Indiana · Lemon law · Updated Oct 2026
Motor Vehicle Protection Act (Indiana Lemon Law) (Ind. Code §§ 24-5-13-1 to 24-5-13-24) protects buyers of new vehicles that can't be fixed. Here is what counts as a lemon in Indiana, the notice you must send and what you can get back.
A reasonable number of attempts is considered made if the defect has been repaired at least 4 times and still exists, or the vehicle has been out of service for repair of any defect for a total of at least 30 business days (any day except Sunday and legal holidays) and the defect still exists. The defect must substantially impair the vehicle's use, market value or safety, or make it fail to conform to the warranty.
Period: The term of protection runs 18 months or 18,000 miles from original delivery, whichever comes first. You must report the defect within that period; repairs must continue even after it ends.
Required only if the manufacturer's warranty or owner's manual clearly says written notice is required and gives the name and address to send it to. In that case you must first notify the manufacturer in writing of your claim. If the manufacturer did not make that disclosure, you do not have to notify it. The statute does not set a mailing method.
Indiana has no state-run arbitration. You must first use a manufacturer's dispute program only if the Attorney General has certified it and the manufacturer told you about it in writing (for example, in the warranty). The 2-year lawsuit deadline is paused while you are in that program.
At your choice, the manufacturer must, within 30 days, either refund what you paid or give you a replacement of comparable value. A refund is the full contract price, including trade-in credit, plus sales tax, the unused part of prepaid registration fees and excise tax, finance charges you actually paid, and dealer-added options, minus a use allowance: contract price times miles driven before the manufacturer takes the car back, divided by 100,000. Either way, you are reimbursed for towing and rental costs caused by the defect, and for a replacement, the manufacturer pays registration transfer fees and sales tax. You may keep using the car until you get the refund or replacement.
Attorney fees: Yes. A buyer who wins a lawsuit under the Lemon Law recovers court costs and expenses, including attorney's fees based on actual time spent (Ind. Code § 24-5-13-22).
Deadline: A lawsuit must be filed within 2 years after the date you first reported the defect to the manufacturer, its agent or dealer, with that time paused while you are in a certified manufacturer dispute program (Ind. Code § 24-5-13-23).
Indiana's Lemon Law covers only vehicles within 18 months/18,000 miles of original delivery; there is no separate used-car lemon law.
Most states require you to tell the manufacturer in writing and give it a last chance to fix the car. Required only if the manufacturer's warranty or owner's manual clearly says written notice is required and gives the name and address to send it to. In that case you must first notify the manufacturer in writing of your claim. If the manufacturer did not make that disclosure, you do not have to notify it. The statute does not set a mailing method. 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.
A reasonable number of attempts is considered made if the defect has been repaired at least 4 times and still exists, or the vehicle has been out of service for repair of any defect for a total of at least 30 business days (any day except Sunday and legal holidays) and the defect still exists. The defect must substantially impair the vehicle's use, market value or safety, or make it fail to conform to the warranty.
The term of protection runs 18 months or 18,000 miles from original delivery, whichever comes first. You must report the defect within that period; repairs must continue even after it ends.
Required only if the manufacturer's warranty or owner's manual clearly says written notice is required and gives the name and address to send it to. In that case you must first notify the manufacturer in writing of your claim. If the manufacturer did not make that disclosure, you do not have to notify it. The statute does not set a mailing method.
Indiana has no state-run arbitration. You must first use a manufacturer's dispute program only if the Attorney General has certified it and the manufacturer told you about it in writing (for example, in the warranty). The 2-year lawsuit deadline is paused while you are in that program.
At your choice, the manufacturer must, within 30 days, either refund what you paid or give you a replacement of comparable value. A refund is the full contract price, including trade-in credit, plus sales tax, the unused part of prepaid registration fees and excise tax, finance charges you actually paid, and dealer-added options, minus a use allowance: contract price times miles driven before the manufacturer takes the car back, divided by 100,000. Either way, you are reimbursed for towing and rental costs caused by the defect, and for a replacement, the manufacturer pays registration transfer fees and sales tax. You may keep using the car until you get the refund or replacement.
A lawsuit must be filed within 2 years after the date you first reported the defect to the manufacturer, its agent or dealer, with that time paused while you are in a certified manufacturer dispute program (Ind. Code § 24-5-13-23).
Indiana's Lemon Law covers only vehicles within 18 months/18,000 miles of original delivery; there is no separate used-car lemon law.
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