasonable number of attempts”. Montana presumes that number after four or more repairs of the same nonconformity by the manufacturer, its agent or an authorized dealer during the warranty period, with the nonconformity still present. The act has a separate path through days out of service: 30 or more cumulative business days during the warranty period, after notification of the manufacturer, agent, or dealer. The manufacturer may defend by showing the defect does not substantially impair the use, market value, or safety of the vehicle.
How long do I have to file a claim in Montana?
The act states no deadline for requesting arbitration or suing. In arbitration you must return the Department of Justice form with the filing fee within 5 days after receiving it. The Montana Code gives 2 years for an action upon “a liability created by statute” (§ 27-2-211(1)(c)) and 4 years after the cause of action accrues for breach of a contract for sale, a breach of warranty occurring when tender of delivery is made (§ 30-2-725). The act does not say which governs a claim under it, so do not wait.
Do I have to send the manufacturer a written notice?
The act requires the manufacturer to disclose in the warranty or owner’s manual that written notification of a nonconformity is required before you may be eligible for a refund or replacement, with the address to send it to, and its presumption may not apply against a manufacturer that has not received prior written notice and has not had an opportunity to cure. Notice given in writing during the warranty period also keeps the manufacturer’s repair duty alive after the period ends. The Department of Justice guide suggests certified mail after the third repair attempt but says it is not required.
Does the Montana lemon law cover used vehicles?
The act is framed around a new motor vehicle with an express warranty. It includes a person to whom the vehicle is transferred during an express warranty applicable to it, so a used buyer may be covered while the manufacturer’s warranty is still running, even if the seller added a warranty of its own; the 2 year or 18,000 mile period still runs from original delivery. Used vehicles are otherwise not addressed in the act’s text. Vehicles must be sold or registered in Montana; trucks of 15,000 pounds GVWR or more are excluded.
What can I recover if my vehicle qualifies in Montana?
The manufacturer replaces the vehicle with a new one of the same model and style or, as an alternative, accepts its return and refunds the full purchase price plus collateral charges and incidental damages, less an allowance for use of the price times miles divided by 100,000. The text gives the refund as the manufacturer’s alternative and does not say whether you can require it. The part itself has no multiplied damages or consumer attorney fees; it says it does not limit your rights or remedies under any other law, and a violation is an unfair or deceptive trade practice (§ 61-4-533).

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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.

Lemon law guides for other states

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