Idaho Lemon Law

Title 48, Chapter 9, Sections 901-913

48-901 - Definitions

The following terms of this chapter have the following meanings:

"Consumer" means is

 "Early termination costs" are the costs incurred against the termination of a lease contract and return of the motor vehicle before time by the consumer. The charges include penalties for prepayment of finance arrangements.

"Informal dispute settlement mechanism" is an arbitration procedure through which a panel resolves disputes between consumer and manufacturer regarding the nonconformities and repairs.

"Lease" is a contract granting use or holding of a property during a specified time of 4 months for a specified payment.

"Manufacturer" is

"Warranty" is the warranty specified by the manufacturer or dealer assuring that the vehicle doesn’t have any defect or in case any defect arises, the manufacturer would be responsible for its repair.

"Motor vehicle" is a self propelled vehicle used to travel from one terminus to the other and which doesn’t include,

"Motor vehicle lessor" is a person who holds title to a motor vehicle which is to be leased to a lessee under a written lease contract.

48-902 - Manufacturer's Duty to Repair -- Service And Repair Facilities

  1. If a new motor vehicle turns out as a lemon and the consumer writes up the nonconformity to the manufacturer, within the lemon law rights period which is 2 years or during the period on which the mileage touches 24,000 miles, then, the manufacturer will be liable to make the repairs and conform the vehicle to the warranties.
  2. The manufacturer should arrange repair facilities close to the areas in which the motor vehicle has been sold.

48-903 - Manufacturer's Duty to Refund or Replace

  1. If the nonconformity is of the nature that impairs the use and value of a motor vehicle and the manufacturer fails in correcting such nonconformity after a number of attempts, then, the manufacturer should refund the amount to the consumer alongwith the trade-in allowance, not to surpass 105% of the manufacturer's suggested retail price, sales or excise tax, license fees and registration fees, reimbursement for towing and rental vehicle expenses incurred by the consumer. The 105% shall include the alterations made by the manufacturer within 30 days of the delivery of the vehicle. The manufacturer shall deduct allowance for the consumer’s use which can be calculated by,

    The number of miles * the purchase price / 120,000

    The consumer is entitled to reject the replacement, offered by the manufacturer, and demand a refund. The consumer can also ask for a written statement of the amounts refunded. If the manufacturer doesn’t state the amount of sales tax or if the manufacturer doesn’t apply for a refund during 1 year of the return of motor vehicle, the sales tax commission may refund the tax to the consumer as determined in subsection (8) of this section.

    The manufacturer will not be liable to refund or replace a motor vehicle if,

    • A defect does not affect the use or market value of the motor vehicle
    • A nonconformity is the outcome of abuse, neglect, or unauthorized modifications by anyone other than the manufacturer.
  2. It shall be recognized that a number of attempts have been made to conform a vehicle if,
    • The manufacturer has attempted the repairs at least four times alongwith a final attempt, within the express warranty period which is 2 years or 24,000 miles and the defect still exists.
    • The nonconformity can cause seriously bodily harm or death due to a failure of the braking or steering system, and the manufacturer has attempted the repairs once alongwith a final attempt, within the express warranty period which is 2 years or 24,000 miles and the defect still exists.
    • The vehicle is out of service or in custody of a manufacturer or its agent for the purpose of repair for a total of thirty or more business days during the lemon law rights period and the nonconformity continues to exist.
  3. The warranty period shall be extended due to war, invasion, strike, or fire, flood, or other natural disaster.
  4. To claim a lemon, a consumer must send a request in writing to the manufacturer. If the consumer sends a request to the agent instead of sending it to the manufacturer, then the agent should forward this to the manufacturer. If the manufacturer is not informed by the dealer or by consumer, then he must be given a chance to correct the nonconformity.
  5. As stated in Idaho lemon laws, “the expiration of the time periods set forth in subsection (2) of this section does not bar a consumer from receiving a refund or replacement vehicle under subsection (1) of this section if the reasonable number of attempts to correct the nonconformity causing the substantial impairment occur within three (3) years following the date of original delivery of the new motor vehicle to a consumer, provided the consumer first reported the nonconformity to the manufacturer, its agent, or its authorized dealer during the term of the applicable express warranty”.
  6. At the time of purchase or lease of a motor vehicle, the manufacturer or its agent must provide a warranty guide, in 10-point all capital type, which looks like,

    "IMPORTANT IF THIS VEHICLE IS DEFECTIVE, YOU MAY BE ENTITLED UNDER THE STATE'S LEMON LAW TO REPLACEMENT OF IT OR A REFUND OF ITS PURCHASE PRICE OR YOUR LEASE PAYMENTS. HOWEVER, TO BE ENTITLED TO REFUND OR REPLACEMENT, YOU MUST FIRST NOTIFY THE MANUFACTURER, ITS AGENT, OR IT’S AUTHORIZED DEALER OF THE PROBLEM IN WRITING AND GIVES THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE. YOU ALSO HAVE A RIGHT TO SUBMIT YOUR CASE TO THE CONSUMER ARBITRATION PROGRAM WHICH THE MANUFACTURER MUST OFFER IN THIS STATE."

  7. The sales tax paid by the manufacturer to the consumer is the tax paid by the consumer at the time of purchase less the tax paid multiplied by the allowance for consumer’s use divided by the purchase price of the vehicle.

48-904 - Manufacturer's Duty to Consumers with Leased Vehicles

The Idaho lemon laws gives equal rights to the lessee of a new motor vehicle and the one who purchases a new motor vehicle, against the manufacturer, except that, the consumer who leases a vehicle is not entitled to a replacement but is entitled for a refund, if it is ascertain that the manufacturer must accept return of the consumer's leased vehicle pursuant to section 48-903, Idaho Code. In these types of cases, the leased vehicle is returned to the manufacturer and the lease is terminated.

The manufacturer shall refund the purchase price plus charges incurred less allowance for use. The sum of any refund for the proportional portion of the down payment plus the amount of the refund to the motor vehicle lessor shall not go beyond 105% of the vehicle's original manufacturer's suggested retail price.

48-905 - Resale or Re-Lease of Returned Motor Vehicle

  1. If a motor vehicle has been returned by the consumer due to any nonconformity under the requirements of section 48-903 of Idaho lemon laws, it cannot be resold within the state unless,
    • The manufacturer offers the same express warranty to the new consumer
    • The manufacturer gives a warranty guide, in 10-point all capital type, in substantially the following form:

      "IMPORTANT THIS VEHICLE WAS RETURNED TO THE MANUFACTURER BECAUSE IT DID NOT CONFORM TO THE MANUFACTURER'S EXPRESS WARRANTY AND THE NONCONFORMITY WAS NOT CURED WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME AS PROVIDED BY IDAHO LAW."

  2. The manufacturer may not be resale the vehicle in this state, if the nonconformity is due to malfunctioning of the braking or steering system of the motor vehicle which can cause death or serious bodily injury.

48-906 - Alternative Dispute Settlement Mechanism

  1. A manufacturer involved in selling vehicles or offering warranties of such motor vehicles is entitled to involve in an informal dispute settlement mechanism located within the state which conforms to the provisions of this section. Section 48-903 of Idaho lemon law clarifies that a consumer must use this mechanism first, if s/he wants a refund or replacement before originating a civil action, unless the manufacturer allows a consumer to begin an action without first using this mechanism.
  2. If informal dispute settlement mechanism makes a judgment in favor of a consumer. The manufacturer shall either refund or replace the motor vehicle as selected by the consumer. The refund shall include amounts authorized by section 48-903 of Idaho lemon laws. If the excise tax amount is not stated individually or if the maker of the vehicle does not apply for a refund within 1 year of the return of the motor vehicle, the state tax commission will give back the tax amount to the consumer.
  3. The board shall only accept for the proceedings of the dispute settlement those documents which have been provided to either consumer or manufacturer at the time or prior to the mechanism’s meeting in which both the parties shall be given equal opportunity to comment on the documents in writing or oral manner. In case the consumer, being present in the mechanism’s meeting, wishes to require more time for reviewing any document that hasn’t been presented to him before the meeting, shall request for delay in the mechanism’s meeting.
  4. The informal dispute settlement procedure permits each party to emerge and give an oral presentation unless the consumer concurs to present the dispute for decision on the basis of documents alone or by telephone, or unless the party fails to appear for an oral presentation after reasonable prior written notice.

    If the consumer submits the dispute on the roots of documents alone, then the manufacturer is not required to participate in the discussion or decision of the dispute.

  5. The court gives consumers a chance to compete a manufacturer’s claim the a defect comes under planned specifications for the vehicle by having the basis of the manufacturer's assertion considered by a technical specialist chosen and paid for by the consumer prior to the informal dispute settlement hearing.
  6. After a repair attempt has been made, the consumer should inform the informal dispute mechanism whether the attempt was successful or not. Both the parties must be provided the opportunity to prove any additional information regarding the manufacturer's latest repair attempt before any final judgment is made by the informal dispute settlement mechanism.
  7. A consumer will be required to pay a fee to get into an informal dispute settlement mechanism, but the fee will not exceed the conciliation court filing.
  8. Both the parties can avail the services of a lemon attorney to be represented in an informal dispute settlement mechanism.
  9. The informal dispute settlement mechanism has all the proof-gathering powers, granted an arbitrator.
  10. Each decision made in an informal dispute settlement procedure must be signed and should be in writing.

48-907 - Effect and Admissibility of Decision by Informal Dispute Settlement Mechanism

The judgment rendered in an informal dispute settlement mechanism is not final, unless it is approved by the parties. Both the parties are entitled to take the decision to the district court for a trial de novo within 30 days. Evidence upon which the decision is based is not considered as binding evidence in any lawful action and is not used as further foundation requirements.

48-908 - Treble Damages For Bad Faith Appeal Of Decision

If the dispute has been taken to the district court in a bad faith to harass the other party, then the court shall award to the prevailing party 3 times the actual damages sustained, together with costs and attorney's fees.

48-909 -Civil Remedy

A consumer infected by a breach of this chapter can appeal a civil action in the court to enforce and recover the costs alongwith the attorney’s fee incurred in this action. The attorney’s fee incurred previously in an informal dispute settlement will not be reimbursed. The attorney general can take an action against a manufacturer for violation of provisions of this chapter.

48-910 - Limitation on Actions

An action brought under this chapter must begin within 3 years of the delivery of a motor vehicle. This rule will not be applicable, if the consumer applies for an informal dispute settlement mechanism within 3 years from the date of delivery of a motor vehicle. If the consumer is gloomy with the judgment of an informal dispute settlement, then the appeal of that decision must be commenced within three months after the final decision.

48-911 - Remedy Nonexclusive

§ 48-911 of Idaho lemon laws clearly states that, “nothing in this chapter limits the rights or remedies which are otherwise available to a consumer under any other law”.

48-912 - Disclosure Requirement

The attorney general has the right to scrutinize the reports of the informal dispute settlement procedure to make the information available to the public, but individual cases are not disclosed to the public unless permitted by the parties.

48-913 - Dealer Liability

As written in § 48-913 of Idaho lemon laws, “nothing in this chapter imposes liability on a dealer or creates an additional cause of action by a consumer against a dealer, except for written express warranties made by the dealer apart from the manufacturer's warranties. The manufacturer shall not charge back or require reimbursement by the dealer for any costs, including, but not limited to, any refunds or vehicle replacements, incurred by the manufacturer arising out of this chapter, unless there is evidence that the related repairs had not been carried out by the dealer in a timely manner or in a manner substantially consistent with the manufacturer's published instructions”.