The Lemon Law in Texas

If you are experiencing repeated problems with your car after it has been brought in the shop and you purchased or leased this from a licensed Texas dealer or lease company, the Texas Lemon Law may be able to help you get it refund or have it replaced.

The Texas lemon law was first enacted in 1983. It is administered by the Texas Department of Transportation's Motor Vehicle Division and the Motor Vehicle Board.

Vehicles that are covered by the Texas lemon law include cars, trucks, motorcycles, motor homes and ATVs. It also covers new and demonstrator vehicles that develop problems covered by a manufacturer’s written warranty. If you happen to own a towable recreational vehicle, it must first be titled and registered in Texas to be eligible.

Your used vehicle may also be covered under the Lemon Law if it is still within the manufacturer’s original warranty and not an extended service contract or if the problem started while it was still under warranty and it continues to exist.

To know if the Texas lemon law is applicable, your vehicle must meet certain conditions. The vehicle must have an abnormal condition or serious defect, the defect is covered by the manufacturer’s warranty, the defect is reported to the dealer during the warranty term, you must give the manufacturer a letter stating the problem and ample time to repair the problem and the problem still persists after everything was done.

There is nothing in the lemon law that states the number of times that the customer has to wait before filing a complaint. For many, four times seems to be sufficient. This may happen two times to repair the same problem of defect within the first 12 months or 12,000 miles whichever comes first or twice more during the 12 months or 12,000 miles after the second repair was done without any improvement.

Some will tell you to undergo the serious safety hazard test where the vehicle in question was once brought into the shop during the first 12 months or 12,000 miles whichever comes first and once during the 12 months or 12,000 miles after the first repair attempt.

The Texas lemon law may also apply if the vehicle has been out of service for a total of 30 days or more during the first 24 months or 24,000 miles and there were at least two repair attempts during the first 12 months of 12,000 miles after this was delivered to you with no changes in the vehicle’s condition.

If you happen to experience one of these three scenarios, you must file your Lemon law complaint as soon as possible so the Motor Vehicle Board will be able to help you.

A hearing will be conducted and before going in, be sure to prepare all the necessary documents so you can prove your case in front of the Administrative law judge. You should present your own testimony since you are the owner of the vehicle, the testimony of witnesses, receipts, letters and other documents which are needed.

A decision with regards to your case will be made within 150 days after receiving the complaint and paying for the filing fee. If no decision is made during that period, you can make your argument in court as though the Lemon law process were complete.