Indiana Lemon Law (IN)

How Indiana's Lemon Law Actually Works

Indiana's Motor Vehicle Protection Act (Ind. Code ch. 24-5-13) protects buyers and lessees (leases longer than four months count) of new vehicles sold by Indiana dealers. Three numbers drive every claim:

• 18 months / 18,000 miles — the "term of protection." The defect must be reported within 18 months of delivery or before 18,000 miles, whichever comes first. Repairs can happen after the window closes; what matters is when you first reported the problem. If you receive a replacement vehicle, it gets its own fresh 18/18,000 term.
• 4 repair attempts — same defect. Four or more failed repairs of the same nonconformity by the manufacturer or its dealers creates the legal presumption your car is a lemon.
• 30 business days — any defects, cumulative. Alternatively, 30+ business days (Sundays and legal holidays don't count) out of service for warranty repair — across any combination of defects, not just one — triggers the same presumption (IC 24-5-13-15).

A "nonconformity" is a defect that substantially impairs the vehicle's use, market value, or safety, or that makes it fail to conform to the written warranty. The manufacturer's defenses: the problem isn't substantial, or it was caused by your abuse, neglect, or unauthorized modification.

Covered and Excluded Vehicles

• Covered: self-propelled vehicles under 10,000 lbs declared gross vehicle weight, sold by an Indiana dealer and registered in Indiana (or sold to an out-of-state buyer in Indiana), intended primarily for highway use. Purchases and leases over four months both qualify.
• Excluded by statute: conversion vans, motor homes, farm tractors and farm machinery, road-building equipment, truck tractors, road tractors, motorcycles, mopeds, snowmobiles, and off-road vehicles.
• Who you can sue: the manufacturer only — Indiana's lemon law creates no cause of action against the dealer (IC 24-5-13-24). Dealers do have duties: they must give you a written repair order for every visit and may not refuse to diagnose or repair to dodge liability.

Step-by-Step: Filing a Lemon Law Claim in Indiana

1. Use an authorized dealer and collect paper. Ask for a written repair order every visit (the dealer is legally required to provide one) showing dates, mileage, and the reported problem. Days in the shop and repeat visits are your evidence.
2. Check your warranty booklet for two things. First, whether the manufacturer requires written notice of a lemon claim — notice is only mandatory if that requirement is clearly disclosed with an address. Second, whether the manufacturer participates in an informal dispute program certified by the Indiana Attorney General. You must use a certified, properly disclosed program before suing; if there is none, you can go straight to court.
3. Demand your remedy. Once the 4-attempt or 30-business-day threshold is met, the manufacturer must accept the vehicle's return and — at your option, within 30 days — refund your money or provide a comparable replacement.
4. Sue within 2 years of your first report. The deadline runs from the date you first reported the defect — not from purchase (IC 24-5-13-23). It pauses while a certified dispute program is underway. A prevailing buyer recovers court costs plus attorney fees for time actually spent, which is why many Indiana lemon law attorneys take strong cases without upfront fees.

Note what the Attorney General can and cannot do: the AG certifies manufacturer dispute programs and polices buyback-disclosure violations, but cannot pursue your refund for you — that requires your own claim. You can still report the manufacturer via the AG's consumer complaint portal or 1-800-382-5516.

What an Indiana Refund Includes

An Indiana buyback is broader than many states' (IC 24-5-13-11). You get the full contract price — including any trade-in credit — plus all sales tax, unexpended registration and excise fees, finance charges you actually paid, and the cost of dealer-added options. Towing and rental costs caused by the defect are reimbursable too. One deduction applies:

use allowance = contract price × (miles driven before the manufacturer accepts the return) ÷ 100,000

Example: a $35,000 vehicle returned with 10,000 miles carries a $3,500 use deduction — you'd recover roughly $31,500 plus taxes, fees, and finance charges. You may keep driving the car until the refund or replacement is actually tendered; the extra miles simply feed the formula. Lease refunds work similarly, with deposits and payments returned to the lessee less the use allowance.

Buying a Former Lemon in Indiana

Vehicles repurchased or replaced under the lemon law don't disappear — they're resold. Indiana requires the title to be branded "Manufacturer Buyback-Disclosure on File" for the life of the vehicle. On first resale, the seller must disclose the buyback history in writing and the manufacturer must provide a fresh 12-month/12,000-mile warranty. If a seller hid a buyback title from you, that's an enforcement matter for the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division.

Sources

• Indiana Attorney General — "Indiana Lemon Law" consumer guide (PDF)
• Ind. Code § 24-5-13-7 — term of protection (current text)
• Ind. Code § 24-5-13-15 — repair-attempt presumption
• Ind. Code § 24-5-13-11 — refund calculation
• IN.gov FAQ — Indiana Lemon Law requirements

Statutes and agency guidance last reviewed July 2026.