Arizona Lemon Law

The Arizona state lemon law is §§44-1261 to 1267 of the Arizona Revised Statutes. Arizona defines motor vehicles as “self-propelled vehicle designated primarily for the transportation of persons or property over the public highways.” Motor homes are protected as well, but only the areas that are used for transportation. The law does not cover used vehicles or vehicles with a gross weight of over 10,000 pounds (44-1261).

The consumer has Arizona lemon law protection for duration of the express warranty, 24 months after delivery of the vehicle, or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first (44-1262-1). The manufacturer guarantees in the warranty that the car should run as promised and if does not it will take the necessary steps to fix it. If the vehicle is having problems of nonconformity, then the consumer is entitled under law to receive a refund or replacement. However, the manufacturer must have a reasonable number of attempts to repair or fix the nonconformities of the vehicle. Nonconformity is not explicitly defined in the law, but in section 44-1263 the law states manufacturers are to repair or correct “any defect or condition which substantially impairs the use and value of the motor vehicle.” If shall be presumed that a reasonable number of attempts have been made on the vehicle, if (44-1264):

• The manufacturer, its agents, or authorized dealers has had at least four attempts to fix a problem of nonconformity.
• The vehicle has been out of service for nonconformity repairs for a cumulative of 30 or more calendar days, unless repair could not be performed due to circumstances beyond the manufacturer’s control.

In order for the consumer to claim a lemon, he must first give a written notice of the nonconformity to the manufacturer and allow the manufacturer to repair the alleged defect one last time. If the consumer still believes there is a problem, he must take his case to the manufacturer’s informal dispute settlement program. If the consumer does not participate in the program and instead takes his claim to court, he will be able to receive the compensation of this law (44-1265). However, if the manufacturer does not have an arbitration program or the consumer has already gone through the program, then the consumer may proceed to civil court. If the consumer is successful in the suit, the manufacturer may pay for reasonable costs and attorney fees. If the consumer wins in either arbitration or court, he has the option of a new vehicle replacement or refund plus all collateral fees. The consumer has six months to pursue these courses after the earliest of the three protection periods (warranty, 2 years, 24,000 miles) has expired (44-1265-B).

The manufacturer may use in its defense that nonconformity “does not substantially impair the use and market value of the motor vehicle” or the “nonconformity is the result of abuse, neglect, or unauthorized modifications or alterations of the motor vehicles” (44-1263-B).

If the vehicles has been returned to the manufacturer from either Arizona or any other state, the manufacturer before attempting to resale the vehicle must provide written notification that the vehicle has been replaced or repurchased. The dealer who is reselling the vehicle must also provide this notification to the new purchasers of the vehicle before the sale goes through. A dealer may not liable for not providing the notification if someone has withheld this information to the dealer (44-1266).